• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.73-82
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• 1998

In silicon surface micro-machining, the newly developed GPE(gas-phase etching) process was verified as a very effective method for the release of highly compliant micro-structures. The developed GPE system with anhydrous HF gas and $CH_{3}OH$ vapor was characterized and the selective etching properties of sacrificial layers to release silicon micro-structures were discussed. P-doped polysilicon and SOI(silicon on insulator) substrate were used as a structural layer and TEOS(tetraethyorthdsilicate) oxide, thermal oxide and LTO(low temperature oxide) as a sacrificial layer. Compared with conventional wet-release, we successfully fabricated micro-structures with virtually no process-induced striction and residual product.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.89-93
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• 2012

c-BN films were deposited on SKH-51 steels by electron assisted hot filament CVD method and microstructure development was studied processing parameters such as bias voltage, temperature, etching and phase transformation at boundary layer between BN compound and steel to develop a high performance wear resistance tools. A negative bias voltage higher than 200V at substrate temperature of $800^{\circ}C$ and gas pressure of 20 torr in B2H6-NH3-H2 gas system was one of optimum conditions to produce c-BN films on the SKH-51 steels. Thin layer of hexagonal boron nitride phase was observed at the interface between c-BN layer and substrate.

• Proceedings of the Korea Association of Crystal Growth Conference
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• 1999.06a
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• pp.115-127
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• 1999

The charged clusters or particles, which contain hundreds to thousands of atoms or even more, are suggested to form in the gas phase in the thin film processes such as CVD, thermal evaporation, laser ablation, and flame deposition. All of these processes are also used in the gas phase synthesis of the nanoparticles. Ion-induced or photo-induced nucleation is the main mechanism for the formation of these nanoclusters or nanoparticles inthe gas phase. Charged clusters can make a dense film because of its self-organizing characteristics while neutral ones make a porous skeletal structure because of its Brownian coagulation. The charged cluster model can successfully explain the unusual phenomenon of simultaneous deposition and etching taking place in diamond and silicon CVD processes. It also provides a new interpretation on the selective deposition on a conducting material in the CVDd process. The epitaxial sticking of the charged clusters on the growing surface is gettign difficult as the cluster size increases, resulting in the nanostructure such as cauliflowr or granular structures.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2006.07c
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• pp.1438-1439
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• 2006

$Ge_{2}Sb_{2}Te_5$(GST) thin film at present is a promising candidate for a phase change random access memory (PCRAM) based on the difference in resistivity between the crystalline and amorphous phase. PCRAM is an easy to manufacture, low cost storage technology with a high storage density. Therefore today several major chip in manufacturers are investigating this data storage technique. Recently, A. Pirovano et al. showed that PCRAM can be safely scaled down to the 65 nm technology node. G. T Jeonget al. suggested that physical limit of PRAM scaling will be around 10 nm node. Etching process of GST thin ra films below 100 nm range becomes more challenging. However, not much information is available in this area. In this work, we report on a parametric study of ICP etching of GST thin films in $Cl_2$/Ar chemistry. The etching characteristics of $Ge_{2}Sb_{2}Te_5$ thin films were investigated using an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) of $Cl_2$/Ar gas mixture. The etch rate of the GST films increased with increasing $Cl_2$ flow rate, source and bias powers, and pressure. The selectivity of GST over the $SiO_2$ films was higher than 10:1. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) was performed to examine the chemical species present in the etched surface of GST thin films. XPS results showed that the etch rate-determining element among the Ge, Sb, and Te was Te in the $Cl_2$/Ar plasma.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.153-159
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• 1997

A thermally-driven polysilicon microactuator has been fabricated using surface micromachining techniques. It consists of P-doped polysilicon as a structural layer and TEOS(tetraethylorthosilicate) oxide as a sacrificial layer. The polysilicon was annealed for the relaxation of residual stress which is the main cause to its deformation such as bending and buckling. And newly developed HF GPE(gas-phase etching) process was also employed to eliminate the troublesome stiction problem using anhydrous HF gas and CH$_{3}$OH vapor, and successfully fabricated the microactuators. The actuation is incurred by the thermal expansion due to the current flow in the active polysilicon cantilever, which motion is amplified by lever mechanism. The moving distance of polysilicon microactuator was experimentally conformed as large as 21 .mu. m at the input voltage level of 10V and 50Hz square wave. The actuating characteris- tics are also compared with the simulalted results considering heat transfer and thermal expansion in the polysilicon layer. This microactuator technology can be utilized for the fabrication of MEMS (microelectromechanical system) such as microrelay, which requires large displacement or contact force but relatively slow response.

• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.289-294
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• 1999

The charged clusters or particles, which contain hundreds to thousands of atoms or even more, are suggested to from in the gas phase in the thin film processes such as CVD, thermal evaporation, laser ablation, and flame deposition. All of these processes are also phase synthesis of the nanoparticels. Ion-induced or photo-induced nucleation is the main mechanism for the formation of these nanoclusters or nanoparticles in the gas phase. Charge clusters can make a dense film because of its self-organizing characteristics while neutral ones make a porous skeletal structure because of its Brownian coagulation. The charged cluster model can successfully explain the unusual phenomenon of simultaneous deposition and etching taking place in diamond and silicon CVD processes. It also provides a new interpretation on the selective deposition on a conducting material in the CVD process. The epitaxial sticking of the charged clusters on the growing surface is getting difficult as the cluster size increases, resulting in the nanostructure such as cauliflower or granular structures.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.557-564
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• 2015

The previous etching, rinsing and drying processes of wafers for MEMS (microelectromechanical system) using SC-$CO_2$ (supercritical-$CO_2$) consists of two steps. Firstly, MEMS-wafers are etched by organic solvent in a separate etching equipment from the high pressure dryer and then moved to the high pressure dryer to rinse and dry them using SC-$CO_2$. We found that the previous two step process could be applied to etch and dry wafers for MEMS but could not confirm the reproducibility through several experiments. We thought the cause of that was the stiction of structures occurring due to vaporization of the etching solvent during moving MEMS wafer to high pressure dryer after etching it outside. In order to improve the structure stiction problem, we designed a continuous process for etching, rinsing and drying MEMS-wafers using SC-$CO_2$ without moving them. And we also wanted to know relations of states of carbon dioxide (gas, liquid, supercritical fluid) to the structure stiction problem. In the case of using gas carbon dioxide (3 MPa, $25^{\circ}C$) as an etching solvent, we could obtain well-treated MEMS-wafers without stiction and confirm the reproducibility of experimental results. The quantity of rinsing solvent used could be also reduced compared with the previous technology. In the case of using liquid carbon dioxide (3 MPa, $5^{\circ}C$, we could not obtain well-treated MEMS-wafers without stiction due to the phase separation of between liquid carbon dioxide and etching co-solvent(acetone). In the case of using SC-$CO_2$ (7.5 Mpa, $40^{\circ}C$), we had as good results as those of the case using gas-$CO_2$. Besides the processing time was shortened compared with that of the case of using gas-$CO_2$.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.22 no.8
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• pp.1019-1027
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• 2013

Sulfur hexa-fluoride has been used as a etching gas in semiconductor industry. From the globally environmental issues, it is urgent to control the emissions of this significant greenhouse gas. The main objective of this experimental investigation was to find the effective catalyst for $SF_6$ decomposition. The precursor catalyst of hexa-aluminate was prepared to investigate the catalytic activity and stability. The precursor catalyst of hexa-aluminate was modified with Ni to enhance the catalytic activities and stability. The catalytic activity for $SF_6$ decomposition increased by the addition of Ni and maximized at 6wt% addition of Ni. The addition of 6wt% Ni in precursor catalyst of hexa-aluminate improved the resistant to the HF and reduced the crystallization and phase transition of catalyst.

• Journal of Korean Vacuum Science & Technology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.49-54
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• 1998

The effect of deposition paratmeters on the solid-phase crystallization of amorphous silicon films deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition has been investigated by x-ray diffraction. The amorphous silicon films were prepared on Si(100) wafers using SiH4 gas with and without H2 dilution at the substrate temperatures between 12$^{\circ}C$ and 38$0^{\circ}C$. The R. F. powers and the deposition pressures were also varied. After crystallizing at $600^{\circ}C$ for 24h, the films exhibited (111), (220), and (311) x-ray diffraction peaks. The (111) peak intensity increased as the substrate temperature decreased, and the H dilution suppressed the crystallization. Increasing R.F. powers within the limits of etching level and increasing deposition pressures also have enhanced the peak intensity. The peak intensity was closely related to the deposition rate, which may be an indirect indicator of structural disorder in amorphous silicon films. Our results are consistent with the fact that an increase of the structural disorder I amorphous silicon films enhances the grain size in the crystallized films.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2001.05b
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• pp.8-11
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• 2001

In this study. the recovery of plasma induced damage in the etched PZT thin film with $O_2$ re-annealing have been investigated. The PZT thin films were etched as a function of $Cl_2/Ar$ and additive $CF_4$ into $Cl_{2}(80%)/Ar(20)%$. The etch rates of PZT thin films were $1600\dot{A}/min$ at $Cl_{2}(80%)/Ar(20)%$ gas mixing ratio and $1970\dot{A}/min$ at 30 % additive $CF_4$ into $Cl_{2}(80%)/Ar(20)%$. The etched profile of PZT films was obtained above 70 by SEM. In order to recovery properties of PZT thin films after etching, the etched PZT thin films were re-annealed at various temperatures in $O_2$ atmosphere. From the hysteresis curves, ferroelectrical properties are improved by $O_2$ re-annealing process. The improvement of ferroelectric behavior at annealed sample is consistent with the increase of the (100) and (200) PZT phase revealed by x-ray diffraction (XRD). From XPS analysis, intensity of Pb-O, Zr-O and Ti-O peak are increased and the chemical residue peak is reduced by $O_2$ re-annealing. The ferroelectric behavior consistent with the dielectric nature of TixOy is recovered by $O_2$ recombination during rapid thermal annealing process. From AFM images, it shows that the surface roughness of re-annealed sample after etching is improved.