In this study, we fabricated Nd2Fe14B hard magnetic powders with various sizes via spray drying combined with reduction-diffusion process. Spray drying is widely used to produce nearly spherical particles that are relatively homogeneous. Thus, the precursor particles were prepared by spray drying using the aqueous solution containing Nd salts, Fe salts and boric acid with the target stoichiometric composition of Nd2Fe14B. The mean particle sizes of the spray-dried powders are in the range from one to seven micrometer, which are adjusted by controlling the concentra- tions of precursor solutions. After debinding the as-prepared precursor particles, ball milling was also conducted to con- trol the particle sizes of Nd-Fe-B oxide powders. The resulting particles with different sizes were subjected to subsequent treatments including hydrogen reduction, Ca reduction and washing for CaO removal. The size effect of Nd-Fe-B oxide particles on the formation of Nd2Fe14B phase and magnetic properties was investigated.

A novel route to prepare Nd-Fe-B magnetic particles by utilizing both spray drying and reduction/diffu- sion processes was investigated in this study. Precursors were prepared by spray drying method using the aqueous solu- tions containing Nd salt, Fe salt and boric acid with stoichiometric ratios. Precursor particles could be obtained with various sizes from 2 to 10 µm by controlling concentrations of the solutions and the average size of 2 µm of precursors were selected for further steps. After heat treatment of precursors in air, Nd and Fe oxides were formed through desalt- ing procedure, followed by reduction processes in Hydrogen (H2) atmosphere and with Calcium (Ca) granules in Argon (Ar) successively. Moreover, diffusion between Nd and Fe occurred during Ca reduction and Nd2Fe14B particles were formed. With Ca amount added to particles after H2 reduction, intrinsic coercivity was changed from 1 to 10 kOe. In order to remove and leach CaO and residual Ca, de-ionized water and dilute acid were used. Acidic solutions were more effective to eliminate impurities, but Fe and Nd were dissolved out from the particles. Finally, Nd2Fe14B magnetic particles were synthesized after washing in de-ionized water with a mean size of 2 µm and their maximum energy prod- uct showed 9.23 MGOe.

This study is carried out to develop the new process for the fabrication of ultra-fine electrodes on the flexible substrates using superhydrophobic effect. A facile method was developed to form the ultra-fine trenches on the flexible substrates treated by plasma etching and to print the fine metal electrodes using conductive nano-ink. Various plasma etching conditions were investigated for the hydrophobic surface treatment of flexible polyimide (PI) films. The micro-trench on the hydrophobic PI film fabricated under optimized conditions was obtained by mechanical scratching, which gave the hydrophilic property only to the trench area. Finally, the patterning by selective deposition of ink materials was performed using the conductive silver nano-ink. The interface between the conductive nanoparticles and the flexible substrates were characterized by scanning electron microscope. The increase of the sintering temperature and metal concentration of ink caused the reduction of electrical resistance. The sintering temperature lower than resulted in good interfacial bonding between Ag electrode and PI film substrate.

In the present study, we systematically investigated the effect of Mn addition on nitrogenation behavior and magnetic properties of Sm-Fe powders produced by reduction-diffusion process. Alloy powders with only single phase were successfully produced by the reduction-diffusion process. The coercivity of powder rapidly increased during nitrogenation and reached the maximum of 637 Oe after 16 hours. After further nitrogenation, it decreased. In contrast, the coercivity of powder gradually increased during nitrogenation for 24 hours. The coercivity of powder was higher than that of powder at the same condition of nitrogenation. It was considered that the Mn addition facilitates the nitrogenation of powder and enhances the coercivity.

This paper describes the manufacturing process of tilting pad gas bearing with a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 0.5-1 mm for power MEMS (Micro Electomechanical Systems) applications. The bearing compacts with nanopowder feedstock were prepared by Ni-metal mold with 2-mold system using LIGA process. The effect of the manufacturing conditions on sintering properties of nanopowder gas bearing was investigated. In this work, Fe-45 wt%Ni nanopowder with an average diameter of 30-50 nm size was used as starting material. After mixing the nanopowder and the wax-based binders, the amount of powder was controlled to obtain the certain mixing ratio. The nanopowder bearing compacts were sintered with 1-2 hr holding time under hydrogen atmospheres and under temperatures of to . Finally, the critical batch of mixed powder system was found to be 70% particle fraction in total volume. The maximum density of the sintered bearing specimen was about 94% of theoretical density.

To produce alloy powders with only SmFe single phase by reduction-diffusion (R-D) method, the effect of excess samarium oxide on the preparation of Sm-Fe alloy powder during R-D heat treatment was studied. The quantity of samarium oxide was varied from 5% to 50% whereas iron and calcium were taken 0% and 200% in excess of chemical equivalent, respectively. The pellet type mixture of samarium, iron powders and calcium granulars was subjected to heat treatment at 1100 for 5 hours. The R-D treated pellet was moved into deionized water and agitated to separate Sm-Fe alloy powders. After washing them in deionized water several times, the powders were washed with acetic acid to remove the undesired reaction products such as CaO. By these washing and acid cleaning treatment, only 0.03 wt% calcium remained in Sm-Fe alloy powders. It was also confirmed that the content of unreacted -Fe in SmFe matrix gradually decreased as the percentage of samarium oxide is increased. However, there was no significant change above 40% excess samarium oxide.

Novel polymer mold process for fabrication of microcomponents using metal nanopowders was developed and experimentally optimized. Polymer mold for forming green components was produced by using a hard master mold and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). In the preparation of metallic powder premix for the green components without any defect, 90 wt.% 17-4PH statinless steel nanopowders and 10 wt.% organic binder were mixed by a ball milling process. The green components with very clear gear shape were formed by filling the powder premix into the PDMS soft mold in surrounding at about . Cold isostatic pressing (CIP) was very potent process to decrease a porosity in the sintered microcomponent. The microgear fabricated by the improved process showed a good dimension tolerance of about 1.2%.

1990년도 초반에 개발되어 나노분말의 제조 공정으로 집중적으로 연구되어온 화학기상응축공정은 고강도용 나노분말 소재이외에 기능성 자성재료로의 응용에 주로 이용되어 왔다. 최근에는 이러한 응용이외에 나노분말의 표면을 다양한 이종 소재로 응용하고자하는 나노캡슐(혹은 core/shell)화 제조 공정으로 진보되어 다양한 합금 시스템으로 발전하게 되었다. 특히 최근 Particles 2005, Surface Modification in Particle Tech

Using the nano Fe powders having 50 nm in diameter, Fe compact bodies were fabricated by injec-tion molding process. The relationship between microstructure and material properties depending on the volume ratio of powder/binder and sintering temperature were characterized by SEM, TEM techniques. In the compact body with the volume percentage ratio of 45(Fe powder) : 55(binder), which was sintered at the relative density was about and the values of volume shrinkage and hardness were about and 242.0 Hv, respec-tively. Using the composition of 50(Fe powder) : 50(binder) and sintered at the values of relative density, volume shrinkage and hardness of Fe sintered bodies were and 152.8 Hv, respectively. They showed brittle fracture mode due to the porous and fine microstructure.

Nano sized FeAl intermetallic particles were successfully synthesized by plasma arc discharge pro-cess. The synthesized powders shouted core-shell structures with the particle size of 10-20 nm. The core was metallic FeAl and shell was composed of amorphous Because of the difference of Fe and Al vapor pressure during synthesis, the Al contents in the nanoparticles depended on the Al contents of master alloy.

Fe(C) nanocapsules were prepared by the chemical vapor condensation(CVC) process using the pyrolysis of iron Their characterizations were studied by means of X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectrometer and transmission electron microscopy. The long-chained Fe(C) nanocapsules hav-ing the mean size of under 70 nm could be obtained below in different gas flow rates. The particle size of the powders was increased with increasing decomposition temperature, but it was decreased with increasing CO gas flow rate. The Fe powders produced at consisted of three layers of phases, but it had two phase core-shell structure which consited of phase of core and graphite of shell at

Iron-carbon nanocapsules were synthesized by plasma arc discharge (PAD) process under various atmosphere of methane, argon and hydrogen gas. Characterization and surface properties were investigated by means of HRTEM, XRD, XPS and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Fe nanocapsules synthesized were composed of three phases with core/shell structures. The surface of nanocapsules was covered by the shell of graphite phase in the thickness of nm.

The Fe-Ni compact bodies were fabricated using Fe-Ni mixed powders with 50 nm in diameter by injection molding process. The relationship between microstructure and material properties was characterized with respect to the volume ratio of powder/binder and sintering temperature with SEM and TEM. In the compact body having the volume percent ratio of 45(Fe-Ni) : 55(binder), which was sintered at the values of relative density and hardness were low about and 277.1 Hv, respectively. Using the composition of 50(Fe Ni) : 50(binder) and sintered at the values of relative density and hardness were respec-tively. The grain size of sintered bodies strongly depended on the sintering temperature. In both samples sintered at the average grain sizes were about 150 nm and 500 nm in diameter, respectively.

Fe nanopowders were successfully synthesized by plasma arc discharge (PAD) process using Fe rod. The influence of chamber pressure on the microstructure was investigated by means of X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The prepared particles had nearly spherical shapes and consisted of metallic cores (a-Fe) and oxide shells (FeO), The powder size increased with increasing chamber pressure due to the higher dissolution and ejection rate of H and gas density in the molten metal.