Sung-Hak Cho

A functionally separated nanoimprinting material tailored for homeotropic liquid crystal alignment.

In order to homeotropically align liquid crystals (LCs) at the nanosized surface grooves processed by nanoimprint lithography technology (NIL), we propose to design a hybrid-type homeotropic polymer material consisting of two distinct moieties with largely different thermo-mechanical properties and surface activity. Surface contact angle measurements and sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy allow us to conclude that the polymer film is a functionally separated composite suitable for the homeotropic LC alignment processed by NIL. As one of the potential applications using the hybrid-type homeotropic polymer, we demonstrate that the nanoimprinted grooves at the polymer surface can achieve a zenithal nematic LC bistability.

Laser micromachining of CNT/Fe/Al2O3 nanocomposites

Abstract CNT/Fe/Al 2 O 3 mixed powders were synthesized from Fe/Al 2 O 3 nanopowders using thermal CVD for the homogeneous dispersion of carbon nanotubes CNTs. CNTs consisted of MWNT, and the diameter was approximately 20-30 nm. After sintering, CNTs were homogenously located throughout Al 2 O 3 grain boundary and were buckled. A femto-second laser installed with special optical systems was used for micromachining of the nanocomposites. The relationship between material ablation rate and energy fluence was theoretically investigated and compared with experimental results from cross-sectional SEM analysis. The nanocomposites which have higher content of CNT show a fairly good machining result due to its higher thermal conductivity and smaller grain size as well as lower light transmittance.

Nanoscale Patterning Using Femtosecond Laser and Self-assembled Monolayers (SAMs)

Standard positive photoresist techniques were adapted to generate nano-scale patterns of gold substrate using self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and femtosecond laser. SAMs formed by the adsorption of alkanethiols onto gold substrate are employed as very thin photoresists, Alkanethiolates formed by the adsorption of alkanethiols are oxidized on exposure to UV light in the presence of air to alkylsulfonates. Specifically, it is known that deep UV light of wavelength less than 200nm is necessary for oxidation to occur. In this study, ultrafast laser of wavelength 800nm and pulse width 200fs is applied for photolithography. Results show that ultrafast laser of visible range wavelength can replace deep UV laser source for photo patterning using thin organic films. Femtosecond laser coupled near-field scanning optical microscopy facilitates not only the patterning of surface chemical structure, but also the creation of three-dimensional nano-scale structures by combination with suitable etching methods.