The development of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) from large animal species has become an important model for therapeutic cloning using ESCs derived by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). However, poor embryo quality and blastocyst formation have been major limitations for derivation of cloned ESCs (ntESCs). In this study, we have tried to overcome these problems by treating these cells with histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) and aggregating porcine embryos. First, cloned embryos were treated with Scriptaid to confirm the effect of HDACi on cloned embryo quality. The Scriptaid-treated blastocysts showed significantly higher total cell numbers (29.50 ± 2.10) than non-treated blastocysts (22.29 ± 1.50, P < 0.05). Next, cloned embryo quality and blastocyst formation were analyzed in aggregates. Three zona-free, reconstructed, four-cell-stage SCNT embryos were injected into the empty zona of hatched parthenogenetic (PA) blastocysts. Blastocyst formation and total cell number of cloned blastocysts increased significantly for all aggregates (76.4% and 83.18 ± 8.33) compared with non-aggregates (25.5% and 27.11 ± 1.67, P < 0.05). Finally, aggregated blastocysts were cultured on a feeder layer to examine the efficiency of porcine ES-like cell derivation. Aggregated blastocysts showed a higher primary colony formation rate than non-aggregated cloned blastocysts (17.6 ± 12.3% vs. 2.2 ± 1.35%, respectively, P < 0.05). In addition, derived ES-like cells showed typical characters of ESCs. In conclusion, the aggregation of porcine SCNT embryos at the four-cell stage could be a useful technique for improving the development rate and quality of porcine-cloned blastocysts and the derivation efficiency of porcine ntESCs.

To ascertain whether aromatase (CYP19A1) expression is linked to sperm fertility of pigs, the present study determined the expression of the CYP19A1 gene in porcine sperm and its relationship with fertilization in vitro. First, to investigate its role in fertility, the presence of CYP19A1 of mRNA and protein expression in porcine sperm were confirmed by real-time (RT) or quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) and by western blots. The expression levels were determined quantitatively using two sperm groups recovered by a Percoll gradient, which revealed that the sperm group with a low density had a higher penetration rate than that of the high-density group (P < 0.05). However, the expression level of CYP19A1 was not significantly different between the two groups. Secondly, to examine the effect of aromatase activity on fertilization, fresh semen was treated with a steroidal inhibitor, exemestane (50 μM for 0.5 h), followed by the dose- and time-dependent viability test. Our results clearly showed that an exemestane treatment effect (P < 0.05) was found for both the sperm-penetration rate and the oocyte cleavage rate. These results indicated that CYP19A1 could be involved in sperm fertility and its expression in sperm plays an important role in fertilization.

The growth of high-quality indium (In)-rich InXGa1−XN alloys is technologically important for applications to attain highly efficient green light-emitting diodes and solar cells. However, phase separation and composition modulation in In-rich InXGa1−XN alloys are inevitable phenomena that degrade the crystal quality of In-rich InXGa1−XN layers. Composition modulations were observed in the In-rich InXGa1−XN layers with various In compositions. The In composition modulation in the InXGa1−XN alloys formed in samples with In compositions exceeding 47%. The misfit strain between the InGaN layer and the GaN buffer retarded the composition modulation, which resulted in the formation of modulated regions 100 nm above the In0.67Ga0.33N/GaN interface. The composition modulations were formed on the specific crystallographic planes of both the {0001} and {0114} planes of InGaN.

The crystallization of amorphous silicon thin films by electron beam exposure was studied. Amorphous silicon and silicon dioxide layers were deposited on glass substrate by PECVD at 360 °C. The optimization to crystallize 300 nm thick amorphous silicon film was carried out at a RF power of 300 W, DC voltage of 1500 V, Argon gas flow rate of 3 sccm and a distance between electron beam mesh and sample of 40 mm. High quality nano-crystalline silicon films with an activation energy of 0.47 eV from conductivity, a grain size of 15–45 nm from SEM and Raman crystalline volume fraction of 93.1% were fabricated. We expect that e-beam exposure will be applied to crystallization of amorphous silicon films.

We have fabricated a new magnetic field enhanced solid phase crystallization (FESPC) polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin film transistors (TFTs), which shows the excellent electrical characteristics and superior stability compared with hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) TFTs. The mobility (μ) and threshold voltage (VTH) of p-type TFTs of which the channel width and length are 5 μm and 7 μm, respectively are 31.98 cm2/Vs and -6.14 V, at VDS=-0.1 V. In the FESPC TFTs, the characteristics caused by grain boundary are remarkable due to large number of grain boundaries in the channel compared with poly-Si TFTs. The VTH of the TFT which have 5 μm channel length is smaller than that of 18 μm channel length by 1.36 V, which is considerably large value. It is due to the large number of grain boundaries in the channel and the high lateral electric field. The grain boundary potential barrier height is decreased, when the large lateral electric field is applied (which is called DIGBL effect). As a result of increased mobility, the drain current is increased, and VTH can be decreased. The activation energy (Ea) is strongly depended on the drain bias and the number of grain boundaries. is decreased, caused by the large drain bias and/or smaller number of grain boundaries. This decreased Ea can be reduced VTH due to increased the drain current. VTH of p-type poly-Si TFT employing FESPC on the glass substrate is affected by channel length and VDS due to energy barrier lowering effect at the grain boundary by increased lateral electrical field.

Reliable fabrication of high-speed, delta-doped transistors and better understanding of two-dimensional metal-insulator transitions can be achieved using silicon molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). However, this fabrication technique should be performed with care, avoiding dopant segregation on epitaxial Si surfaces and improving the doping efficiency. Here we report comprehensive structural and optical investigations of MBE-grown Si/delta-doped Si:B multilayer structures. Measurements of Auger electron spectroscopy, Raman scattering, optical reflection and photoluminescence are performed. Our results indicate nearly metallic conductivity at room temperature with metal-insulator phase transition near T ∼100 K. In contrast to recently reported data, no enhancement of photoluminescence at room temperature is found. Occasionally, a few samples in specific areas exhibit strong photoluminescence at 1.4-1.6 micron attributed to structural defects, most likely due to B segregation.

A bistable effects of Au nano-crystals embedded in poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) were observed. Subsequently we investigated dependency of the nonvolatile memory behavior on curing temperature for the Au nano-crystals embedded in the PVK. For the study, in the devices of different curing temperatures we measured current-voltage characteristics for the devices and investigated the formation of the Au nano-crystals using cross sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The nonvolatile memory behavior depends on the curing temperature, which is attributed to the suitable formation of the Au nano-crystal.

The structural properties of GaN epitaxial layers grown on patterned sapphire substrates by MOCVD have been investigated using HRXRD(high-resolution X-ray diffraction), GIXRD(grazing incidence X-ray diffraction) and PL(photoluminescence). For X-ray characterizations rocking curves for GaN (10·5), (00·2), (11·4) and (11·0) reflections for which incidence angles of X-rays are 32.0°, 17.3°, 11.0° and 0.34°, respectively, were measured. For (10·5), (00·2) and (11·4) reflections FWHMs of the rocking curves for a patterned substrate were broader than those for a unpatterned substrate, for (11·0) reflection, however, FWHM for a patterned substrate was much narrower than that for a unpatterned substrate. The normalized FWHM for all reflections decreases as the incidence angle of X-ray decreases. The results indicate that the crystalline quality in the surface region of the epilayer on a patterned substrate was especially improved because the penetration depth of X-ray depends on the incidence angle. The intensity of PL peak of the epilayer for a patterned substrate increased compared to that for a unpatterned substrate, and the increase in PL intensity is attributed to the reduction in dislocation density at the surface region revealed the by X-ray results.

The structural and optical properties of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) grown on sapphire by MOCVD have been investigated using high-resolution XRD, PL and TEM. The samples consisted of 10 periods of InGaN wells with 6.5nm thickness. The designed indium compositions were 15, 20, 25 and 30% (samples C15, C20, C25, C30, respectively). The thickness of GaN barrier was 7.5nm. The MQW in sample C15 maintained lattice coherency with the GaN epilayer underneath, the MQWs in the other samples, however, experienced lattice relaxation. The crystallinity of the samples decreased considerably with In concentration. As In composition increased, PL peak energy showed a red-shift, and the FWHM of the peaks increased. The increase in the FWHM is attributed to the defects due to the lattice relaxation. For C25 the PL peak intensity increased sharply in spite of the defects due to the lattice relaxation of the sample. It is concluded that the results are related to the In-rich region due to indium phase separation which was observed by TEM image.

Hydrido-organo-siloxane-polymer (HOSP), a typical silsesquioxane-based low dielectric constant material, was etched with ions of different incident angles in CHF3 plasma. The etch rate normalized to the rate obtained with ions incident perpendicular to the surface deviated from the general cosine dependence on the ion incident angle. That is, the rate deviated to over-cosine values at low ion angles below 70°, due to the physical sputtering of the surface by energetic ions, and to under-cosine values at high angles, above 70°, due to the redeposition of particles emitted from the bottom. The roughness of the etched surface also varied with the ion incident angle as a result of the surface etching by energetic ions and the redeposition of particles emitted from the bottom. For example, when the bias voltage was –100V, the surface roughness was different according to three angle regions: i) ion bombardment dominant region below 70°, ii) intermediate region between 70° and 85o, and iii) redeposition dominant region above 85°. The surface composition and chemical structure after etching were also affected by the ion incident angle. The F/C atomic in the surface layer was much lower at ion angles higher than 70° than below 70° because cage-like Si-O bonds were more rapidly dissociated by F atoms from fluorocarbon polymer layer than network Si-O bonds at high angles. This information obtained in this study is useful for predicting the profile and surface characteristics of interconnection patterns in microelectronics fabrication.

The SrTa2O6 (STO) thin films were prepared by plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) with alternating supply of reactant sources, Sr[Ta(C2H5O)5(C4H10NO)]2 {Strontium bis-[tantalum penta-ethoxide dimethyllaminoethoxide]; Sr(Ta(OEt)5▪dmae)2} and O2plasma. It was observed that the uniform and conformal STO thin films were successfully deposited using PEALD and the film thickness per cycle was saturated at about 0.8 nm at 300°C. Electrical properties of SrTa2O6 (STO) thin films prepared on Pt/SiO2/Si substrates with annealing temperatures have been investigated. While the grain size and dielectric constant of STO films increased with increasing annealing temperature, the leakage current characteristics of STO films slightly deteriorated. The leakage current density of a 40nm-STO film was about 5×10−8A/cm2 at 3V.

Surface pretreatment using Cl2 plasma was applied to n-type GaN and Ti/Al ohmic contacts with resistivity of ~ 10−6 Ω cm2, realized without annealing. Using synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy, it was observed that the Fermi level moved by 0.5 eV toward the conduction band edge and the atomic ratio of Ga/N was increased by the treatment. This suggests that a number of N vacancies were produced at the treated surface and the Fermi level was pinned at the energy level of N vacancies near the conduction band. The N vacancies acting as donors for electrons produced a number of electrons, resulting in the near surface region to be in the degenerate state. Both the shift of Fermi level and the production of electrons at the treated surface lead to the reduction in contact resistivity through the decrease of the effective Schottky barrier for conduction of electrons.

We investigated structural, electrical and optical properties and their relationships for MOCVD grown Si-doped GaN with different doping levels. The changes in structural properties such as strain, crystallinity and strain relaxation as a function of carrier concentrations were measured by high-resolution triple-axis X-ray diffraction and reciprocal space mapping technique. As the carrier concentration of the samples increases from 1.6×1018 to 9.5×1018/cm3 Hall mobility decreases from 222 to 170cm2/Vsec, and peak intensity ratio of band edge to yellow luminescence in photoluminescence spectra decreases too. The variation of mosaic spread along [00.1] direction determined from full width at half maximum(FWHM) of GaN (00.2) peaks shows good agreement with the variation in Hall mobility. In addition, dislocation density determined from FWHM of (10.2) peaks is shown to be related to the variation in the intensity of yellow luminescence in PL spectra.

Ferroelectric Bi4Ti3O12 thin films were prepared by the sol-gel method to examine the effect of precursors on the variation of ferroelectric properties. Two kinds of Bi4Ti3O12 sol-gel precursor solutions were synthesized by dissolving bismuth acetate and bismuth nitrate in glacial acetic acid and then adding titanium acetate. The films were deposited on Pt coated Si substrates by the spin-coating method and crystallized by double heat-treatment. The Ps, the Pr, and the Ec values of the film derived from the Bi-acetate were 34.8 μC/cm2, 16.2 μC/cm2, and 128 kV/cm, respectively. The Ps, the Pr, and the Ec of the films from the Bi-nitrate were 14.2 μC/cm2, 5.7 μC/cm2, and 105 kV/cm, respectively. The Bi4T3O12 films prepared from the Bi-acetate revealed better ferroelectricity and resistivity compared to those obtained from the Bi-nitrate.

We have studied the growth of microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si) and amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) by layer by layer deposition technique, where the deposition and the radical exposure are done alternatively. He or hydrogen plasma exposure gives rise to the etching effect of both μc-Si and a-Si:H even though the etch rate by He plasma is much smaller. The long exposure of hydrogen radical on a-Si:H gives rise to the formation of μc-Si at low substrate temperature (Ts), whereas the hydrogen content decreases at high Ts. The growth mechanism of the crystallite is proposed on the basis of experimental results.

The effects of deposition temperature, rf power and hydrogen dilution ratio on the growth, structure and transport of p-type microcrystal(μc-) Si films deposited by remote plasma CVD have been investigated. While low substrate temperature and low rf power yield small grain sizes, high temperature and high rf power tend to supress the growth of grains. The etching of Si by hydrogen radicals plays an important role to grow μc-Si, but excess etching supresses the growth of crystallites. We obtained 400 A of grain size and 3.5 S/cm of room temperature conductivity for p-type μ-Si.