• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.40 no.11
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• pp.1106-1112
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• 2003

For the purpose of making clear the role of oxygen in the thermoelectric properties of FeSi$_2$, thermoelectric measurements and spectroscopic characterization were conducted for the oxidized specimens fabricated from ($\alpha$+$\varepsilon$)-phases and/or $\beta$-phase. Addition of oxygen to FeSi$_2$ prevented both densification during sintering and transformation from metallic phases to semiconducting phase during annealing treatment. In an specimens, electrical conductivity and thermal conductivity decreased with oxidation time. The Seebeck coefficient was positive and small for pure FeSi$_2$. And/or the oxidized specimens fabricated from ($\alpha$+$\varepsilon$)-phases. However, it was negative and showed a maximum peak at about 500 K for the oxidized FeSi$_2$ fabricated from $\beta$-phase. The value of maximum peak increased with oxidation time.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.345-351
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• 2008

The effects of the dopant (Mn) ratio on the microstructure and thermoelectric properties of $FeSi_2$ alloy were studied in this research. The alloy was fabricated by a combination process of ball milling and high pressure pressing. Structural behavior of the sintered bulks were systematically investigated by XRD, SEM, and optical microscopy. With increasing dopan (Mn) ratio, the density and ${\varepsilon}-FeSi$ phase of the sintered bulks increased and maximum density of 94% was obtained in the 0.07% Mn-doped alloy. The sintered bulks showed fine microstructure of ${\alpha}-Fe_{2}Si_{5}$, ${\varepsilon}-FeSi$ and ${\beta}-FeSi_2$ phase. The semiconducting phase of ${\beta}-FeSi_2$ was transformed from ${\alpha}-Fe_{2}Si_{5}+{\varepsilon}-FeSi$ phase by annealing.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.176-181
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• 2002

Fabrication of ${\beta}-FeSi_2$ was attempted by making use of the combined process of mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS). MA was performed under the Ar gas atmosphere using mixed powders of pure iron and silicon having the mole fraction of 1:2. SPS process was performed at 800-85$0^{\circ}C$ with the applied pressure of 50MPa and the holding time was ranging from 0 to 30min. The mechanically alloyed powder by cyclic operation of rotor for 15hrs consisted of $\varepsilon$-FeSi and Si phases. When this mechanically alloyed powder was sintered by SPS process above 85$0^{\circ}C$, $\varepsilon$-FeSi and ${\alpha}-Fe_2Si_5$ phase were formed. Bulk product sintered at 82$0^{\circ}C$ for 30min consisted of ${beta}-FeSi_2$ phase with a small fraction of $\varepsilon$-FeSi and the density of sintered specimen was 75.3% theoretical density. It was considered that the MA/SPS combined process was effective for the preparation of ${\beta}-FeSi_2$ without heat treatment process after sintering.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.375-381
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• 2002

N-type ${\beta}-FeSi_2$ with a nominal composition of $Fe_{0.98}Co_{0.02}Si_2$ powders has been produced by mechanical alloying process and consolidated by vacuum hot pressing. As-milled powders were of metastable state and fully transformed to ${\beta}-FeSi_2$ phase by subsequent isothermal annealing. However, as-consolidated $Fe_{0.98}Co_{0.02}Si_2$ consisted of untransformed mixture of ${\alpha}-Fe_2Si_ 5$ and $\varepsilon$-FeSi phases. Isothermal annealing has been carried out to induce the transformation to a thermoelectric semiconducting ${\beta}-FeSi_2$ phase. The transformation behavior of ${\beta}-FeSi_2$ was investigated by utilizing DTA, a modified TGA under magnetic field, SEM, and XRD analyses. Isothermal annealing at $830^{\circ}C$ in vacuum led to the thermoelectric semiconducting ${\beta}-FeSi_2$ phase transformation, but some residual metallic $\alpha$ and $\varepsilon$ phases were unavoidable even after prolonged annealing. Thermoelectric properties were remarkably improved by isothermal annealing due to the transformation from metallic $\alpha$ and $\varepsilon$ phases to semiconducting phases.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2000.02a
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• pp.174-174
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• 2000

A strong antiferromagnetic coupling in Fe/Si multilayered films (MLF) had been recently discovered and much consideration has been given to whether the coupling in the Fe/Si MLF system has the same origin as the metal/metal MLF. Nevertheless, the nature of the interfacial ron silicide is still controversial. On one hand, a metal/ semiconductor structure was suggested with a narrow band-gap semiconducting $\varepsilon$-FeSi spacer that mediates the coupling. However, some features show that the nature of coupling can be well understood in terms of the conventional metal/metal multilayered system. It is well known that both magneto-optical (MO) and optical properties of a metal depend strongly on their electronic structure that is also correlated with the atomic and chemical ordering. In this study, the nature of the interfacial regions is the Fe/Si multilayers has been investigated by the experimental and computer-simulated MO and optical spectroscopies. The Fe/Si MLF were prepared by rf-sputtering onto glass substrates at room temperature with the number of repetition N=50. The thickness of Fe sublayer was fixed at 3.0nm while the Si sublayer thickness was varied from 1.0 to 2.0 nm. The topmost layer of all the Fe/Si MLF is Fe. In order to carry out the computer simulations, the information on the MO and optical parameters of the materials that may constitute a real multilayered structure should be known in advance. For this purpose, we also prepared Fe, Si, FeSi2 and FeSi samples. The structural characterization of Fe/Si MLF was performed by low- and high -angle x-ray diffraction with a Cu-K$\alpha$ radiation and by transmission electron microscopy. A bulk $\varepsilon$-FeSi was also investigated. The MO and optical properties were measured at room temperature in the 1.0-4.7 eV energy range. The theoretical simulations of MO and optical properties for the Fe/Si MLF were performed by solving exactly a multireflection problem using the scattering matrix approach assuming various stoichiometries of a nonmagnetic spacer separating the antiferromagnetically coupled Fe layers. The simulated spectra of a model structure of FeSi2 or $\varepsilon$-FeSi as the spacer turned out to fail in explaining the experimental spectra of the Fe/Si MLF in both intensity and shape. Thus, the decisive disagreement between experimental and simulated MO and optical properties ruled out the hypothesis of FeSi2 and $\varepsilon$-FeSi as the nonmagnetic spacer. By supposing the spontaneous formation of a metallic ζ-FeSi, a reasonable agreement between experimental and simulated MO and optical spectra was obtained.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.132-136
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• 2007

Oxidation resistance of sintered ${\beta}-FeSi_{2}$ was investigated at intermediate temperature range in air atmosphere. Fully dense and porous bodies of ${\beta}-FeSi_{2}$ samples were fabricated by using the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS). They were annealed at $900^{\circ}C$ for 5days to obtain ${\beta}-FeSi_{2}$ phase. The bulk samples were oxidized at $800,\;900\;and\;950^{\circ}C$ in air atmosphere. The high temperature oxidation tests reveal that amorphous $SiO_{2}$ layer, similar to Si was formed and grew parabolically on ${\beta}-FeSi_{2}$. Accelerated oxidation is not observed as well as cracks and grain boundary oxidation. Granular ${\varepsilon}-FeSi$ was developed below the oxide layer as a result of oxidation of ${\beta}-FeSi_{2}$. Oxidation resistance of sintered ${\beta}-FeSi_{2}$ was excellent for high-temperature thermoelectric application.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.99-104
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• 2005

In this study, the effects of C and Si on damping capacity and mechanical properties of as-cast and as-rolled Fe-17%Mn alloys were investigated as a basic study for the purpose of the commercialization of the alloy. The $M_s$ temperature of ${\gamma}{\rightarrow}{\varepsilon}$ martensitic transformation in Fe-17%Mn alloy was decreased with increasing C and Si contents, resulting in the less volume fraction of ${\varepsilon}$ martensite. The damping capacity was also decreased with increasing alloying content because of less ${\varepsilon}$ amount and the reduction in mobility of the damping sources such as the stacking fault boundaries and ${\gamma}/{\varepsilon}$ interfaces due to the pinning effect by alloying elements. The mechanical properties of as-rolled alloys were superior to those of as-cast alloys probably because of finer ${\gamma}$ grains, larger amount of ${\varepsilon}$ martensite, and chemical homogeneity.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.211-215
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• 2003

In this work, a new way of measuring the volume fraction of e martensite in Fe-based alloys has been proposed. Since the specific volume of ${\varepsilon}$ martensite, depending on alloy composition, is smaller than that of austenite i.e ${\gamma}$ phase, volume expansion takes place during ${\varepsilon}{\rightarrow}{\gamma}$ reverse transformation. As the amount of the volume expansion is proportional to the product of specific volume difference times the volume fraction of ${\varepsilon}$ martensite, the volume fraction of ${\varepsilon}$ martensite can be calculated by measuring the volume expansion and the specific volume difference. Such a relationship was confirmed in Fe-21Mn and Fe-32Mn-6Si alloys which undergo ${\gamma}{\rightarrow}{\varepsilon}$ martensitic transformation on cooling and by cold rolling, respectively. It was also found that the former has isotropic ${\varepsilon}$ martensite while the latter has anisotropic ${\varepsilon}$ martensite.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.8 no.7
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• pp.584-590
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• 1998

The microstructures of finely distributed Si-phases in $\beta$-$FeSi_2$ thermoelectric matrix, were produced by heat-treating the melt-cast ingots of single $\alpha$-$Fe_2Si_5$ phase at 730~85$0^{\circ}C$ for 4~20 hours, or by resistance-hot-pressing the mechanically alloyed powders ordinarily consisting of $\varepsilon$-FeSi and Si phases at 760~85$0^{\circ}C$ for 10 minutes of composition. $(Fe_{0.98}Mn_{0.02})_xSi_2(x{\leq$}1) The size and interspacing of dispersed Si-phases were able to control within a range of 0.05~0.27$\mu\textrm{m}$ and 0.2~0.6$\mu\textrm{m}$ by variations of heat treatment temperature and sintering temperature as well as the composition. respectively. The dispersion of Si- phases was expected to be effective for the reduction of thermal conductivity responsible for the increment of thermoelectric figure of merit.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.132-136
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• 2001

Iron- silicide has been produced by mechanical alloying process and consolidated by hot pressing. As-consolidated iron silicides were consisted of $\beta$-FeSi$_2$ phase, and untransformed mixture of $\alpha$-$Fe_2Si_5$ and $\varepsilon$-FeSi phases. Isothermal annealing has been carried out to induce the transformation to a thermoelectric semiconducting $\beta$-$FeSi_2$ phase. The condition for $\beta$-FeSi$_2$ transformation was investigated by utilizing DTA, SEM, TEM and XRD analysis. The phase transformation was shown to be taken place by a vacuum isothermal annealing at $830^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours. The mechanical and thermoelectric properties of $\beta$-FeSi$_2$ materials before and after isothermal annealing were characterized in this study.