We fabricated BiAlO thin film by a solution process with a brush coating to be used as liquid crystal (LC) alignment layer. Solution-processed BiAlO was coated on the glass substrate by brush process. Prepared thin films were annealed at different temperatures of 80℃, 180℃, and 280℃. To verify whether the BiAlO film was formed properly, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis was performed on Bi and Al. Using a crystal rotation method by polarized optical microscopy, LC alignment state was evaluated. At the annealing temperature of 280℃, the uniform homogenous LC alignment was achieved. To reveal the mechanism of LC alignment by brush coating, field emission scanning electron microscope was used. Through this analysis, spin-coated and brush coated film surface were compared. It was revealed that physical anisotropy was induced by brush coating at a high annealing temperature. Particles were aligned in one direction along which brush coating was made, resulting in a physical anisotropy that affects a uniform LC alignment. Therefore, it was confirmed that brush coating combined with BiAlO thin film annealed at high temperature has a significant potential for LC alignment.
In this study, the dielectric properties of flame retardant silicone rubber mixed with the amount of silica 50~65 phr were measured at frequencies ranging from 1 to 2.7 MHz and temperature ranges from 30℃ to 160℃. The permittivity decreased with higher frequencies and higher temperatures, and tanδ are thought to have decreased due to the increased heat oxidation of the methyl group bound to Si, which increased the hardness of silicone rubber. FT-IR analysis of specimen mixed with SiO2 of 50~65 phr showed oscillations of OH groups bound to SiO2 between wavenumber 3,600 and 3,300. As a result of analyzing surface components by Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) on all specimens mixed with SiO2 of 50 to 65 phr, all specimens contained Si, and the analysis by field emission scanning electron (FE-SEM) confirmed that about 1~5 μm particles were distributed regularly on the surface of the specimens.
ZnO nanorods were grown on SiO2 coated Si wafers and glass by the hydrothermal method. The structural and optical properties variation of ZnO nanorods as a function of growing time was studied. ~10 nm-thick ZnO thin films deposited on substrates by rf magnetron sputtering were employed as seed layers. Zinc nitrate hexahydrate (0.05 M) and hexamethylenetetramine (0.05 M) mixed in DI water were used as a reaction solution. ZnO nanorods were respectively grown for 30 min, 1 h, 2 h, 3 h, and 4 h by maintaining the reactor at 90℃. Crystallinity of ZnO nanorods was analyzed by X-ray diffraction, and the morphology of nanorods was observed by a field emission scanning electron microscope. Transmittance and absorbance were measured by a UV-Vis spectrophotometer, and energy band gap and urbach energy were obtained from the data. Photoluminescence measurements were carried out using Nd-Yag laser (266 nm).
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been significantly used for the field emitters for display applications. However, the lifetime of CNT emitters which are formed by screen printing technique is not guaranteed yet, because the constituents in CNT paste affect the lifetime of CNTs. The CNT pastes for screen printing are normally composed of organic vehicles (nitro cellulose, ethyl cellulose, etc) and additives (glass frits, indium tin oxide (ITO), etc) with CNTs. In this study, the effects of constituents in CNT pastes on the lifetime and emission characteristics of CNTs were investigated by thermal and electrical analysis. Use of glass frits worsened the lifetime and electron emission of CNTs. However, an addition of ITO to CNT paste rather improved the lifetime of CNTs. Degradation of CNTs was small when nitro cellulose was used in CNT paste as an organic vehicle.