• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.28-33
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• 2011

This paper describes the fabrication of AlN thin films containing iron and iron nitride particles, and the magnetic and electrical properties of such films. Fe-N-Al alloy films were deposited in Ar and $N_2$ mixtures at ambient temperature using Fe/Al composite targets in a two-facing-target DC sputtering system. X-ray diffraction results showed that the Fe-N-Al films were amorphous, and after annealing for 5 h both AlN and bcc-Fe/bct-$FeN_x$ phases appeared. Structure changes in the $FeN_x$ phases were explained in terms of occupied nitrogen atoms. Electron diffraction and transmission electron microscopy observations revealed that iron and iron nitride particles were randomly dispersed in annealed AlN films. The grain size of magnetic particles ranged from 5 to 20 nm in diameter depending on annealing conditions. The saturation magnetization as a function of the annealing time for the $Fe_{55}N_{20}Al_{25}$ films when annealed at 573, 773 and 873 K. At these temperatures, the amount of iron/iron nitride particles increased with increasing annealing time. An increase in the saturation magnetization is explained qualitatively in terms of the amount of such magnetic particles in the film. The resistivity increased monotonously with decreasing Fe content, being consistent with randomly dispersed iron/iron nitride particles in the AlN film. The coercive force was evaluated to be larger than $6.4{\times}10^3Am^{-1}$ (80 Oe). This large value is ascribed to a residual stress restrained in the ferromagnetic particles, which is considered to be related to the present preparation process.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.467-471
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• 2009

Effects of boron and carbon on the densification and thermal decomposition of an AlN-SiC-$TiB_2$ system were investigated. $SiO_2$ was mostly removed by the addition of carbon, while $Al_2O_3$ formed $Al_4O_4C$ and promoted the densification of the systems above $1850^{\circ}C$. Rather porous specimens were obtained without the additives after hot pressing at $2100^{\circ}C$, while densification was mostly completed at $2000^{\circ}C$ by using the additives. The sintering temperature decreased further to $1950^{\circ}C$ by applying spark plasma sintering. The additives promoted the shrinkage of AlN by forming a liquid phase which was originated from the carbo- and boro-thermal reduction of $Al_2O_3$ and AlN.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.375-379
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• 2014

Nanocrystalline TiAlN coatings were prepared by reactively sputtering TiAl metal target with $N_2$ gas. This was done using a magnetron sputtering system operated in DC and ICP (inductively coupled plasma) conditions at various power levels. The effect of ICP power (from 0 to 300 W) on the coating microstructure, corrosion and mechanical properties were systematically investigated using FE-SEM, AFM and nanoindentation. The results show that ICP power has a significant influence on coating microstructure and mechanical properties of TiAlN coatings. With increasing ICP power, the coating microstructure evolved from the columnar structure typical of DC sputtering processes to a highly dense one. Average grain size of TiAlN coatings decreased from 15.6 to 5.9 nm with increasing ICP power. The maximum nano-hardness (67.9 GPa) was obtained for the coatings deposited at 300 W of ICP power. The smoothest surface morphology (Ra roughness 5.1 nm) was obtained for the TiAlN coating sputtered at 300 W ICP power.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers C
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• v.52 no.7
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• pp.288-292
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• 2003

AlM thin film has been deposited on A1$_2$O$_3$ substrate by reactive radio frequency(RF) magnetron sputtering method under various operating conditions such as working pressure, fraction of nitrogen partial pressure, and substrate temperature. Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM), X-ray Diffraction(XRD), and Atomic Force Microscope(AFM) have been measured to find out structural properties and preferred orientation of AlN thin films. SAW velocity of IDTs/AlN/Si structure was about 5038［㎧］ at the center frequency of 251.9［MHz］ and insertion loss was measured to be relatively low value of 35.6［dB］. SAW velocity of IDTs/AlN/A1$_2$O$_3$ structure was improved to be about 5960［㎧］ at the center frequency of 296.7［MHz］.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.112-112
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• 2009

In this study, the effect of a long post-deposition thermal annealing(600 and 1000 $^{\circ}C$) on the surface acoustic wave (SAW) properties of polycrystalline (poly) aluminum-nitride (AlN) thin films grown on a 3C-SiC buffer layer was investigates. The poly-AlN thin films with a (0002) preferred orientation were deposited on the substrates by using a pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering system. Experimental results show that the texture degree of AlN thin film was reduced along the increase in annealing temperature, which caused the decrease in the electromechanical coupling coefficient ($k^2$). The SAW velocity also was decreased slightly by the increase in root mean square (RMS) roughness over annealing temperature. However, the residual stress in films almost was not affect by thermal annealing process due to small lattice mismatch different and similar coefficient temperature expansion (CTE) between AlN and 3C-SiC. After the AlN film annealed at 1000 $^{\circ}C$, the insertion loss of an $IDT/AlN/3C-SiC/SiO_2/Si$ structure (-16.44 dB) was reduced by 8.79 dB in comparison with that of the as-deposited film (-25.23 dB). The improvement in the insertion loss of the film was fined according to the decrease in the grain size. The characteristics of AlN thin films were also evaluated using Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra and X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) images.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.78-85
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• 2012

Aluminum nitride(AlN) is a compound (III-V group) of hexagonal system with a crystal structure. Its Wurzite phase is a very wide band gap semiconductor material. It has not only a high thermal conductivity, a high electrical resistance, a high electrical insulating constant, a high breakdown voltage and an excellent mechanical strength but also stable thermal and chemical characteristics. This study is on the preferred orientation characteristics of AlN thin films by reactive evaporation using $NH_3$. We have manufactured an AlN thin film and then have checked the crystal structure and the preferred orientation by using an X-ray diffractometer and have also observed the microstructure with TEM and AlN chemical structure with FT-IR. We can manufacture an excellent AlN thin film by reactive evaporation using $NH_3$ under 873 K of substrate temperature. The AlN thin film growth is dependent on Al supplying and $NH_3$ has been found to be effective as a source of $N_2$. However, the nuclear structure of AlN did not occur randomly around the substrate a particle of the a-axis orientation in fast growth speed becomes an earlier crystal structure and is shown to have an a-axis preferred orientation. Therefore, reactive evaporation using $NH_3$ is not affected by provided $H_2$ amount and this can be an easy a-axis orientation method.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.60-65
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• 2008

This study aims at investigating the wear properties of thermally sprayed $Al/Al_2O_3$ metal matrix composite(MMC) coating against different counterparts. $Al/Al_2O_3$ MMC coatings were fabricated using a flame spray system on an Al 6061 substrate. Dry sliding wear tests were performed using the sliding speeds of 0.2m/s and the applied loads of 1 and 2 N. AISI 52100, $Al_2O_3$, $Si_3N_4\;and\;ZrO_2$ balls(diameter: 8mm) were used as counterpart materials. Wear properties of $Al/Al_2O_3$ MMC coatings were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope(SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). It was revealed that wear properties of $Al/Al_2O_3$ composite coatings were much influenced by counterpart materials. In the case of AISI 52100 used as counterparts, the wear rate of composites coating layer increased according to the increase of the applied load. On the contrary, in the case of ceramics used as counterparts, the wear rate of composites coating layer decreased according to the increase of the applied load.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.6-9
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• 1994

Previously reported Ar/N$_2$ratios in groundwater have been measured by single ion monitoring (Barnes et al., 1975; Vogel et al., 1981; Mariotti et al., 1988). The detector geometry and flared flight tube in VG Optima isotopic ratio mass spectrometer appeared to be fortuitously aligned for the simultaneous measurement of Ar/N$_2$ratios. Method development included mechanical adjustments to optimize the mass spectrometer for Ar/N$_2$ratio measurements followed by development of a preparation system for the extraction of air-saturated water samples. Samples containing known Ar/N$_2$ratios were used to assess accuracy and precision, and to test the applicability of methods for measurements of aqueous Ar/N$_2$ratios. The results indicated that the prepared air-saturated water samples were almost identical to the predicted Ar/N$_2$ratios (p ＜0.001). Groundwater samples were collected from on-going research sites, Shelton and Grand Island, Nebraska. Samples from the Grand Island sludge injection site form a lower boundary for worldwide reported Ar/N$_2$ratios. These lower Ar/N$_2$ratios can be explained by the production of nitrogen gas from this site, where denitrification was reported previously.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2012.02a
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• pp.391-392
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• 2012

In these days, the desire for the precise and tiny displays in mobile application has been increased strongly. Currently, laser displays ranging from large-size laser TV to mobile projectors, are commercially available or due to appear on the market [1]. In order to achieve a mobile projectors, the semiconductor laser diodes should be used as a laser source due to their size and weight. In this presentation, the continuous etch characteristics of Pd and AlGaN/GaN superlattice for the fabrication of blue laser diodes were investigated by using inductively coupled $CHF_3$ and $Cl_2$ -based plasma. The GaN laser diode samples were grown on the sapphire (0001) substrate using a metal organic chemical vapor deposition system. A Si-doped GaN layer was grown on the substrate, followed by growth of LD structures, including the active layers of InGaN/GaN quantum well and barriers layer, as shown in other literature [2], and the palladium was used as a p-type ohmic contact metal. The etch rate of AlGaN/GaN superlattice (2.5/2.5 nm for 100 periods) and n-GaN by using $Cl_2$ (90%)/Ar (10%) and $Cl_2$ (50%)/$CHF_3$ (50%) plasma chemistry, respectively. While when the $Cl_2$/Ar plasma were used, the etch rate of AlGaN/GaN superlattice shows a similar etch rate as that of n-GaN, the $Cl_2/CHF_3$ plasma shows decreased etch rate, compared with that of $Cl_2$/Ar plasma, especially for AlGaN/GaN superlattice. Furthermore, it was also found that the Pd which is deposited on top of the superlattice couldn't be etched with $Cl_2$/Ar plasma. It was indicating that the etching step should be separated into 2 steps for the Pd etching and the superlattice etching, respectively. The etched surface of stacked Pd/superlattice as a result of 2-step etching process including Pd etching ($Cl_2/CHF_3$) and SLs ($Cl_2$/Ar) etching, respectively. EDX results shows that the etched surface is a GaN waveguide free from the Al, indicating the SLs were fully removed by etching. Furthermore, the optical and electrical properties will be also investigated in this presentation. In summary, Pd/AlGaN/GaN SLs were successfully etched exploiting noble 2-step etching processes.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.273-273
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• 2008

This paper describes the frequency response of two-port surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonator made of 002-polycrystalline aluminum nitride (AlN) thin film on 111-poly 3C-SiC buffer layer. In there, Polycrystalline AlN thin films were deposited on polycrystalline 3C-SiC buffer layer by pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering system, the polycrystalline 3C-SiC was grown on $SiO_2$/Si sample by CVD. The obtained results such as the temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) of the device is about from 15.9 to 18.5 ppm/$^{\circ}C$, the change in resonance frequency is approximately linear (30-$150^{\circ}C$), which resonance frequency of AlN/3C-SiC structure has high temperature stability. The characteristics of AlN thin films grown on 3C-SiC buffer layer are also evaluated by using the XRD, and AFM images.