• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.413-419
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• 2004

Recently, Silicon On Insulator (SOI) devices emerged to achieve better device characteristics such as higher operation speed, lower power consumption and latch-up immunity. Nevertheless, there are many detrimental defects in SOI wafers such as hydrofluoric-acid (HF)-defects, pinhole, islands, threading dislocations (TD), pyramid stacking faults (PSF), and surface roughness originating from quality of buried oxide film layer. Although the number of defects in SOI wafers has been greatly reduced over the past decade, the turn over of high-speed microprocessors using SOI wafers has been delayed because of unknown defects in SOI wafers. A new characterization method is proposed to investigate the crystalline quality, the buried oxide integrity and some electrical parameters of bonded SOI wafers. In this study, major surface defects in bonded SOI are reviewed using HF dipping, Secco etching, Cu-decoration followed by focused ion beam (FIB) and transmission electron microscope (TEM).

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.89-98
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• 2011

Atom Probe Tomography (APT) can provide 3-dimensional information such as position and chemical composition with atomic resolution. Despite the ability of this technique, APT could not be applied for poor conductive materials such as semiconductor. Recently APT has dramatically developed by applying the laser pulsing and combining with Focused Ion Beam (FIB). The invention and combination of these techniques make possible site-specific sample preparation and permit the investigation of various materials including insulators. In this paper, we introduced the recently achieved state of the art applications of APT focusing on Si based FET devices, LED devices, low dimensional materials.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.81-88
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• 2011

Even though importance of nano-scale structure and compositional analysis have been getting increased, existing analysis tools have been reached to their limitations. Recent development of Atom Probe Tomography (APT), providing 3-dimensional elemental distribution and compositional information with sub-nm scale special resolution and tens of ppm detection limit, is one of key technique which can overcome these limitations. However, due to the fact that APT is not well known yet in the domestic research area, it has been rarely utilized so far. Therefore, in this article, the theoretical background of APT was briefly introduced with sample preparation to help understanding APT analysis.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.49-53
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• 2010

Microstructural origins of leakage current and physical degradation during operation in product-quality AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) devices were investigated using photon emission microscopy (PEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). AlGaN/GaN HEMTs were fabricated with metal organic chemical vapor deposition on semi-insulating SiC substrates. Photon emission irregularity, which is indicative of gate leakage current, was measured by PEM. Site specific TEM analysis assisted by a focused ion beam revealed the presence of threading dislocations in the channel below the gate at the position showing strong photon emissions. Observation of electrically degraded devices after life tests revealed crack/pit shaped defects next to the drain in the top AlGaN layer. The morphology of the defects was three-dimensionally investigated via electron tomography.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.673-682
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• 2012

Three dimensional atom probe tomography (3D APT) is applied to characterize the dissimilar metal joint which was welded between the Ni-based alloy, Alloy 690 and the low alloy steel, A533 Gr. B, with Alloy 152 filler metal. While there is some difficulty in preparing the specimen for the analysis, the 3D APT has a truly quantitative analytical capability to characterize nanometer scale particles in metallic materials, thus its application to the microstructural analysis in multi-component metallic materials provides critical information on the mechanism of nanoscale microstructural evolution. In this study, the procedure for 3D APT specimen preparation was established, and those for dissimilar metal weld interface were prepared near the fusion boundary by a focused ion beam. The result of the analysis in this study showed the precipitation of chromium carbides near the fusion boundary between A533 Gr. B and Alloy 152.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.221-228
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• 2017

Various morphologies of copper oxide (CuO) have been considered to be of both fundamental and practical importance in the field of electronic materials. In this study, using Cu ($0.1{\mu}m$ and $7{\mu}m$) particles, flake-type CuO particles were grown via a wet oxidation method for 5min and 60min at $75^{\circ}C$. Using the prepared CuO, AlN, and silicone base as reagents, thermal interface material (TIM) compounds were synthesized using a high speed paste mixer. The properties of the thermal compounds prepared using the CuO particles were observed by thermal conductivity and breakdown voltage measurement. Most importantly, the volume of thermal compounds created using CuO particles grown from $0.1{\mu}m$ Cu particles increased by 192.5 % and 125 % depending on the growth time. The composition of CuO was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis; cross sections of the grown CuO particles were observed using focused ion beam (FIB), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and energy dispersive analysis by X-ray (EDAX). In addition, the thermal compound dispersion of the Cu and Al elements were observed by X-ray elemental mapping.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2009.05a
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• pp.36.2-36.2
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• 2009

In this work, the high power CW Nd:YAG laser has been used for thermal treatment of inkjet printed Ag films-involving eliminating organic additives (dispersant, binder, and organic solvent) of Ag ink and annealing Ag nanoparticles. By optimizing laser parameters, such as laser power and defocusing value, the laser energy can totally be converted to heat energy, which is used to thermal treatment of inkjet printed Ag films. This results in controlling the microstructures and the resistivity of films. We investigated the thermal diffusion mechanisms during laser annealing and the resulting microstructures. The impact of high power laser annealing on microstructures and electrical characteristic of inkjet printed Ag films is compared to those of the films annealed by a conventional furnace annealing. Focused ion beam (FIB) channeling image shows that the laser annealed Ag films have large columnar grains and dense structure (void free), while furnace annealed films have tiny grains and exhibit void formation. Due to these microstructural characteristics of laser annealed films, it has better electrical property (low resistivity) compared to furnace annealed samples.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.30 no.11
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• pp.589-594
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• 2020

Many electronic applications require magnetic materials with high permeability and frequency properties. We improve the magnetic permeability of soft magnetic powder by controlling the shape magnetic anisotropy of the powders and through the preparation of amorphous nanoparticles. For this purpose, the effect of the shape magnetic anisotropy of amorphous Fe-B-P nanoparticles is observed through a magnetic field and the frequency characteristics and permeability of these amorphous nanoparticles are observed. These characteristics are investigated by analyzing the composition of particles, crystal structure, microstructure, magnetic properties, and permeability of particles. The composition, crystal structure, and microstructure of the particles are analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry-, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and focused ion beam analysis. The saturation magnetization and permeability are measured using a vibrating sample magnetometer and an LCR meter, respectively. It is confirmed that the shape magnetic anisotropy of the particles influences the permeability. Finally, the permeability and frequency characteristics of the amorphous Fe-B-P nanoparticles are improved.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.27-31
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• 2009

Sn whiskers can grow from the pure Sn and high Sn-based finish and cause the electrical shorts and failures. Even with the wealth of information on whiskers, we have neither the clear understanding of whisker growth nor methods for its prevention. In this study, the whisker grain roots which connected with intermetallic layer were analyzed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). In the Sn-Cu plated leadframe (LF) that was stored at ambient condition for 540 days, filament-shaped whiskers were grown on the Sn-plated surface and ${\eta}'-Cu_6Sn_5$ precipitates were widely distributed along the grain boundaries at the Sn matrix. The measured of the lattice fringes at the ${\eta}'-Cu_6Sn_5$ was $4.71{\AA}$ at the coarse grain and $2.91{\AA}$ at the fine grain. The $Cu_3Sn$ which generates the tensile stresses was not observed. The formation of $Cu_6Sn_5$ precipitates and intermetallic layer were strongly related to whisker growth, but, the whisker growth tendency does not closely relate with the geometric morphology of irregularly grown intermetallic compound (lMC).

• Current Applied Physics
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• v.18 no.11
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• pp.1381-1387
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• 2018

One dimensional (1D) grating has been fabricated (using focused ion beam) on 50 nm gold (Au) film deposited on higher refractive index Gallium phosphate (GaP) substrate. The sub-wavelength periodic metal nano structuring enable to couple photon to couple with the surface plasmons (SPs) excited by them. These grating devices provide the efficient control on the SPs which propagate on the interface of noble metal and dielectric whose frequency is dependent on the bulk electron plasma frequency of the metal. For a fixed periodicity (${\Lambda}=700 nm$) and slit width (w = 100 nm) in the grating device, the efficiency of SPP excitation is about 40% compared to the transmission in the near-field. Efficient coupling of SPs with photon in dielectric provide field localisation on sub-wavelength scale which is needed in Heat Assisted Magnetic recording (HAMR) systems. The GaP is also used to emulate Vertical Cavity Surface emitting laser (VCSEL) in order to provide cheaper alternative of light source being used in HAMR technology. In order to understand the underlying physics, far-and near-field results has been compared with the modelling results which are obtained using COMSOL RF module. Apart from this, grating devices of smaller periodicity (${\Lambda}=280nm$) and slit width (w = 22 nm) has been fabricated on GaP substrate which is photoluminescence material to observe amplified spontaneous emission of the SPs at wavelength of 805 nm when the grating device was excited with 532 nm laser light. This observation is unique and can have direct application in light emitting diodes (LEDs).