• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.65-71
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• 2011

Purpose: The recently adopted multiple confocal SPECT SYSTEM (hereinafter called IQ SPECT$^{TM}$) has a high difference from the conventional myocardial perfusion SPECT in the collimator form, image capture method, and image reconstruction method. This study was conducted to compare this novice equipment with the conventional one to design a protocol meeting the IQ SPECT, and also determine the characteristics and usefulness of IQ SPECT. Materials and Methods: 1. For the objects of LEHR (Low energy high resolution) collimator and Multiple confocal collimator, $^{99m}Tc$ 37MBq was put in the acrylic dish then each sensitivity ($cpm/{\mu}Ci$) was measured at the distance of 5 cm, 10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm, and 40 cm respectively. 2. Based on the sensitivity measure results, IQ SPECT Protocol was designed according to the conventional general myocardial SPECT, then respectively 278 kBq/mL, 7.4 kBq/mL, and 48 kBq/mL of $^{99m}Tc$ were injected into the myocardial and soft tissues and liver site by using the anthropomorphic torso phantom then the myocardial perfusion SPECT was run. 3. For the comparison of FWHMs (Full Width at Half Maximum) resulted from the image reconstruction of LEHR collimator, the FWHMs (mm) were measured with only algorithms changed, in the case of the FBP (Filtered Back projection) method- a reconstruction method of conventional myocardial perfusion SPECT, and the 3D OSEM (Ordered subsets expectation maximization) method of IQ SPECT, by using $^{99m}Tc$ Line source. Results: 1. The values of IQ SPECT collimator sensitivity ($cpm/{\mu}Ci$) were 302, 382, 655, 816, 1178, and those of LEHR collimator were measured as 204, 204, 202, 201, 198, both at the distance of 5 cm, 10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm, and 40 cm respectively. It was found the difference of sensitivity increases up to 4 times at the distance of 30 cm in the cases of IQ SPECT and LEHR. 2. The myocardial perfusion SPECT Protocol was designed according to the geometric characteristics of IQ SPECT based on the sensitivity results, then the phantom test for the aforesaid protocol was conducted. As a result, it was found the examination time can be reduced 1/4 compared to the past. 3. In the comparison of FWHMs according to the reconstructed algorithm in the FBP method and 3D OSEM method followed after the SEPCT test using a LEHR collimator, the result was obtained that FWHM rose around twice in the 3D OSEM method. Conclusion : The IQ SPECT uses the Multiple confocal collimator for the myocardial perfusion SPECT to enhance the sensitivity and also reduces examination time and contributes to improvement of visual screen quality through the myocardial-specific geometric image capture method and image reconstruction method. Due to such benefits, it is expected patients will receive more comfortable and more accurate examinations and it is considered a further study is required using additional clinical materials.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2016.02a
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• pp.284-284
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• 2016

Topological insulator (TI) is a bulk-insulating material with topologically protected Dirac surface states in the band gap. In particular, $Bi_2Se_3$ attracted great attention as a model three-dimensional TI due to its simple electronic structure of the surface states in a relatively large band gap (~0.3 eV). However, experimental efforts using $Bi_2Se_3$ have been difficult due to the abundance of structural defects, which frequently results in the bulk conduction being dominant over the surface conduction in transport due to the bulk doping effects of the defect sites. One promising approach in avoiding this problem is to reduce the structural defects by heteroepitaxially grow $Bi_2Se_3$ on a substrate with a compatible lattice structure, while also preventing surface degradation by encapsulating the pristine interface between $Bi_2Se_3$ and the substrate in a clean growth environment. A particularly promising choice of substrate for the heteroepitaxial growth is hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), which has the same two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) layered structure and hexagonal lattice symmetry as $Bi_2Se_3$. Moreover, since h-BN is a dielectric insulator with a large bandgap energy of 5.97 eV and chemically inert surfaces, it is well suited as a substrate for high mobility electronic transport studies of vdW material systems. Here we report the heteroepitaxial growth and characterization of high quality topological insulator $Bi_2Se_3$ thin films prepared on h-BN layers. Especially, we used molecular beam epitaxy to achieve high quality TI thin films with extremely low defect concentrations and an ideal interface between the films and substrates. To optimize the morphology and microstructural quality of the films, a two-step growth was performed on h-BN layers transferred on transmission electron microscopy (TEM) compatible substrates. The resulting $Bi_2Se_3$ thin films were highly crystalline with atomically smooth terraces over a large area, and the $Bi_2Se_3$ and h-BN exhibited a clear heteroepitaxial relationship with an atomically abrupt and clean interface, as examined by high-resolution TEM. Magnetotransport characterizations revealed that this interface supports a high quality topological surface state devoid of bulk contribution, as evidenced by Hall, Shubnikov-de Haas, and weak anti-localization measurements. We believe that the experimental scheme demonstrated in this talk can serve as a promising method for the preparation of high quality TI thin films as well as many other heterostructures based on 2D vdW layered materials.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.517-525
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• 2013

Time-series data of Normal Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) obtained by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) satellite imagery gives a waveform that reveals the characteristics of the phenology. The waveform can be decomposed into harmonics of various periods by the Fourier transformation. The resulting $n^{th}$ harmonics represent the amount of NDVI change in a period of a year divided by n. The values of each harmonics or their relative relation have been used to classify the vegetation species and to build a vegetation map. Here, we propose a method to estimate the annual amount of carbon absorbed on the forest from the $1^{st}$ harmonic NDVI value. The $1^{st}$ harmonic value represents the amount of growth of the leaves. By the allometric equation of trees, the growth of leaves can be considered to be proportional to the total amount of carbon absorption. We compared the $1^{st}$ harmonic NDVI values of the 6220 sample points with the reference data of the carbon absorption obtained by the field survey in the forest of South Korea. The $1^{st}$ harmonic values were roughly proportional to the amount of carbon absorption irrespective of the species and ages of the vegetation. The resulting proportionality constant between the carbon absorption and the $1^{st}$ harmonic value was 236 tCO2/5.29ha/year. The total amount of carbon dioxide absorption in the forest of South Korea over the last ten years has been estimated to be about 56 million ton, and this coincides with the previous reports obtained by other methods. Considering that the amount of the carbon absorption becomes a kind of currency like carbon credit, our method is very useful due to its generality.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.31-31
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• 2010

The growth of the high-quality GaN epilayers is of significant technological importance because of their commercializedoptoelectronic applications as high-brightness light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs) in the visible and ultraviolet spectral range. The GaN-based heterostructural epilayers have the polar c-axis of the hexagonal structure perpendicular to the interfaces of the active layers. The Ga and N atoms in the c-GaN are alternatively stacked along the polar [0001] crystallographic direction, which leads to spontaneous polarization. In addition, in the InGaN/GaN MQWs, the stress applied along the same axis contributes topiezoelectric polarization, and thus the total polarization is determined as the sum of spontaneous and piezoelectric polarizations. The total polarization in the c-GaN heterolayers, which can generate internal fields and spatial separation of the electron and hole wave functions and consequently a decrease of efficiency and peak shift. One of the possible solutions to eliminate these undesirable effects is to grow GaN-based epilayers in nonpolar orientations. The polarization effects in the GaN are eliminated by growing the films along the nonpolar [$11\bar{2}0$] ($\alpha$-GaN) or [$1\bar{1}00$] (m-GaN) orientation. Although the use of the nonpolar epilayers in wurtzite structure clearly removes the polarization matters, however, it induces another problem related to the formation of a high density of planar defects. The large lattice mismatch between sapphiresubstrates and GaN layers leads to a high density of defects (dislocations and stacking faults). The dominant defects observed in the GaN epilayers with wurtzite structure are one-dimensional (1D) dislocations and two-dimensional (2D) stacking faults. In particular, the 1D threading dislocations in the c-GaN are generated from the film/substrate interface due to their large lattice and thermal coefficient mismatch. However, because the c-GaN epilayers were grown along the normal direction to the basal slip planes, the generation of basal stacking faults (BSFs) is localized on the c-plane and the generated BSFs did not propagate into the surface during the growth. Thus, the primary defects in the c-GaN epilayers are 1D threading dislocations. Occasionally, the particular planar defects such as prismatic stacking faults (PSFs) and inversion domain boundaries are observed. However, since the basal slip planes in the $\alpha$-GaN are parallel to the growth direction unlike c-GaN, the BSFs with lower formation energy can be easily formed along the growth direction, where the BSFs propagate straightly into the surface. Consequently, the lattice mismatch between film and substrate in $\alpha$-GaN epilayers is mainly relaxed through the formation of BSFs. These 2D planar defects are placed along only one direction in the cross-sectional view. Thus, the nonpolar $\alpha$-GaN films have different atomic arrangements along the two orthogonal directions ($[0001]_{GaN}$ and $[\bar{1}100]_{GaN}$ axes) on the $\alpha$-plane, which are expected to induce anisotropic biaxial strain. In this study, the anisotropic strain relaxation behaviors in the nonpolar $\alpha$-GaN epilayers grown on ($1\bar{1}02$) r-plane sapphire substrates by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVO) were investigated, and the formation mechanism of the abnormal zigzag shape PSFs was discussed using high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM).

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.647-653
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• 2007

The ultimate objective of this study is to develop a reliable oxygen-enriched combustion techniques especially for the case of the flue gas recycling in order to reduce the $CO_2$ emissions from practical industrial boilers. To this end a systematic numerical investigation has been performed, as a first step, for the resolution of the combusting flame characteristics of lab-scale LNG combustor. One of the important parameters considered in this study is the level of flue gas recycling calculated in oxygen enriched environment. As a summary of flame characteristics, for the condition of 100% pure $O_2$ as oxidizer without any flue gas recycling, the flame appears as long and thin laminar-like shape with relatively high flame temperature. The feature of high peak of flame temperature is explained by the absence of dilution and heat loss effects due to the presence of $N_2$ inert gas. The same reasoning is also applicable to the laminarized thin flame one, which is attributed to the decrease of the turbulent mixing. These results are physically acceptable and consistent and further generally in good agreement with experimental results appeared in open literature. As the level of $CO_2$ recycling increases in the mixture of $O_2/CO_2$, the peak flame temperature moves near the burner region due to the enhanced turbulent mixing by the increased amount of flow rate of oxidizer stream. However, as might be expected, the flue gas temperature decreases due to presence of $CO_2$ gas together with the inherent feature of large specific heat of this gas. If the recycling ratio more than 80%, gas temperatures drop so significantly that a steady combustion flame can no longer sustain within the furnace. However, combustion in the condition of 30% $O_2/70% $ $CO_2$ can produce similar gas temperature profiles to those of conventional combustion in air oxidizer. An indepth analyses have been made for the change of flame characteristics in the aspect of turbulent intensity and heat balance.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.10 no.8
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• pp.597-602
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• 2016

Recent clinical field utilizes the aluminium filter in order to reduce the low-energy photons. However, the usage of the filter can cause adverse effect on the image quality because of the scattered dose that is generated by X-ray hardening phenomenon. Further, usage of filter with improper thickness can be a reason of dose creep phenomenon where unnecessary exposure is generated towards the patient. In this study, the author evaluated the RMS and the RSD analysis in order to have a quantitative evaluation for the effect of forward scattering dose by the filter on the image. as a result of the study, the FSR and the RSD was increased together with the increasing of thickness of the filter. In this study the RSD means the standard deviation of the mean value is relatively size. It can be understood that the signal-to-noise ratio decreases when the average value is taken as a signal and the standard deviation is judged as a noise. The signal-to-noise ratio can understanding as index of resolution at image. Based on these findings, it was quantitatively verified that there is a correlation of the image quality with the FSR by using an additional filter. The results, a 2.5 mmAl which is as recommended by NCRP in the tube voltage of 70 kVp or more showed the 14.6% on the RSD when the filter was not in used. these results are considered able to be utilized as basic data for the study about the filter to improve the quality of the image.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.378-388
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• 2001

Purpose: In this study, we developed a new method for the determination of renal depth with anterior and posterior renal scintigrams in a dual-head gamma camera, considering the attenuation factor $e^{-{\mu}x}$ of the conjugate-view method. Material and Method: We developed abdomen and kidney phantoms to perform experiments using Technetium-99m dimercaptosuccinic acid ($^{99m}Tc$-DMSA). The phantom images were obtained by dual-head gamma camera equipped with low-energy, high-resolution, parallel-hole collimators (ICONf, Siemens). The equation was derived from the linear integration of omission ${\gamma}$-ray considering attenuation from the posterior abdomen to the anterior abdomen phantom surface. The program for measurement was developed by Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0. Results : Renal depths of the phantoms were derived from the derived equations and compared with the exact geometrical values. Differences between the measured and the calculated values were the range of 0.1 to 0.7 cm ($0.029{\pm}0.15cm,\;mean{\pm}S.D.$). Conclusion: The present study showed that the use of the derived equations for renal depth measurements, combined with quantitative planar imaging using dual-head gamma camera, could provide more accurate results for individual variation than the conventional method.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.112-117
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• 1996

Objective: Standard stress/rest Tc-99m MIBI and T1-201 myocardial perfusion study have some limitations such as stress/rest image overlap for Tc-99m-MIBI, low energy for T1-201 and long period of study time for two separate studies. Separate acquisition rest T1-201/stress Tc-99m MIBI dual isotope study is a potentially efficient myocardial perfusion imaging protocol that combines the high resolution of Tc-99m for stress perfusion assessment and T1-201 for viability assessment. This study assessed the usefulness and diagnostic accuracy for this new approach. Methods: We tried to evaluate sensitivity and specificity of dual isotope separate acquisition protocol in 67 patients. Immediately after resting T1-201 SPECT data was acquired, dipyridamole stress Tc-99m MIBI myocardial perfusion study was performed. Visual analysis was carried out qualitatively with 0 to 3 scoring system for 17 segments of left ventricle in the reconstructed horizontal long axis and short axis slices. Results: Total study was completed within 3 hours. In angiographic correlation, dual isotope SPECT demonstrated high sensitivity(85%) and in a small group of patients, high specificity was also observed (100%). Conclusion: Combined thallium-201/stress Tc-99m MIBI SPECT displayed similiar diagnostic accuracy to protocol using stress/rest Tc-99m MIBI SPECT. This protocol was completed in shorter period than the previous protocols and therefore enhance laboratory throughput and patients convenience.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.5
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• pp.341-352
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• 2017

Along with Cs-137 (half-life: 30.17 years), Sr-90 (half-life: 28.8 years) is one of the most important environmental monitoring radioactive elements. Rapid and easy monitoring method for Sr-90 using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) has been studied. Strontium belongs to a bivalent alkaline earth metal such as calcium and has similar electron arrangement and size. Due to these similar chemical properties, it can easily enter into the human body through the food chain via water, soil, and crops when leaked into the environment. In addition, it is immersed into the bone at the case of human influx and causes the toxicity for a long time (biological half-life: about 50 years). It is a very reductive and related with the specific reaction that makes wet analysis difficult. In particular, radioactive strontium should be monitored by nuclear power plants but it is very difficult to be analysed from high-cost problems as well as low accuracy of analysis due to complicated analysis procedures, expensive analysis equipment, and a pretreatment process of using massive chemicals. Therefore, we introduce the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) analysis method that analyzes the elements in the sample using the inherent spectrum by generating plasma on the sample using pulse energy, and it can be analyzed in a few seconds without preprocessing. A variety of analytical plates for samples were developed to improve the analytical sensitivity by optimizing the laser, wavelength, and time resolution. This can be effectively applied to real-time monitoring of radioactive wastewater discharged from a nuclear power plant, and furthermore, it can be applied as an emergency monitoring means such as possible future accidents at a nuclear power plants.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.50 no.6
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• pp.487-495
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• 2017

A granite rock body, called 'Bukbawi', located on a mountaineering trail at Mt. Palgong Provincial Park is popular among the public because it resembles a percussion instrument. If someone hits the specific surface area of this rock body, people can hear drum-like sound. Such phenomenon may be geologically associated with exfoliation process of the granite body or miarolitic cavity developed after gasses escaped during formation of granite. To understand better the inner structure causing drum-like sound, we carried out a non-destructive ground-penetrating radar survey. In this study, as our primary target is very close to the surface, we utilized 1 GHz antennas to produce high-resolution near-surface images. In order to construct 3-D internal images, the measurements were conducted along a pre-defined grid. The processed radargrams revealed that the locations associated with 'drum' sound coincide with strong reflections. In addition, both reflection patterns of fracture and cavity were observed. To further quantify the observed reflections, we simulated GPR scans from a synthetic fracture in a granite body, filled with different materials. The simulated results suggest that both exfoliation process and miarolitic cavity may have contributed to the 'drum' phenomena. Furthermore, the radargrams showed a well-developed cavity signature where two major reflection planes were crossed. Thus, our study is an example of non-destructive geophysical studies that can promote Earth Science in the broader community by examining geological structures attracting the public.