Vessel traffic services (VTS) is a marine information exchange system vital for the safety and efficiency of ship traffic within designated regions. The harmonisation, integration and exchange of marine information have emerged as significant components in promoting maritime safety, in line with the concept of e-navigation. This study aimed to analyse the flow of information between VTS areas employing social network analysis to ensure seamless marine information exchange across VTS areas. Information flow was analysed based on data obtained from ships navigating through coastal waters and ports in Korea, revealing that the sea area near Busan New Port exhibited the highest concentration of information flow, while the Tongyoung Coast VTS area represented a critical link in the flow of information. Given its history of marine accidents, the current Masan (Opko) VTS region emerged as a susceptible area. The study provides valuable foundational data for a comprehensive coastal surveillance system.

The nc-Si films where the troublesome incubation layer was almost eliminated were deposited by inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD) under various dilution conditions. The nc-Si films were analyzed with cross-sectional high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) images. It was verified that the Si crystalline components formed and grew from the surface of buffer layer. The grain size of 20~50nm was measured. The absence of incubation layer in nc-Si film may be attributed mainly to ICP-CVD which generates remote plasma of high density, the role of hydrogen, and the dilution effect on the growth of crystalline. Our experimental results show that incubation-free nc-Si film deposited by ICP-CVD may be suitable for the active layer of bottom gate nc-Si TFTs as well as top gate nc-Si TFTs.

A method providing estimation of the trap density at metal/ferroelectric interfaces of a depleted ferroelectric film located between back-to-back Schottky barriers has been developed. The method is based on the recharge of interface traps induced by external bias pulse applied to the metal/ferroelectric/metal structure. It is shown that the transient current under bias pulse can be controlled by the traps recharge on the reverse-biased interface. Using the method, the trap charge density on interfaces of MOCVD Pt/PZT/Ir(Ti/SiO2/Si) and Ir/PZT/Ir(Ti/SiO2/Si) capacitors were found from transient current measurements.

Thin-film uniform metal-ferroelectric-metal (M/F/M) structure between back-to-back Schottky barriers (SBs) is considered. The ferroelectric is assumed to be a p-type semiconductor, and the film thickness is far less than the depletion layer induced by the S.B. Numerical integration of the Poisson equation is used to analyze the influence of double Shottky barriers on the distributions of the electric field, potential, and polarization across the film thickness as functions of external bias and the film electrical history. The range of structure parameters is determined, where the Poisson equation for M/F/M structure can be solved analytically providing an obvious and easy-to-interpret representation of the M/F/M behavior. Electric fields induced by back-to-back SBs under zero external bias compensate each other to a great extent. As a result, the potential across the ferroelectric film remains virtually unchanged providing the flat-band condition in the energy diagram of zero-biased M/F/M structure; in fact, the external bias applied to M/F/M structure exerts influence only on the reverse-biased barrier.

Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 (PZT) films were deposited into sub-micron trench structure consisting of SiO2/TiAlN/Ti/SiO2/Si to investigate their thickness and composition conformality by pulsed-metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) using liquid delivery source-supply system. Bis(dipivaloylmethanato)lead [Pb(DPM)2], tetrakis(1-methoxy-2-methyl-2-propoxy)zirconium [Zr(MMP)4] and tetrakis(1-methoxy-2-methyl-2-propoxy)titanium [Ti(MMP)4] were used as Pb, Zr and Ti source materials, respectively. In Arrhenius plot, the slopes of the straight lines for the constituents Pb, Zr and Ti in PZT film were almost the same at a lower deposition temperature (Td) region as well as a higher Td one. This means the composition change in the film against the Td can be suppressed by using Pb(DPM)2-Zr(MMP)4-Ti(MMP)4-O2 source system. From the results of Arrhenius plot, the Tds were fixed on 450 and 540°C as lower and higher temperatures, respectively. At both Tds, the sidewall-bottom step coverage (SCs-b) was approximately 70 %, while the sidewall step coverage (SCsw) reached excellent values above 90 %. It is suggested that low SCs-b value was caused by crystallization of the PZT films at the bottom of the trench because underlayer of the film at this area was not SiO2 but crystalline TiAlN. On the other hand, no significant composition fluctuation was observed along the depth direction of the sidewall. These results mean that the film deposited at 540°C had almost the same level in terms of thickness and composition conformality as that deposited at 450°C.

In this research, we present an improved and coherent chip-scale model framework for copper bulk polishing, copper over-polishing, and barrier layer polishing. The integration of contact wear and density-step-height models is more seamlessly implemented and addresses inherent shortcomings of the previous model. In the new model, a local density is used instead of the effective density computed by way of a planarization length, and only a contact wear coefficient is used to characterize the long-range planarization capability, thus avoiding the conflict between the planarization length and the contact wear coefficient in capturing topography variation. In addition, the pressure computed for each 240×240 μm block using contact wear is further redistributed, using a linear height vs. pressure model, among 40×40 μm cells within that block. The same model framework is used for different polishing steps, so that it is possible to directly compare basic process characteristics, such as pad stiffness, of different polishing stages. Results with the new model show a significant improvement of the modeling accuracy to less than 100 Å of root mean square error. Furthermore, the new model framework can be adapted for the modeling of multi-level metallization processes.

Retention loss is a significant issue for an application of ferroelectric thin films to high-density non-volatile memory devices. We investigated the polarization retention characteristics of ferroelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) thin films which were fabricated on Pt/IrO2/Ir substrates by different deposition methods. In thermally-accelerated retention failure tests, Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) films which were prepared by a chmeical solution deposition (CSD) method showed rapid decay of retained polarization charges as the films became thinner down to 1000 Å, while the films which were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) showed relatively large nonvolatile charges at the same thickness. We concluded that in the CSD-grown films, the relatively large interfacial passive layer compared with the MOCVD-grown films had an unfavorable effect on retention behavior. We observed the existence of such interfacial layers by extrapolation of the total capacitance with thickness of the films and the capacitance of this layer was larger in MOCVD-grown films. It means that the possibility of the accumulation of space charges at the interface was reduced, so that less imprint and less retention loss could be observed in the MOCVD-grown films.

Fluorinated silicon oxide (SiOF) films were deposited by electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (ECRPECVD). The behavior of residual stress w as studied with water absorption. SiOF film showed compressive stress after deposition. The compressive stress increased after the exposure to room air. Fourier transformed infrared (FTI R) spectroscopy analysis was carried after the water absorption. However, the change of chemical bonding structure was not observed during the water absorption in this study. After the exposu re to room air, the films were kept in dry air. The residual stress returns to the initial value after 1 week. Considering the results of the residual stress and FTIR analysis, it is supposed that the water absorption in this study occurs entirely by physical adsorption of H2O molecules to Si-F bonds on the surface.

This paper describes the results of bioactivity responses to different ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) particles. Particles were produced by a wear tester using two different textures of steel counters, one with cross-hatched and the other with uni-hatched grooves. These two textured surfaces produced two distinct populations of wear particles. One is larger and more elongated (fibril shapes) than the other. The mean sizes and aspect ratios of the particles are in the ranges of 5 μm to 25 μm and about 1.5 to 3, respectively. These two distinct UHMWPE particles were examined through in-vitro and in-vivo tests. Macrophages RAW 264.7 and the murine air-pouch model of inflammation were employed to characterize the effect of the particle size and shape. Preliminary in-vivo tests results showed that more elongated and larger particles enhanced bio-reactions.

This paper describes the process of gallium removal from Ga2O3 -doped CeO2−x a surrogate for weapons-grade PuO2−x. Gallium is removed from the surrogate feedstock material using thermal techniques. An Ar-6% H, gas was used in order to reduce the oxide to gaseous Ga2O. Experimental results were shown in the temperature range of 600°C to 1200°C as a function of time and sample geometry. The results to date have shown that CeO2−x is a very good surrogate for PuO2−x.