• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2013

Lowering surface reflectance of Si wafers by texturization is one of the most important processes for improving the efficiency of Si solar cells. This paper presents the results on the effect of texturing using acidic solution mixtures containing the catalytic agents to moderate etching rates on the surface morphology of mc-Si wafer as well as on the performance parameters of solar cell. It was found that the treatment of contaminated crystalline silicon wafer with $HNO_3-H_2O_2-H_2O$ solution before the texturing helps the removal of organic contaminants due to its oxidizing properties and thereby allows the formation of nucleation centers for texturing. This treatment combined with the use of a catalytic agent such as phosphoric acid improved the effects of the texturing effects. This reduced the reflectance of the surface, thereby increased the short circuit current and the conversion efficiency of the solar cell. Employing this technique, we were able to fabricate mc-Si solar cell of 16.4% conversion efficiency with anti-reflective (AR) coating of silicon nitride film using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and Si wafers can be texturized in a short time.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.461-467
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• 2021

Among the defect factors that can occur when a wafer-level lens is molded using a thermosetting material, the mold sticking problem of a molded lens during the release process can damage the molded substrate and deform the substrate at the wafer level. An experiment was conducted to examine the factors affecting the demolding force in the lens forming process. The demolding force was examined according to the coating material of the molds. The mold was surface-treated with ITO and Ti, followed by plasma treatment in an O2 atmosphere. A DLC coating was then performed, and the curing and releasability were examined. A coating method for the pull-off experiment was selected based on the results. To measure the demolding force according to the curing process conditions, a method of curing at a constant pressure and a method of curing at a constant position were applied. As a result, the TiO2 surface treatment reduced the release force. When cured by controlling the location, curing shrinkage can reduce the adhesion energy of the interface during curing, resulting in better demolding.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.8-16
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• 2023

The importance of next-generation packaging technologies is being emphasized as a solution as the miniaturization of devices reaches its limits. To address the bottleneck issue, there is an increasing need for 2.5D and 3D interconnect pitches. This aims to minimize signal delays while meeting requirements such as small size, low power consumption, and a high number of I/Os. Hybrid bonding technology is gaining attention as an alternative to conventional solder bumps due to their limitations such as miniaturization constraints and reliability issues in high-temperature processes. Recently, there has been active research conducted on SiCN to address and enhance the limitations of the Cu/SiO₂ structure. This paper introduces the advantages of Cu/SiCN over the Cu/SiO₂ structure, taking into account various deposition conditions including precursor, deposition temperature, and substrate temperature. Additionally, it provides insights into the core mechanisms of SiCN, such as the role of Dangling bonds and OH groups, and the effects of plasma surface treatment, which explain the differences from SiO₂. Through this discussion, we aim to ultimately present the achievable advantages of applying the Cu/SiCN hybrid bonding structure.

• BMB Reports
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.227-232
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• 1998

The leukocyte NADPH oxidase of neutrophils is a membrane-bound enzyme that catalyzes the production of $O_2^-$ from oxygen using NADPH as an electron donor. Dormant in resting neutrophils, the enzyme acquires catalytic activity when the cells are exposed to appropriate stimuli. During activation, the cytosolic oxidase components $p47^{phox}$ and $p67^{phox}$ migrate to the plasma membrane, where they associate with cytochrome $b_{558}$, a membrane-bound flavohemoprotein, to assemble the active oxidase. The oxidase can be activated in a cell-free system; the activating agent usually employed is an anionic amphiphile such as sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Because $p47^{phox}$ can translocate by itself during activation, the conformational change in $p47^{phox}$ may be responsible for the activation of NADPH oxidase. We show here that the treatment of $p47^{phox}$ with SDS leads to an increase in the reactivity of the sutbydryl group of cysteines toward N-ethylmaleimide, indicating that the conformational change occurs when $p47^{phox}$ is exposed to SDS. We propose that this change in conformation results in the appearance of a binding site through which $p47^{phox}$ interacts with cytochrome $b_{558}$during the activation process.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2009.07a
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• pp.1238_1239
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• 2009

본 논문에서는 ELA poly-Si TFT보다 뛰어난 균일도를 갖고, a-Si:H TFT보다 전기적 안정도가 우수한 PMOS SPC-Si TFT의 특성을 연구하였다. SPC-Si의 계면 특성을 향상 시키기 위해 $SiO_2$ 게이트 절연막을 증착하기 전에 Solid Phase Crystalline 실리콘(SPC-Si) 채널 영역에 다양한 H2 플라즈마 처리를 해주었다. PECVD를 이용하여 100W에서 H2 플라즈마 처리를 5분 해주었을 때 SPC-Si TFT의 전기적 특성이 향상되는 것을 볼 수 있는데, $V_{TH}$가 약 -3.91V, field effect mobility가 $22.68cm^2$/Vs, 그리고 Subthreshold swing이 0.64 정도를 보였다. 또한 소자에 Hot carrier stress($V_{GS}$=14.91V, $V_{DS}$=-15V, for 2,000sec)를 주었을 때도 전기적 특성이 변하지 않았으며, 일정한 bias stress($V_{GS}$=-15V, $V_{DS}$=-10V, for 2,000sec)를 가하였을 때도 $V_{TH}$가 증가하지 않았다. 이러한 결과를 통해 SPC-Si가 poly-Si TFT보다 더욱 안정함을 알 수 있었다.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.39 no.9
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• pp.1-10
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• 2002

We have done various treatments of indium tin oxide (ITO) surface for organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and investigated the surface states by different surface treatments using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). We have fabricated OLEDs deposited by ultra-high vacuum molecular beam deposition system and studied the characteristics of the OLEDs. We have observed the dramatical improvement of the performance of OLEDs fabricated on ITO substrates treated by $O_2$ plasma treatment reduces the carbon comtamination of ITO surfaces and increases the work function of ITO.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.08a
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• pp.293.1-293.1
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• 2013

탄소나노튜브(carbon nanotubes; CNTs)는 우수한 물성으로 인하여 전자소자, 에너지 저장매체, 투명전도막, 복합재료 등 매우 다양한 분야에 응용이 가능할 것으로 예측되고 있으며, 더욱이 이러한 특성은 구조변형, 화학적 도핑뿐만 아니라 표면처리를 통해서 제어가 가능하다고 알려져 있다. 이를 위해 기존에는 열처리를 통하여 CNTs를 표면처리한 결과들이 보고되었으나, 고온에서 장시간의 공정이 요구되는 열처리 공정의 단점을 보완하기 위하여 플라즈마 처리를 통해 상온에서 단시간의 공정으로 CNTs를 표면처리하는 방법이 제시되었다. 특히 최근에는, 향후 산업적 응용을 목적으로 종래의 진공 환경에서 벗어나 대기압 연속공정 개발을 위한 대기압 플라즈마 기반의 표면처리 공정에 대하여 관심이 집중되고 있는 상황이다. 본 연구에서는 대기압에서 플라즈마를 안정적으로 방전 및 유지 할 수 있는 플라즈마 토치 시스템을 구축하였고, 이를 이용하여 수직배향 CNTs를 표면 처리함으로써 그 영향을 살펴보았다. CNTs는 $SiO_2$ 웨이퍼 위에 증착한 철 촉매를 이용하여 $750^{\circ}C$에서 수직배향 합성하였으며, 원료가스로는 아세틸렌을 사용하였다. 대기압 플라즈마 장치의 경우 고전압 교류 전원장치를 이용하여 토치타입으로 제작하였다. 플라즈마는 아르곤과 질소가스를 시용하여 방전하고, 기판과의 거리 및 처리시간을 변수로 CNTs를 표면처리하였다. 플라즈마 처리 전후 접촉각 측정을 통하여 소수성이었던 CNTs 표면이 친수성으로 변화하는 것을 확인하였다. 또한 Raman 분석을 통하여 대기압 플라즈마의 처리조건에 따른 CNTs 의 구조적 결함 발생 정도를 정량화 시킬 수 있었다. 이를 통하여 대기압 플라즈마를 이용할 경우, CNTs의 구조적 손상을 최소화 하면서 효율적으로 표면특성을 변화시킬 수 있는 처리조건을 도출하였다.

• Journal of Embryo Transfer
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.249-255
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• 2014

Programmed cell death or apoptosis is associated with changes in $K^+$ concentration in many cell types. Recent studies have demonstrated that two-pore domain $K^+$ ($K_{2P}$) channels are involved in mouse embryonic development and apoptotic volume decrease of mammalian cells. In cerebellar granule neurons that normally undergo apoptosis during the early developmental stage, TASK-1 and TASK-3, members of $K_{2P}$ channels, were found to be critical for cell death. This study was performed to identify the role of $K^+$ channels in the $H_2O_2$-induced or cryo-induced cell death of mouse and bovine embryos. Mouse and bovine two-cell stage embryos (2-cells) exposed to $H_2O_2$ for 4 h suffered from apoptosis. The 2-cells showed positive TUNEL staining. Treatment with high concentration of KCl (25mM) inhibited $H_2O_2$-induced apoptosis of 2-cells by 19%. Cryo-induced death in bovine blastocysts showed positive TUNEL staining only in the cells near the plasma membrane. Cryoprotectant supplemented with 25 mM KCl reduced apoptosis slightly compared to cryoprotectant supplemented with 5 mM KCl. However, the combination of antioxidants (${\beta}$-mercaptoethanol) with 25 mM KCl significantly decreased the rate of $H_2O_2$-induced and cryo-induced apoptosis compared to treatments with only antioxidants or 25 mM KCl. These results show that blockage of $K^+$ channel efflux for a short-time reduces $H_2O_2$- and cryo-induced apoptosis in mouse and bovine embryos. Our findings suggest that apoptosis in mouse and bovine embryos might be controlled by modulation of $K^+$ channels which are highly expressed in a given cell type.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.61-67
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• 2010

Selenoprotein S (SelS) is widely expressed in diverse tissues where it localizes in the plasma membrane and endoplasmic reticulum. We studied the potential function of SelS in erythrocyte differentiation using K562 cells stably over-expressing SelS wild-type (WT) or one of two SelS point mutants, $U_{188}S$ or $U_{188}C$. We found that in the K562 cells treated with $1\;{\mu}M$ Ara-C, SelS gradually declined over five days of treatment. On day 4, intracellular ROS levels were higher in cells expressing SelS-WT than in those expressing a SelS mutant. Moreover, the cell cycle patterns in cells expressing SelS-WT or $U_{188}C$ were similar to the controls. The expression and activation of SIRT1 were also reduced during K562 differentiation. Cells expressing SelS-WT showed elevated SIRT1 expression and activation (phosphorylation), as well as higher levels of FoxO3a expression. SIRT1 activation was diminished slightly in cells expressing SelS-WT after treatment with the ROS scavenger NAC (12 mM), but not in those expressing a SelS mutant. After four days of Ara-C treatment, SelS-WT-expressing cells showed elevated transcription of $\beta$-globin, $\gamma$-globin, $\varepsilon$-globin, GATA-1 and zfpm-1, whereas cells expressing a SelS mutant did not. These results suggest that the suppression of SelS acts as a trigger for proerythrocyte differentiation via the ROS-mediated downregulation of SIRT1.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.112-115
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• 2016

Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia (LIP) is a rare benign lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by diffuse infiltration of the pulmonary parenchymal interstitium by polyclonal lymphocytes and plasma cells. LIP has been associated with a variety of clinical conditions; such as connective tissue disorders and other immune system abnormalities. Treatment usually involves administration of corticosteroids and other immunosuppressants. We report on a 38-year-old female patient who complained of shortness of breath, dry mouth, and dry eyes for more than 1 month, and was positive for Raynaud's phenomenon. Based on surgical biopsy, she was diagnosed as having LIP accompanied by $Sj{\ddot{o}}gren^{\prime}s$ syndrome. The patient was treated with high-dose steroids followed by maintenance therapy for approximately 2 years, and her condition improved.