• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.66-70
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• 2012

Ti-Ni alloys are widely used in numerous biomedical applications (e.g., orthodontics, cardiovascular science, orthopaedics) due to their distinctive thermomechanical and mechanical properties, such as the shape memory effect, superelasticity and low elastic modulus. In order to increase the biocompatibility of Ti-Ni alloys, many surface modification techniques, such as the sol-gel technique, plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII), laser surface melting, plasma spraying, and chemical vapor deposition, have been employed. In this study, a Ti-49.5Ni (at%) alloy was electrochemically etched in 1M $H_2SO_4$+ X (1.5, 2.0, 2.5) wt% HF electrolytes to modify the surface morphology. The morphology, element distribution, crystal structure, roughness and energy of the surface were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive Xray spectrometry (EDS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle analysis. Micro-sized pores were formed on the Ti-49.5Ni (at%) alloy surface by electrochemical etching with 1M $H_2SO_4$+ X (1.5, 2.0, 2.5) wt% HF. The volume fractions of the pores were increased by increasing the concentration of the HF electrolytes. Depending on the HF concentration, different pore sizes, heights, surface roughness levels, and surface energy levels were obtained. To investigate the osteoblast adhesion of the electrochemically etched Ti-49.5Ni (at%) alloy, a MTT test was performed. The degree of osteoblast adhesion was increased at a high concentration of HF-treated surface structures.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.278-279
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• 2012

최근 들어 세계적인 고유가 행진과 화석연료 고갈에 대응하기 위하여 대체 에너지원 발굴에 대한 필요성이 높아지고 있다. 그 중 CIGS 박막 태양전지는 미래 신재생 에너지 자원의 가장 유망한 후보군 중 하나이다. 기존의 Si 기반의 태양전지의 경우 시간경과에 따른 효율 저하, 높은 재료비, 복잡한 공정으로 인하여 대량생산이 힘든 단점을 가지고 있다. 반면 박막 태양전지의 경우 생산 원가를 낮출 수 있는 태양전지 제조기술로서는 2세대 태양전지로 불리우며, 에너지 변환 효율과 생산 원가에서 우월성을 가진다. 그리고 이러한 CIGS 박막 태양전지를 단일 CIGS 타겟을 이용하여 스퍼터링 공정으로 제작하면 기존에 사용되었던 동시 증발법에 비해서 간단하고 대면적 코팅 및 대량 생산이 가능하다. 본 연구에서 사용된 기판으로는 $25{\times}25mm$ 크기의 Soda Lime Glass (SLG) 위에 DC 마그네트론 스퍼터링 공정으로 Mo가 $1{\mu}m$ 증착된 시편을 이용하여, 2 inch 단일 CIGS 타겟 (MATERION, CIGS Target 25-17.5-7.5-50 at%)을 기판 가열하여 증착하였다. RF 파워는 80 W, 기판 온도는 RT, 100, 200, 300, $400^{\circ}C$로 가열 후 증착하였고, CIGS 박막의 두께는 약 $1{\mu}m$로 일정하게 하였다. CIGS/Mo 박막의 파워별 미세구조 분석을 위해 X-ray Diffraction (XRD, BRUKER GADDS)로 측정하였으며, 박막의 결정립 크기를 확인하기 위해 Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM, HITACHI)을 사용하여 측정하였다. 조건별 박막의 조성 분석 및 표면조도는 Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS, HORIBA 7395-H)와 Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)을 이용하여 각각 평가하였다. 마지막으로 광학적 특성을 평가하고 박막의 밴드갭 에너지를 계산하기 위해서 190 nm에서 1,100 nm의 영역 대에서 자외선 광학 측정기(UV-Vis, HP-8453, AGLIENT)로 투과도를 측정하여 밴드갭 에너지를 계산하였다. 증착된 CIGS 박막은 기판 온도가 증가함에 따라 결정립 크기가 커지는 경향을 보였다. 이는 기판 상에 도달한 스퍼터 원자의 확산 에너지 증가로 인한 것으로 생각되어진다. 또한, 기판온도에 따른 결정립 성장 변화는 4성분계의 박막의 조성 및 핵생성 밀도와 관련되어 설명되어질 것이다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.112-112
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• 2009

In this study, the effect of a long post-deposition thermal annealing(600 and 1000 $^{\circ}C$) on the surface acoustic wave (SAW) properties of polycrystalline (poly) aluminum-nitride (AlN) thin films grown on a 3C-SiC buffer layer was investigates. The poly-AlN thin films with a (0002) preferred orientation were deposited on the substrates by using a pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering system. Experimental results show that the texture degree of AlN thin film was reduced along the increase in annealing temperature, which caused the decrease in the electromechanical coupling coefficient ($k^2$). The SAW velocity also was decreased slightly by the increase in root mean square (RMS) roughness over annealing temperature. However, the residual stress in films almost was not affect by thermal annealing process due to small lattice mismatch different and similar coefficient temperature expansion (CTE) between AlN and 3C-SiC. After the AlN film annealed at 1000 $^{\circ}C$, the insertion loss of an $IDT/AlN/3C-SiC/SiO_2/Si$ structure (-16.44 dB) was reduced by 8.79 dB in comparison with that of the as-deposited film (-25.23 dB). The improvement in the insertion loss of the film was fined according to the decrease in the grain size. The characteristics of AlN thin films were also evaluated using Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra and X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.1800-1808
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• 2013

Dual-responsive amphiphilic block copolymers were synthesized by combining enzymatic ring-opening polymerization (eROP) of ${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone (CL) and ATRP of N,N-dimethylamino-2-ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA). The obtained block copolymers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), $^1H$ NMR and FTIR-IR. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of copolymer was determined by fluorescence spectra, it can be found that with hydrophilic block (PDMAEMA) increasing, CMC value of the polymer sample increased accordingly, and the CMC value was 0.012 mg/mL, 0.025 mg/mL and 0.037 mg/mL for $PCL_{50}$-b-$PDMAEMA_{68}$, $PCL_{50}$-b-$PDMAEMA_{89}$, $PCL_{50}$-b-$PDMAEMA_{112}$, $PCL_{50}$-b-$PDMAEMA_{89}$ was chosen as drug carrier to study in vitro release profile of anti-cancer drug (taxol). The temperature and pH dependence of the values of hydrodynamic diameter (Dh) of micelles, and self-assembly of the resulting block copolymers in water were evaluated by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The result showed that with the temperature increasing and pH decreasing, the Dh decreased. Drug-loaded nanoparticles were fabricated using paclitaxel as model. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) had been explored to study the morphology of the hollow micelles and the nanoparticles, revealing well-dispersed spheres with the average diameters both around 80 nm. In vitro release kinetics of paclitaxel from the nanoparticles was also investigated in different conditions (pH and temperature, etc.), revealing that the drug release was triggered by temperature changes upon the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) at pH 7.4, and at $37^{\circ}C$ by an increase of pH.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.544-545
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• 2013

Recently, low-temperature atmospheric-pressure plasmas have been investigated [1,2] for biomedical applications and surface treatments. Experiments for improving hydrophilicity of stainless steel (SUS 304) plate with atmospheric microwave argon and H2O2 mixture plasma jet [3] were carried out and experimental measurements and plasma simulations were conducted for investigating the characteristics of plasma for the process. After 30 s of low power (under 10 W) and low temperature (under $50^{\circ}C$) plasma treatment, the water contact angle decreased rapidly to around $10^{\circ}$ from $75^{\circ}$ and was maintained under $30^{\circ}$ for a day (24 hours). The surface free energy, calculated from the contact angles, increased. The chemical properties of the surface were examined by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and the surface morphology and roughness were examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) respectively. The characteristics of plasma sources with several frequencies were investigated by Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) measurement and one-dimensional Particle-in-Cell (PIC) simulation and zero-dimensional global simulation [4]. The relation between plasma components and the efficacy of the surface modification were discussed.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.1221-1228
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• 2005

Carbon electrode was applied to a wastewater treatment system as biofilm media. The spatial distribution of heterotrophic bacteria in aerobic wastewater biofilm grown on carbon electrode was investigated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and biomass measurement. Five volts of electric oxidation and reduction potential were charged to the carbon anode and cathode of the bioelectrochemical system, respectively, but were not charged to electrodes of a conventional system. To correlate the biofilm architecture of bacterial populations with their activity, the bacterial treatment efficiency of organic carbons was measured in the bioelectrochemical system and compared with that in the conventional system. In the SEM image, the biofilm on the anodic medium of the bioelectrochemical system looked intact and active; however, that on the carbon medium of the conventional system appeared to be shrinking or damaging. In the AFM image, the thickness of biofilm formed on the carbon medium was about two times of those on the anodic medium. The bacterial treatment efficiency of organic carbons in the bioelectrochemical system was about 1.5 times higher than that in the conventional system. Some denitrifying bacteria can metabolically oxidize $H_{2}$, coupled to reduction of $NO_{3}^{-}\;to\;N_{2}$. $H_{2}$ was produced from the cathode in the bioelectrochemical system by electrolysis of water but was not so in the conventional system. The denitrification efficiency was less than $22\%$ in the conventional system and more than $77\%$ in the bioelectrochemical system. From these results, we found that the electrochemical coupling reactions between aerobic and anaerobic reactors may be a useful tool for improvement of wastewater treatment and denitrification efficiency, without special manipulations such as bacterial growth condition control, C/N ratio (the ratio of carbon to nitrogen) control, MLSS returning, or biofilm refreshing.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.64-71
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• 2007

The necessity of disinfecting playground soil is an important issue, because pathogenic protozoa, bacteria, and parasite eggs remain viable for several months and can infect children. UV irradiation has been used to decontaminate water but its effectiveness on soil is unclear. We determined the efficacy of UV radiation for inactivation of an indicator bacteria, E. coli (strain ATCC 8739), on playground soil. While 99% inactivation of E. coli in the soil was readily achieved by UV radiation within 55 min at $0.4\;mW\;cm^{-2}$, complete inactivation was not achieved, even after prolonged treatment at $4\;mW\;cm^{-2}$. This was attributed to the irregular surface of the soil. A small number of E. coli escaped the UV radiation because they were situated in indentations or under small particles on the soil surface. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirmed that the surface characteristics of the soil is the major limiting factor in the inactivation of E. coli by UV radiation. Thus UV treatment may not be adequate for disinfecting some soils and should be carefully evaluated before being used on playground soils.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.332-341
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• 2013

H-shaped amphiphilic pentablock copolymers $(PSt)_2-b-PCL-b-PEO-b-PCL-b-(PSt)_2$ was synthesized via chemoenzymatic method by combining enzyme-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization (eROP) of ${\varepsilon}$-caprolactone (${\varepsilon}$-CL) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene. By this process, we obtained copolymers with controlled molecular weight and low polydispersity. The structure and composition of the obtained copolymers were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and infrared spectroscopy analysis (IR). The crystallization behavior of the copolymers was analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The crystallization behavior of the H-shaped block copolymers demonstrated a PCL dominate crystallization. The self-assembly behavior of the copolymers was investigated in aqueous media. The hydrodynamic diameters of the copolymer micelles in aqueous solution were measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The morphology of the copolymer micelles was observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The hydrodynamic diameters of spherical micelles declined gradually with the increase of the hydrophobic chain lengths of the copolymers. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) values were determined from fluorescence emission, and it was found that the CMCs decreased with an increase of PSt hydrophobic block lengths.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.202-211
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• 2018

In this work, Fe-Pd alloy films have been electrodeposited on different substrates using an electrolyte containing $[Pd(NH_3)_4]^{2+}$ (0.02 M) and $[Fe-Citrate]^{2+}$ (0.2 M). The influences of substrate and overpotential on chemical composition, nucleation and growth kinetics as well as the electrodeposited films morphology have been investigated using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), current-time transients, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. In all substrates - brass, copper and sputtered fluorine doped tin oxide on glass (FTO/glass) - Fe content of the electrodeposited alloys increases by increasing the overpotential. Also the cathodic current efficiency is low due to high rate of $H_2$ co-reduction. Regarding the chronoamperometry current-time transients, it has been demonstrated that the nucleation mechanism is instantaneous with a typical three dimensional (3D) diffusion-controlled growth in the case of brass and copper substrates; while for FTO, the growth mode changes to 3D progressive. At a constant overpotential, the calculated number of active nucleation sites for metallic substrates is much higher than that of FTO/glass; however by increasing the overpotential, the number of active nucleation sites increases. The SEM micrographs as well as the XRD patterns reveal the formation of Fe-Pd alloy thin films with nanostructure arrangement and ultra-fine grains.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2003.07a
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• pp.361-365
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• 2003

Planar Inductively Coupled Plasma (PICP) etching of InGaP was performed in $BCl_3,\;BCl_3/Ar\;and\;BCl_3/Ne$ plasmas as a function of ICP source power ($0\;{\sim}\;500\;W$), RIE chuck power ($0\;{\sim}\;150\;W$), chamber pressure ($5\;{\sim}\;15\;mTorr$) and gas composition of $BCl_3/Ar\;and\;BCl_3/Ne$. Total gas flow was fixed at 20 sccm (standard cubic centimeter per minute). Increase of ICP source power and RIE chuck power raised etch rate of InGaP, while that of chamber pressure reduced etch rate. We also found that some addition of Ar and Ne in $BCl_3$ plasma improved etch rate of InGaP. InGaP etch rate was varied from $1580\;{\AA}/min$ with pure $BC_3\;to\;2800\;{\AA}/min$ and $4700\;{\AA}/min$ with 25 % Ar and Ne addition, respectively. Other process conditions were fixed at 300 W ICP source power, 100 W RIE chuck power and 7.5 mTorr chamber pressure. SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and AFM (atomic force microscopy) data showed vertical side wall and smooth surface of InGaP at the same condition. Proper addition of noble gases Ar and Ne (less than about 50 %) in $BCl_3$ inductively coupled plasma have resulted in not only increase of etch rate but also minimum preferential loss and smooth surface morphology by ion-assisted effect.