• 한국진공학회지
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.52-57
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• 2007

생명현상 발현에 중요한 역할을 하는 생체 분자간 특이적 상호작용을 단분자 수준에서 이해하려는 연구는 매우 중요한 일이다. 나노 바이오 측정기술을 이용하여 여러 복잡한 생명현상을 그 기본 단위인 단일 세포 차원에서 직접 측정하여 응용하려는 시도가 이루어지고 있다. 이런 시도로써, 원자힘 현미경을 이용한 생체분자간의 결합력 측정은 생명현상과 가장 유사한 환경에서 단일 생체 분자간 또는 분자 내 힘을 직접 측정함으로써, 단일 생체분자의 현상을 관찰 할 수 있다는 장점을 가지고 있다. 특히 단분자 힘 분광학을 이용한 단일 생체분자내의 세부 단위체간 상호작용에 대한 연구와 단백질-단백질, 단백질-리간드, DNA-DNA의 분자인지 상호작용에 대한 연구는 많은 생명과학 분야 연구자들의 관심을 끌고 있을 뿐만 아니라 더 나아가 새로운 관련 기술의 개발을 촉진시키고 있다.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• 제22권5호
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• pp.59.1-59.13
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• 2021

Background: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been identified as promising compounds for consideration as novel antimicrobial agents. Objectives: This study analyzed the efficacy of cecropin B against Haemophilus parasuis isolates through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiments. Results: Cecropin B exhibited broad inhibition activity against 15 standard Haemophilus parasuis (HPS) strains and 5 of the clinical isolates had minimum inhibition concentrations (MICs) ranging from 2 to 16 ㎍/mL. Microelectrophoresis and hexadecane adsorption assays indicated that the more hydrophobic and the higher the isoelectric point (IEP) of the strain, the more sensitive it was to cecropin B. Through SEM, multiple blisters of various shapes and dents on the cell surface were observed. Protrusions and leakage were detected by AFM. Conclusions: Based on the results, cecropin B could inhibit HPS via a pore-forming mechanism by interacting with the cytoplasmic membrane of bacteria. Moreover, as cecropin B concentration increased, the bacteria membrane was more seriously damaged. Thus, cecropin B could be developed as an effective anti-HPS agent for use in clinical applications.

• 한국동물생명공학회지
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.121-130
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• 2023

Background: Coating a culture plate with molecules that aid in cell adhesion is a technique widely used to produce animal cell cultures. Extracellular matrix (ECM) is known for its efficiency in promoting adhesion, survival, and proliferation of adherent cells. Gelatin, a cost-effective type of ECM, is widely used in animal cell cultures including feeder-free embryonic stem (ES) cells. However, the optimal concentration of gelatin is a point of debate among researchers, with no studies having established the optimal gelatin concentration. Methods: In this study, we coated plastic plates with gelatin in a concentration-dependent manner and assessed Young's modulus using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate the microstructure of the surface of each plastic plate. The adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation of the ESCs were compared and analyzed revealing differences in surface microstructure dependent on coating concentration. Results: According to AFM analysis, there was a clear difference in the microstructure of the surface according to the presence or absence of the gelatin coating, and it was confirmed that there was no difference at a concentration of 0.5% or more. ES cell also confirmed the difference in cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation according to the presence or absence of gelatin coating, and also it showed no difference over the concentration of 0.5%. Conclusions: The optimum gelatin-coating for the maintenance and differentiation of ES cells is 0.5%, and the gelatin concentration-mediated microenvironment and ES cell signaling are closely correlated.

• 한국작물학회지
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• 제49권1호
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• pp.36-40
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• 2004

To observe and analysis ultra-microscopically barley aleurone cell surface, atomic force microscope (AFM) was used. Seed coat of early maturing germplasm, eam9, was dehulled and scanned by non-contact mode. We have obtained the high resolution topographic 3-dimensional image of barley aleurone layer with high resolution. These images showed the membrane proteins in barley aleurone cell. One channel protein and numerous peripheral or integral proteins were detected in a area of 100 $\mu\textrm{m}^2$. Furthermore, we found that their widths were ranged from 50 to 750nm and lengths from 0 to 66 $\mu\textrm{m}$. The thickness of aleurone layer was measured by scanning electron microscope. The thickness at early developmental stage was about 16 and then the aleurone cell enlarged upto 57 $\mu\textrm{m}$${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ at least until 42 days after anthesis. In this study, we firstly reported on the ultrastructural AFM analysis of living aleurone cell as a biological specimen. It was clearly suggested that AFM will become an powerful tool for probing both the structural properties of biological samples.

• 한국결정성장학회지
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.52-56
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• 2007

본 연구에서는 초고진공(UHV, ultra high vacuum) 분자선 에피성장(MBE, molecular beam epitaxy) 시스템을 제작하여, ZnSe/GaAs[001]을 증착하였고, 증착된 박막의 특성을 SEM(scanning electron microscopy), AFM(atomic force microscopy)으로 조사하여, 분자층 단위의 조밀하고 균일한 표면특성을 보이고 있음을 확인할 수 있었다 XRD(x-ray diffractometer)를 이용하여, GaAs[001]기판의 XRD peak 위치와 ZnSe 박막의 XRD peak 위치가 각자 일치함을 확인할 수 있었다. PL(photoluminescence)로는 대략 437nm에서 발광하는 것이 관측되었으며, 2인치 ZnSe 박막의 PL mapping을 측정하였다.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• 제11권6호
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• pp.271-274
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• 2010

We examined the tunneling current behaviors of magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) cells utilizing conductive atomic force microscopy (AFM) interfaced with an external magnetic field generator. By introducing current through coils, a magnetic field was generated and then controlled by a current feedback circuit. This enabled the characterization of the tunneling current under various magnetic fields. The current-voltage (I-V) property was measured using a contact mode AFM with a metal coated conducting cantilever at a specific magnetic field intensity. The obtained magnetoresistance (MR) ratios of the MTJ cells were about 21% with no variation seen from the different sized MTJ cells; the value of resistance $\times$ area (RA) were 8.5 K-12.5 K $({\Omega}{\mu}m^2)$. Since scanning probe microscopy (SPM) performs an I-V behavior analysis of ultra small size without an extra electrode, we believe that this novel characterization method utilizing an SPM will give a great benefit in characterizing MTJ cells. This novel method gives us the possibility to measure the electrical properties of ultra small MTJ cells, namely below $0.1\;{\mu}m\;{\times}\;0.1\;{\mu}m$.

• International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing
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• 제5권3호
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• pp.19-25
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• 2004

Pitch measurements of 150 nm one-dimensional grating standards were carried out using a contact mode atomic force microscopy with a high resolution three-axis laser interferometer. This measurement technique was named as the 'nano-metrological AFM'. In the nano-metrological AFM, three laser interferometers were aligned precisely to the end of an AFM tip. Laser sources of the three-axis laser interferometer in the nano-metrological AFM were calibrated with an I$_2$ stabilized He-Ne laser at a wavelength of 633 nm. Therefore, the Abbe error was minimized and the result of the pitch measurement using the nano-metrological AFM could be used to directly measure the length standard. The uncertainty in the pitch measurement was estimated in accordance with the Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM). The primary source of uncertainty in the pitch-measurements was derived from the repeatability of the pitch-measurements, and its value was about 0.186 nm. The average pitch value was 146.65 nm and the combined standard uncertainty was less than 0.262 nm. It is suggested that the metrological AFM is a useful tool for the nano-metrological standard calibration.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• 제38권6호
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• pp.235-240
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• 2022

Atomically-thin 2D nanomaterials can be easily deformed and have surface corrugations which can influence the frictional characteristics of the 2D nanomaterials. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) graphene can be grown in a wafer scale, which is suitable as a large-area surface coating film. The CVD growth involves cooling process to room temperature, and the thermal expansion coefficients mismatch between graphene and the metallic substrate induces a compressive strain in graphene, resulting in the surface corrugations such as wrinkles and atomic ripples. Such corrugations can induce the friction anisotropy of graphene, and therefore, accurate imaging of the surface corrugation is significant for better understanding about the friction anisotropy of CVD graphene. In this work, the combinatorial analysis using friction force microscopy (FFM) and transverse shear microscopy (TSM) was implemented to unveil the friction anisotropy of CVD bi-layer graphene. The periodic friction anisotropy of the wrinkles was measured following a sinusoidal curve depending on the angles between the wrinkles and the scanning tip, and the two domains were observed to have the different friction signals due to the different directions of the atomic ripples, which was confirmed by the high-resolution FFM and TSM imaging. In addition, we revealed that the atomic ripples can be easily suppressed by ironing the surface during AFM scans with an appropriate normal force. This work demonstrates that the friction anisotropy of CVD bilayer graphene is well-correlated with the corrugated structures and the local friction anisotropy induced by the atomic ripples can be controllably removed by simple AFM scans.

• 한국정밀공학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국정밀공학회 2004년도 추계학술대회 논문집
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• pp.552-555
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• 2004

The reliability issue of the probe tip/recording media interface is one of the most crucial concerns in the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)-based recording technology. In this work, the tribological characteristics of the probe/media interface were investigated by performing wear tests using an AFM. The ranges of applied normal load and sliding velocity for the wear test were 10 to 50nN and 2 to 20$\mu$m/s respectively. The damage of the probe tip was quantitatively as well as qualitatively characterized by Field Emission Scanning Probe Microscope (FESEM) analysis and calculated based on Archard s wear equation. It was shown that the wear coefficient of the probe tip was in the order of 10$^{-4}$ ~ 10$^{-3}$ , and significant contamination at the end of the probe tip was observed. Thus in order to implement the AFM-based recording technology, tribological optimization of the probe/media interface must be achieved.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• 제14권3호
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• pp.160-163
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• 2013

We investigated the effect of light intensity and wavelength of a solar cell device by using photoconductive atomic force microscopy (PC-AFM). The $POCl_3$ diffusion doping process was used to produce a p-n junction solar cell device based on a Poly-Si wafer and the electrical properties of prepared solar cells were measured using a solar cell simulator system. The measured open circuit voltage ($V_{oc}$) is 0.59 V and the short circuit current ($I_{sc}$) is 48.5 mA. Also, the values of the fill factors and efficiencies of the devices are 0.7% and approximately 13.6%, respectively. In addition, PC-AFM, a recent notable method for nano-scale characterization of photovoltaic elements, was used for direct measurements of photoelectric characteristics in local instead of large areas. The effects of changes in the intensity and wavelength of light shining on the element on the photoelectric characteristics were observed. Results obtained through PC-AFM were compared with the electric/optical characteristics data obtained through a solar simulator. The voltage ($V_{PC-AFM}$) at which the current was 0 A in the I-V characteristic curves increased sharply up to 1.8 $mW/cm^2$, peaking and slowly falling as light intensity increased. Here, $V_{PC-AFM}$ at 1.8 $mW/cm^2$ was 0.29 V, which corresponds to 59% of the average $V_{oc}$ value, as measured with the solar simulator. Also, while light wavelength was increased from 300 nm to 1,100 nm, the external quantum efficiency (EQE) and results from PC-AFM showed similar trends at the macro scale, but returned different results in several sections, indicating the need for detailed analysis and improvement in the future.