• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
• /
• 2009.05a
• /
• pp.38.1-38.1
• /
• 2009

Plasma etching is an essential process for electronic device industries and the particulate contamination during plasma etching has been interested as a big issue for the yield of productivity. The oxynitride glasses have a merit to prevent particulate contamination due to their amorphous structure and plasma etching resistance. The YSiAlON oxynitride glasses with increasing nitrogen content were manufactured. Each oxynitride glasses were fluorine-plasma etched and their plasma etching rate and surface roughness were compared with reference materials such as sapphire, alumina and quartz. The reinforcement mechanism of plasma etching resistance of the YSiAlON glasses studied by depth profiling at plasma etched surface using electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis. The plasma etching rate decreased with nitrogen content and there was no selective etching at the plasma etched surface of the oxynitride glasses. The concentration of silicon was very low due to the generation of SiF4 very volatile byproduct and the concentration of aluminum and yttrium was relatively constant. The elimination of silicon atoms during plasma etching was reduced with increasing nitrogen content because the content of the nitrogen was constant. And besides, the concentration of oxygen was very low on the plasma etched surface. From the study, the plasma etching resistance of the glasses may be improved by the generation of nitrogen related structural groups and those are proved by chemical composition analysis at plasma etched surface of the YSiAlON oxynitride glasses.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
• /
• v.49 no.3
• /
• pp.301-306
• /
• 2016

The effects of nanotexturing and post-etching on the reflection and quantum efficiency properties of diamond wire sawn (DWS) multicrystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cell have been investigated. The chemical solutions, which are acidic etching solution (HF-$HNO_3$), metal assisted chemical etching (MAC etch) solutions ($AgNO_3$-HF-DI, HF-$H_2O_2$-DI) and post-etching solution (diluted KOH at $80^{\circ}C$), were used for micro- and nano-texturing at the surface of diamond wire sawn (DWS) mc-Si wafer. Experiments were performed with various post-etching time conditions in order to determine the optimized etching condition for solar cell. The reflectance of mc-Si wafer texturing with acidic etching solution showed a very high reflectance value of about 30% (w/o anti-reflection coating), which indicates the insufficient light absorption for solar cell. The formation of nano-texture on the surface of mc-Si contributed to the enhancement of light absorption. Also, post-etching time condition of 240 s was found adequate to the nano-texturing of mc-Si due to its high external quantum efficiency of about 30% at short wavelengths and high short circuit current density ($J_{sc}$) of $35.4mA/cm^2$.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
• /
• v.40 no.1
• /
• pp.23-29
• /
• 2015

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pre-etching on the bond strength of silorane-based composite specific adhesive system to dentin. Materials and Methods: Thirty human molars were randomly divided into 5 groups according to the different bonding strategies. For teeth restored with silorane-based composite (Filtek Silorane, 3M ESPE), the specific self-etching adhesive system (Adhesive System P90, 3M ESPE) was used with and without pre-etching (Pre-etching/Silorane and Silorane groups). Teeth restored with methacrylate based-composite (Filtek Z250, 3M ESPE) were hybridized with the two-step self-etching system (Clearfil SE Bond, Kuraray), with and without pre-etching (Pre-etching/Methacrylate and Methacrylate groups), or three-step adhesive system (Adper Scotchbond Multi-Purpose, 3M ESPE) (Three-step/Methacrylate group) (n = 6). The restored teeth were sectioned into stick-shaped test specimens ($1.0{\times}1.0mm$), and coupled to a universal test machine (0.5 mm/min) to perform microtensile testing. Results: Pre-etching/Methacrylate group presented the highest bond strength values, with significant difference from Silorane and Three-step/Methacrylate groups (p < 0.05). However, it was not significantly different from Pre-etching/Silorane and Methacrylate groups. Conclusions: Pre-etching increased bond strength of silorane-based composite specific adhesive system to dentin.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.317-324
• /
• 2021

High-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steels show excellent toughness when trace amounts of transition elements are added. In steels, prior austenite grain size (PAGS), which is often determined by the number of added elements, is a critical factor in determining the mechanical properties of the material. In this study, we used two etching methods to measure and compare the PAGS of specimens with bainitic HSLA steels having different Nb contents These two methods were nital etching and picric acid etching. Both methods confirmed that the sample with high Nb content exhibited smaller PAGS than its low Nb counterpart because of Nb's ability to hinder austenite recrystallization at high temperatures. Although both etching approaches are beneficial to PAGS estimation, the picric acid etching method has the advantage of enabling observation of the interface containing Nb precipitate. By contrast, the nital etching method has the advantage of a very short etching time (5 s) in determining the PAGS, with the picric acid etching method being considerably longer (5 h).

• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.52
• /
• pp.5.1-5.10
• /
• 2022

The use of Pipelines for long-distance transportation of crude oil, natural gas and similar applications is increasing and has pivotal importance in recent times. High specific strength plays a crucial role in improving transport efficiency through increased pressure and improved laying efficiency through reduced diameter and weight of line pipes. TRIP-based high-strength and high-ductility alloys comprise a mixture of ferrite, bainite, and retained austenite that provide excellent mechanical properties such as dimensional stability, fatigue strength, and impact toughness. This study performs microstructure analysis using both Nital etching and LePera etching methods. At the time of Nital etching, it is difficult to distinctly observe second phase. However, using LePera etching conditions it is possible to distinctly measure the M/A phase and ferrite matrix. The fraction measurement was done using OM and SEM images which give similar results for the average volume fraction of the phases. Although it is possible to distinguish the M/A phase from the SEM image of the sample subjected to LePera etching. However, using Nital etching is nearly impossible. Nital etching is good at specific phase analysis than LePera etching when using SEM images.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
• /
• v.40 no.2
• /
• pp.87-94
• /
• 2010

Objective: Many studies have carried out research on comparisons between laser etching and conventional etching systems to investigate methods of reinforcing shear bond strength. The purposes of this study were to assess the efficiency of bonding with erbium, chromium doped: yttrium-scandium-gallium-garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) laser etching combined with the conventional etching technique. Methods: Sixty-four sound premolars, extracted for orthodontic purposes, were randomly divided into 4 groups and treated in the following manner. First group, conventional etching of 37% phosphoric acid for 15 seconds (control); second group, 1.5 W laser etching for 10 seconds followed by conventional etching; third group, conventional etching followed by 1.5 W laser etching; fourth group, 1.5 W laser etching for 15 seconds only. We assessed the shear bond strength, the surface characteristics, and the adhesive remnant index scores between all groups. Results: Experimental groups showed higher shear bond strength than the control group. But no statistically significant differences were found between the second and third groups. Adhesive remnant scores were compared with the Kruskal-Wallis test, and no statistically significant differences were found between all groups. Conclusions: To obtain maximum shear bonding strength, a combined technique of Er,Cr:YSGG and 37% phosphoric acid is useful even though it may be inconvenient.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
• /
• v.24 no.5
• /
• pp.196-201
• /
• 2014

We investigated defects and surface polarity in AlN and GaN by using wet chemical etching. Therefore, the effectiveness and reliability of estimating the single crystals by defect selective etching in NaOH/KOH eutectic alloy have been successfully demonstrated. High-quality AlN and GaN single crystals were etched in molten NaOH/KOH eutectic alloy. The etching characteristics and surface morphologies were carried out by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). The etch rates of AlN and GaN surface were calculated by etching depth as a function of etching time. As a result, two-types of etch pits with different sizes were revealed on AlN and GaN surface, respectively. Etching produced hexagonal pits on the metal-face (Al, Ga) (0001) plane, while hexagonal hillocks formed on the N-face. On etching rate calibration, it was found that N-face had approximately 109 and 15 times higher etch rate than the metal-face of AlN and GaN, respectively. The size of etch pits increased with an increase of the etching time and they tend to merge together with a neighbouring etch pits. Also, the chemical mechanism of each etching process was discussed. It was found that hydroxide ion ($OH^-$) and the dangling bond of nitrogen play an important role in the selective etching of the metal-face and N-face.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2008.11a
• /
• pp.418-418
• /
• 2008

The electrochemical etching of silicon in HF-based solutions is known to form various types of porous structures. Porous structures are generally classified into three categories according to pore sizes: micropore (below 2 nm in size), mesopore (2 ~ 50 nm), and macropore (above 50 nm). Recently, the formation of macropores has attracted increasing interest because of their promising characteristics for an wide scope of applications such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), chemical sensors, biotechnology, photonic crystals, and photovoltaic application. One of the promising applications of macropores is in the field of MEMS. Anisotropic etching is essential step for fabrication of MEMS. Conventional wet etching has advantages such as low processing cost and high throughput, but it is unsuitable to fabricate high-aspect-ratio structures with vertical sidewalls due to its inherent etching characteristics along certain crystal orientations. Reactive ion dry etching is another technique of anisotropic etching. This has excellent ability to fabricate high-aspect-ratio structures with vertical sidewalls and high accuracy. However, its high processing cost is one of the bottlenecks for widely successful commercialization of MEMS. In contrast, by using electrochemical etching method together with pre-patterning by lithographic step, regular macropore arrays with very high-aspect-ratio up to 250 can be obtained. The formed macropores have very smooth surface and side, unlike deep reactive ion etching where surfaces are damaged and wavy. Especially, to make vertical microwire or nanowire arrays (aspect ratio = over 1:100) on silicon wafer with top-down photolithography, it is very difficult to fabricate them with conventional dry etching. The electrochemical etching is the most proper candidate to do it. The pillar structures are demonstrated for n-type silicon and the formation mechanism is well explained, while such a experimental results are few for p-type silicon. In this report, In order to understand the roles played by the kinds of etching solution and mask patterns in the formation of microwire arrays, we have undertaken a systematic study of the solvent effects in mixtures of HF, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), iso-propanol, and mixtures of HF with water on the structure formation on monocrystalline p-type silicon with a resistivity with 10 ~ 20 $\Omega{\cdot}cm$. The different morphological results are presented according to mask patterns and etching solutions.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.11 no.4 s.33
• /
• pp.81-86
• /
• 2004

A new method to improve the wet etching characteristics is described. The anisotropic wet-etching of (100) Si with megasonic wave has been studied in KOH solution. Etching characteristics of p-type (100) 6 inch Si have been explored with and without megasonic irradiation. It has been observed that megasonic irradiation improves the characteristics of wet etching such as an etch uniformity and surface roughness. The etching uniformity on the whole wafer with and without megasonic irradiation were less than ${\pm}1\%$ and more than $20\%$, respectively. The initial root-mean-square roughness($R_{rms}$) of single crystal silicon is 0.23 nm. It has been reported that the roughnesses with magnetic stirring and ultrasonic agitation were 566 nm and 66 nm, respectively. Comparing with the results, etching with megasonic irradiation achieved the Rrms of 1.7 nm on the surface after the $37{\mu}m$ of etching depth. Wet etching of silicon with megasonic irradiation can maintain nearly the original surface roughness after etching process. The results have verified that the megasonic irradiation is an effective way to improve the etching characteristics such as etch uniformity and surface roughness.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
• /
• 1995.07c
• /
• pp.1428-1430
• /
• 1995

In this study we fabricate Knife type Si-tip array using (110) Si wafer. We can fabricate vertical structure by anisotropic etching using EPW and observe it by SEM. After the step, we perform isotropic etching and oxidation sharpening of the structure and also observe it by SEM, respectively. The purpose of isotropic etching is to reduce the oxidation time. We attain a optimal tip whose radius is about $100{\AA}$ after anisotropic etching 2.25 min.+isotropic etching 5 min.+oxidation 1 hour and 23 min.