The diatoms are an ecologically important group of algae that have been extensively studied by ecologists and taxonomists. However, the large-scale patterns of diatom distribution and the factors underlying this distribution are largely unknown. The aims of this study were to identify the large-scale spatial patterns of benthic diatom assemblages in Korean streams and rivers, and to assess the importance of numerous environmental factors on diatom distribution. We classified 720 study sites based on diatom flora. Benthic diatoms, water chemistry, altitude, and riparian land cover and use were characterized by multivariate analyses, Monte Carlo permutation tests, and indicator species analysis. In total, we identified 531 diatom taxa. Diatom assemblages were mostly dominated by species of the genera Achnanthes, Navicula, Nitzschia, Cocconeis, Fragilaria (Synedra included), Cymbella, Gomphonema, and Melosira. Cluster analysis partitioned all 720 sites into eight groups based on diatom species composition. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that altitude, land cover and use, current velocity, electrical conductivity, and nutrient levels explained a significant amount of the variation in the composition of assemblages of benthic diatoms. At the national scale, a downstream ecological gradient was apparent, from fast-flowing, mostly oligotrophic highland streams to slow-flowing, mostly eutrophic lowland rivers. Our data suggest that spatial factors explain some of the variation in diatom distribution. The present investigation of the spatial patterns of benthic diatoms, the ecological determinants of diatom occurrence, and the identification of diatom indicator species contributes to development of a program for assessing the biological integrity of lotic ecosystems in Korea.

Novel organic sensitizers comprising donor; electron-conducting, and anchoring groups were engineered at molecular level and synthesized. The functionalized unsymmetrical organic sensitizers 3-{5-[N,N-Bis(9,9-dimethylfluorene-2-yl)phenyl]-thiophene-2-yl}-2-cyano-acrylic acid (JK-1) and 3-{5'-[N,N-Bis(9,9-dimethylfluorene-2-yl)phenyl]-2,2'-bithiophene-5-yl}-2-cyano-acrylic acid (JK-2), upon anchoring onto TiO2 film exhibit unprecedented incident photon to current conversion efficiency 91 %. The photovoltaic data using an electrolyte having composition of 0.6M M-methyl-N-butyl imidiazolium iodide, 0.04 M iodine, 0.025 M LiI, 0.05M guanidinium thiocyanate and 0.28 M tert.butylpyridine in 15/85 (v/v) mixture of valeronitrile and acetonitrile revealed a short circuit photocurrent density of 14.0 mA/cm2, an open circuit voltage of 753 mV and a fill factor of 0.76, corresponding to an overall conversion efficiency of 8.01 % under standard AM 1.5

We present accurate BV light curves and continuum energy curves of the EROS eclipsing binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud to find accurate binary parameters as well as their distances. The observations have been carried out using the 2.1 meter telescope in CASLEO Argentina during Feb. 1-10, 2003. We have concentrated CCD direct observations upon EROS field 1 and 2 to improve the accuracy of light curves of eclipsing binaries in the fields. The spectroscopic observations have been also carried out using the simple dispersion method to get continuum energy curves between wavelengths of 4000-8000 Å for several EROS eclipsing binaries. At first, we determined a combined temperature of both components of each binary system using the continuum. Then, the combined temperature was resolved using the first estimation of the light curve solution. Finally, we determined the photometric solutions of several binaries in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

A drastic change of the growth orientation in epitaxial Pt films grown by sputtering on MgO(001) was observed. At higher substrate temperatures, practically pure (001) epitaxial Pt films grow. On the other hand, epitaxial (111) Pt films grow at lower substrate temperatures. Interestingly, the gradual transition from (111) to (001) orientation occurs at lower temperatures when applied at a lower deposition rate. The degree of supersaturation in growth conditions is proposed as a key driver of the orientation change. When homogeneous nucleation occurs under a higher supersaturation, a large number of nuclei grow at the flat (001) terraces possessing (111) tetrahedral orientation. Under a lower supersaturation, a small number of nuclei aligned in (001) orientation to each other form dominantly at surface defects, resulting in a (001) epitaxial film with no grains. Our results suggest that one can selectively prepare either (001) or (111) epitaxial Pt films by properly adjusting substrate temperature and/or deposition rate.

Thickness dependence of leakage current behaviors was investigated in epitaxial (Ba0.5Sr0.5)TiO3 thin films with different thicknesses of 55 - 225 nm prepared on Pt(001)/MgO(001) substrates by a radio-frequency magnetron sputtering technique. Below a certain critical film thickness (≤ 55 nm), the Schottky emission is a ruling leakage conduction mechanism over a wide electric field range. In contrast, in thicker films (> 55 nm), the Schottky emission still operates at low electric fields, however at high electric fields the Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) tunneling dominates. The transition film thickness appears to be associated with overlapping of the depletion layers formed at the top and bottom electrode interfaces.

We have investigated surface treatment effect on the interfacial reaction of Pd/p-GaN interface and also room temperature ohmic contact formation mechanism of Pd-based ohmic contact. In order to examine room temperature ohmic behavior, various metal contact systems were deposited and current-voltage measurements were carried out. In spite of large theoretical Schottky barrier height between Pd and p-GaN, Pd-based contact showed perfect ohmic characteristic even before annealing. According to the results of synchrotron X-ray radiation, the closed-packed atomic planes (111) of the Pd film were quite well ordered in surface normal direction as well as in the in-plane direction. The effective Schottky barrier height of Au/Pd/Mg/Pd/p-GaN was 0.47eV, which was estimated by Norde method. This discrepancy between theoretical barrier height and the measured one might be due to the epitaxial growth of Pd contact metal and so the room-temperature ohmic characteristic of Pd-based ohmic contact was related strongly to the in-plane epitaxial quality of metal on p-GaN.

The BVR CCD observations of W UMa-type eclipsing binary SS Arietis were made for ten nights from November 1996 to December 1996 at the Sobaeksan Astronomy Observatory. From the observed light curves, nine new times of minimum lights were derived from the Kwee and van Woerden’s method. Improved light elements for this system were determined from these minimum lights with all the published minima. The analysis of the times of minima of SS Ari confirms that the orbital period of SS Ari has been suffering from a sinusoidal variation as the suggestions of other previous investigators (Kaluzny & Pojmanski 1984, Demircan & Selam 1993). The calculation shows that the cyclic period change has a period of about 56.3yrs with an amplitude of about 0.d052. The period variation has been discussed in terms of two potential mechanisms: 1) the light-time effect due to a hypothetical third body and 2) deformations in the convective envelope of a magnetically active component. The BVR light curves of SS Ari observed for about one month showed the existence of cycle to cycle light variations. Long-term light changes of SS Ari are discussed in terms of the period variation of the binary system.

In this study, we investigated the effects of the addition of CF4, Cl2, and N2 gases to oxygen electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma on the reactive ion etching (RIE) properties of RuO2 film such as etch rate, selectivity, and etched profile. The concentration of the etching species in the plasma was analyzed with an optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and a quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS). The etch product was also examined with QMS.

The addition of a small amount of CF4, Cl2, or N2 to the O2 plasma increases the concentration of oxygen radicals and accordingly increases the etch rate of the RUO2 films appreciably. The etch rate of the RuO2 film was enhanced more with the addition of a small amount of CF4 and CI2 than with the addition of N2. On the contrary, the etched profile obtained in O2/N2 plasma was superior, without any damaged layer at the sidewall, to O2/CF4 and O2/Cl2 plasma. The selectivity of RuO2 to Si)2 mask was over 20:1 for each of the additive gas proportion at which the etch rate was maximum for each plasma system.

Segregation of second-phase particles within Y1Ba2Cu3O7−y domain was investigated in melt-textured Y-Ba-Cu-O with metal oxide (CeO2, SnO2, and ZrO2) addition. It is found that coarse particles (Y2Ba1Cu1O5) are trapped with a special pattern in the interior of Y1Ba2Cu3O7−y domain, while fine BaCeO3 and BaSnO3 particles are present within the remnant liquid-phase region. During the growth of Y1Ba2Cu3O7−y domain, fine particles appear to be pushed out of the advancing Y1Ba2Cu3O7−y /liquid interface toward the liquid phase. The particle segregation that occurred during peritectic growth of the Y1Ba2Cu3O7−y domain was explained in terms of the Uhlmann-Chalmers-Jackson theory based on the particle interaction at solid/liquid interface.