• Journal of the Korean Crystal Growth and Crystal Technology
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.268-275
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• 2023

This paper delves into the crucial realm of support structures in metal additive manufacturing (AM) processes and their direct impact on the stiffness of printed components. With the continuous evolution of AM technologies, optimizing support structures has become imperative to enhance the overall quality and performance of manufactured metal parts. Therefore, in this study, tensile specimens were manufactured using various representative support design variables such as support type, spacing, and penetration depth, and the differences in displacement-load curve were analyzed though tensile test. Using additively manufactured support shaped tensile specimen, the paper presents a comprehensive examination of the effect of support parameters on their stiffness. The findings contribute to advancing the understanding how to design supports to suppress thermal deformation of metal parts during AM process, thereby paving the way for enhanced design freedom and functional performance in the ever-expanding field of AM.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.111-115
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• 2024

Silicon carbide (SiC) has emerged as a promising material for next-generation power semiconductor materials, due to its high thermal conductivity and high critical electric field (~3 MV/cm) with a wide bandgap of 3.3 eV. This permits SiC devices to operate at lower on-resistance and higher breakdown voltage. However, to improve device performance, advanced research is still needed to reduce point defects in the SiC epitaxial layer. This work investigated the electrical characteristics and defect properties using DLTS analysis. Four deep level defects generated by the implantation process and during epitaxial layer growth were detected. Trap parameters such as energy level, capture-cross section, trap density were obtained from an Arrhenius plot. To investigate the impact of defects on the device, a 2D TCAD simulation was conducted using the same device structure, and the extracted defect parameters were added to confirm electrical characteristics. The degradation of device performance such as an increase in on-resistance by adding trap parameters was confirmed.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.570-590
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• 2024

Breast cancer ranks among the most prevalent forms of malignancy and foremost cause of death by cancer worldwide. It is not preventable. Early and precise detection is the only remedy for lowering the rate of mortality and improving the probability of survival for victims. In contrast to present procedures, thermography aids in the early diagnosis of cancer and thereby saves lives. But the accuracy experiences detrimental impact by low sensitivity for small and deep tumours and the subjectivity by physicians in interpreting the images. Employing deep learning approaches for cancer detection can enhance the efficacy. This study explored the utilization of thermography in early identification of breast cancer with the use of a publicly released dataset known as the DMR-IR dataset. For this purpose, we employed a novel approach that entails the utilization of a pre-trained MobileNetV2 model and fine tuning it through transfer learning techniques. We created three models using MobileNetV2: one was a baseline transfer learning model with weights trained from ImageNet dataset, the second was a fine-tuned model with an adaptive learning rate, and the third utilized early stopping with callbacks during fine-tuning. The results showed that the proposed methods achieved average accuracy rates of 85.15%, 95.19%, and 98.69%, respectively, with various performance indicators such as precision, sensitivity and specificity also being investigated.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.283-290
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• 2024

The aggressive scaling of dynamic random-access memory capacitors has increased the need to maintain high capacitance despite the limited physical thickness of electrodes and dielectrics. This makes it essential to use high-k dielectric materials. TiO₂ has a large dielectric constant, ranging from 30~75 in the anatase phase to 90~170 in rutile phase. However, it has significant leakage current due to low energy barriers for electron conduction, which is a critical drawback. Suppressing the leakage current while scaling to achieve an equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) below 0.5 nm is necessary to control the influence of interlayers on capacitor performance. For this, Pt and Ru, with their high work function, can be used instead of a conventional TiN substrate to increase the Schottky barrier height. Additionally, forming rutile-TiO₂ on RuO₂ with excellent lattice compatibility by epitaxial growth can minimize leakage current. Furthermore, plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) can be used to deposit a uniform thin film with high density and low defects at low temperatures, to reduce the impact of interfacial reactions on electrical properties at high temperatures. In this study, TiO₂ was deposited using PEALD, using substrates of Pt and Ru treated with rapid thermal annealing at 500 and 600 ℃, to compare structural, chemical, and electrical characteristics with reference to a TiN substrate. As a result, leakage current was suppressed to around 10^-6 A/cm² at 1 V, and an EOT at the 0.5 nm level was achieved.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.59 no.2
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• pp.51-63
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• 2024

Polypropylene (PP) is a commodity plastic that is widely used owing to its cost-effectiveness, lightweight nature, easy processability, and outstanding chemical and thermomechanical characteristics. However, the imperative to address energy and environmental crises has spurred global initiatives toward a circular economy, necessitating sustainable alternatives to traditional fossil-fuel-derived plastics. In this study, we conducted a series of comparative investigations of bio-based polypropylene (bio-PP) blends with current PP of the same and different grades. An extrusion-based processing methodology was employed for the bio-PP composites. Talc was used as an active filler for the preparation of the composites. A comparative analysis with the current petroleum-based PP indicated that the thermal properties and tensile characteristics of the bio-PP blends and composites remained largely unaltered, signifying the feasibility of bio-PP as a potential substitute for the current PP. To achieve a higher Young's modulus, elongation at break (EAB), and melt flow index (MFI), we prepared different composites of PP of different grades and bio-PP with varying talc contents. Interestingly, at higher biomass contents, the composites exhibited higher MFI and EAB values with comparable Young's moduli. Notably, the impact strengths of the composites with various biomass and talc contents remained unaltered. In-depth investigations through surface analysis confirmed the uniform dispersion of talc within the composite matrix. Furthermore, the moldability of the bio-PP composites was substantiated by comprehensive rheological property assessments encompassing shear rate and shear viscosity. Thus, from these outcomes, the fabricated bio-PP-based composites could be an alternative to petroleum-based PP composites for sustainable automobile applications.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.52 no.2
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• pp.152-162
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• 2024

The microbial starter used to produce kefir beverages, kefir grain, contains a microbial exopolysaccharide called kefiran. Kefir grain consisting of water-insoluble polysaccharides, proteins, and fats, which can be applied as a multi-functional biopolymer. The mass of kefir grain can increase in the fermentation process of Kefir, but it is considered very slow. The purpose of this research is to study the impact of ammonium sulfate supplementation and yeast extract on reconstituted skim milk to increase the mass kefir grain and physical properties of kefiran. Results showed that the ammonium sulfate-supplemented substrate increased the mass of kefir grain by 547% in 14 days, with the condition that the substrate must be renewed every 2 days. Refreshing the substrate is considered one of the important factors. Supplementation on substrate did not appear to affect the viability of bacterial and yeast cells. Kefir grain produced from supplemented substrate also yields better thermal stability properties and has more functional groups than without supplementation. Two Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus (RAL27 and RAL43) and one Limosilactobacillus fermentum (RAL29) were found to produce EPS. The three isolates also showed good skim milk fermentation ability after purification from kefir grain. The kefir grain produced in this study has the potential for wider application. This study also showed that kefir grain can be adjusted in quantity and quality through fermentation substrate engineering.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.1453-1461
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• 2024

The presence of cortisol residue in processed dairy milk may be a good parameter for assessing the quality of dairy milk products and an alternative indicator of the overall welfare of dairy cattle. Thus, this study investigated the impact of heat processing on milk cortisol concentration (MCC). In total, 36 milk samples (50 mL) were collected from three Holstein dairy cattle at a research farm over two consecutive days. The samples were divided into experimental groups: unheated, heated at 65℃ for 30 min, and heated at 121℃ for 5 min. Additionally, 11 commercial dairy milk products were purchased under three heating conditions: low temperature, low time (LTLT), ultra-short time (UST), and ultra-high temperature (UHT). MCC was analyzed using an enzyme immunoassay. The average farm MCC (ng/mL) for the unheated milk, milk heated at 65℃, and milk heated at 121℃ were 0.88±0.16, 0.86±0.19, and 0.80±0.15, respectively. MCC was not significantly affected by the heating process. The average market MCC (ng/mL) in LTLT, UST, and UHT were 0.16±0.07, 0.15±0.08, and 0.15±0.07, respectively. Overall, cortisol levels in fresh farm milk were unaffected by the heating process. Monitoring cortisol levels in processed milk could offer a valuable alternative indicator for assessing product quality and animal welfare, particularly when access to raw milk is limited.

• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.46-53
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• 2022

The agglomeration characteristics of coal and silica sand were investigated under various conditions using mixed samples consisting of coal, silica sand, and potassium hydroxide, which is an agglomeration accelerator. The samples were prepared by either physically mixing or using aqueous solutions. The experiments using the physically mixed powder samples were performed with a two hour reaction time. The results showed that the number of aggregates generated increased as the reaction temperature and the total potassium content increased. The experiments using aqueous solutions were performed at 880 ℃, which is the operating temperature of a fluidized bed boiler, and at 980 ℃, which assumes a local hot spot. The amount of agglomeration generated as the reaction time increased and the total potassium content increased was identified. In the experiment performed at 880 ℃, the amount of aggregate generated clearly increased with the reaction time, and in the experiment performed at 980 ℃, assuming a local hot spot, a large amount of aggregate was generated in a relatively short time. The aggregates became harder as the potassium content increased. When the total potassium content was less than 1.37 wt.%, the aggregates were weak at both temperatures and collapsed even with a slight impact. Additionally, the surface characteristics of the silica sand and ash aggregates were observed by SEM-EDS analysis. The analysis revealed a large amount of potassium at the bonding sites. This result indicates that there is a high possibility of aggregation in the form of a eutectic compound when the alkali component is increased.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.51-56
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• 2015

It has been used various pad finish materials to enhance the reliability of solder joint and recently Electroless Ni Electroless Pd Immersion Gold (the following : ENEPIG) pad has been used more than others. This study is about reliability according to being used in commercial Electrolytic Ni pad and ENEPIG pad, and was observed behavior of various Cu contents. After reflow, the inter-metallic compound (IMC) between solder and pad is composed of $Cu_6Sn_5$ (Ni substituted) by using EDS, and in case of ENEPIG, between IMC and Ni layer was observed the dark layer ($Ni_3P$ layer). Additional, it could be controlled the thickness of dark layer according to Cu contents. Investigated the different fracture mode between electrolytic Ni and ENEPIG pad after drop shock test, in case of soft Ni, accelerated stress propagated along the interface between $1^{st}$ IMC and $2^{nd}$ IMC, and in case of ENEPIG pad, accelerated stress propagated along the weaken surface such as dark layer. The unstable interface exists through IMC, pad material and solder bulk by the lattice mismatch, so that the thermal and physical stress due to the continuous exterior impact is transferred to the IMC interface. Therefore, it is strongly requested to control solder morphology, IMC shape and thickness to improve the solder reliability.

• Fire Science and Engineering
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.63-72
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• 2017

This study fabricated a low-voltage 10 circuit distribution board based on the KEMC (Korea Electrical Manufacturers Cooperative) 2102-610 standard and performed a characteristics assessment of the developed 10 circuit distribution board to secure product stability. The developed 10 circuit distribution board is designed to have the characteristics of insulation materials, as well as resistance to corrosion ultraviolet radiation and mechanical impact. The developed distribution board is fabricated to have an appropriate protection class of enclosure, electric shock prevention and protection circuits, switchgear and its components, internal electrical circuits and connectors, external conduct terminal, insulation characteristics, temperature rise test, heat resistance, etc. The developed 10 circuit distribution board consists of a single phase circuit and 3-phase circuits. It is possible to measure in real time the leakage current generated from the load distribution line by installing a sensor module at the load side of each of the branched switchgears. In addition, it is possible to increase a circuit according to the use and purpose of the load and to also manage and check the load in real time. Temperature rise tests were performed on the developed 10 circuit distribution board at 18 places including the inlet connection, main circuit and distribution circuit bus bars and bus bar supports, etc. The highest temperature of $65.3^{\circ}C$ was measured at the R-Phase of the connection of the MCCB power supply for the branch circuit bus bar and a temperature rise of $61.6^{\circ}C$ was measured at the T-Phase of the load side. When applying thermal stress to an MCCB for 6 hours at $180^{\circ}C$ using a heat resistant experimental device, it was found that the actuator lever was transformed and moved in the tripped state.