Byung Dong Hahn

Ubiquitous magneto-mechano-electric generator

Stray magnetic field considered as harmful noise for the human body can be a ubiquitous energy source. We are surrounded with 50/60 Hz parasitic magnetic noise arising from power delivery infrastructure, but it cannot be readily utilized by traditional electromagnetic harvesters. Here, we introduce a novel magneto-mechano-electric (MME) generator with a colossal power density that can turn on 35 LEDs and drive a wireless sensor network under a weak magnetic field of 5–7 × 10−4 T at a low frequency of 60 Hz. The MME generator is a cantilever structured magnetoelectric (ME) laminate composite in which the 〈011〉 oriented anisotropic single crystal fiber composite (SFC) is bonded to Ni plate and Nd permanent magnet proof mass. The ME laminate composite has a strong ME coupling (αME ∼ 160 V cm−1 Oe−1) even without magnetic bias due to the intrinsic property of Ni. The MME generator is also found to exhibit a colossal output power density of 46 mW cm−3 Oe−2 under a weak magnetic field of 1.6 × 10−4 T at 60 Hz. This MME generator can be a ubiquitous power source for wireless sensor networks, low power electric devices, and wireless charging systems by harvesting tiny amounts of parasitic magnetic energy from our living environment.

Stress-controlled Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thick films by thermal expansion mismatch between substrate and Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 film

Polycrystalline Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) thick films (thickness ∼10 μm) were successfully fabricated by using a novel aerosol deposition technique on Si wafer, sapphire, and single crystal yitria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) wafer substrates with Pt electrodes and their dielectric, ferroelectric, and piezoelectric properties, and in-plane stresses were investigated. The films with different stress conditions were simply controlled by the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) misfit of PZT films and substrates. The results showed that the films bearing in-plane compressive stress deposited on the YSZ and sapphire substrates have superior dielectric, ferroelectric (∼90%), and piezoelectric (>200%) properties over that of the Si wafer. Among these three substrates, YSZ shows superior properties of the PZT films. However, films on Si wafer with tensile stress present lower properties. We believed that in-plane compressive stresses within the films are benefited, the formation of c-domain parallel to the thickne...

Enhanced domain contribution to ferroelectric properties in freestanding thick films

We report the success in fabricating clamped, “island,” and freestanding 10 μm thick piezoelectric films using aerosol deposition. The deposition was conducted at room temperature by impinging the piezoelectric particles flowing through the nozzle onto platinized silicon (Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si) substrate and crystallization was conducted by annealing at 700 °C. Freestanding films were synthesized by increasing the cooling rate from annealing temperature to room temperature which resulted in large internal stress between the substrate and film interface. Dielectric and ferroelectric characterizations showed enhanced ferroelectric performance of freestanding films as compared to continuous or clamped film which was associated to increased domain contribution due to decrease in degree of clamping as further confirmed by piezoforce microscopy.

Electrical Properties of Lead Zinc Niobate - Lead Zirconate Titanate Thick Films Formed by Aerosol Deposition Process

Lead zinc niobate (PZN) added lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thick films with thickness of 5~10 μm were fabricated on silicon and sapphire substrates using aerosol deposition method. The contents of PZN were varied from 0, 20 and 40 %. The as deposited film had fairly dense microstructure without any crack, and showed only a perovskite single phase formed with nano-sized grains. The as-deposited films on silicon were annealed at temperatures of 700oC, and the films deposited on sapphire were annealed at 900oC in the electrical furnace. The effects of PZN addition on the microstructural evolution were observed using FE-SEM and HR-TEM, and dielectric and ferroelectric properties of the films were characterized using impedance analyzer and Sawyer-Tower circuit, respectively. The PZN added PZT film showed poor electrical properties than pure PZT film when the films were coated on silicon substrate and annealed at 700oC, on the other hand, the PZN added PZT film showed higher remanent polarization and dielectric constant values then pure PZT film when the films were coated on sapphire and annealed at 900oC. The ferroelectric and dielectric characteristics of 20% PZN added PZT films annealed at 900oC were comparable with the values obtained from bulk ceramic specimen with same composition sintered at 1200oC.

Dielectric behavior of aerosol-deposited Mn-modified PZT-PZN thick films

We report the dielectric and ferroelectric behavior of thick films, ∼10 µm, synthesized by aerosol deposition. The base composition of the films was selected to be 0.9Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3–0.1Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 (PZT–PZN), which was modified with Mn to 0.9Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3–0.1Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3) O3–0.52 wt% MnO2 (PZT–PZN–Mn) in order to induce hardening. The polarization dynamics of the synthesized films was modeled using the theory developed for magnetic glassy systems. It was found that the substitution of Mn significantly (1) enhances the relaxation time, (2) reduces the magnitude of dielectric constant and dielectric loss, and (3) enhances the internal bias field. The results indicate the presence of domain wall pinning by the formation of defect dipoles.

Fabrication of Metal Matrix Composites Based on Stainless Steel Having Low Electrical Contact Resistance by Powder Metallurgy

Using powder metallurgy (PM) metal matrix composite (MMC) materials having low electrical contact resistance with high sintered density were fabricated for a PEMFC (Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell) separator application. The composites were made of 316L stainless steel (STS) matrix with addition of boride particles (TiB2 and ZrB2). Table I shows a list of the samples investigated in this study.

Microstructure and Properties of Sintered Reaction Bonded Silicon Nitride with Aligned Whisker Seeds

Sintered reaction bonded silicon nitride with aligned whisker seeds was prepared by tape casting silicon slurry with 5 wt% b-Si3N4 whisker seeds followed by nitridation and sintering. Three different sintering additives were used for the samples; 7 wt% Y2O3, 6 wt% Y2O3 + 1 wt% Al2O3 and 5 wt% Y2O3 + 2 wt% Al2O3. The sample with 5 wt% Y2O3 + 2 wt% Al2O3 showed the fastest a to b phase transformation after nitridation and the highest fracture toughness and flexural strength after gas pressure sintering among the samples. It also had finer microstructure than the other samples after sintering at 2248 K and at 2273 K. The finer microstructure was related to the faster phase transformation after nitridation, which resulted in the higher flexural strength.

Effect of the Sintering Additives on the Microstructure and the Properties of Textured Silicon Nitride

Silicon nitride samples without and with 3 wt% of the aligned b-silicon nitride whisker seeds were prepared with 8.2 wt% Er2O3 and 1.9 wt% AlN. After sintering at 2148 K for 4h, the samples exhibited densities higher than 99.5% TD. The microstructures and properties of the samples were compared with those of the samples sintered with 4.8 wt% Y2O3 and 2.2 wt% Al2O3 at 2273 K for 4h. For samples without the whiskers, the sample with 4.8 wt% Y2O3 + 2.2 wt% Al2O3 had coarser microstructures than those with with 8.2 wt% Er2O3 + 1.9 wt% AlN. However, the samples with the whisker seeds, the former sample appeared to have only slightly larger grains than the latter sample in spite of the significant difference in the sintering temperatures. For the samples without the whisker seeds, the room temperature flexural strength was higher for the sample with Er2O3 + AlN. However, for the samples with the aligned whisker seeds, the sample with Y2O3 + Al2O3 exhibited higher room temperature flexural strength than that with Er2O3 + AlN although the average grain width of the former sample was larger than that of the latter sample. In case of the high temperature flexural strength at 1673 K, the flexural strengths of the samples with the whisker seeds were higher than double the strengths of the samples without the whisker seeds. For samples without the whisker seeds, the sample with Er2O3 + AlN exhibited better mechanical properties than that with Y2O3 + Al2O3. However, for the samples with the aligned whisker seeds, the sample with Y2O3 + Al2O3 exhibited better mechanical properties than those with Er2O3 + AlN. The results were explained in terms of the microstructures of the samples.