• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.55 no.4
• /
• pp.1287-1299
• /
• 2023

A new Monte-Carlo-based computer program (RDS-BASIC) is developed to simulate the transport of energetic ions in pure matter. This computer program is utilizing an algorithm that uses detailed numerical solutions for the classical scattering integral for evaluating the outcomes of the binary collision processes. This approach is adopted by several prominent similar simulation programs and is known to provide results with higher accuracy compared to other approaches that use approximations to shorten the simulation time. Furthermore, RDS-BASIC simulation program contains special methods to reduce the displacement energy threshold of surface atoms. This implementation is found essential for accurate simulation results for sputtering yield in the case of very low energy ions irradiation (near sputtering energy threshold) and also successfully solve the problem of simultaneously obtaining an acceptable number of atomic displacements per incident ions. Results of our simulation for several irradiation systems are presented and compared with their respective TRIM (SRIM-2013) and the state-of-the-art SDTrimSP simulation results. Our sputtering simulation results were also compared with available experimental data. The simulation execution time for these different simulation programs has also been compared.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.20 no.10
• /
• pp.501-507
• /
• 2010

Changes in surface morphology and roughness of dc sputtered ZnO:Al/Ag back reflectors by varying the deposition temperature and their influence on the performance of flexible silicon thin film solar cells were systematically investigated. By increasing the deposition temperature from $25^{\circ}C$ to $500^{\circ}C$, the grain size of Ag thin films increased from 100 nm to 1000 nm and the grain size distribution became irregular, which resulted in an increment of surface roughness from 6.6 nm to 46.6 nm. Even after the 100 nm thick ZnO:Al film deposition, the surface morphology and roughness of the ZnO:Al/Ag double structured back reflectors were the same as those of the Ag layers, meaning that the ZnO:Al films were deposited conformally on the Ag films without unnecessary changes in the surfacefeatures. The diffused reflectance of the back reflectors improved significantly with the increasing grain size and surface roughness of the Ag films, and in particular, an enhanced diffused reflectance in the long wavelength over 800 nm was observed in the Ag back reflectors deposited at $500^{\circ}C$, which had an irregular grain size distribution of 200-1000 nm and large surface roughness. The improved light scattering properties on the rough ZnO:Al/Ag back reflector surfaces led to an increase of light trapping in the solar cells, and this resulted in a noticeable improvement in the $J_{sc}$ values from 9.94 mA/$cm^2$ for the flat Ag back reflector at $25^{\circ}C$ to 13.36 mA/$cm^2$ for the rough one at $500^{\circ}C$. A conversion efficiency of 7.60% ($V_{oc}$ = 0.93, $J_{sc}$ = 13.36 mA/$cm^2$, FF = 61%) was achieved in the flexible silicon thin film solar cells at this moment.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2010.08a
• /
• pp.73-73
• /
• 2010

Various organic- and bio-conjugated nanoparticles have been studied extensively for biological applications in medical diagnoses and drug delivery systems. Gold nanoparticles (AuNP) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) are known biocompatible materials to be used in vivo and are becoming increasingly important in biomedical applications. In this work, we investigated the stability of PEG-conjugated AuNPs, dialysis and centrifuge effects after synthesis or pegylation of AuNPs as a function of elapsed time by using ToF-SIMS imaging technique along with dynamic light scattering (DLS), UV-visible absorption spectroscopic and statistical analyses. Roughly 15-nm-sized AuNPs were synthesized in a citrate-conjugated form, and then converted into the thiol-terminated PEG (O-[2-(3-Mercaptopropionylamino)ethyl]-O'-methylpolyethyleneglycol, M.W.=5 kDa) form. Based on our data, we will show that ToF-SIMS imaging analysis along with DLS, UV-visible absorption and statistical analyses would be a useful method to evaluate stability of PEG-conjugated AuNPs in various environmental conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2014.02a
• /
• pp.346.1-346.1
• /
• 2014

Porous nano crystalline $TiO_2$ is currently used as a working electrode in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The conventional working electrode is comprised of absorption layer (particle size:~20 nm) and scattering layer (particle size:~300 nm). We inserted window layer with 10 nm particle size in order to increase transmittance and specific surface area of $TiO_2$. The electrochemical impedance spectroscope analysis was conducted to analysis characterization of the electronic behavior. The Bode phase plot and Nyquist plot were interpreted to confirm the internal resistance caused by the insertion of window layer and carrier lifetime. The photocurrent that occurred in working electrode, which is caused by rise in specific surface area, increased. Accordingly, it was found that insertion of window layer in the working electrode lead to not only effectively transmitting the light, but also increasing of specific surface area. Therefore, it was concluded that insertion of window layer contributes to high conversion efficiency of DSSCs.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
• /
• v.34 no.2
• /
• pp.101-106
• /
• 2004

This work aims at examining the cellular uptake behavior of poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles derivatized with a protein transduction domain (PTD) using HeLa cells. For this purpose, $Tat_{49-57}$ peptide derived from transcriptional activation (Tat) protein of HIV type-1 was covalently conjugated to the terminal end of PLGA. Nanoparticles were ten prepared with the $Tat_{49-57}-PLGA$ conjugates by a spontaneous phase inversion method. The prepared particles had a mean diameter of ca. 84 nm, as measured by dynamic light scattering. The interaction of the Tat-PLGA nanoparticles with cells was examined by using confocal laser scanning microscopy. It was found tat Tat-PLGA nanoparticles incubated with HeLa cells could efficiently translocate into cytoplasm, while plain PLGA nanoparticles showed negligible cellular uptake. In addition, even at $4^{\circ}C$ or in the presence of sodium azide significant cellular internalization of Tat-PLGA nanoparticles was still observed. These results indicate that a non-endocytotic translocation mechanism might be involved in the cellular uptake of Tat-PLGA nanoparticles.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
• /
• v.39 no.10
• /
• pp.981-987
• /
• 2002

Monodispersed colloidal silica was prepared by Stober process. We have synthesized monodispersed colloidal silica of carious sizes (100 nm, 200 nm, 300 nm) by controlling volume ratios of TEOS(Tetraethylorthosilicate), $NH_4OH$, Ethanol and D. I. water. Shape and monodispersity of the synthesized colloidal particles were observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM) and laser light scattering particle analyzer. Self-assembled monolayer of monodispersed colloids was achieved by dipping Si substrate into a well-dispersed silica suspension. It was determined that uniformity and spatial extent of the self-assemble monolayer of monodispersed colloids are significantly influenced by the experimental parameters such as concentration, pH and surface tension of the colloidal suspension. We have observed a hexagonally well-ordered packing colloidal monolayer in a relatively large area (1.5 mm ${\times}$ 1.5 mm) as confirmed by SEM.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.37 no.5
• /
• pp.656-662
• /
• 2013

The flexible patterned cover film was made by a simple solution coating process using polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) solution with glass beads. The effect of patterned cover film on the efficiency of solar cell has been investigated. It was found that the relative solar cell efficiency increased up to 3.4% with the incident light angle between $0-90^{\circ}$ by the sphere shape of glass bead coated on the film surface. This was understood that the loss of transmittance and scattering due to the light directional dependency on solar cell were minimized because the light entered glass beads normal to its surface regardless of incident light angle. The maximum relative solar cell efficiency was achieved when glass bead shape on the film is hemisphere and the relative efficiency increased with increasing the amount of glass bead on the film surface. However, too much glass beads on the film surface resulted in the lower relative solar cell efficiency due to the lowering of transmittance as well as the occurring of light interference.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.14 no.1
• /
• pp.9-15
• /
• 2011

The composite membranes comprising of sulfonated polymers as matrix and ionic liquids as ion-conducting medium in replacement of water are studied to investigate the effect of annealing of the sulfonated polymers. The polymeric membranes are prepared on recast Nafion containing the ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ($EMIBF_4$). The composite membranes are characterized by thermogravitational analyses, ion conductivity and small-angle X-ray scattering. The composite membranes annealed at $190^{\circ}C$ for 2 h after the fixed drying step showed better ionic conductivity, but no significant increase in thermal stability. The mean Bragg distance between the ionic clusters, which is reflected in the position of the ionomer peak (small-angle scattering maximum), is larger in the annealed composite membranes containing $EMIBF_4$ than the non-annealed ones. It might have been explained to be due to the different level of ion-clustering ability of the hydrophilic parts (i.e., sulfonic acid groups) in the non- and annealed polymer matrix. In addition, the ionic conductivity of the membranes shows higher for the annealed composite membranes containing $EMIBF_4$. It can be concluded that the annealing of the composite membranes containing ionic liquids due to an increase in ion-clustering ability is able to bring about the enhancement of ionic conductivity suitable for potential use in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) at medium temperatures ($150-200^{\circ}C$) in the absence of external humidification.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.80-87
• /
• 2022

Purpose: Proton therapy has different relative biological effectiveness (RBE) compared with X-ray treatment, which is the standard in radiation therapy, and the fixed RBE value of 1.1 is widely used. However, RBE depends on a charged particle's linear energy transfer (LET); therefore, measuring LET is important. We have developed a LET measurement method using the inefficiency characteristic of an EBT3 film on a proton beam's Bragg peak (BP) region. Methods: A Gafchromic EBT3 film was used to measure the proton beam LET. It measured the dose at a 10-cm pristine BP proton beam in water to determine the quenching factor of the EBT3 film as a reference beam condition. Monte Carlo (MC) calculations of dose-averaged LET (LET_d) were used to determine the quenching factor and validation. The dose-averaged LETs at the 12-, 16-, and 20-cm pristine BP proton beam in water were calculated with the quenching factor. Results: Using the passive scattering proton beam nozzle of the National Cancer Center in Korea, the LET_d was measured for each beam range. The quenching factor was determined to be 26.15 with 0.3% uncertainty under the reference beam condition. The dose-averaged LETs were measured for each test beam condition. Conclusions: We developed a method for measuring the proton beam LET using an EBT3 film. This study showed that the magnitude of the quenching effect can be estimated using only one beam range, and the quenching factor determined under the reference condition can be applied to any therapeutic proton beam range.

• Atmosphere
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.185-191
• /
• 2015

Ambient measurements of aerosol light absorption (${\sigma}_a$) and scattering coefficients (${\sigma}_s$) were done at Gosan climate observatory during summer 2008 using a 3-wavelength photoacoustic soot spectrometer (PASS). PASS was deployed photoacoustic method for light absorption and integrated nephelometry for light scattering measurements. The ${\sigma}_a$ and ${\sigma}_s$ from PASS were compared with those from co-located aethalometer and nephelometer measurements. The aethalometer measurements of ${\sigma}_a$ correlated reasonably well with photoacoustic measurements, but the slope of the linear fitting line indicated the PASS measurement values of ${\sigma}_a$ were larger by a factor of 1.53. The nephelometer measurement values of ${\sigma}_s$ correlated very well with PASS measurements of ${\sigma}_s$, with a slope of 1.12 and a small offset. Comparing to the aethalometer measurements, the photoacoustic measurements of ${\sigma}_a$ didn't exhibit a significant (i.e., the ratio between aethalometer and PASS increased) change with increasing relative humidity (RH). The ratio of ${\sigma}_s$ between nephelometer and PASS increased with increasing RH, especially when the RH increased beyond 80%. This apparent increase in ${\sigma}_s$ with RH may be due to the contribution of hygroscopic growth of aerosols.