• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.206-213
• /
• 2003

Effects of plasma nitriding on the surface characteristics of tool steels have been investigated using wear tester, micro-hardness tester and scanning electron microscope (SEM) Commercial SKD 11 and SM45 alloy were used as specimens and were plasma nitrided using a plasma nitriding equipment for 5 hr and 10hr at $500^{\circ}C$. Microstructure and phase analysis were performed using SEM and XRD. It was found that plasma nitriding for lour at $500^{\circ}C$, compared with plasma nitriding for 10hr at $500^{\circ}C$, had a thick nitrided layer and produced a layer with good wear resistance and hardness as nitriding time increased. SKD11 alloy showed that wear resistance and hardness decreased, whereas surface roughness increased, compared with SM45 alloy.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.214-218
• /
• 1999

The effect of additives in nickel and copper electroplating were investigated for MEMS applications. Saccharin and gelatin were used as additives in nickel and copper electroplating bath respectively. The morphology and surface hardness of electroplated coating were investigated with additive concentration. Microstructures were fabricated with optimum conditions.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Technology of Plasticity Conference
• /
• 2008.10a
• /
• pp.134-137
• /
• 2008

The effects of residual stress and surface defects on the mechanical properties of the high carbon steel filament used for the automotive tire have been experimentally investigated. The samples were fabricated with annealing temperature. The residual stress was measured by focused ion beam and strain mapping software which has advantages, such as data with high accuracy and fast data acquisition time. Mechanical properties, such as tensile strength and fatigue resistance, were gradually increased up to $200^{\circ}C$ and then slightly decreased. From the measurement of residual stress and level of surface defect, it was revealed that the critical factor was varied with different temperature region. That is, the fatigue resistance increased due to decreasing the residual stress and decreased due to increasing the size and distribution of surface defect.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.61-67
• /
• 2013

Thin film solar cells have attracted much attention due to their high cell efficiency, comparatively low process cost, and applicability to flexible substrates. In particular, CIGS solar cells have been widely studied and produced because they demonstrated the highest cell efficiency. However, the deposition process of CIGS films generally includes the selenization process conducted at elevated temperature using toxic $H_2Se$ gas. To avoid this selenization process, CIGS thin films were, in this study, deposited by RF sputtering using single composite CIGS target. In addition, the effects of sputtering bias voltage and heat treatment on the microstructural and morphological changes in deposited CIGS films were investigated and discussed.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
• /
• v.37 no.3
• /
• pp.63-70
• /
• 2017

In the present study, effects of an addition of Sn on the microstructure and corrosion behavior were investigated in Mg-4%Zn-(0-3)%Sn casting alloys. With an increase in the Sn content, the ${\alpha}-(Mg)$ dendritic cell size was reduced, whereas the total amount of precipitates increased due to the formation of the $Mg_2Sn$ phase. It was found in immersion and electrochemical corrosion tests that the addition of Sn has a detrimental effect on the corrosion resistance of the Mg-4%Zn alloy. Microstructural examinations of the corrosion product and the corroded surface indicated that an accelerated micro-galvanic effect by the $Mg_2Sn-phase$ particles and a less protective corrosion product on the surface were responsible for the increased corrosion rate at a higher Sn content.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.111-114
• /
• 2003

Effects of substrate materials on the microstructure and the sensitivity of $SnO_2$thin film gas sensors have been studied. Various substrates were studied, such as oxidized silicon, sapphire, polished alumina, and unpolished alumina. It was observed that strong correlation exists between the electrical resistance and the CO gas sensitivity of the manufactured sensors and the surface roughness of $SnO_2$thin films, which in turn was related to the surface roughness of the original substrates. X$SnO_2$thin film gas sensor on unpolished alumina with the highest surface roughness showed the highest initial resistance and CO gas sensitivity. The transmission electron microscopy observation indicated that shape and size of the columnar microstructure of the thin films were not critically affected by the type of substrates.

• Journal of Surface Science and Engineering
• /
• v.34 no.4
• /
• pp.289-296
• /
• 2001

Ni-P electroformed layers were investigated for developing a steam generator tube repair technology in PWRs. The effects of an additive, RPP (Reagent over Pitting Protection) and agitation on mechanical properties and microstructure of the layer were evaluated. The addition of the RPP showed to inhibit the formation of pores, to refine the grain size, and to increase the residual stress in the layer. However, the agitation of the solution during electroforming was observed to increase pores in local regions of the electroformed layer, resulting in decreasing its mechanical properties. The heat treatment of the layer at $343^{\circ}C$ for 1 hr. precipitated the very fine particles of Ni3P in the layer, which inhibited grain growth and increased microhardness.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.434-439
• /
• 2008

Silver pastes as the outer electrodes have been prepared using Pb-free glass frits with different content of $Bi_2O_3$ and the effects of glass composition on the degradation behaviors of the Ag electrodes were investigated using the change of adhesion between Ag electrode and alumina substrate with thermal cycle stress. Low adhesion and high surface resistance were observed in Ag electrode using glass frit with a $Bi_2O_3$ content of 60 wt%, owing to the open microstructure formed at the firing temperature of $600^{\circ}C$. When the $Bi_2O_3$ was increased to 80 wt% in the glass frit, the Ag electrodes had a dense microstructure with high adhesion and a low surface resistance. Delamination of the Ag electrodes was a major failure mode under thermal cycle stress and this was attributed to residual stress due to the thermal expansion mismatch between the Ag electrode and the alumina substrate.

• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.117-125
• /
• 2016

The effects of the Zn content on the microstructure and corrosion behavior in 1M NaCl solution were investigated in Mg-(0~6)%Zn casting alloys. The MgZn phase was scarcely observed in the Mg-1%Zn alloy, while the Mg-(2~6)%Zn alloy consisted of ${\alpha}$-(Mg) and MgZn phases. With an increase in the Zn content, the amount of the MgZn phase was gradually increased. Immersion and electrochemical corrosion tests indicated that the Mg-1%Zn alloy had the lowest corrosion rate among the alloys, and a further increase in the Zn content resulted in the deterioration of the corrosion resistance. Microstructural examinations of the corroded surfaces and EIS analyses of surface corrosion films revealed that the best corrosion resistance at 1%Zn was associated with the absence of MgZn phase particles in the microstructure and the contribution of Zn element to the formation of a protective film on the surface. A micro-galvanic effect by the MgZn particles led to the increased rate of corrosion at a higher Zn content.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.113-117
• /
• 2018

Effects of annealing temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties through thickness of a cold-rolled Cu-3.0Ni-0.7Si alloy were investigated in detail. The copper alloy with thickness of 3 mm was rolled to 50 % reduction at ambient temperature without lubricant and subsequently annealed for 0.5h at $200{\sim}900^{\circ}C$. The microstructure of the copper alloy after annealing was different in thickness direction depending on an amount of the shear and compressive strain introduced by rolling; the recrystallization occurred first in surface regions shear-deformed largely. The hardness distribution of the specimens annealed at $500{\sim}700^{\circ}C$ was not uniform in thickness direction due to partial recrystallization. This ununiformity of hardness corresponded well with an amount of shear strain in thickness direction. The average hardness and ultimate tensile strength showed the maximum values of 250Hv and 450MPa in specimen annealed at $400^{\circ}C$, respectively. It is considered that the complex mode of strain introduced by rolling effected directly on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the annealed specimens.