• The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.471-478
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• 2013

PURPOSE. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of annealing on the nanostructure and hardness of Co-Cr metal ceramic samples that were fabricated with a direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Five groups of Co-Cr dental alloy samples were manufactured in a rectangular form measuring $4{\times}2{\times}2$ mm. Samples fabricated by a conventional casting technique (Group I) and prefabricated milling blanks (Group II) were examined as conventional technique groups. The DMLS samples were randomly divided into three groups as not annealed (Group III), annealed in argon atmosphere (Group IV), or annealed in oxygen atmosphere (Group V). The nanostructure was examined with the small-angle X-ray scattering method. The Rockwell hardness test was used to measure the hardness changes in each group, and the means and standard deviations were statistically analyzed by one-way ANOVA for comparison of continuous variables and Tukey's HSD test was used for post hoc analysis. P values of <.05 were accepted as statistically significant. RESULTS. The general nanostructures of the samples were composed of small spherical entities stacked atop one another in dendritic form. All groups also displayed different hardness values depending on the manufacturing technique. The annealing procedure and environment directly affected both the nanostructure and hardness of the Co-Cr alloy. Group III exhibited a non-homogeneous structure and increased hardness ($48.16{\pm}3.02$ HRC) because the annealing process was incomplete and the inner stress was not relieved. Annealing in argon atmosphere of Group IV not only relieved the inner stresses but also decreased the hardness ($27.40{\pm}3.98$ HRC). The results of fitting function presented that Group IV was the most homogeneous product as the minimum bilayer thickness was measured (7.11 ${\AA}$). CONCLUSION. After the manufacturing with DMLS technique, annealing in argon atmosphere is an essential process for Co-Cr metal ceramic substructures. The dentists should be familiar with the materials that are used in clinic for prosthodontics treatments.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.63-67
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• 2017

In bioscience and biotechnology, the research of fundamental life mechanisms and their diseases caused by insufficiency is important. The study of a whole organism is difficult and sometimes impossible because of DNA, RNA, proteins, cellular organelles, various cells, and organs. Cell cultures can provide a simple method for researching cellular mechanisms and conditions, both in terms of physiological performance, and in response to chemical stimulation. According to conventional cell culture methodology, the flat surface is used with surface treatments for cell adhesion on the surface. Micro- and nanoscale patterns have been developed with chemical and biochemical modifications for cell immobilization. In this study, HeLa cell culture on nanostructures patterns was studied, including the 300 nm line and 150 nm pillar structures, using nanoimprint lithography and pyrrole as a biocompatible conducting polymer.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.08a
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• pp.297-297
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• 2010

Precise control of the position and density of doping elements at the nanoscale is becoming a central issue for realizing state-of-the-art silicon-based optoelectronic devices. As dimensions are scaled down to take benefits from the quantum confinement effect, however, the presence of interfaces and the nature of materials adjacent to silicon turn out to be important and govern the physical properties. Utilization of visible light is a promising method to overcome the efficiency limit of the crystalline Si solar cells. Si quantum dots (QDs) have been proposed as an emission source of visible light, which is based on the quantum confinement effect. Light emission in the visible wavelength has been reported by controlling the size and density of Si QDs embedded within various types of insulating matrix. For the realization of all-Si QD solar cells with homojunctions, it is prerequisite not only to optimize the impurity doping for both p- and n-type Si QDs, but also to construct p-n homojunctions between them. In this study, XPS and SIMS were used for the development of p-type and n-type Si quantum dot solar cells. The stoichiometry of SiOx layers were controlled by in-situ XPS analysis and the concentration of B and P by SIMS for the activated doping in Si nano structures. Especially, it has been experimentally evidenced that boron atoms in silicon nanostructures confined in SiO2 matrix can segregate into the Si/$SiO_2$ interfaces and the Si bulk forming a distinct bimodal spatial distribution. By performing quantitative analysis and theoretical modelling, it has been found that boron incorporated into the four-fold Si crystal lattice can have electrical activity. Based on these findings, p-type Si quantum dot solar cell with the energy-conversion efficiency of 10.2% was realized from a [B-doped $SiO_{1.2}$(2 nm)/$SiO_2(2\;nm)]^{25}$ superlattice film with a B doping level of $4.0{\times}10^{20}\;atoms/cm^2$.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.493-493
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• 2014

The manufacturing cost of thin-film photovoltics can potentially be lowered by minimizing the amount of a semiconductor material used to fabricate devices. Thin-film solar cells are typically only a few micrometers thick, whereas crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafer solar cells are $180{\sim}300\mu}m$ thick. As such, thin-film layers do not fully absorb incident light and their energy conversion efficiency is lower compared with that of c-Si wafer solar cells. Therefore, effective light trapping is required to realize commercially viable thin-film cells, particularly for indirect-band-gap semiconductors such as c-Si. An emerging method for light trapping in thin film solar cells is the use of metallic nanostructures that support surface plasmons. Plasmon-enhanced light absorption is shown to increase the cell photocurrent in many types of solar cells, specifically, in c-Si thin-film solar cells and in poly-Si thin film solar cell. By proper engineering of these structures, light can be concentrated and coupled into a thin semiconductor layer to increase light absorption. In many cases, silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NP) are formed either on the front surface or on the rear surface on the cells. In case of poly-Si thin film solar cells, Ag NPs are formed on the rear surface of the cells due to longer wavelengths are not perfectly absorbed in the active layer on the first path. In our cells, shorter wavelengths typically 300~500 nm are also not effectively absorbed. For this reason, a new concept of plasmonic nanostructure which is NPs formed both the front - and the rear - surface is worth testing. In this simulation Al NPs were located onto glass because Al has much lower parasitic absorption than other metal NPs. In case of Ag NP, it features parasitic absorption in the optical frequency range. On the other hand, Al NP, which is non-resonant metal NP, is characterized with a higher density of conduction electrons, resulting in highly negative dielectric permittivity. It makes them more suitable for the forward scattering configuration. In addition to this, Ag NP is located on the rear surface of the cell. Ag NPs showed good performance enhancement when they are located on the rear surface of our cells. In this simulation, Al NPs are located on glass and Ag NP is located on the rear Si surface. The structure for the simulation is shown in figure 1. Figure 2 shows FDTD-simulated absorption graphs of the proposed and reference structures. In the simulation, the front of the cell has Al NPs with 70 nm radius and 12.5% coverage; and the rear of the cell has Ag NPs with 157 nm in radius and 41.5% coverage. Such a structure shows better light absorption in 300~550 nm than that of the reference cell without any NPs and the structure with Ag NP on rear only. Therefore, it can be expected that enhanced light absorption of the structure with Al NP on front at 300~550 nm can contribute to the photocurrent enhancement.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.413-413
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• 2014

In this paper, we present a fabrication method of functionalized gold nanostructures on flexible substrate that can be implemented for plasmonic sensing application. For biomolecular sensing, many researchers exploit unconventional lithography method like nanoimprint lithography (NIP), contact transfer lithography, soft lithography, colloidal transfer printing due to its usability and easy to functionalization. In particular, nanoimprint and contact transfer lithography need to have anti-adhesion layer for distinctive metallic properties on the flexible substrates. However, when metallic thin film was deposited on the anti-adhesion layer coated substrates, we discover much aggravation of the mold by repetitive use. Thus it would be impossible to get a high quality of metal nanostructure on the transferred substrate for developing flexible electronics based transfer printing. Here we demonstrate a method for nano-pillar mold and transfer the controllable nanoparticle array on the flexible substrates without an anti-adhesion layer. Also functionalization of gold was investigated by the different length of thiol applied for effectively localized surface plasmonic resonance sensing. First, a focused ion beam (FIB) and ICP-RIE are used to fabricate the nanoscale pillar array. Then gold metal layer is deposited onto the patterned nanostructure. The metallic 130 nm and 250 nm nanodisk pattern are transferred onto flexible polymer substrate by bi-layer functionalized contact imprinting which can be tunable surface energy interfaces. Different thiol reagents such as Thioglycolic acid (98%), 3-Mercaptopropionic acid (99%), 11-Mercaptoundecanoic acid (95%) and 16-Mercaptohexadecanoic acid (90%) are used. Overcoming the repeatedly usage of the anti-adhesion layer mold which has less uniformity and not washable interface, contact printing method using bi-layer gold array are not only expedient access to fabrication but also have distinctive properties including anti-adhesion layer free, functionalized bottom of the gold nano disk, repeatedly replicate the pattern on the flexible substrate. As a result we demonstrate the feasibility of flexible plasmonic sensing interface and anticipate that the method can be extended to variable application including the portable bio sensor via mass production of stable nanostructure array and other nanophotonic application.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.27-27
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• 2011

For the design of real applicable molecular devices, current-voltage properties through molecular nanostructures such as metal-molecule-metal junctions (molecular junctions) have been studied extensively. In thiolate monolayers on the gold electrode, the chemical bonding of sulfur to gold and the van der Waals interactions between the alkyl chains of neighboring molecules are important factors in the formation of well-defined monolayers and in the control of the electron transport rate. Charge transport through the molecular junctions depends significantly on the energy levels of molecules relative to the Fermi levels of the contacts and the electronic structure of the molecule. It is important to understand the interfacial electron transport in accordance with the increased film thickness of alkyl chains that are known as an insulating layer, but are required for molecular device fabrication. Thiol-tethered RuII terpyridine complexes were synthesized for a voltage-driven molecular switch and used to understand the switch-on mechanism of the molecular switches of single metal complexes in the solid-state molecular junction in a vacuum. Electrochemical voltammetry and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics are measured to elucidate electron transport processes in the bistable conducting states of single molecular junctions of a molecular switch, Ru(II) terpyridine complexes. (1) On the basis of the Ru-centered electrochemical reaction data, the electron transport rate increases in the mixed self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of Ru(II) terpyridine complexes, indicating strong electronic coupling between the redox center and the substrate, along the molecules. (2) In a low-conducting state before switch-on, I-V characteristics are fitted to a direct tunneling model, and the estimated tunneling decay constant across the Ru(II) terpyridine complex is found to be smaller than that of alkanethiol. (3) The threshold voltages for the switch-on from low- to high-conducting states are identical, corresponding to the electron affinity of the molecules. (4) A high-conducting state after switch-on remains in the reverse voltage sweep, and a linear relationship of the current to the voltage is obtained. These results reveal electron transport paths via the redox centers of the Ru(II) terpyridine complexes, a molecular switch.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.02a
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• pp.17-18
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• 2011

Plasma in liquid phase has attracted great attention in the last few years by the wide domain of applications in material processing, decomposition of organic and inorganic chemical compounds and sterilization of water. The plasma in liquid is characterized by three main regions which interact each - other during the plasma operation: the liquid phase, which supply the plasma gas phase with various chemical compounds and ions, the plasma in the gas phase at atmospheric pressure and the interface between these two regions. The most complex region, but extremely interesting from the fundamental, chemical and physical processes which occur here, is the boundary between the liquid phase and the plasma gas phase. In our laboratory, plasma in liquid which behaves as a glow discharge type, is generated by using a bipolar pulsed power supply, with variable pulse width, in the range of 0.5~10 ${\mu}s$ and 10 to 30 kHz repetition rate. Plasma in water and other different solutions was characterized by electrical and optical measurements. Strong emissions of OH and H radicals dominate the optical spectra. Generally water with 500 ${\mu}S/cm$ conductivity has a breakdown voltage around 2 kV, depending on the pulse width and the repetition rate of the power supply. The characteristics of the plasma initiated in ultrapure water between pairs of different materials used for electrodes (W and Ta) were investigated by the time-resolved optical emission and the broad-band absorption spectroscopy. The deexcitation processes of the reactive species formed in the water plasma depend on the electrode material, but have been independent on the polarity of the applied voltage pulses. Recently, Coherent anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy method was employed to investigate the chemistry in the liquid phase and at the interface between the gas and the liquid phases of the solution plasma system. The use of the solution plasma allows rapid fabrication of the metal nanoparticles without being necessary the addition of different reducing agents, because plasma in the liquid phase provides a reaction field with a highly excited energy radicals. We successfully synthesized gold nanoparticles using a glow discharge in aqueous solution. Nanoparticles with an average size of less than 10 nm were obtained using chlorauric acid solutions as the metal source. Carbon/Pt hybrid nanostructures have been obtained by treating carbon balls, synthesized in a CVD chamber, with hexachloro- platinum acid in a solution plasma system. The solution plasma was successfully used to remove the template remained after the mesoporous silica synthesis. Surface functionalization of the carbon structures and the silica surface with different chemical groups and nanoparticles, was also performed by processing these materials in the liquid plasma.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2018.06a
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• pp.142.2-142.2
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• 2018

One-dimensional metal oxide nanostructures have attracted considerable research activities owing to their strong application potential as components for nanosize electronic or optoelectronic devices utilizing superior optical and electrical properties. In which, semiconducting $SnO_2$ material with wide-bandgap Eg = 3.6 eV at room temperature, is one of the attractive candidates for optoelectronic devices operating at room temperature [1, 2], gas sensor [3, 4], and transparent conducting electrodes [5]. The synthesis and gas sensing properties of semiconducting $SnO_2$ nanomaterials have become one of important research issues since the first synthesis of SnO2 nanowires. In this study, $SnO_2$ nanowire networks were synthesized on a basis of a two-step process. In step 1, Sn spheres (30-800 nm in diameter) embedded in $SiO_2$ on a Si substrate was synthesized by a chemical vapor deposition method at $700^{\circ}C$. In step 2, using the source of these Sn spheres, $SnO_2$ nanowire (20-40 nm in diameter; $1-10{\mu}m$ in length) networks on a spherical Sn surface were synthesized by a thermal oxidation method at $800^{\circ}C$. The Au layers were pre-deposited on the surface of Sn spherical and subsequently oxidized Sn surface of Sn spherical formed SnO2 nanowires networks. Field emission scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images indicated that $SnO_2$ nanowires are single crystalline. In addition, the $SnO_2$ nanowire is also a tetragonal rutile, with the preferred growth directions along [100] and a lattice spacing of 0.237 nm. Subsequently, the $NO_2$ sensing properties of the $SnO_2$ network nanowires sensor at an operating temperature of $50-250^{\circ}C$ were examined, and showed a reversible response to $NO_2$ at various $NO_2$ concentrations. Finally, details of the growth mechanism and formation of Sn spheres and $SnO_2$ nanowire networks are also discussed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.06a
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• pp.20-20
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• 2008

최근 LEDs가 동일 효율의 전구에 비해 에너지 절감 효과 크며 신뢰성이 뛰어나다기 때문에 기존 광원을 빠르게 대체해 나가고 있다. 특히 자외선 파장을 가지는 LEDs는 발열이 낮아 냉각장치가 필요 없으며, 수명이 길어 기존 UV lamp에 비해 많은 장점을 가지고 있기 때문에 많은 관심을 밭고 있다. 그럼에도 불구하고 자외선 LEDs는 제조 단가가 높고 power가 낮아 소요량이 많은 등 아직 해결해야 할 부분이 많기 때문에 이를 해결하기 위해 여러가지 재료와 다양한 구조가 고려되고 있다. 그 중 ZnO는 II-VI족 화합물 반도체로써 UV영역의 넓은 밴드갭(3.37eV)을 가지는 투명한 재료이다. 특히 ZnO는 60meV의 큰 엑시톤 결합에너지를 가지며, 가시광 영역에서 높은 투과율을 가지고, 상온에서 물리적, 화학적으로 안정하기 때문에 UV sensor, UV laser, UV converter, UV LEDs 등 광소자 분야에서 연구가 활발히 진행되고 있다. ZnO가 광소자의 발광재료로써 높은 효율을 얻기 위해서는 결정성을 높여 내부 결함을 감소시키며, 발광 면적을 높일 수 있는 구조가 요구된다. 특히 MOCVD 법으로 성장한 나노막대는 에피성장되어 높은 결정성을 기대할 수 있으며, 성장 조건을 조절함으로써 나노막대의 aspect ratio와 밀도 제어할 수 있기 때문에 표면적을 효과적으로 넓혀 높은 발광효율을 얻을 수 있다. 본 실험에서는 MOCVD 법으로 실리콘과 사파이어 기판 위에 다양한 성장 온도를 가진 나노구조를 성장 시키고 온도에 따른 형상 변화와 특성을 평가하였다. ZnO 의 성장온도가 약 $360^{\circ}C$ 일 때, 밀도가 조밀하고 기판에 수직 배열한 균일한 나노막대가 성장되었으며 우수한 결정성, 광학적 특성이 나타남을 SEM, TEM, PL, XRD를 사용하여 확인하였다.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.81-90
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• 2010

We introduce a novel and versatile approach for preparing self-assembled nanoporous multilayered films with antireflective properties. Protonated polystyrene-block-poly (4-vinylpyrine) (PS-b-P4VP) and anionic polystyrene-block-poly (acrylic acid) (PS-b-PAA) block copolymer micelles (BCM) were used as building blocks for the layer-by-layer assembly of BCM multilayer films. BCM film growth is governed by electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding interactions between the oppositely BCMs. Both film porosity and film thickness are dependent upon the charge density of the micelles, with the porosity of the film controlled by the solution pH and the molecular weight (Mw) of the constituents. PS7K-b-P4VP28K/PS2K-b-PAA8K films prepared at pH 4 (for PS7K-b-P4VP28K) and pH 6 (for PS2K-b-PAA8K) are highly nanoporous and antireflective. In contrast, PS7K-b-P4VP28K/PS2K-b-PAA8K films assembled at pH 4/4 show a relatively dense surface morphology due to the decreased charge density of PS2K-b-PAA8K. Films formed from BCMs with increased PS block and decreased hydrophilic block (P4VP or PAA) size (e.g., PS36K-b-P4VP12K/PS16K-b-PAA4K at pH 4/4) were also nanoporous. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the nanostructured electrochemical sensors based on patterning methods show the electrochemical activities. Anionic poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) layers were selectively and uniformly deposited onto the catalase (CAT)-coated surface using the micro-contact printing method. The pH-induced charge reversal of catalase can provide the selective deposition of consecutive PE multilayers onto patterned PSS layers by causing the electrostatic repulsion between next PE layer and catalase. Based on this patterning method, the hybrid patterned multilayers composed of platinum nanoparticles (PtNP) and catalase were prepared and then their electrochemical properties were investigated from sensing $H_2O_2$ and NO gas. This study was based on the papers reported by our group. (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 128, 9935 (2006); Adv. Mater. 19, 4364 (2007); Electro. Mater. Lett. 3, 163 (2007)).