• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.19-24
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• 2020

In this work, the electrical property of Si-doped β-Ga2O3 was investigated via a post-growth annealing process. The Ga2O3 samples were annealed under air (O-rich) or N2 (O-deficient) ambient at 800~1,200℃ for 30 mins. There was no correlation between the crystalline quality and the electrical conductivity of the films within the experimental conditions explored in this work. However, it was observed the air ambient led to severe degradation of the film's electrical conductivity while N2-annealed samples exhibited improvement in both the carrier concentration and Hall mobility measured at room temperature. Interestingly, the x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that both annealing conditions resulted in higher concentration of oxygen vacancy (VO). Although it was a slight increase for the air-annealed sample, high resistivity of the film strongly suggests that VO cannot be a shallow donor in β-Ga2O3. Therefore, the enhancement of the electrical conductivity of N2-annealed samples must be originated from something other than VO. One possibility is the activation of Si. The XPS analysis of N2-annealed samples showed increasing relative peak area of Si 2p associated with SiOx with increasing annealing temperature from 800 to 1,200℃. However, it was unclear whether or not this SiOx was responsible for the improvement as the electrical conductivity quickly degraded above 1,000℃ even under N2 ambient. Furthermore, XPS suggested the concentration of Si actually increased near the surface as opposed to the shift of the binding energy of Si from its initial chemical state to SiOx state. This study illustrates the electrical changes induced by a post-growth thermal annealing process can be utilized to probe the chemical and electrical states of vacancies and dopants for better understanding of the electrical property of Si-doped β-Ga2O3.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.101-109
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• 2022

The mobility and transport of radioactive cesium are crucial factors to consider for the safety assessment of high-level radioactive waste disposal sites in granite. The retardation of radionuclides in the fractured crystalline rock is mainly controlled by the hydrochemical condition of groundwater and surface reactions with minerals present in the fractures. This paper reports the experimental results of cesium sorption to the Wonju Granite, a typical Mesozoic granite in Korea, performed in an anaerobic chamber that mimics the anoxic environment of a deep disposal site. We measured the rates and amounts of cesium (¹³³Cs) removed by crushed granite samples in different electrolyte (NaCl, KCl, and CaCl₂) solutions and a synthetic groundwater solution, with variations in the initial cesium concentration (10^-5, 5×10^-6, 10^-6, 5×10^-7 M). The cesium sorption kinetic and isotherm data were successfully simulated by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (r²= 0.99) and the Freundlich isotherm model (r²= 0.99), respectively. The sorption distribution coefficient of granite increased almost linearly with increasing biotite content in granite samples, indicating that biotite is an effective cesium scavenger. The cesium removal was minimal in KCl solution compared to that in NaCl or CaCl₂ solution, regardless of the ionic strength and initial cesium concentration that we examined, showing that K⁺ is the most competitive ion against cesium in sorption to granite. Because it is the main source mineral of K⁺ in fracture fluids, biotite may also hinder the sorption of cesium, which warrants further research.

• Korean Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.313-331
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• 2022

Natural or native abiotic molecular hydrogen (H₂) is a major component in natural gas, however yet its importance in the global energy sector's usage as clean and renewable energy is underestimated. Here we review the occurrence and geological settings of native hydrogen to demonstrate the much widesprease H₂ occurrence in nature by comparison with previous estimations. Three main types of source rocks have been identified: (1) ultramafic rocks; (2) cratons comprising iron (Fe²⁺)-rich rocks; and (3) uranium-rich rocks. The rocks are closely associated with Precambrian crystalline basement and serpentinized ultramafic rocks from ophiolite and peridotite either at mid-ocean ridges or within continental margin(Zgonnik, 2020). Inorganic geological processes producing H₂ in the source rocks include (a) the reduction of water during the oxidation of Fe²⁺ in minerals (e.g., olivine), (b) water splitting due to radioactive decay, (c) degassing of magma at low pressure, and (d) the reaction of water with surface radicals during mechanical breaking (e.g., fault) of silicate rocks. Native hydrogen are found as a free gas (51%), fluid inclusions in various rock types (29%), and dissolved gas in underground water (20%) (Zgonnik, 2020). Although research on H₂ has not yet been carried out in Korea, the potential H₂ reservoirs in the Gyeongsang Basin are highly probable based on geological and geochemical characteristics including occurrence of ultramafic rocks, inter-bedded basaltic layers and iron-copper deposits within thick sedimentary basin and igneous activities at an active continental margin during the Permian-Paleogene. The native hydrogen is expected to be clean and renewable energy source in the near future. Therefore it is clear that the origin and exploration of the native hydrogen, not yet been revealed by an integrated studies of rock-fluid interaction studies, are a field of special interest, regardless of the presence of economic native hydrogen reservoirs in Korea.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.111-120
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• 2023

The nucleation mechanism was studied using a calcium ion selective electrode (Ca ISE) to observe the formation of CaCO₃, a representative mineral in the CO2 cycle, and to analyze the effect of the Mg/Ca-ratio and temperature on the formation of pre-nucleation cluster (PNC) and CaCO₃. As a result of the experiment, a small amount of crystal was formed. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was used for surface element analysis, and a field emission scanning-electron microscope (FE-SEM) was used for the morphology analysis of synthesized carbonates. These results showed that various shapes of crystalline CaCO₃ (calcite, aragonite, etc.) were observed for each Mg/Ca ratio and temperature. In addition, the calibration plot obtained from Ca ISE showed information on the formation process of CaCO₃. Our results showed that as magnesium ions interfered with the binding of calcium and carbonate ions and delayed the aggregation between PNCs, the nucleation and formation of CaCO₃ were delayed. On the other hand, the temperature showed an opposite trend as compared to the effect of magnesium under our experimental conditions, indicating that temperature accelerated the formation of CaCO₃. Furthermore, the morphology of CaCO₃ clearly changed according to the Mg/Ca ratio and temperature, and it was confirmed that the two factors are very important for CaCO₃ formation in that they could affect the overall process.