Pulsed Laser Ablation Characteristics of Light-Absorbing Mask Layer Based on Coating Thicknesses under Laser Lift-Off Patterning Process.

Thin transparent oxide layers are typically patterned for use in electronic products including semiconductors, displays, and solar cells for applications such as transparent electrodes, insulating films, and encapsulation films. Conventional patterning methods have traditionally been used in photolithography and lift-off processes. Photolithography employs the wet development process, which has disadvantages such as potential undercut effects, swelling, chemical contamination, and high process costs. On the other hand, laser ablation, which has the advantages of high accuracy, high speed, a noncontact nature, and selective processing, can be used to pattern thin films. However, absorption in transparent oxide films is usually low. In this study, experiments were conducted to determine the ablation characteristics of mask layers. The factors affecting ablation, including beam radii, fluences, overlap ratios, and coating thicknesses, were examined; and the parameters characteristic of residue-free ablation, namely the ablation threshold, minimum fluence, and minimum ablation linewidth, were also examined. The experimental results revealed that the beam radius was an important parameter in determining the resolutions of transparent films and substrates.

A sport supplement candidate of Erigeron breviscapus extract regulates lipogenesis in vitro and in vivo.

PURPOSE: One of the urgent research projects in exercise science should focus on sports supplements for obese people who lack exercise and physical activity. In this study, we explored the efficacy in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) mice models using a Korean herbal medicine Erigeron breviscapus (EB). METHODS: Gene ontology analyses of active compounds in EB were performed using the Traditional Chinese Medicine Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP) and Cytoscape program, respectively. PA-induced acid (PA) induced-lipid droplets in HepG2 cells were analyzed using a 3D-hologram. To analyze the fat-suppressing efficacy of EB in animal experiments, NAFLD was induced through a 24-week high-fat diet. Subsequently, the same diet was continued for an additional 8 weeks, with concurrent co-administration of drugs for efficacy analysis. In the 8-week experiment, mice were administered saline alone, metformin (17 mg/kg/day), or EB (26 mg/kg/day). The mice were sacrificed and the liver tissue was isolated. The liver tissues were stained with H&E and specific antibodies such as sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 (SREBP-1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor- γ (PPAR-γ). RESULTS: Seventeen EB-active compounds were identified by whole-body analysis. EB downregulated lipid droplets in PA-treated HepG2 cells. EB regulates lipid accumulation in liver tissue of HFD-fed NAFLD mice Metformin and EB significantly reduced the expression of SREBP-1 and PPAR-γ in liver tissue. CONCLUSION: We suggest that EB is a candidate for the management of NAFLD and is an effective exercise supplement owing to its ability to inhibit lipid accumulation.

Improving the application of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy for the determination of total carbon in soils.

The increase of atmospheric greenhouse gases such as CO2 has caused noticeable climate change. Since increased CO2 may contribute to carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems through the CO2 cycle between the atmosphere and vegetation, it is necessary to improve methods for measuring C in soil. In this study, we determined the total carbon concentrations of soils using a highly sensitive and rapid method, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. The presence of C has been measured by detecting signal at the wavelength of 247.86 nm. The obstacle of Fe interference at the C measurement wavelength of 247.86 nm was reduced by selecting the optimal delay time of 1.4 µs. The ratio of peak intensities (areas) at 247.86 nm for C and 248.20 nm for Fe was then successfully applied to the calibration curve. In addition, to dismiss the problem of measuring the C lines at 247.86 nm, 193.03 nm has been used to observe C emission. Both the 193.03- and 247.86-nm lines provided significant linear calibrations. The 193.03-nm lines presented stronger relative accuracies in predicting the lower C concentrations of the unknown samples than that one at 247.86 nm.

Effect of laser intensity on the characteristic of inkjet-printed silver nanoparticles during continuous laser sintering.

The variation in electric conductivity was examined for laser irradiation with various beam intensities. A 532-nm continuous wave laser was irradiated onto inkjet-printed silver lines on a glass substrate and the electrical resistance was measured in situ during the irradiation. The results demonstrate that electrical conductivity varies nonlinearly with laser intensity, and has a minimum specific resistance of 3.1 x 10(-8) Ωm at 4 kW/cm2 irradiation. These results are interesting because the specific resistance achieved by the present laser irradiation was approximately 1.9 times lower than the best value obtainable by oven heating, even though it was still higher by 1.9 times than that of bulk silver. It is also demonstrated that the irradiation time required to complete the sintering process decreases with laser intensity. The numerical simulation of laser heating shows that the heating temperature could be as high as 250 degrees C for laser sintering, while it is limited to 250 degrees C for oven sintering. The characteristics of sintering with laser intensity based on the results of field emission scanning electron microscope images are discussed.

Estimation of the properties of silver nanoparticle ink during laser sintering via in-situ electrical resistance measurement.

In this work, the in-situ properties of silver nanoparticle ink were estimated during laser sintering process. The silver nanoparticle ink was composed of 34 wt% silver nanoparticles with an average size of approximately 50 nm, and was deposited on a glass substrate via inkjet printing technology. A 532 nm continuous-wave laser was irradiated to the printed ink for 60 s under various laser intensities. During the laser irradiation, the in-situ electrical conductance of the sintered ink was measured to obtain the transient thermal conductivity of the silver nanoparticle ink using the Wiedemann Franz law. The 2-dimensional, transient heat-conduction equation was calculated to obtain the transient temperature of the silver nanoparticle ink. By coupling the calculated temperature with the measured, transient electrical conductance, the transient thermal conductivity of the ink during the laser sintering process was derived in the calculation. The calculated thermal conductivity of the ink sintered at a laser intensity of 467.9 W/cm2 with 598 K is 355.5 W/mK, which is 86.4% of the thermal conductivity of bulk silver, 411.4 W/mK, at that tempearture. The difference resulting from the porosity of the sintered ink has an effect on the thermal conductivity of the sintered ink.

The characteristic variations of inkjet-printed silver nanoparticle ink during furnace sintering.

In this work, an experiment on furnace thermal sintering with printed silver (Ag) nanoparticle ink was carried out. The Ag nanoparticle ink employed in this study has a particle size of around 50 nm and particles constitute 34 wt% of the ink. The Ag nanoparticle ink was printed by inkjet printing. A thermal sintering process in a furnace was conducted at temperatures of 150, 200, and 250 degrees C for 20 to 3000 seconds. After sintering, electrical conductivities and cross-sectional images were measured. The specific resistance and the cross-sectional area of the sintered ink decrease as the sintering temperature increases. The SEM images indicate that surface premelting caused sintering below the melting temperature of silver, 960 degrees C, which increased neck growth and lowered the electrical resistance. Lastly, the minimum specific resistance of 7.08 microOmgega x cm was obtained after sintering for 3000 s at 250 degrees C. This specific resistance value was 4.4 times larger than that of bulk silver.

The effect of temperature on the electrical properties of inkjet-printed silver nanoparticle ink during electrical sintering.

In this work, the thermal behavior of ink-jet-printed nanoparticle ink during electrical sintering was demonstrated. The ink consisting of silver nanoparticles approximately 50 nm in size and 34 wt% was used. Constant currents of 0.11, 0.22, and 0.31 A were applied to Joule-heat the inkjet-printed silver nanoparticles. During the sintering process, in-situ voltage and current measurements were taken to calculate the heat source and thermal conductivity. In order to estimate the temperature during the electrical sintering process, numerical modeling of the two-dimensional heat conduction equation was adopted. Thermal conductivity was obtained from the in-situ electrical conductivity measurement and coupled to the numerical model using the Wiedemann Franz law. From these numerical modeling results, the relationship between the specific resistance of the ink and the temperature was determined. During the electrical sintering process, the specific resistance of the ink was strongly related to the sintering temperature. The specific resistance of the ink decreases as the process temperature rises.

Estimation of thermal conductivity of amorphous silicon thin films from the optical reflectivity measurement.

Amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film material is widely used in liquid crystal display and solar cell applications. Knowledge of its properties is important in enhancing device performance. The properties of a-Si thin film have not been well understood due to the lack of periodicity of the structure. Furthermore, thermal conductivity of a-Si thin film is a key parameter to understand the complex phase transformation mechanism from a-Si thin film to polysilicon thin film by analyzing the transient temperature during the laser recrystallization process. In this work, thermal conductivity of a-Si thin film was determined by measuring optical reflectivity. A-Si thin film was irradiated with a KrF excimer laser beam to raise its temperature. The raised film temperature affects temperature-dependent optical properties such as refractive indices and extinction coefficients. The temperature-dependent optical properties of refractive indices and extinction coefficients of a-Si thin film were measured by ellipsometry. In-situ transient reflectivity at the wavelength of 633 nm was obtained during the excimer laser irradiation. The numerical simulation of one-dimensional conduction equation was solved so that transient reflectivities were calculated with temperature-dependent optical properties combined with thin film optics. Therefore, a well-fitted thermal conductivity was determined by comparing the numerically obtained transient reflectivity with the experimentally measured reflectivity data. The determined thermal conductivity of a-Si thin films was 1.5 W/mK.

Nonlinear fitness consequences of variation in expression level of a eukaryotic gene.

Levels of gene expression show considerable variation in eukaryotes, but no fine-scale maps have been made of the fitness consequences of such variation in controlled genetic backgrounds and environments. To address this, we assayed fitness at many levels of up- and down-regulated expression of a single essential gene, LCB2, involved in sphingolipid synthesis in budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Reduced LCB2 expression rapidly decreases cellular fitness, yet increased expression has little effect. The wild-type expression level is therefore perched on the edge of a nonlinear fitness cliff. LCB2 is upregulated when cells are exposed to osmotic stress; consistent with this, the entire fitness curve is shifted upward to higher expression under osmotic stress, illustrating the selective force behind gene regulation. Expression levels of LCB2 are lower in wild yeast strains than in the experimental lab strain, suggesting that higher levels in the lab strain may be idiosyncratic. Reports indicate that the effect sizes of alleles contributing to variation in complex phenotypes differ among environments and genetic backgrounds; our results suggest that such differences may be explained as simple shifts in the position of nonlinear fitness curves.

Catalytic conversion of 1,2-dichlorobenzene using V2O5/TiO2 catalysts by a thermal decomposition process.

This study examined the catalytic oxidation of 1,2-dichlorobenzene on V(2)O(5)/TiO(2) nanoparticles. The V(2)O(5)/TiO(2) nanoparticles were synthesized by the thermal decomposition of vanadium oxytripropoxide and titanium tetraisopropoxide. The effects of the synthesis conditions, such as the synthesis temperature and precursor heating temperature, were investigated. The specific surface areas of V(2)O(5)/TiO(2) nanoparticles increased with increasing synthesis temperature and decreasing precursor heating temperature. The catalytic oxidation rate of the V(2)O(5)/TiO(2) catalyst formed by thermal decomposition process at a catalytic reaction temperature of 150 and 200 degrees C was 46% and 95%, respectively. As a result, it was concluded that the V(2)O(5)/TiO(2) catalysts synthesized by a thermal decomposition process showed good performance for 1,2-DCB decomposition at a lower temperature.