• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.157-165
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• 2023

Ultrasound imaging uses sound waves of frequencies to cause physical actions such as reflection, absorption, refraction, and transmission at the edge between different tissues. Improvement is needed because there is a lot of noise due to the characteristics of the data generated from the ultrasound equipment, and it is difficult to grasp the shape of the tissue to be actually observed because the edge is vague. The edge enhancement method is used as a method to solve the case where the edge surface looks clumped due to a decrease in image quality. In this paper, as a method to strengthen the interface, the quality improvement was confirmed by strengthening the interface, which is the high-frequency part, in each image using an unsharpening mask and high boost. The mask filtering used for each image was evaluated by measuring PSNR and SNR. Abdominal, head, heart, liver, kidney, breast, and fetal images were obtained from Philips epiq5g and affiniti70g and Alpinion E-cube 15 ultrasound equipment. The program used to implement the algorithm was implemented with MATLAB R2022a of MathWorks. The unsharpening and high-boost mask array size was set to 3*3, and the laplacian filter, a spatial filter used to create outline-enhanced images, was applied equally to both masks. ImageJ program was used for quantitative evaluation of image quality. As a result of applying the mask filter to various ultrasound images, the subjective image quality showed that the overall contour lines of the image were clearly visible when unsharpening and high-boost mask were applied to the original image. When comparing the quantitative image quality, the image quality of the image to which the unsharpening mask and the high boost mask were applied was evaluated higher than that of the original image. In the portal vein, head, gallbladder, and kidney images, the SNR, PSNR, RMSE and MAE of the image to which the high-boost mask was applied were measured to be high. Conversely, for images of the heart, breast, and fetus, SNR, PSNR, RMSE and MAE values were measured as images with the unsharpening mask applied. It is thought that using the optimal mask according to the image will help to improve the image quality, and the contour information was provided to improve the image quality.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2002.09a
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• pp.139-162
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• 2002

Since weak zones or geological lineaments are likely to be eroded, weak zones may develop beneath rivers, and a careful evaluation of ground condition is important to construct structures passing through a river. Dc resistivity surveys, however, have seldomly applied to the investigation of water-covered area, possibly because of difficulties in data aquisition and interpretation. The data aquisition having high quality may be the most important factor, and is more difficult than that in land survey, due to the water layer overlying the underground structure to be imaged. Through the numerical modeling and the analysis of case histories, we studied the method of resistivity survey at the water-covered area, starting from the characteristics of measured data, via data acquisition method, to the interpretation method. We unfolded our discussion according to the installed locations of electrodes, ie., floating them on the water surface, and installing at the water bottom, since the methods of data acquisition and interpretation vary depending on the electrode location. Through this study, we could confirm that the dc resistivity method can provide the fairly reasonable subsurface images. It was also shown that installing electrodes at the water bottom can give the subsurface image with much higher resolution than floating them on the water surface. Since the data acquired at the water-covered area have much lower sensitivity to the underground structure than those at the land, and can be contaminated by the higher noise, such as streaming potential, it would be very important to select the acquisition method and electrode array being able to provide the higher signal-to-noise ratio data as well as the high resolving power. The method installing electrodes at the water bottom is suitable to the detailed survey because of much higher resolving power, whereas the method floating them, especially streamer dc resistivity survey, is to the reconnaissance survey owing of very high speed of field work.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.216-223
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• 2011

Recently PTW developed a MicroLion liquid ionization chamber which is water_equivalent and has a small sensitive volume of $0.002cm^3$. The aim of this work is to investigate such dosimetric characteristics as dose linearity, dose rate dependency, spatial resolution, and output factors of the chamber for the external radiotherapy photon beam. The results were compared to those of Semiflex chamber, Pinpoint chamber and Diode chamber with the sensitive volumes of $0.125cm^3$, $0.03cm^3$ and $0.0025cm^3$, respectively and evaluated to be suitable for small fields. This study was performed in the 6MV photon energy from a Varian 2300 C/D linac accelerator and the MP3 water phantom (PTW, Freiburg) was used. Penumbras in the varios field sizes ranged from $0.5{\times}0.5cm^2$ to $10{\times}10cm^2$ were used to evaluate the spatial resolution. Output factors were measured in the field sizes of $0.5{\times}0.5$ to $40{\times}40cm^2$. Readings of the chamber was linearly proportional to dose. Dose rate dependency was measured from 100 MU/min to 600 MU/min, showed a maximum difference of 5.0%, and outputs decreased with dose rates. The spatial resolutions determined with comparing profiles for the field sizes of $0.5{\times}0.5cm^2$ to $10{\times}10cm^2$ agreed between every detector except the Semiflex chamber to within 2%. Outputs of detectors were compared to that of Semiflex chamber and showed good agreements within 2% for every chamber. This study shows that MicroLion chamber characterized by a high signal-to-noise ratio and water equivalence could be suitable for the small field dosimetry.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.25-33
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• 2011

This work proposes a skinny-type 10b 50MS/s 0.13um CMOS three-step pipeline ADC for CIS applications. Analog circuits for CIS applications commonly employ a high supply voltage to acquire a sufficiently acceptable dynamic range, while digital circuits use a low supply voltage to minimize power consumption. The proposed ADC converts analog signals in a wide-swing range to low voltage-based digital data using both of the two supply voltages. An op-amp sharing technique employed in residue amplifiers properly controls currents depending on the amplification mode of each pipeline stage, optimizes the performance of op-amps, and improves the power efficiency. In three FLASH ADCs, the number of input stages are reduced in half by the interpolation technique while each comparator consists of only a latch with low kick-back noise based on pull-down switches to separate the input nodes and output nodes. Reference circuits achieve a required settling time only with on-chip low-power drivers and digital correction logic has two kinds of level shifter depending on signal-voltage levels to be processed. The prototype ADC in a 0.13um CMOS to support 0.35um thick-gate-oxide transistors demonstrates the measured DNL and INL within 0.42LSB and 1.19LSB, respectively. The ADC shows a maximum SNDR of 55.4dB and a maximum SFDR of 68.7dB at 50MS/s, respectively. The ADC with an active die area of 0.53$mm^2$ consumes 15.6mW at 50MS/s with an analog voltage of 2.0V and two digital voltages of 2.8V ($=D_H$) and 1.2V ($=D_L$).

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.61-78
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• 1991

This paper descibes the study of application of a modified Neocognitron model with backward path for the recognition of Hangul(Korean) syllabic characters. In this original report, Fukushima demonstrated that Neocognitron can recognize hand written numerical characters of $19{\times}19$ size. This version accepts $61{\times}61$ images of handwritten Hangul syllabic characters or a part thereof with a mouse or with a scanner. It consists of an input layer and 3 pairs of Uc layers. The last Uc layer of this version, recognition layer, consists of 24 planes of $5{\times}5$ cells which tell us the identity of a grapheme receiving attention at one time and its relative position in the input layer respectively. It has been trained 10 simple vowel graphemes and 14 simple consonant graphemes and their spatial features. Some patterns which are not easily trained have been trained more extrensively. The trained nerwork which can classify indivisual graphemes with possible deformation, noise, size variance, transformation or retation wre then used to recongnize Korean syllabic characters using its selective attention mechanism for image segmentation task within a syllabic characters. On initial sample tests on input characters our model could recognize correctly up to 79%of the various test patterns of handwritten Korean syllabic charactes. The results of this study indeed show Neocognitron as a powerful model to reconginze deformed handwritten charavters with big size characters set via segmenting its input images as recognizable parts. The same approach may be applied to the recogition of chinese characters, which are much complex both in its structures and its graphemes. But processing time appears to be the bottleneck before it can be implemented. Special hardware such as neural chip appear to be an essestial prerquisite for the practical use of the model. Further work is required before enabling the model to recognize Korean syllabic characters consisting of complex vowels and complex consonants. Correct recognition of the neighboring area between two simple graphemes would become more critical for this task.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.5-5
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• 2011

The research and development of hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and electric vehicle (EV) are intensified due to the energy crisis and environmental concerns. In order to meet the challenging requirements of powering HEV, PHEV and EV, the current lithium battery technology needs to be significantly improved in terms of the cost, safety, power and energy density, as well as the calendar and cycle life. One new technology being developed is the utilization of composite cathode by mixing two different types of insertion compounds [e.g., spinel $LiMn_2O_4$ and layered $LiMO_2$ (M=Ni, Co, and Mn)]. Recently, some studies on mixing two different types of cathode materials to make a composite cathode have been reported, which were aimed at reducing cost and improving self-discharge. Numata et al. reported that when stored in a sealed can together with electrolyte at $80^{\circ}C$ for 10 days, the concentrations of both HF and $Mn^{2+}$ were lower in the can containing $LiMn_2O_4$ blended with $LiNi_{0.8}Co_{0.2}O_2$ than that containing $LiMn_2O_4$ only. That reports clearly showed that this blending technique can prevent the decline in capacity caused by cycling or storage at elevated temperatures. However, not much work has been reported on the charge-discharge characteristics and related structural phase transitions for these composite cathodes. In this presentation, we will report our in situ x-ray diffraction studies on this mixed composite cathode material during charge-discharge cycling. The mixed cathodes were incorporated into in situ XRD cells with a Li foil anode, a Celgard separator, and a 1M $LiPF_6$ electrolyte in a 1 : 1 EC : DMC solvent (LP 30 from EM Industries, Inc.). For in situ XRD cell, Mylar windows were used as has been described in detail elsewhere. All of these in situ XRD spectra were collected on beam line X18A at National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) at Brookhaven National Laboratory using two different detectors. One is a conventional scintillation detector with data collection at 0.02 degree in two theta angle for each step. The other is a wide angle position sensitive detector (PSD). The wavelengths used were 1.1950 ${\AA}$ for the scintillation detector and 0.9999 A for the PSD. The newly installed PSD at beam line X18A of NSLS can collect XRD patterns as short as a few minutes covering $90^{\circ}$ of two theta angles simultaneously with good signal to noise ratio. It significantly reduced the data collection time for each scan, giving us a great advantage in studying the phase transition in real time. The two theta angles of all the XRD spectra presented in this paper have been recalculated and converted to corresponding angles for ${\lambda}=1.54\;{\AA}$, which is the wavelength of conventional x-ray tube source with Cu-$k{\alpha}$ radiation, for easy comparison with data in other literatures. The structural changes of the composite cathode made by mixing spinel $LiMn_2O_4$ and layered $Li-Ni_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}O_2$ in 1 : 1 wt% in both Li-half and Li-ion cells during charge/discharge are studied by in situ XRD. During the first charge up to ~5.2 V vs. $Li/Li^+$, the in situ XRD spectra for the composite cathode in the Li-half cell track the structural changes of each component. At the early stage of charge, the lithium extraction takes place in the $LiNi_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}O_2$ component only. When the cell voltage reaches at ~4.0 V vs. $Li/Li^+$, lithium extraction from the spinel $LiMn_2O_4$ component starts and becomes the major contributor for the cell capacity due to the higher rate capability of $LiMn_2O_4$. When the voltage passed 4.3 V, the major structural changes are from the $LiNi_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}O_2$ component, while the $LiMn_2O_4$ component is almost unchanged. In the Li-ion cell using a MCMB anode and a composite cathode cycled between 2.5 V and 4.2 V, the structural changes are dominated by the spinel $LiMn_2O_4$ component, with much less changes in the layered $LiNi_{1/3}Co_{1/3}Mn_{1/3}O_2$ component, comparing with the Li-half cell results. These results give us valuable information about the structural changes relating to the contributions of each individual component to the cell capacity at certain charge/discharge state, which are helpful in designing and optimizing the composite cathode using spinel- and layered-type materials for Li-ion battery research. More detailed discussion will be presented at the meeting.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.43 no.11 s.353
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• pp.58-68
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• 2006

This work proposes a 10b 250MS/s $1.8mm^2$ 85mW 0.13um CMOS A/D Converter (ADC) for high-performance integrated systems such as next-generation DTV and WLAN simultaneously requiring low voltage, low power, and small area at high speed. The proposed 3-stage pipeline ADC minimizes chip area and power dissipation at the target resolution and sampling rate. The input SHA maintains 10b resolution with either gate-bootstrapped sampling switches or nominal CMOS sampling switches. The SHA and two MDACs based on a conventional 2-stage amplifier employ optimized trans-conductance ratios of two amplifier stages to achieve the required DC gain, bandwidth, and phase margin. The proposed signal insensitive 3-D fully symmetric capacitor layout reduces the device mismatch of two MDACs. The low-noise on-chip current and voltage references can choose optional off-chip voltage references. The prototype ADC is implemented in a 0.13um 1P8M CMOS process. The measured DNL and INL are within 0.24LSB and 0.35LSB while the ADC shows a maximum SNDR of 54dB and 48dB and a maximum SFDR of 67dB and 61dB at 200MS/s and 250MS/s, respectively. The ADC with an active die area of $1.8mm^2$ consumes 85mW at 250MS/s at a 1.2V supply.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.43 no.11 s.353
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• pp.37-47
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• 2006

This work proposes a 10b 25MS/s $0.8mm^2$ 4.8mW 0.13um CMOS A/D Converter (ADC) for high-performance wireless communication systems such as DVB, DAB and DMB simultaneously requiring low voltage, low power, and small area. A two-stage pipeline architecture minimizes the overall chip area and power dissipation of the proposed ADC at the target resolution and sampling rate while switched-bias power reduction techniques reduce the power consumption of analog amplifiers. A low-power sample-and-hold amplifier maintains 10b resolution for input frequencies up to 60MHz based on a single-stage amplifier and nominal CMOS sampling switches using low threshold-voltage transistors. A signal insensitive 3-D fully symmetric layout reduces the capacitor and device mismatch of a multiplying D/A converter while low-noise reference currents and voltages are implemented on chip with optional off-chip voltage references. The employed down-sampling clock signal selects the sampling rate of 25MS/s or 10MS/s with a reduced power depending on applications. The prototype ADC in a 0.13um 1P8M CMOS technology demonstrates the measured DNL and INL within 0.42LSB and 0.91LSB and shows a maximum SNDR and SFDR of 56dB and 65dB at all sampling frequencies up to 2SMS/s, respectively. The ADC with an active die area if $0.8mm^2$ consumes 4.8mW at 25MS/s and 2.4mW at 10MS/s at a 1.2V supply.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.43 no.11 s.353
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• pp.48-57
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• 2006

This work describes a 12b 200KHz 0.52mA $0.47mm^2$ algorithmic ADC for sensor applications such as motor controls, 3-phase power controls, and CMOS image sensors simultaneously requiring ultra-low power and small size. The proposed ADC is based on the conventional algorithmic architecture with recycling techniques to optimize sampling rate, resolution, chip area, and power consumption. The input SHA with eight input channels for high integration employs a folded-cascode architecture to achieve a required DC gain and a sufficient phase margin. A signal insensitive 3-D fully symmetrical layout with critical signal lines shielded reduces the capacitor and device mismatch of the MDAC. The improved switched bias power-reduction techniques reduce the power consumption of analog amplifiers. Current and voltage references are integrated on the chip with optional off-chip voltage references for low glitch noise. The employed down-sampling clock signal selects the sampling rate of 200KS/s or 10KS/s with a reduced power depending on applications. The prototype ADC in a 0.18um n-well 1P6M CMOS technology demonstrates the measured DNL and INL within 0.76LSB and 2.47LSB. The ADC shows a maximum SNDR and SFDR of 55dB and 70dB at all sampling frequencies up to 200KS/s, respectively. The active die area is $0.47mm^2$ and the chip consumes 0.94mW at 200KS/s and 0.63mW at 10KS/s at a 1.8V supply.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.93-96
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• 2011

Currently, the development of direct conversion radiation detector using photoconductor materials is progressing in widely. Among of theses photoconductor materials, mercuric iodide compound than amorphous selenium has excellent absorption and sensitivity of high energy radiation. Also, the detection efficiency of signal generated in photoconductor film varies by electric filed and geometric distribution according to top-bottom electrode size. Therefore, in this work, the x-ray detection characteristics are investigated about the size of top electrode in $HgI_2$ photoconductor film. For sample fabrication, to solve the problem that is difficult to make a large area film, we used the spatial paste screen-print method. And the sample thickness is $150{\mu}m$ and an film area size is $3cm{\times}3cm$ on ITO-coated glass substrate. ITO(Indium-Tin-Oxide) electrode was used as top electrode using a magnetron sputtering system and each area is $3cm{\times}3cm$, $2cm{\times}2cm$ and $1cm{\times}1cm$. From experimental measurement, the dark current, sensitivity and SNR of the $HgI_2$ film are obtained from I-V test. From the experimental results, it shows that the sensitivity increases in accordance with the area of the electrode but the SNR is decreased because of the high dark current. Therefore, the optimized size of electrode is importance for the development of photoconductor based x-ray imaging detector.