• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.235-243
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• 2010

For decades, traditional mutation breeding technologies using spontaneous mutation, chemicals, or conventional radiation sources have contributed greatly to the improvement of crops and microorganisms of agricultural and industrial importance. However, new mutagens that can generate more diverse mutation spectra with minimal damage to the original organism are always in need. In this regard, ion beam irradiation, including proton-, helium-, and heavier-charged particle irradiation, is considered to be superior to traditional radiation mutagenesis. In particular, it has been suggested that ion beams predominantly produce strand breaks that often lead to mutations, which is not a situation frequently observed in mutagenesis induced by gamma-ray exposure. In this review, we briefly describe the general principles and history of particle accelerators, and then introduce their successful application in ion beam technology for the improvement of crops and microbes. In particular, a 100-MeV proton beam accelerator currently under construction by the Proton Engineering Frontier Project (PEFP) is discussed. The PEFP accelerator will hopefully prompt the utilization of ion beam technology for strain improvement, as well as for use in nuclear physics, medical science, biology, space technology, radiation technology and basic sciences.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.42-46
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• 2005

In microelectronics packaging, the reliability of the metal/polymer interfaces is an important issue because the adhesion strength between dissimilar materials is often inherently poor. The modification of polymer sufaces by ion beam irradiation and rf plasma are commonly used to enhance the adhesion strength of the interface. T-peel strengths were measured using a Cu/polyimide system under varying $Ar^+$ ion beam irradiation pretreatment conditions. The measured T-peel strength showed reversed camel back shape regarding the fixed metal-layer thickness, which was quite different from the results of the $90^{\circ}$ peel test. The elementary analysis suggests that the variation of the T-peel strength is a combined outcome of the plastic bending work of the metal and polymer strips. The results indicate that the peel strength increases with $Ar^+$ ion beam irradiation energy at the fixed metal-layer thickness.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.555-565
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• 2023

Despite many advantages as structural materials, austenitic stainless steels (SSs) have been avoided in many next generation nuclear systems due to poor void swelling resistance. In this paper, we report the results of heavy ion irradiation to the recently developed advanced radiation resistant austenitic SS (ARES-6P) with nanosized NbC precipitates. Heavy ion irradiation was performed at high temperatures (500 ℃ and 575 ℃) to the damage level of ~200 displacement per atom (dpa). The measured void swelling of ARES-6P was 2-3%, which was considerably less compared to commercial 316 SS and comparable to ferritic martensitic steels. In addition, increment of hardness measured by nano-indentation was much smaller for ARES-6P compared to 316 SS. Though some nanosized NbC precipitates were dissociated under relatively high dose rate (~5.0 × 10^-4 dpa/s), sufficient number of NbC precipitates remained to act as sink sites for the point defects, resulting in such superior radiation resistance.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.431-435
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• 2023

An irradiation hardening of Inconel 718 produced by selective laser melting (SLM) was studied based on the microstructural observation and mechanical behavior. Ion irradiation for emulating neutron irradiation has been proposed owing to advantages such as low radiation emission and short experimental periods. To prevent softening caused by the dissolution of γ' and γ" precipitates due to irradiation, only solution annealing (SA) was performed. SLM SA Inconel 718 specimen was ion irradiated to demonstrate the difference in microstructure and mechanical properties between the irradiated and non-irradiated specimens. After exposing specimens to Fe³⁺ ions irradiation up to 100 dpa (displacement per atom) at an ambient temperature, the hardness of irradiated specimens was measured by nano-indentation as a function of depth. The depth distribution profile of Fe³⁺ and dpa were calculated by the Monte Carlo SRIM (Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter)-2013 code under the assumption of the displacement threshold energy of 40 eV. A transmission electron microscope was utilized to observe the formation of irradiation defects such as dislocation loops. This study reveals that the Frank partial dislocation loops induce irradiation hardening of SLM SA Inconel 718 specimens.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.75-80
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• 2015

We introduce a new synthesis method to prepare small TiO₂ nanoparticles with a narrow particle size distribution, which is achieved by electron beam (E-beam) irradiation. The effects of E-beam irradiation on the synthesis of TiO₂ nanoparticles and the electrochemical performance of TiO₂ nanoparticles as alternative anode materials for Li-ion batteries are investigated. The TiO₂ nanoparticles induced by E-beam irradiation present better cycling performance and rate capability than the TiO₂ nanoparticles synthesized by normal hydrolysis reaction. The better electrochemical performance is attributed to small particle size and narrow particle size distribution, resulting in the large surface area that provides innumerable reaction sites and short diffusion length for Li⁺ through TiO₂ nanoparticles.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.373-380
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• 2020

This study was carried out to convert the hydrophobic characteristics of PVDF to hydrophilic. Poly(-vinylidene fluorine) (PVDF) was grafted by electron beam irradiation and sulfonated. The grafting degree of modified PVDF increased with the monomer concentration, but not the conversion degree. From the results of FTIR and XPS, it was shown that the amount of converted sulfur increased with the grafting degree. The radiation-induced graft polymerization led to decrease fluorine from 35.7% to 21.3%. Meanwhile, the oxygen and sulfur content increased up to 8.1% and 3.2%. The pore size of modified membranes was shrunken and the roughness sharply decreased after irradiation. The ion exchange capacity and contact angle were investigated to show the characteristics of PVDF. The enhanced ion exchange capacity and lower contact angle of modified PVDF showed that the hydrophilicity played a role in determining membrane fouling. Electron beam irradiation successfully modified the hydrophobic characteristics of PVDF to hydrophilic.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.430-430
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• 2007

In this study, the nematic liquid crystal (NLC) alignment effects treated on the ZnO thin film layers using ion beam irradiation were successfully studied for the first time. The ZnO thin films were deposited on indium-tin-oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates by rf-sputter and The ZnO thin films were deposited at the three kinds of rf power. The used DuoPIGatron type ion beam system, which can be advantageous in a large area with high density plasma generation. The ion beam parameters were as follows: energy of 1800 eV, exposure time of 1 min and ion beam current of $4\;mA/cm^2$ at exposure angles of $15^{\circ}$, $30^{\circ}$, $45^{\circ}$, and $60^{\circ}$. The homogeneous and homeotropic LC aligning capabilities treated on the ZnO thin film surface with ion beam exposure of $45^{\circ}$ for 1 min can be achieved. The low pretilt angle for a NLC treated on the ZnO thin film surface with ion beam irradiation for all incident angles was measured. The good LC alignment treated on the ZnO thin film with ion beam exposure at rf power of 150 W can be measure. For identifying surfaces topography of the ZnO thin films, atomic force microscopy (AFM) was introduced. After ion beam irradiation, test samples were fabricated in an anti-parallel configuration with a cell gap of $60{\mu}m$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.08a
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• pp.76-76
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• 2012

Surface engineering of polymers has a broad array of scientific and technological applications that range from tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, microfluidics and novel lab on chip devices to building mechanical memories, stretchable electronics, and devising tunable surface adhesion for robotics. Recent advancements in the field of nanotechnology have provided robust techniques for controlled surface modification of polymers and creation of structural features on the polymeric surface at submicron scale. We have recently demonstrated techniques for controlled surfaces of soft and relatively hard polymers using ion beam irradiation and plasma treatment, which allows the fabrication of nanoscale surface features such as wrinkles, ripples, holes, and hairs with respect to its polymers. In this talk, we discuss the underlying mechanisms of formation of these structural features. This includes the change in the chemical composition of the surface layer of the polymers due to ion beam irradiation or plasma treatment and the instability and mechanics of the skin-substrate system. Using ion beam or plasma irradiation on polymers, we introduce a simple method for fabrication of one-dimensional, two-dimensional and nested hierarchical structural patterns on polymeric surfaces on various polymers such as polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), poly (methyl methacrylate) PMMA, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS).

• Electrical & Electronic Materials
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.100-106
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• 1994

A bilayer film consisting of a layer of a-Se$_{75}$ Ge$_{25}$ with a surface layer of silver -100[.angs.] thick and a monolayer film of a-Se$_{75}$ Ge$_{25}$ are irradiated with 9[keV] Ga$^{+}$ ion beam. The Ga$^{+}$ ion (10$^{16}$ [ions/cm$^{2}$] exposed a-Se$_{75}$ Ge$_{25}$ and Ag/a-Se$_{75}$ Ge$_{25}$ thin films show an increase in optical absorption, and the absorption edge on irradiation with shifts toward longer wavelength. The shift toward longer wavelength called a "darkening effect" is observed also in film exposure to optical radiation(4.5*10$^{20}$ [photons/cm$^{2}$]). The 0.3[eV] edge shift for ion irradiation films is about twice to that obtained on irradiation with photons. These large changes are primarily due to structural changes, which lead to high etch selectivity and high sensitivity.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.904-909
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• 2019

Using the ion-beam irradiated indium zinc oxide (IZO) films which was cured at $100^{\circ}C$, uniform LC and homogeneous alignment of liquid crystal (LC) molecules was achieved. The IZO film was deposited on the glass substrate at the curing temperature of $100^{\circ}C$ and irradiated by the ion-beam which is an LC alignment method. To verify the LC alignment characteristics, polarizing optical microscope and the crystal rotation method were used. Additionally, it was confirmed that the LC cell with the IZO films had an enough thermal budget for high-quality LC applications. Field emission scanning electron microscope was conducted as a surface analysis to evaluate the effect of the ion-beam irradiation on the IZO films. Through this, it was revealed that the ion-beam irradiation induced rough surface with anisotropic characteristics. Finally, electro-optical (EO) performances of the twisted-nematic cells with the IZO films were collected and it was confirmed that this cell had better EO performances than the conventional rubbed polyimide. Furthermore, the polar anchoring energy was measured and a suitable value for stable LC device operation was achieved.