• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.10 no.7
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• pp.499-504
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• 2000

Recently there have been many investigations on the synthesis and properties of transition metal trialuminides based on Ti, Zr, V, Nb and Ta for use aircraft structure materials in an elevated environment. The effect of Zr additions on the formation behaviour of Al-Nb alloy was investigated. Al-1.3at.%(Nb+Zr) alloys with different Nb to Zr atomic 1:3, 1:1 and 3:1 were prepared by mechanical alloying(MA). The morphological changes and microstructural evolution of Al-Nb-Zr powders during MA were investigated by SEM, XRD and TEM. The intermetallic compound phase of $Nb_2Al\; and\; Al_3Zr_4$ was identified by X-ray diffraction. The intemetallic compound of $Al_3Zr,\; Al_3Nb$ and $Al_3Zr_4$ were formed by heat treatment for 1 hour at $500^{\circ}C$. The size of intermetallic compounds observed by TEM were approximately below 100nm, when they were heat treated after mechanically alloying for 30 hours.

• Journal of Powder Materials
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.46-50
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• 2003

Lee et al. reported that a mixture of Cu and Ta, the combination of which is characterized by a positive heat of mixing, $\{Delta}H_{mix}$ of +2 kJ/㏖, can be amorphized by mechanical alloying(MA). It is our aim to investigate to what extent the MA is capable of producing a non-equilibrium phase with increasing the heat of mixing. The system chosen is the binary $Cu_{30}Mo_{70}$ with $\{Delta}H_{mix}$=+19 kJ/㏖. The mechanical alloying was carried out using a Fritsch P-5 planetary mill under Ar gas atmosphere. The vial and balls are made of Cu containing 1.8-2.0 wt.%Be to avoid contaminations arising mainly from Fe when steel balls and vial are used. The MA powders were characterized by the X-ray diffraction, EXAFS and thermal analysis. We conclude that two phase mixture of nanocrystalline fcc-Cu and bcc-Mo with grain size of 10 nm is formed by the ball-milling for a 3:7 mixture of pure Cu and Mo, the evidence for which has been deduced from the thermodynamic and structural analysis based on the DSC, X-ray diffraction and EXAFS spectra.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.454-465
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• 2022

The objective of this study was to determine effects of temperatures and pH of sodium chloride solution with MgCl₂ ions on corrosion resistance of duplex stainless-steel X2CrNiMoN22-5-3 (DSS) and Ti 6Al 2Nb1Ta1Mo (Ti). Effects of sodium chloride concentration on corrosion resistance were also studied. Corrosion behavior and pitting morphology of duplex stainless steel (DSS) and Ti alloys were evaluated through potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was found that a decrease in pH significantly reduced the corrosion resistance of both alloys. Changes in chloride concentration and temperature had more substantial impact on corrosion behavior of DSS than on Ti alloys. Pitting corrosion was formed on DSS samples under all conditions, whereas crevice corrosion was developed on Ti samples with the presence of magnesium chloride at 90 ℃. In conclusion, magnesium chloride ions in an exceedingly strong acidity solution appear to interact with re-passivation process at the surface of these alloys and influence the resulting surface topography.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.434-444
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• 2022

Corrosion inhibitors based on Zn-Al hydrotalcites containing benzoate (ZnAlHB) with different molar ratios of Zn/Al were prepared with a co-precipitation process. Compositions and structures of the resulting hydrotalcites were studied with suitable spectroscopic methods such as inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry (UV-Vis), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and surface zeta potential measurements, respectively. Results of physico-chemical studies showed that crystallite sizes, compositions of products, and surface electrical properties were significantly changed when the molar ratio of Zn/Al was increased. The release of benzoate from hydrotalcites also differed slightly among samples. Anticorrosion abilities of hydrotalcites intercalated with benzoate at a concentration of 3 g/L on carbon steel were analyzed using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), polarization curve, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and SEM. Corrosion inhibition abilities of benzoate modified hydrotalcites in 0.1 M NaCl showed an upward trend with increasing Zn/Al ratio. The reason for the dependence of corrosion resistance on the Zn/Al ratio was discussed, including changes in the microstructure of hydrotalcites such as crystal size, density, uniformity, and formation of ZnO.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.53-59
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• 2008

We observed DNA damages as a function of mean absorbed dose to identify the indirect effect of high-energy radiation such as x-ray. Monolayer films of lyophilized pGEM-3Zf(-) plasmid DNA deposited on tantalum foils were exposed to Al $K{\alpha}$ X-ray (1.5 keV) for 0, 3, 7 and 10 min, respectively, in a condition of ultrahigh vacuum state. We compared DNA damages by X-ray irradiation with those by 3 eV electron irradiation. X-ray photons produced low-energy electrons (mainly below 20 eV) from the tantalum foils and DNA damage was induced chiefly by these electrons. For electron beam irradiation, DNA damage was directly caused by 3 eV electrons. Irradiated DNA was analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis and quantified by ImagaQuant program. The quantities of remained supercoiled DNA after irradiation were linearly decreased as a function of mean absorbed dose. On the other hand, the yields of nicked circular (single strand break, SSB) and interduplex crosslinked form 1 DNA were linearly increased as a function of mean absorbed dose. From this study, it was confirmed that DNA damage was also induced by low energy electrons ($0{\sim}10\;eV$) even below threshold energies for the ionization of DNA.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.32-35
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• 2013

In this paper, a manufacturing process was developed for fabricating high-quality AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) on silicon carbide (SiC) substrates. Various conditions and processing methods regarding the ohmic contact and pre-metal-deposition $BCl_3$ etching processes were evaluated in terms of the device performance. In order to obtain a good ohmic contact performance, we tested a Ti/Al/Ta/Au ohmic contact metallization scheme under different rapid thermal annealing (RTA) temperature and time. A $BCl_3$-based reactive-ion etching (RIE) method was performed before the ohmic metallization, since this approach was shown to produce a better ohmic contact compared to the as-fabricated HEMTs. A HEMT with a 0.5 ${\mu}m$ gate length was fabricated using this novel manufacturing process, which exhibits a maximum drain current density of 720 mA/mm and a peak transconductance of 235 mS/mm. The X-band output power density was 6.4 W/mm with a 53% power added efficiency (PAE).

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.32-35
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• 2003

Magnetic funnel Junctions (MTJs) were fabricated on thermally oxidized Si (100) wafers using DC magnetron sputtering. The film Structures were Ta(50 ${\AA}$)/CU(100 ${\AA}$)$Ni_{80}Fe_{20}(20 $ ${\AA}$)/Cu(50 ${\AA}$)/$Mn_{75}Ir_{25}(100 $ ${\AA}$)/$Co_{70}Fe_{30}(25$ ${\AA}$)/Al-O(15 ${\AA}$)/$Co_{70}Fe_{30}(25 $ ${\AA}$)/$Ni_{80}Fe_{20}(t)/Ta(50 $ ${\AA}$), with t=0 ${\AA}$, 100 and 1000 ${\AA}$, respectively. X-ray diffraction has shown improvement of (111) texture of IrMn$_3$ and Cu by annealing. The exchange-biased energy is almost inversely proportional to temperature. The difference between the coercivity H$_c$ and the exchange biased field H$_E$ for t = 0 $_3$ sample is smaller than that for t = 1000 ${\AA}$. For the pinned layer, the decreasing rate of the coercivity with the temperature is higher compared to that of the exchange field, but variation of H$_c$ is similar to that of the exchange field for free layer.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.17-22
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• 2004

We studied the magnetotransport properties of tunnel junctions with AlO and AlN barriers fabricated using microwave-excited plasma. The plasma nitridation process provided wider controllability than the plasma oxidization for the formation of MTJs with ultra-thin insulating layer, because of the slow nitriding rate of metal Al layers, comparing with the oxidizing rate of them. High tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) ratios of 49 and 44% with respective resistance-area product $(R{\times}A) of 3 {\times} 10^4 and 6 {\times} 10^3 {\Omega}{\mu}m^2$ were obtained in the Co-Fe/Al-N/Co-Fe MTJs. We conclude that AlN is a hopeful barrier material to realize MTJs with high TMR ratio and low $R{\times}A$ for high performance MRAM cells. In addition, in order to clarify the annealing temperature dependence of TMR, the local transport properties were measured for Ta $50{\AA} /Cu 200 {\AA}/Ta 50 {\AA}/Ni_{76}Fe_{24} 20 {\AA}/Cu 50 {\AA}/Mn_{75}Ir_{25} 100 {\AA}/Co_{71}Fe_{29} 40 {\AA}/Al-O$ junction with $d_{Al}= 8 {\AA} and P_{O2}{\times}t_{0X}/ = 8.4 {\times} 10^4$ at various temperatures. The current histogram statistically calculated from the electrical current image was well in accord with the fitting result considering the Gaussian distribution and Fowler-Nordheim equation. After annealing at $340^{\circ}C$, where the TMR ratio of the corresponding MTJ had the maximum value of 44%, the average barrier height increased to 1.12 eV and its standard deviation decreased to 0.1 eV. The increase of TMR ratio after annealing could be well explained by the enhancement of the average barrier height and the reduction of its fluctuation.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.124-127
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• 2007

Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), which consisted of amorphous CoFeSiB layers, were investigated. The CoFeSiB layers were used to substitute for the traditionally used CoFe and/or NiFe layers with an emphasis given on understanding the effect of the amorphous free layer on the switching characteristics of the MTJs. CoFeSiB has a lower saturation magnetization ($M_s\;:\;560\;emu/cm^3$) and a higher anisotropy constant ($K_u\;:\;2800\;erg/cm^3$) than CoFe and NiFe, respectively. An exchange coupling energy ($J_{ex}$) of $-0.003\;erg/cm^2$ was observed by inserting a 1.0 nm Ru layer in between CoFeSiB layers. In the Si/$SiO_2$/Ta 45/Ru 9.5/IrMn 10/CoFe 7/$AlO_x$/CoFeSiB 7 or CoFeSiB (t)/Ru 1.0/CoFeSiB (7-t)/Ru 60 (in nm) MTJs structure, it was found that the size dependence of the switching field originated in the lower $J_{ex}$ using the experimental and simulation results. The CoFeSiB synthetic antiferromagnet structures were proved to be beneficial for the switching characteristics such as reducing the coercivity ($H_c$) and increasing the sensitivity in micrometer size, even in submicrometer sized elements.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.120-123
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• 2007

The typical double-barrier magnetic tunnel junction (DMTJ) structure examined in this paper consists of a Ta 45/Ru 9.5/IrMn 10/CoFe7/$AlO_x$/free layer/AlO/CoFe 7/IrMn 10/Ru 60 (nm). The free layer consists of an $Ni_{16}Fe_{62}Si_8B_{14}$ 7 nm, $Co_{90}Fe_{10}$ (fcc) 7 nm, or CoFe $t_1$/NiFeSiB $t_2$/CoFe $t_1$ layer in which the thicknesses $t_1$ and $t_2$ are varied. The DMTJ with an NiFeSiB-free layer had a tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) of 28%, an area-resistance product (RA) of $86\;k{\Omega}{\mu}m^2$, a coercivity ($H_c$) of 11 Oe, and an interlayer coupling field ($H_i$) of 20 Oe. To improve the TMR ratio and RA, a DMTJ comprising an amorphous NiFeSiB layer that could partially substitute for the CoFe free layer was investigated. This hybrid DMTJ had a TMR of 30%, an RA of $68\;k{\Omega}{\mu}m^2$, and a of 11 Oe, but an increased of 37 Oe. We confirmed by atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy that increased as the thickness of NiFeSiB decreased. When the amorphous NiFeSiB layer was thick, it was effective in retarding the columnar growth which usually induces a wavy interface. However, if the NiFeSiB layer was thin, the roughness was increased and became large because of the magnetostatic $N{\acute{e}}el$ coupling.