• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.42-49
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• 2004

Purpose : The quantization noise in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems is analyzed. The signal-to-quantization noise ratio (SQNR) in the reconstructed image is derived from the level of quantization in the signal in spatial frequency domain. Based on the derived formula, the SQNRs in various main magnetic fields with different receiver systems are evaluated. From the evaluation, the quantization noise could be a major noise source determining overall system signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in high field MRI system. A few methods to reduce the quantization noise are suggested. Materials and methods : In Fourier imaging methods, spin density distribution is encoded by phase and frequency encoding gradients in such a way that it becomes a distribution in the spatial frequency domain. Thus the quantization noise in the spatial frequency domain is expressed in terms of the SQNR in the reconstructed image. The validity of the derived formula is confirmed by experiments and computer simulation. Results : Using the derived formula, the SQNRs in various main magnetic fields with various receiver systems are evaluated. Since the quantization noise is proportional to the signal amplitude, yet it cannot be reduced by simple signal averaging, it could be a serious problem in high field imaging. In many receiver systems employing analog-to-digital converters (ADC) of 16 bits/sample, the quantization noise could be a major noise source limiting overall system SNR, especially in a high field imaging. Conclusion : The field strength of MRI system keeps going higher for functional imaging and spectroscopy. In high field MRI system, signal amplitude becomes larger with more susceptibility effect and wider spectral separation. Since the quantization noise is proportional to the signal amplitude, if the conversion bits of the ADCs in the receiver system are not large enough, the increase of signal amplitude may not be fully utilized for the SNR enhancement due to the increase of the quantization noise. Evaluation of the SQNR for various systems using the formula shows that the quantization noise could be a major noise source limiting overall system SNR, especially in three dimensional imaging in a high field imaging. Oversampling and off-center sampling would be an alternative solution to reduce the quantization noise without replacement of the receiver system.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.06a
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• pp.82.1-82.1
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• 2010

수소화된 비정질 실리콘 박막을 이용한 반도체는 현재 태양전지, 트랜지스터, 매트릭스 배열 및 이미지 센서 등의 분야에서 이용되고 있다. 자세히 이야기 하면, 여러 가지의 광전효과 물질에 대한 특성이 있으며, 가시광선영역에 대하여 > $10^5cm^{-1}$이상의 매우 높은 광흡수계수와 낮은 온도를 갖는 증착공정 등이 있다. 박막의 밴드갭은 약 1.6~1.8eV로서 태양전지의 흡수층과 passivation층으로 적절하다. 여러 가지 종류의 태양전지 중 비정질 실리콘 박막/결정질 실리콘 기판의 구조로 이루어진 이종접합 태양전지는 저온에서 공정이 가능한 대표적인 것으로서 HIT(Heterojunction with Intrinsic Thin layer)구조로 산요사에 의해 제안된 것이다. 이것은 결정질 실리콘 기판과 도핑된 비정질 실리콘 박막사이에 얇은 진성층 비정질실리콘 박막을 삽입함으로서, 캐리어 전송을 좋게하여 실리콘 기판 표면의 passivation효과를 증대시키는 결과를 가지고 온다. 실험실 규모에서는 약 20%이상의 효율을 보이고 있으며, 모듈에서는 19.5%의 높은 효율을 보이고 있어 실리콘 기판을 이용한 고효율 태양전지로서 각광을 받고 있다. 이러한 이종접합 태양전지의 대부분은 단결정 실리콘을 사용하고 있는데, 점차적으로 다결정 실리콘 기판으로 추세가 바뀌고 있어, 여기에 맞는 표면 passivation 공정 및 분석이 필요하다. 본 발표에서는 다결정 실리콘 기판위에 진성층 비정질 실리콘 박막을 유도결합 플라즈마 화학기상 증착법(ICP-CVD)을 이용하여 제조하여 passivation 효과를 분석한다. 일반적으로 ICP는 CCP(coupled charged plasma)에 비해 약 100배 이상 높은 플라즈마 밀도를 가지고 있으며, 이온 충돌같은 표면으로 작용하는 것들이 기존 방식에 비해서 작다라는 장점이 있다. 먼저, 유리기판을 사용하여 ICP-CVD 챔버내에 이송 한 후 플라즈마 파워, 온도 및 가스비(SiH4/H2)에 따른 진성층 비정질 실리콘 박막을 증착 한 후, 밴드갭, 전도도 및 결합구조 등에 대한 결과를 분석한 후, 최적의 값을 가지고 250um의 두께를 갖는 다결정 실리콘을 기판위에 증착을 한다. 두께(1~20nm)에 따라 표면의 passivation이 되는 정도를 QSSPCD(Quasi steady state Photoconductive Decay)법에 의하여 소수캐리어의 이동거리, 재결합율 및 수명 등에 대한 측정 및 분석을 통하여 다결정 실리콘 기판의 passivation effect를 확인한다. 제시된 데이터를 바탕으로 향후 다결정 HIT셀 제조를 통해 태양전지 효율에 대한 특성을 비교하고자 한다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2015.08a
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• pp.183-183
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• 2015

Indium tin oxide (ITO)는 넓은 밴드갭을 가지는 n-type의 축퇴 반도체로 태양전지, 스마트윈도우, 터치 센서, organic light emitting displays (OLEDs) 등에 널리 적용된다. 최근 touch screen panels (TSPs)의 높은 전기적 특성 및 고해상도 요구에 따라 고품질 ITO 박막개발의 수요도 증가하는 추세이다. 지금까지 ITO 박막의 물성 및 기계적 특성에 관한 많은 연구가 진행되어 왔지만 ITO 초박막 에서의 근본적인 물성 변화에 대한 연구는 미흡한 실정이므로, 이러한 연구는 필수적이라 할 수 있다. ITO 초박막은 광학적 특성은 우수하나, 낮은 결정성으로 인해 전기적 특성이 나쁘다는 단점을 가지며, 이러한 ITO 박막의 결정성은 초기 박막 성장과정에 많은 영향을 받는다. ITO 박막의 초기성장과정은 핵이 생성된 후(nucleation), 각각의 위치에서 성장하게 되고(growth), 합쳐지면서(coalescence) 연속적인 막을 형성 하는데(continuous), 이러한 초기 박막 성장 과정 중에 핵 생성 밀도를 증가시키고 박막이 연속적으로 되는 두께를 감소시킨다면, 더욱 더 고품질의 ITO 초박막을 얻을 수 있을 것이다. 따라서, 본 연구에서는 박막 초기 형성 과정 중 섬들이 합체되는 두께를 최소화시키기 위하여 EMF(electromagnetic field strength) 시스템을 이용하였다. EMF 시스템은 DC 캐소드에 전자석 코일을 장착하여 전자기장을 추가로 부가한 것으로, 이를 이용할 경우 스퍼터 원자가 중성상태로 기판에 도달하는 것이 아니라, 이온화되어 Vp-Vf의 차이로 가속되어 추가적인 에너지를 공급받음으로써 기판표면상에서 확산을 촉진시키므로 박막이 연속적으로 되는 임계 두께를 감소시킬 수 있는 것으로 기대된다. 실험은 실온에서 DC 마그네트론 스퍼터링법을 이용하였으며, 유리기판위에 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 20 nm의 두께로 ITO 박막을 제작하였다. 스퍼터링 파워는 150 W (3.29 W/cm3), 작업 압력은 0.13 Pa, 기판과 타깃 사이의 거리는 70 mm였다. 각각의 두께에서 EMF 파워 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 W로 인가하여 박막을 제작한 후, EMF 파워에 따른 ITO 박막의 초기 성장 과정중 표면상태를 AFM (atomic force microscope) 이미지를 통하여 관찰하였다. 또한, 두께 약 8 nm에서와 20 nm일 때의 전기적 특성 및 광학적 특성을 관찰하였으며, 두 박막 모두 EMF 파워 15 W를 인가하였을 때 그 특성이 가장 향상되는 것을 확인하였다. 이러한 결과를 통하여 박막은 초기 성장이 중요하므로, 매우 얇은 두께에서 좋은 특성을 가진 박막을 제작하여야 박막의 두께를 증가시켰을 때도 좋은 특성의 막을 얻을 수 있음을 알 수 있었다. 또한, EMF 파워를 증가시킴에 따라 자장강도를 증가시키는 것과 같은 효과 즉, 플라즈마 임피던스가 감소하는 효과를 내어 증착 중 고 에너지 입자 (Ar0, O-)에 의한 박막손상이 감소한 것으로 판단된다. 따라서 적정 EMF 파워 15 W를 인가하였을때 가장 물성이 좋은 ITO 박막을 얻을 수 있었다. 즉, EMF 시스템을 이용하여 저온 공정에서 결함농도가 적은 고품질의 ITO 초박막을 제작할 수 있었다.

• Food Science and Preservation
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.352-357
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• 2004

The present study was conducted to investigate extraction characteristics and antioxidative activity of Lycium chinense extracts. Lycium chinense were extracted by reflux extraction(RE) under different extraction conditions including solvent. The solid yield, turbidity, color value, titratable acidity, free sugar contents, electron donating ability(EDA) and superoxide dismutase(SOD)-like ability of Lycium chinense extracts were determined. The highest solid yield value were obtained with water of 10 fold. No significant difference in turbidity and color value were found among the extracts prepared with various extraction solvents, 75$\%$ ethanol, 50$\%$ ethanol and water. The highest titratable acidity were obtained with water of Lycium chinense. The free sugar contents of Lycium chinense extracted with water showed the highest value. Lycium chinense extracts with water included higher contents of free sugar compared with those of the other solvent extracts, 50$\%$ ethanol and 75$\%$ ethanol extracts. The total polyphenol compounds content of Lycium chinense extracted with 50% ethanol showed the highest value. Lycium chinense extracts with 50$\%$ ethanol included higher contents of total polyphenol compound compared with those of the other solvent extracts, water and 75$\%$ ethanol extracts.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.213-220
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• 2009

The optimal condition of low temperature deposition of transparent conductive Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) films is studied by RF magnetron sputtering method. To achieve enhanced-electrical property and good crystallites quality, we tried to deposit on glass using a two-step growth process. This process was to deposit AZO buffer layer with optimal growth condition on glass in-situ state. The AZO film grown at rf 120 W on buffer layer prepared at RF $50{\sim}60\;W$ shows the electrical resistivity $3.9{\times}10^{-4}{\Omega}cm$, Carrier concentration $1.22{\times}10^{21}/cm^3$, and mobility $9.9\;cm^2/Vs$ in these results, The crystallinity of AZO film on buffer layer was similar to that of AZO film on glass with no buffer later but the electrical properties of the AZO film were 30% improved than that of the AZO film with no buffer layer. Therefore, the cause of enhanced electrical properties was explained to be dependent on degree of crystallization and on buffer layer's compressive stress by variation of $Ar^+$ ion impinging energy.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.6-13
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• 2010

In this study, Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films have been fabricated on Eagle 2000 glass substrates at various substrate temperatures $100{\sim}400^{\circ}C$ and thin film thickness by RF magnetron sputtering in order to investigate the structural, electrical, and optical properties of the GZO thin films. It is observed that all the thin films exhibit c-axis orientation and a (002) diffraction peak only. The GZO thin films, which were deposited at $T=300^{\circ}C$ and 400 nm, shows the highest (002) orientation, and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the (002) diffraction peak is $0.4^{\circ}$. AFM analysis shows that the formation of relatively smooth thin films are obtained. The lowest resistivity ($8.01{\times}10^{-4}\;{\Omega}cm$) and the highest carrier concentration ($3.59{\times}10^{20}\;cm^{-3}$) are obtained in the GZO thin films deposited at $T=300^{\circ}C$ and 400 nm. The optical transmittance in the visible region is approximately 80 %, regardless of process conditions. The optical band-gap shows the slight blue-shift with increase in doping which can be explained by the Burstein-Moss effect.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.150-159
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• 2013

It is generally well known that the stratification of thermal energy in heat stores can be improved by increasing the aspect ratio (the height-to-width ratio) of the stores. Accordingly, it will be desirable to apply a high aspect ratio so as to demonstrate the good thermal performance of heat stores. However, as the aspect ratio of a store increases, the height of the store become larger compared to its width, which may be unfavorable for the structural stability of the store. Therefore, to determine an optimum aspect ratio of heat stores, a quantitative mechanical stability assessment should be performed in addition to thermal performance evaluations. In the present study, we numerically investigated the mechanical stability of silo-shaped rock caverns for underground thermal energy storage at different aspect ratios. The applied aspect ratios ranged from 1 to 6 and the mechanical stability was examined based on factor of safety using a shear strength reduction method. The results from the present study showed that the factor of safety of rock caverns tended to decrease with the increase in aspect ratio and the stress ratio of the surrounding rock mass was influential to the stability of the caverns. In addition, the numerical results demonstrated that under the same conditions of rock mass properties and aspect ratio, mechanical stability could be improved by the reduction in cavern size (storage volume), which indicates that one can design high-aspect-ratio rock caverns by dividing a single large cavern into multiple small caverns.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.499-505
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• 2004

The present study was conducted to investigate extraction characteristics and antioxidative activity of Cassia tora L. extracts. Cassia tora L. was extracted by reflux extraction under different extraction conditions including solvent. The solid yield, turbidity, color value, titratable acidity, free sugar contents, electron donating ability and superoxide dismutase-like ability of Cassia tora L. extracts were determined. The highest solid yield value was obtained with water of 10 fold. No significant difference in turbidity and color value were found among the extracts prepared with various extraction solvents, 75% ethanol, 50% ethanol and water. The highest titratable acidity was obtained with 50% ethanol of Cassia tora L.. The free sugar contents of Cassia tora L. extracted with water showed the highest value. Cassia tora L. extracts with water included higher contents of free sugar compared with then of the other solvent extracts, 50% ethanol and 75% ethanol extracts. The total polyphenol compound content of Cassia tora L. extracted with 50% ethanol showed the highest value. Cassia tora L. extracts with 50% ethanol included higher contents of total polyphenol compound compared with those of the other solvent extracts, water and 75% ethanol extracts.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.484-490
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• 2004

The present study was conducted to investigate extraction characteristics and antioxidative activity of Schiznadra chinensis extracts. Schiznadra chinensis was extracted by reflux extraction(RE) under different extraction conditions including solvent. The solid yield, turbidity, color value, titratable acidity, free sugar contents, electron donating ability(EDA) and superoxide dismutase(SOD)-like ability of Schiznadra chinensis extracts were determined. The highest solid yield value was obtained with water of 10 fold. No significant difference in turbidity and color value were found among the extracts prepared with various extraction solvents, 75% ethanol, 50% ethanol and water. The highest titratable acidity was obtained with water extracts of Schiznadra chinensis. The free sugar contents of Schiznadra chinensis extracted with water showed the highest value. Schiznadra chinensis extracts with water included higher contents of free sugar compared with those of the other solvent extracts,50% ethanol and 75% ethanol extracts. The total polyphenol compound content of Schiznadra chinensis extracted with 50% ethanol showed the highest value. Schiznadra chinensis extracts with 50% ethanol included higher contents of total polyphenol compound compared with those of the other solvent extracts, water and 75% ethanol extracts. The electron donating ability of extracts were 60.87% in water, 57.24% in 50% ethanol, and 55.61% in 75% ethanol.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.231-238
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• 2022

To secure the mechanical strength of porous Al₂O₃ ceramics, which can be utilized for filters and catalyst supports is essential for their functionality and durability. Superior mechanical strength would be obtained by tailoring the densification and grain growth during sintering. This study deals with grain growth behavior of a freeze-casted Al₂O₃ with addition of La₂O₃. In a temperature range between 1400 and 1600℃, variations of average grain size with sintering time and temperature were observed and analyzed with G_tⁿ-G₀ⁿ = kt and with k = k₀exp(-E_a/RT). As a result, n value and activation energy (E_a) for grain growth were calculated as 3 and 489.09 kJ/mol, respectively. These commonly confirms retardation effect of the La addition during sintering of Al₂O₃ porous structure. More accurate analysis on the La effect can be followed to provide useful guidance for the selection of additives for better mechanical strength in Al₂O₃ porous structures.