• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2003.07c
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• pp.1571-1573
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• 2003

Diamond films including nanocystalline and graphite phase are grown by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition using $N_2$ additives and negative substrate bias at growth step. The microstructure of the films is controlled by changing $N_2$ gas ratio and negative bias. Defects and grain boundaries between diamond and graphite are proposed to be crucial factors for forming the conducting path of electron emissions. The effect of growth parameters on the film microstructure are investigated by Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy(SEM). Electron emission characteristics are also examined in terms of the film growth conditions.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.26 no.7
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• pp.393-399
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• 2016

Flower-like nickel oxide (NiO) catalysts were coated on NiCrAl alloy foam using a hydrothermal method. The structural, morphological, and chemical bonding properties of the NiO catalysts coated on the NiCrAl alloy foam were investigated by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. To obtain flower-like morphology of NiO catalysts on the NiCrAl alloy foam, we prepared three different levels of pH of the hydrothermal solution: pH-7.0, pH-10.0, and pH-11.5. The NiO morphology of the pH-7.0 and pH-10.0 samples exhibited a large size plate owing to the slow reaction of the hydroxide ($OH^-$) and nickel ions ($Ni^+$) in lower pH than pH-11.5. Flower-like NiO catalysts (${\sim}4.7{\mu}m-6.6{\mu}m$) were formed owing to the fast reaction of $OH^-$ and $Ni^{2+}$ by increased $OH^-$ concentration at high pH. Thus, the flower-like morphology of NiO catalysts on NiCrAl alloy foam depends strongly on the pH of the hydrothermal solution.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.393-400
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• 2014

NiO catalysts were successfully coated onto FeCrAl metal alloy foam as a catalyst support via a dip-coating method. To demonstrate the optimum amount of NiO catalyst on the FeCrAl metal alloy foam, the molar concentration of the Ni precursor in a coating solution was controlled, with five different amounts of 0.4 M, 0.6 M, 0.8 M, 1.0 M, and 1.2 M for a dip-coating process. The structural, morphological, and chemical bonding properties of the NiO-catalyst-coated FeCrAl metal alloy foam samples were assessed by means of field-emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy(SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction(XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). In particular, when the FeCrAl metal alloy foam samples were coated using a coating solution with a 0.8 M Ni precursor, well-dispersed NiO catalysts on the FeCrAl metal alloy foam compared to the other samples were confirmed. Also, the XPS results exhibited the chemical bonding states of the NiO phases and the FeCrAl metal alloy foam. The results showed that a dip-coating method is one of best ways to coat well-dispersed NiO catalysts onto FeCrAl metal alloy foam.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.8
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• pp.657-663
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• 2011

This study represents the results of the peel strength and surface morphology according to the preprocessing times of polyimide (PI) in a Cu/Ni/PI structure flexible copper clad laminate production process based on the polyimide. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to analyze the surface morphology, crystal structure, and interface binding structure of sputtered Ni, Cu, and electrodeposited copper foil layers. The surface roughness of Ni, Cu deposition layers and the crystal structure of electrodeposited Cu layers were varied according to the preprocessing times. In the RF plasma times that were varied by 100-600 seconds in a preprocessing process, the preprocessing applied by about 300-400 seconds showed a homogeneous surface morphology in the metal layers and that also represented high peel strength for the polyimide. Considering the effect of peel strength on plastic deformation, preprocessing times can reasonably be at about 400 seconds.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.388-394
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• 2011

High speed copper filling into TSV (through-silicon-via) for three dimensional stacking of Si chips was investigated. For this study, a tapered via was prepared on a Si wafer by the DRIE (deep reactive ion etching) process. The via had a diameter of 37${\mu}m$ at the via opening, and 32${\mu}m$ at the via bottom, respectively and a depth of 70${\mu}m$. $SiO_2$, Ti, and Au layers were coated as functional layers on the via wall. In order to increase the filling ratio of Cu into the via, a PPR (periodic pulse reverse) wave current was applied to the Si chip during electroplating, and a PR (pulse reverse) wave current was applied for comparison. After Cu filling, the cross sections of the vias was observed by FE-SEM (field emission scanning electron microscopy). The experimental results show that the tapered via was filled to 100% at -5.85 mA/$cm^2$ for 60 min of plating by PPR wave current. The filling ratio into the tapered via by the PPR current was 2.5 times higher than that of a straight via by PR current. The tapered via by the PPR electroplating process was confirmed to be effective to fill the TSV in a short time.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.194-199
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• 2016

We prepared polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) beads with a particle size of 80 nm to improve the energy conversion efficiency (ECE) by increasing the effective surface area and the dye absorption ability of the working electrodes (WEs) in a dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC). We prepared the $TiO_2$ layer with PMMA beads of 0.0~1.0 wt%; then, finally, a DSSC with $0.45cm^2$ active area was obtained. Optical microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy were used to characterize the microstructure of the $TiO_2$ layer with PMMA. UV-VIS-NIR was used to determine the optical absorbance of the WEs with PMMA. A solar simulator and a potentiostat were used to determine the photovoltaic properties of the PMMA-added DSSC. Analysis of the microstructure showed that pores of 200 nm were formed by the decomposition of PMMA. Also, root mean square values linearly increased as more PMMA was added. The absorbance in the visible light regime was found to increase as the degree of PMMA dispersion increased. The ECE increased from 4.91% to 5.35% when the amount of PMMA beads added was increased from 0.0 to 0.4 wt%. However, the ECE decreased when more than 0.6 wt% of PMMA was added. Thus, adding a proper amount of PMMA to the $TiO_2$ layer was determined to be an effective method for improving the ECE of a DSSC.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.139-142
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• 2016

β-AgVO₃ nanorods have been successfully synthesized using a soft chemistry route followed by heat treatment. They were characterized by X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy, and their electrochemical properties were investigated using cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectra, and charge-discharge tests. The results showed that the smooth-surfaced nanorods are very uniform and well dispersed, with diameters of ~100-200 nm and lengths of the order of several macrometers. The nanorods deliver a maximum specific discharge capacity of 275 mAh g^-1 at 30 mA g^-1. They also demonstrated good rate capability with a discharge capacity at the 100^th cycle of 51 mAh g^-1.

• Carbon letters
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.162-166
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• 2011

Conducting polymer-coated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared by template polymerization in order to enhance their gas sensitivity. This investigation of the conducting polymer phases that formed on the surface of the MWCNTs is based on field-emission scanning electron microscopy images. The thermal stability of the conducting polymer-coated MWCNTs was significantly improved by the high thermal stability of MWCNTs. The synergistic effects of the conducting polymer-coated MWCNTs improve the gas-sensing properties. MWCNTs coated with polyaniline uniformly show outstanding improvement in gas sensitivity to $NH_3$ due to the synergistic combination of efficient adsorption of $NH_3$ gas and variation in the conduction of electrons.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.227-232
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• 2011

Zein is a hydrophobic protein produced from maize and has great potential in a number of industrial applications, such as food, food coating and food packaging. To obtain suitable electrospinning conditions for thinner and uniform zein nanofiber mats, a series of experiments was conducted on various volume ratios (v/v) of ethanol/water solutions with different zein concentrations. The prepared zein nanofiber mats were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy and contact angle measurements. Uniform zein fibers with a average diameter in the nanometer scale (300~500 nm) could be prepared from 30 wt.% zein in 7/3 (v/v) ethanol/water solutions.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.423-426
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• 2012

$Al_2O_3$/NiO powder was obtained through hydrolysis-condensation reactions and thermal treatments. An organic additive, triblock copolymer surfactant P123, was added to the starting materials to control the surface area and morphology. The synthesized powder was characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and a Brunner-Emmett-Teller surface analysis (BET). The heterogeneous catalytic activity of this powder was applied to an epoxidation reaction of styrene and was monitored using a gas chromatograph with mass spectrophotometry (GC/MS).