• Nano
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• v.13 no.11
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• pp.1850131.1-1850131.19
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• 2018

In this paper, an electrochemical sensor for epinephrine (EP), a neurotransmitter was developed by anchoring molecularly imprinted polymeric matrix (MIP) on the surface of gold-coated quartz crystal electrode of electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) using starch nanoparticles (Starch NP) - reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposite as polymeric format for the first time. Use of EP in therapeutic treatment requires proper dose and route of administration. Proper follow-up of neurological disorders and timely diagnosis of them has been found to depend on EP level. The MIP sensor was developed by electrodeposition of starch NP-RGO composite on EQCM electrode in presence of template EP. As the imprinted sites are located on the surface, high specific surface area enables good accessibility and high binding affinity to template molecule. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and piezoelectrogravimmetry were used for monitoring binding/release, rebinding of template to imprinted cavities. MIP-coated EQCM electrode were characterized by contact angle measurements, AFM images, piezoelectric responses including viscoelasticity of imprinted films, and other voltammetric measurements including direct (DPV) and indirect (using a redox probe) measurements. Selectivity was assessed by imprinting factor (IF) as high as 3.26 (DPV) and 3.88 (EQCM). Sensor was rigorously checked for selectivity in presence of other structurally close analogues, real matrix (blood plasma), reproducibility, repeatability, etc. Under optimized conditions, the EQCM-MIP sensor showed linear dynamic ranges ($1-10{\mu}M$). The limit of detection 40 ppb (DPV) and 290 ppb (EQCM) was achieved without any cross reactivity and matrix effect indicating high sensitivity and selectivity for EP. Hence, an eco-friendly MIP-sensor with high sensitivity and good selectivity was fabricated which could be applied in "real" matrices in a facile manner.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.342-347
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• 2016

We investigated the effect of $Bi_{1/2}(Na_{0.82}K_{0.18})_{1/2}TiO_3$ (BNKT) modification on the ferroelectric and electric-field-induced strain (EFIS) properties of lead-free $0.97Bi_{1/2}(Na_{0.82}K_{0.18})_{1/2}TiO_3-0.03LaFeO_3$ (BNKTLF) ceramics as a function of BNKT content (x= 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, and 1). BNKT-modified BNKTLF powders were synthesized using a conventional solid-state reaction method. As the BNKT content x increased from 0 to 1 the normalized electric-field-induced strain ($S_{max}/E_{max}$) was observed to increase at relatively low fields, i.e., below the poling field. Moreover, BNKTLF-30BNKT showed about 460 pm/V as low as at 3 kV/mm, which is a considerably high value among the lead-free systems reported so far. Consequently, it was confirmed that ceramic-ceramic composite, a mixture of an ergodic relaxor matrix and embedded ferroelectric seeds, is a salient way to make lead-free piezoelectrics practical with enhanced EFIS at low field as well as less hysterical.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.31-37
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• 2017

Recently, there has been substantial interest in flexible and wearable devices whose properties and performances are close to conventional devices on hard substrates. Despite the advancement on flexible devices with organic semiconductors or carbon nanotube films, their performances are limited by the carrier scattering at the molecular to molecular or nanotube-to-nanotube junctions. Here in this study, we demonstrate on the vertical semiconductor crystal array embedded in flexible polymer matrix. Such structures can relieve the strain effectively, thereby accommodating large flexural deformation. To achieve such structure, we first established a low-temperature solution-phase synthesis of single crystalline 3D architectures consisting of epitaxially grown ZnO constituent crystals by position and growth direction controlled growth strategy. The ZnO vertical crystal array was integrated into a piece of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate, which was then mechanically detached from the hard substrate to achieve the freestanding ZnO-polymer composite. In addition, the characteristics of transferred ZnO were confirmed by additional structural and photoluminescent measurements. The ZnO vertical crystal array embedded in PDMS was further employed as pressure sensor that exhibited an active response to the external pressure, by piezoelectric effect of ZnO crystal.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.346-346
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• 2007

압전세라믹 재료는 현재 압전 변압기, actuator, transducer, sensor, speaker 등에 광범위하게 이용이 되고 있다. 이 중에서 압전세라믹 소결체를 이용한 스피커의 제조는 가공이 까다롭고, 대형의 크기로 제작 시 소자가 깨지는 등의 많은 제약을 받고 있으며, 저음 특성이 떨어져 응용 범위가 한정되어 있다. 따라서 최근에는 이러한 단점을 극복하기 위하여 세라믹/고분자 복합체를 이용한 필름 스피커를 제작하고자 시도하고 있다. 이러한 세라믹/고분자 0-3형 압전 복합체를 이용할 경우, 제품의 경량화를 실현할 수 있고, 크기나 환경의 영향을 거의 받지 않으므로, 고기능성 스피커로의 응용에 적합할 것으로 보인다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 PZT계의 세라믹와 PVDF, PVDF-TrFE, Polyester, acrylic resin 등의 여러 고분자 물질과의 복합체를 제조하여 압전특성을 평가하였다. 본 실험은 먼저 $(Pb_{1-a-b}Ba_aCd_b)(Zr_xTi_{1-x})_{1-c-d}(Ni_{1/3}Nb_{2/3})_c(Zn_{1/3}Nb_{2/3})_dO_3$ (이하 PZT라 표기)의 최적화 조성을 선택하여, $1050^{\circ}C$에서 소결된 분말을 48시간 ball milling방법 로 약 $1{\mu}m$ 크기로 분쇄하였다. 고분자 물질들은 알맞은 용제들을 선택하여 녹였다. 그 다음 소결된 PZT분말과 고분자를 50:50, 60:40, 65:35, 70:30등의 무게 분율로 혼합하고, 분산제, 소포제 등을 첨가하여 3단 roll mill을 이용하여 충분히 분산시켜 페이스트 (Paste)를 제조하였다. 제조된 페이스트를 ITO가 코팅된 PET필름 위에 스크린 프린팅 법을 사용하여 인쇄하여 $120^{\circ}C$에서 5분간 건조하였다. 코팅된 복합체의 두께는 약 $80{\mu}m$ 정도로 측정되었다. Ag 페이스트를 이용한 상부 전극 형성에도 스크린 프린팅 법을 적용하였다. 이를 $120^{\circ}C$에서 4 kV/mm의 DC 전계로 분극 공정을 수행한 후 전기적 특성을 평가하였다. 유전특성을 조사하기 위해서 LCR meter (EDC-1620)를 사용하였고, 시편의 결정구조는 XRD (Rigaku; D/MAX-2500H)을 통해 분석하였으며, 전자현미경(SEM)을 이용하여 미세구조를 분석하였다. 압전 전하상수$(d_{33})$ 값은 APC 8000 모델을 이용하여 측정하였다. PZT의 혼합비가 증가할수록 비유전율 및 압전 전하 상수 등의 전기적 특성이 증가되었다. 또 여러 고분자 물질 중에서 PVDF-TrFE 수지가 가장 우수한 특성을 보였다. 이는 PVDF-TrFE 수지가 압전성을 나타내기 때문인 것으로 판단되었다.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.333-341
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• 2022

Magnetoelectric (ME) composites are comprised of magnetostrictive and piezoelectric phases. Lots of theoretical and experimental works have been done on ME composites in the last couple of decades. The output performance of ME composites has been enhanced by optimizing the constituent phases, interface layer, dimensions of the ME composites, different operating modes, etc. However, the detailed information about the characterization of ME coupling in ME composites is not provided yet. Therefore, in this tutorial paper, we are giving an insight into the details of measurements of ME voltage coefficient of ME composites both at off-resonance and resonance conditions. A symmetric type Gelfenol/PMN-PZT/Gelfenol ME composites were fabricated by sandwiching (011) 32-mode PMN-PZT single crystal between two Galfenol plates by epoxy bonding are used for the example of ME coupling measurement. The details about the experimental setup used for the measurement of ME voltage coefficient are provided. Furthermore, a step-by-step measurement of ME voltage coefficient using computerized program is demonstrated. We believe the present experimental measurement details can help readers to understand the concept of ME coupling and its analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.85-95
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• 1998

The broadband ultrasonic transducers have been designed to use in obtaining the broadband echo signals from fish schools in relation to the identification of fish species. The broadening of bandwidth was achieved by attaching double acoustic matching layers on the front face of a Tonpilz transducer consisted of an aluminum head, a piezoelectric ring, a brass tail and to evaluate the performance characteristics, such as the transmitting voltage response(TVR) of transducers. The constructed transducers were tested experimentally and numerically by changing the parameters such as impedances and thicknesses of the head, tail and matching layers, in the water tank. Also, the developed transducer was excited by a chirp signal and the received chirp waveforms were analyzed. According to the measured TVR results, the available 3 dB bandwidth of the transducer with double matching layers of an $Al_O_3/epoxy$ composite of 7 mm thick and a polyurethane window of 18 mm thick was 7.3 kHz with a center frequency of 38.8 kHz, and the maximum and the minimum values of the TVR in this frequency region were 135.7 dB and 132.7 dB re $1\;{\mu}Pa/V$ at 1 m, respectively. Also, the available 3 dB bandwidth of the transducer with double matching layers of an $Al_O_3/epoxy$ composite of 11 mm thick and a polyurethane window of 15 mm thick was 6.2 kHz with a center frequency of 38.6 kHz, and the maximum TVR value in the frequency region was 136.3 dB re $1\;{\mu}Pa/V$ at 1 m. Reasonable agreement between the experimental results and the numerical results for the TVR of the developed transducers was achieved. The frequency dependant characteristics of experimentally observed chirp signals closely matched to the measured TVR results. These results suggest that there is potential for increasing the bandwidth by varying other parameters in the transducer design and the material of the acoustic matching layers.