• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.38 no.5
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• pp.202-206
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• 2005

Nitriding treatments were conducted on tool steel (SKD 61) at a temperature of $500^{\circ}C$ for 5 hr using high vacuum direct current (DC) plasma, with ammonia and argon as source gases. The structural and compositional changes produced in the nitrided layers by applying different ratios of Ar to $NH_{3}\;(n_{Ar}/n_{NH3}) were investigated using glancing x-ray diffraction (GXRD), optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), micro-Vickers hardness testing, and pin-on-disc type tribometer. Nitriding case depths of around of $50{\mu}m$ were produced, varying slightly with different ratios of $n_{Ar}/n_{NH3}. It was found that the specimen surface hardness was 1150 Hv with $n_{Ar}/n_{NH3}=1, increasing to a maximum value of 1500 Hv with $n_{Ar}/n_{NH3}=5. With a further increase in ratio to $n_{Ar}/n_{NH3}=10, the surface hardness of the specimen reduced slightly to a value of 1370 Hv. These phenomena were caused by changes of the crystallographic structure of the nitride layers, i.e the $\gamma'-Fe_{4}N$ phase only was observed in the sample treated with $n_{Ar}/n_{NH3}$=1, and the intensity of the $\gamma'-Fe_{4}N$ phase were reduced but new phase of $\varepsilon'-Fe_{3}N$, which was known as a high hardness, with increasing $n_{Ar}/n_{NH3}. Also, the relative weight loss of counterface of the pin-on-disc with unnitrided steel was 0.2. And that of nitrided steel at a gas mixture ($n_{Ar}/n_{NH3}) of 1, 5, 7, and 10 was 0.4, 0.7, 0.6, and 0.5 mg, respectively. This means that the wear resistance of the nitrided samples could be increased by a factor of 2 at least than that of unnitrided steel.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.41 no.4
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• pp.147-155
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• 2008

The dental orthodontic wire provides a good combination of strength, corrosion resistance and moderate cost. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of TiN and ZrN coating on corrosion resistance and physical property of orthodontic wire using various instruments. Wires(round type and rectangular type) were used, respectively, for experiment. Ion plating was carried out for wire using Ti and Zr coating materials with nitrogen gas. Ion plated surface of each specimen was observed with field emission scanning electron microscopy(FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDS), atomic force microscopy(AFM), vickers hardness tester, and electrochemical tester. The surface of TiN and ZrN coated wire was more smooth than that of other kinds of non-coated wire. TiN and ZrN coated surface showed higher hardness than that of non-coated surface. The corrosion potential of the TiN coated wire was comparatively high. The current density of TiN coated wire was smaller than that of non-coated wire in 0.9% NaCl solution. Pit nucleated at scratch of wire. The pitting corrosion resistance $|E_{pit}-E_{rep}|$ increased in the order of ZrN coated(300 mV), TiN coated(120 mV) and non-coated wire(0 mV).

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.96-101
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• 2008

The magnesium oxide (MgO) protective layer plays an important role in plasma display panels (PDPs). Our previous work demonstrated that the properties of MgO thin film could be improved, which were deposited by Ion-Beam-Assisted Deposition (IBAD). However arc discharge always occurs during the IBAD process. To avoid this problem, Oxygen-Neutral-Beam-Assisted Deposition (NBAD) is used to deposit MgO thin films in this paper. The energy of the oxygen neutral beam was used as the parameter to control the deposition. The experimental results showed that the oxygen neutral beam energy was effective in determining in structural and discharge characteristics. The lowest firing inception voltage, the highest brightness and the highest luminous efficiency were obtained when the MgO thin film was deposited with an oxygen neutral beam energy of 300eV. The surface morphology of MgO thin film was also analyzed using AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy) and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy).

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.105-105
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• 2011

ZnO is a promising material since it could be applied to many fields such as solar cells, laser diodes, thin films transistors and gas sensors. ZnO has a wide and direct band gap for about 3.37 eV at room temperature and a high exciton binding energy of 60 meV. In particular, ZnO features high sensitivity to toxic and combustible gas such as CO, NOX, so on. The development of gas sensors to monitor the toxic and combustible gases is imperative due to the concerns for enviromental pollution and the safety requirements for the industry. In this study, we investigated the effect of substrate temperature and post-annealing on structural and electrical properties of ZnO thin films. ZnO thin films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at various temperatures at from room temperature to $600^{\circ}C$. After that, post-annealing were performed at $600^{\circ}C$. To inspect the structural properties of the deposited ZnO thin films, X-ray diffraction (XRD) was carried out. For gas sensors, the morphology of the films is dominant factor since it is deeply related with the film surface area. Therefore, the atomic force microscopy (AFM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) were used to observe the surface of the ZnO thin films. Furthermore, we analyzed the electrical properties by using a Hall measurement system.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.458-463
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• 2009

Polyurethane (PU) is widely used as a cardiovascular biomaterial due to its good mechanical properties and hemocompatibility, but it is not adhesive to endothelial cells (ECs). Cell adhesive peptides, GRGDS and YIGSR, were found to promote adhesion and spreading of ECs and showed a synergistic effect when both of them were used. In this study, a surface modification was designed to fabricate an EC-active PU surface capable of promoting endothelialization using the peptides and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) spacer, The modified PU surfaces were characterized in vitro. The density of the grafted PEG on the PU surface was measured by acid-base back titration to the terminal-free isocyanate groups. The successful immobilization of pep tides was confirmed by amino acid analysis, following hydrolysis, and contact angle measurement. The uniform distribution of peptides on the surface was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). To evaluate the EC adhesive property, cell viability test using human umbilical vein EC (HUVEC) was investigated in vitro and enhanced endothelialization was characterized by the introduction of cell adhesive peptides, GRGDS and YIGSR, and PEG spacer. Therefore, GRGDS and YIGSR co-immobilized PU surfaces can be applied to an EC-specific vascular graft with long-term patency by endothelialization.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.552-552
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• 2013

In our study we consider Al2O3 ceramic substrates for Plasma Surface Treatments in order to improve deposited diamond surface and increase diamond deposition rate by applying DBD (Dielectric Barrier Dischrge) system. Because Plasma Surface Treatments was used as a modification method of material surface properties like surface free energy, wettability, and adhesion. By applying Plasma Surface Treatments diamond films are deposited on the Al2O3 ceramic substrates. DC Arc Plasmatron with mathane and hydrogen gases is used. Deposited diamond films are investigated by SEM (Scanning Electron Microscopy), AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy) and XRD (X-ray Diffractometer). Then the C-H stretching of synthetic diamond films by FTIR (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy) is studied. As a result, nanocrystalline diamond films were identified by using SEM and diamond properties in XRD peaks at (111, $43.8{\Box}$, (220, $75.3{\Box}$ and (311, $90.4{\Box}$ were shown. Absorption peaks in FTIR spectrum, caused by CHx sp3 bond stretching of CVD diamond films, were identified as well. Finally, we improved such parameters as depostion rate ($2.3{\mu}m$/h), diamond surface uniformity, and impurities level by applying Plasma Surface Treatments. These experimental results show the importance of Plasma Surface Treatments for diamond deposition by a plasma source.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea TE
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.6-10
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• 2002

Al films (1000~4000${\AA}$)were deposited on glass and polymer(polyethersulfine) plastic substrates by DC-magnetron sputtering for plastic-based flat-panel displays. A stepped heating process was used both to improve the electrical characteristics and to diminish the thermal expansion of the polymer substrates. Following this procedure, we could succeed in sputtering Al films without any cracking or shrinkage of the polymer substrates. The treatment temperatures and deposited process of Al films were under 200$^{\circ}C$. Also, this low temperature fabrication process allows the application of plastic substrates. Scanning Electrom Microscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, X-ray Dffractometry, and electrical measurements such as resistivity measurements were performed to investigate the properties of deposited the Al films and their reliability. 

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.24.1-24.1
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• 2009

The zinc oxide (ZnO) material as the II-VI compound semiconductor is useful in various fields of device applications such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), solar cells and gas sensors due to its wide direct band gap of 3.37eV and high exciton binding energy of 60meV at room temperature. In this study, the ZnO nanorods were deposited onto homogenous buffer layer/Si(100) substrates by a hydrothermal synthesis. The Effects of the buffer layer annealing and post annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of ZnO nanorods grown by a hydrothermal synthesis were investigated. For the buffer layer annealing case, the annealed buffer layer surface became rougher with increasing of annealing temperature up to $750^{\circ}C$, while it was smoothed with more increasing of annealing temperature due to the evaporation of buffer layer. It was found that the roughest surface of buffer layer improved the structural and optical properties of ZnO nanorods. For the post annealing case, the hydrothermally grown ZnO nanorods were annealed with various temperatures ranging from 450 to $900^{\circ}C$. Similarly in the buffer layer annealing case, the post annealing enhanced the properties of ZnO nanorods with increasing of annealing temperature up to $750^{\circ}C$. However, it was degraded with further increasing of annealing temperature due to the violent movement of atoms and evaporation. Finally, the buffer layer annealing and post annealing treatment could efficiently improve the properties of hydrothermally grown ZnO nanorods. The morphology and structural properties of ZnO nanorods grown by the hydrothermal synthesis were measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The optical properties were also analyzed by photoluminescence (PL) measurement.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.1428-1438
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• 2016

In the present work, Arthrobacter sp. 25, a lead-tolerant bacterium, was assayed to remove lead(II) from aqueous solution. The biosorption process was optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) based on the Box-Behnken design. The relationships between dependent and independent variables were quantitatively determined by second-order polynomial equation and 3D response surface plots. The biosorption mechanism was explored by characterization of the biosorbent before and after biosorption using atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of 9.6 mg/g was obtained at the initial lead ion concentration of 108.79 mg/l, pH value of 5.75, and biosorbent dosage of 9.9 g/l (fresh weight), which was close to the theoretically expected value of 9.88 mg/g. Arthrobacter sp. 25 is an ellipsoidal-shaped bacterium covered with extracellular polymeric substances. The biosorption mechanism involved physical adsorption and microprecipitation as well as ion exchange, and functional groups such as phosphoryl, hydroxyl, amino, amide, carbonyl, and phosphate groups played vital roles in adsorption. The results indicate that Arthrobacter sp. 25 may be potentially used as a biosorbent for low-concentration lead(II) removal from wastewater.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.379-380
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• 2007

The characteristics of a co-sputtered indium zinc tin oxide (IZTO) films prepared by dual target dc magnetron sputtering from IZO and ITO targets at a room temperature are investigated. Film properties, such as sheet resistance, optical transmittance, surface work function and surface roughness were examined as a function of ITO dc power at constant IZO dc power of 100 W. It was shown that the increase of the ITO dc power during co-sputtering of ITO and IZO target resulted in an increase of sheet resistance of the IZTO films. This can be attributed to high resistivity of ITO film prepared at room temperature. Surface smoothness and roughness were investigated by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The synchrotron x-ray scattering results obtained from IZTO film with different ITO contents showed that introduction of ITO atoms into amorphous IZO film resulted in a crystallization of IZTO film with (222) preferred orientation due to low alc transition temperature of ITO film. However, the transmittance of the IZTO films with thickness of 150 nm is between 80 and 85 % at wavelength of 550 nm regardless of ITO content. Possible mechanism to explain the ITO and IZO co-sputtering effect on properties of IZTO is suggested.