Sinterability, mechanical, and electrical properties of Al2O3/8YSZ nanocomposites prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis

Al2O3 nanoparticles added the YSZ for improving the mechanical property and the ionic conductivity. Al2O3/YSZ nanocomposites were prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis and PECS process. The relative density of the Al2O3/YSZ nanocomposites was fully densified at a sintering temperature of 1100 degrees C. The grain size for 5 vol.% Al2O3/YSZ was less than 100 nm. The fracture toughness and total ionic conductivity of Al2O3/YSZ nanocomposites were improved compared with Al2O3/YSZ nanocomposites by conventional process, due to homogeneous dispersion and uniform particle size of added Al2O3.     

Nanoscale biofilm modification-method concerning a myoglobin/11-MUA bilayers for bioelectronic device

We developed surface modification tools for the fabrication of a bioelectronic device which consists of a myoglobin monolayer self-assembled on an 11-MUA layer. To utilize a single protein as the active element, it was necessary to reduce protein aggregation on the protein layer in the nanobio electronic device, which was developed in our previous study and shown to display basic biomemory functions. Here, the reduction of myoglobin aggregation was accomplished by using 3-(3-cholamidopropyl) dimethylammonio-11-propanesulfonate (CHAPS) to fabricate a well-defined protein layer on the bioelectronic device. We investigated two different surface modification methods for making well oriented biofilm. The effects of CHAPS on the formation of a myoglobin layer self-assembled on an 11-MUA layer were examined by atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The size of the myoglobin aggregates was reduced from 200-250 nm to 10-40 nm depending on treatment method. The sustaining redox property of the CHAPS treated myoglobin layer was examined using cyclic voltammetry. Using these techniques, we found that after surfactant CHAPS treatment, protein aggregation was dramatically reduced and the protein layer still maintained its inherent electrochemical properties.     

Evaluation of recirculation sump performance for OPR1000 plant: Part I debris transport during the blow-down phase of LOCA

After TMI-2 accident, long-term core cooling management takes more importance rather than short-term management since probabilistic safety assessment performed revealed that long-term management had higher risk than the risk from short-term management. Regarding to this, since 1992, blockage of sump suction strainer was taken a place in Barseback Unit 2 (Sweden, BWR) and the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) took into consideration as a General Safety Issue 191 (GSI-191), “PWR Sump Blockage,” in 1998 and opening an investigation.As a response to GSI-191 the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) submitted a recirculation sump evaluation methodology called NEI 04–07. In this methodology 0.75 was recommended for blow-down transport to lower containment based on the study on a boiling water reactor sump clogging issue and engineering judgment. USNRC quantitatively evaluated the blow-down transport in the safety evaluation report to NEI 04–07, and concluded the recommended blow-down transport fraction in NEI 04–07 was sufficiently conservative. However, the safety evaluation report to NEI 04–07 includes many values in evaluation steps which depend much on the containment configuration and engineering judgment. In particular the dependency on the plant type limits the generality of the USNRC’s conclusion on blow-down transport, when the considered plant is different from the volunteer plant.This study provides a modified evaluation method and results of debris blow-down transport for an Optimized Power Reactor 1000 MWe (OPR1000) in Korea. The modified method includes more realistic physical background with less uncertainty while providing consistent result with NEI and USNRC methods.     

Mechanical and magnetic properties of nickel-dispersed tetragonal zirconia nanocomposites

Effects of Ni dispersions on microstructure and mechanical properties have been studied for Y2O3-stabilized tetragonal zirconia (Y-TZP)/Ni nanocomposites with Ni dispersion up to 10 vol%. Composites were successfully fabricated by reducing and hot-pressing Y-TZP/NiO powder mixtures. Fracture strength was significantly improved from 1.5 GPa for monolithic Y-TZP to 1.9 GPa for nanocomposites with a small addition of Ni (1-2 vol%). Magnetic properties of Y-TZP/Ni nanocomposites were also investigated. Magnetization curves of Y-TZP/Ni nanocomposites showed typical hysteresis loops of soft magnetic materials, whereas coercivity was much larger than that of pure Ni metal. A new function arising from magnetomechanical effects of metallic Ni is also discussed for the present nanocomposites.     

Estimation of exposure dose for decontamination workers from contaminated soil at a nuclear decommissioning site in Korea

Assessment of the exposure dose for workers is crucial to protecting workers from the radiological risk.This preliminary study estimates the potential radiological exposure for a soil remediation worker at a nuclear decommissioning site contaminated with Cs-137 in Korea,and then calculates the maximum workable soil concentration to comply with the occupational dose constraint of 20 mSv per year.The Korean characteristic data,detailed exposure scenarios for workers by the type of work,and relevant exposure pathways were used in the dose estimation.As a result,the most severe exposure-induced work type was identified as the excavator operation with an annual individual dose of 5.92×10^-5 mSv for a unit concentration of soil,from which the derived maximum workable soil concentration was 3.38×10⁵ Bq/kg.Furthermore,dose contribution by each exposure pathway was found to be decreased in the following order:external radiation exposure,soil ingestion,dust inhalation,and skin contamination.The results of this study are expected to be used effectively to optimize radiation protection for workers and establish appropriate work procedures for future site remediation.     

Optoelectronic properties of InGaAs/InGaAsP multiple-quantum-wellwaveguide detectors

The performance of InGaAs/InGaAsP multiple-quantum-well material as the absorbing medium in waveguide detectors is discussed. No deleterious saturation effects were observed up to an absorbed power of ~1 mW, with strong enough absorption for a four-well separate confinement heterostructure to provide ⩾80% quantum efficiency for lengths at least as short as 114 μm. The frequency response up to 5 GHz shows only a simple parasitic-limited rolloff which matches the measured impedance. These results provide sound evidence that the carrier trapping problem in this quantum-well material combination is much less serious than that in other material systems. This has important consequences not only for quantum-well field effect optical devices, but also for photonic integration, since the same quantum-well layers can simultaneously serve as a gain medium and as a detecting medium     

A low-crosstalk semiconductor optical amplifier

A new type of semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) that can have a very low-channel crosstalk is proposed and demonstrated. By arranging the order of the gain materials with different saturation power, the SOA crosstalk is greatly reduced. This new type of SOA can be an ideal gain material for wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) amplification and integration in the access and metro environment.     

Thermal Conductivity of AlN and SiC Thin Films

The thermal conductivity of AlN and SiC thin films sputtered on silicon substrates is measured employing the 3ω method. The thickness of the AlN sample is varied in the range from 200 to 2000 nm to analyze the size effect. The SiC thin films are prepared at two different temperatures, 20 and 500°C, and the effect of deposition temperature on thermal conductivity is examined. The results reveal that the thermal conductivity of the thin films is significantly smaller than that of the same material in bulk form. The thermal conductivity of the AlN thin film is strongly dependent on the film thickness. For the case of SiC thin films, however, increased deposition temperature results in negligible change in the thermal conductivity as the temperature is below the critical temperature for crystallization. To explain the thermal conduction in the thin films, the thermal conductivity and microstructure are compared using x-ray diffraction patterns.     

Laser soldering for chip-on-glass mounting in flat panel display application

Chip-on-glass (COG) mounting of area array electronic packages was attempted by heating the rear surfrace of a contact pad film deposited on a glass substrate. The pads consisted of an adhesion (i.e., Cr or Ti) and a top coating layer (i.e., Ni or Cu) was heated by an UV laser beam transmitted through the glass substrate. The laser energy absorbed on the pad raised the temperature of a solder ball which was in physical contact with the pad, forming a reflowed solder bump. The effects of the adhesion and top coating layer on the laser reflow soldering were studied by measuring the temperature profile of the ball during the laser heating process. The results were discussed based on the measurement of reflectivity of the adhesion layers. In addition, the microsctructures of solder bumps and their mechanical properties were examined.