• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.233-233
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• 2010

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM), based on magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) and CMOS, is a prominent candidate among prospective semiconductor memories because it can provide nonvolatility, fast access time, unlimited read/write endurance, low operating voltage and high storage density. The etching of MTJ stack with good properties is one of a key process for the realization of high density MRAM. In order to achieve high quality MTJ stack, the use of CoFeB and IrMn magnetic films as free layers was proposed. In this study, inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching of CoFeB and IrMn thin films masked with Ti hard mask was investigated in a $Cl_2$/Ar gas mix. The etch rate of CoFeB and IrMn films were examined on varying $Cl_2$ gas concentration. As the $Cl_2$ gas increased, the etch rate monotonously decreased. The effective of etch parameters including coil rf power, dc-bais voltage, and gas pressure on the etch profile of CoFeB and IrMn thin film was explored, At high coil rf power, high dc-bais voltage, low gas pressure, the etching of CoFeB and IrMn displayed better etch profiles. Finally, the clean and vertical etch sidewall of CoFeB and IrMn free layers can be achieved by means of thin Ti hard mask in a $Cl_2$/Ar plasma at the optimized condition.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2010.02a
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• pp.213-213
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• 2010

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM), based on magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) and CMOS, is one of the best semiconductor memories because it can provide nonvolatility, fast access time, unlimited read/write endurance, low operating voltage and high storage density. For the realization of high density MRAM, the etching of MTJ stack with good properties is one of a key process. Recently, there has been great interest in the MTJ stack using MgO as barrier layer for its huge room temperature MR ratio. The use of MgO barrier layer will undoubtedly accelerate the development of MTJ stack for MRAM. In this study, high-density plasma reactive ion etching of MgO films was investigated in an inductively coupled plasma of $Cl_2$/Ar gas mixes. The etch rate, etch selectivity and etch profile of this magnetic film were examined on vary gas concentration. As the $Cl_2$ gas concentration increased, the etch rate of MgO monotonously decreased and etch slop was slanted. The effective of etch parameters including coil rf power, dc-bais voltage, and gas pressure on the etch profile of MgO thin film was explored, At high coil rf power, high dc-bais voltage, low gas pressure, the etching of MgO displayed better etch profiles. Finally, the clean and vertical etch sidewall of MgO films was achieved using $Cl_2$/Ar plasma at the optimized etch conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.33 no.5
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• pp.357-362
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• 2016

Various species of insects display vivid colors, widely known as 'structural color' due to their optical interference. Morpho butterflies are famous for their brilliant iridescent colors, which arise from the photonic-nanostructures of optical interference on their wings. In this paper, we outline the results of a comparative study of the optical properties of bio-inspired Morpho butterfly structures with the widely known Distributed Bragg Reflector (DBR), conducted using a rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) method for the two structures. Almost analogous tendencies were observed for both Morpho and DBR structures. With variation in the surrounding media, however, Morpho structures showed an obvious peak shift while no significant changes were observed in DBR, which can be applicable.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2005.11a
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• pp.731-734
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• 2005

Generally, characteristics of electromechanical actuators are coupled with the mechanical and the electrical properties. Important mechanical parameters of these actuators are the achievable force and displacement in the presence of electric field. These mechanical parameters are related to the stress and strain of the materials and the actuator geometry. This paper presents how to measure the blocked force by using the micro-balance. The blocked force is defined as the force produced by the transducer under an applied voltage when the tip is constrained to zero motion. Also, a theoretical force by using the cantilever beam model is calculated under elastic domain. From the sample of 4 cm $\times$ 1 cm $\times$ 20 $\mu$m, the blocked farce measured from the equipment is 20.3 $\mu$N at 8 V$_{DC}$. By comparing it with the theoretical value, 24.9 $\mu$N, the blocked force measurement is acceptable. The furce measurement is also investigated with different AC electric fields and the frequency.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.181-193
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• 2010

The paper presents an alternative way to classical stereocorrelation. First, 2D image processing of random patterns is described. Sub-pixel displacements are determined using phase analysis. Then distortion evaluation is presented. The distortion is identified without any assumption on the lens model because of the use of a grid technique approach. Last, shape measurement and shape variation is caught by fringe projection. Analysis is based on two pin-hole assumptions for the video-projector and the camera. Then, fringe projection is coupled to in-plane displacement to give rise to 3D measurement set-up. Metrological characterization shows a resolution comparable to classical (stereo) correlation technique ($1/100^{th}$ pixel). Spatial resolution seems to be an advantage of the method, because of the use of temporal phase stepping (shape measurement, 1 pixel) and windowed Fourier transform (in plane displacements measurement, 9 pixels). Two examples are given. First one is the study of skin properties; second one is a study on leather fabric. In both cases, results are convincing, and have been exploited to give mechanical interpretation.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.192-196
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• 2013

Stainless steels (AISI 316L) are carburized by Inductively coupled plasma using $CH_4$ and Ar gas. The ${\gamma}_c$ phase(S-phase) is formed on the surface of stainless steel after carburizing process. The XRD peak of carburized samples is shifted to lower diffracting angle due to lattice expansion. Overall, the thickness of ${\gamma}_c$ phase showed a linear dependence with respect to increasing temperature due to the faster rate of diffusion of carbon. However, at temperatures above 500, the thickness data deviated from the linear trend. It is expected that the deviation was caused from atomic diffusion as well as other reactions that occurred at high temperatures. The interfacial contact resistance (ICR) and corrosion resistance are measured in a simulated proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) environment. The ICR value of the carburized samples decreased from 130 $m{\Omega}cm^2$ (AISI 316L) to about 20 $m{\Omega}cm^2$. The sample carburized at 200 showed the best corrosion current density (6 ${\mu}Acm^{-2}$).

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.29-40
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• 2017

This work employed density functional theory to investigate the structural and ferroelectric properties of the Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) phase of lead titanate, $Pb_2TiO_4$, as well as its phase transitions with epitaxial strain. A wealth of novel structural instabilities, which are absent in the host $PbTiO_3$ material, were identified in the RP phase through phonon soft-mode analysis. Our calculations showed that the ground state of $Pb_2TiO_4$ is antiferroelectric, distinct from the dominant ferroelectric phase in the corresponding host material. In addition, applied epitaxial strain was found to play a key role in the interactions among the instabilities. The induction of a sequence of antiferroelectric and antiferrodistortive (AFD) phase transitions by epitaxial strain was demonstrated, in which the ferroic instability and AFD distortion were cooperative rather than competitive, as is the case in the host $PbTiO_3$. The RP phase in conjunction with strain engineering thus represents a new approach to creating ferroic orders and modifying the interplay among structural instabilities in the same constituent materials, enabling us to tailor the functionality of perovskite oxides for novel device applications.

• Coupled systems mechanics
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.41-54
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• 2017

Shape-memory alloys (SMA) have interesting behaviors and important mechanical properties due to the solid-solid phase transformation. These phenomena are dominated by the evolution of microstructures. In recent years, the microstructures in SMAs have been studied extensively and modeled using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. However, it remains difficult to identify the crystal variants in the simulation results, which consist of large numbers of atoms. In the present work, a method is developed to identify the austenite phase and the monoclinic martensite crystal variants in MD results. The transformation matrix of each lattice is calculated to determine the corresponding crystal variant. Evolution of the volume fraction of the crystal variants and the microstructure in Ni-Ti SMAs under thermal and mechanical boundary conditions are examined. The method is validated by comparing MD-simulated interface normals with theoretical solutions. In addition, the results show that, in certain cases, the interatomic potential used in the current study leads to inconsistent monoclinic lattices compared with crystallographic theory. Thus, a specific modification is applied and the applicability of the potential is discussed.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.55-89
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• 2020

For the first time, an accurate analytical solution, based on coupled three-dimensional (3D) piezoelasticity equations, is presented for free vibration analysis of the angle-ply elastic and piezoelectric flat laminated panels under arbitrary boundary conditions. The present analytical solution is applicable to composite, sandwich and hybrid panels having arbitrary angle-ply lay-up, material properties, and boundary conditions. The modified Hamiltons principle approach has been applied to derive the weak form of governing equations where stresses, displacements, electric potential, and electric displacement field variables are considered as primary variables. Thereafter, multi-term multi-field extended Kantorovich approach (MMEKM) is employed to transform the governing equation into two sets of algebraic-ordinary differential equations (ODEs), one along in-plane (x) and other along the thickness (z) direction, respectively. These ODEs are solved in closed-form manner, which ensures the same order of accuracy for all the variables (stresses, displacements, and electric variables) by satisfying the boundary and continuity equations in exact manners. A robust algorithm is developed for extracting the natural frequencies and mode shapes. The numerical results are reported for various configurations such as elastic panels, sandwich panels and piezoelectric panels under different sets of boundary conditions. The effect of ply-angle and thickness to span ratio (s) on the dynamic behavior of the panels are also investigated. The presented 3D analytical solution will be helpful in the assessment of various 1D theories and numerical methods.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2011.04a
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• pp.89-92
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• 2011

The modeling of thermodynamic non-idealities and transport anomalies is a crucial prerequisite to realistically simulate the mixing and combustion processes of liquid propellants injected above critical pressures. This study has developed a specific set of subroutines to calculate the thermodynamic and transport properties based on the generalized cubic equation of state (EoS) in a coupled manner with the standard chemical kinetics packages (Chemkin). The existing flamelet analysis code is extended with the real-fluid package and applied to numerical investigation of local flame structures of kerosene and liquid oxygen at high pressure conditions relevant to the actual rocket engines.