서브마이크론 설계규칙을 갖는 소자의 이층 배선 공정에서 다챔버 장비를 이용한 금속 층간절연막의 공극없는 평탄화를 위하여 PECVD와 O3 ThCVD산화막의 증착시 층덮힘성을 연구하였다. 산화막의 두께가 증가됨에 따라 변화되는 순간단차비의 개념을 도입하여 공극형성의 개시점을 예측할 수 있는 관계식을 모델링하였고, 금속배선간격의 초기 단차비가 다양한 패턴에서 산화막의 두께에 따른 순간 단차비의 변화를 조사하였다. 모델링 검정결과 5˚이하의 re-entrant각을 갖는 TEOS에 의한 PECVO 산화막의 순간단차비가 모델링에 잘 일치하였다. 공극없는 평탄화는 제1층의 PECVD 산화막의 순간 단차비를 0.8이하로 유지하거나 Ar sputter식각을 통하여 산화막의 모서리에 경사를 준후 층덮힘성이 우수한 O3 ThCVD산화막을 증착함으로써 가능하였다. O3 ThCVD산화막의 etchback이 non etchback공정에 비하여 via접쪽저항체인에서 높은 수율을 보였으며, via접촉저항은 0.1~0.3Ω/μm2로 나타났다.

RuO2와 glass의 비가 20/80과 12/88인 두종류의 후막저항계에 NTCR 특성을 나타내는 여러종류의 산화물을 첨가하였을때 저항체의 TCR과 전기비저항이 어떻게 변화하는가에 대한 실험을 실시하였다. 첨가된 TCR modifier들이 NTCR특성을 갖는다고해서 저항체의 TCR이 창상 감소되지는 않으며 또한 어떠한 modifier가 모든 저항계에 항상 일정 방향으로만 TCR을 변화시키지는 않았다. 그러나 이들 TCR modifier들을 적당량 첨가함으로써 후막저항체의 TCR과 저항값을 원하는 바대로 얻을 수 있다는 가능성을 확인하였다. 두 종류의 이상의 TCR modifier를 동시에 첨가하였을때에 첨가된 TCR modifier들 각각의 TCR변화가 합해져서 결과로 나타남으로써 이들 사용된 TCR modifier들 간에는 상호작용이 없음을 알 수 있었다. TCR modifier의 첨가량은 2~3%내로 억제하는 것이 바람직함을 알 수 있었다.

Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) is one of the 4th generation nuclear power systems which is its verified technology in physically and chemically. Among the various salts used for MSR system, the eutectic composition of NaCl-MgCl2 system maintains the liquid state at around 450°C, in the same time, it has high solubility for nuclear fuel chlorides. This characteristic has high advantage for lowering the operating temperature for the MSR, which could reduce the problem of hightemperature corrosion by salt for structural materials significantly. In particular, since MgCl2 has the similar standard reduction potential with nuclear fuel, is used as a surrogate for, many basic researches have been conducted for verifying characteristic of MgCl2. It is well-known that main short-advantage of MgCl2 is hygroscopic properties. MgCl2 changes to MgCl2-xH2O state easily by absorbing moisture in air condition. The hydrated MgCl2 is producing MgOHCl by thermally decomposing at high temperature, the formed MgOHCl corrodes structural materials, even small amount of MgOHCl gives significant damage. Therefore, the purification of MgCl2 has been required for long-term operation of MSR using MgCl2 as a base salt. In this study, the purification of eutectic composition salt for NaCl-MgCl2 has been mainly performed by considering its thermodynamic properties and electrochemical characteristic, and the experimental results have been discussed.

The solid-state chemistry of uranium is essential to the nuclear fuel cycle. Uranyl nitrate is a key compound that is produced at various stages of the nuclear fuel cycle, both in front-end and backend cycles. It is typically formed by dissolving spent nuclear fuel in nitric acid or through a wet conversion process for the preparation of UF6. Additionally, uranium oxides are a primary consideration in the nuclear fuel cycle because they are the most commonly used nuclear fuel in commercial nuclear reactors. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the oxidation and thermal behavior of uranium oxides and uranyl nitrates. Under the ‘2023 Nuclear Global Researcher Training Program for the Back-end Nuclear Fuel Cycle,’ supported by KONICOF, several experiments were conducted at IMRAM (Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials) at Tohoku University. First, the recovery ratio of uranium was analyzed during the synthesis of uranyl nitrate by dissolving the actual radioisotope, U3O8, in a nitric acid solution. Second, thermogravimetric-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) of uranyl nitrate (UO2(NO3)2) and hyper-stoichiometric uranium dioxide (UO2+X) was performed. The enthalpy change was discussed to confirm the mechanism of thermal decomposition of uranyl nitrate under heating conditions and to determine the chemical hydrate form of uranyl nitrate. In the case of UO2+X, the value of ‘x’ was determined through the calculation of weight change data, and the initial form was verified using the phase diagram for the U-O system. Finally, the formation of a few UO2+X compounds was observed with heat treatment of uranyl nitrate and uranium dioxide at different temperature intervals (450°C-600°C). As a result of these studies, a deeper understanding of the thermal and chemical behavior of uranium compounds was achieved. This knowledge is vital for improving the efficiency and safety of nuclear fuel cycle processes and contributes to advancements in nuclear science and technology.

Once discharged, spent nuclear fuel undergoes an initial cooling process within deactivation pools situated at the reactor site. This cooling step is crucial for reducing the fuel’s temperature. Once the heat has sufficiently diminished, two viable options emerge: reprocessing or interim storage. A method known as PUREX, for aqueous nuclear reprocessing, involves a chemical procedure aimed at separating uranium and plutonium from the spent nuclear fuel. This separation not only minimizes waste volume but also facilitates the reuse of the extracted materials as fuel for nuclear reactors. The transformation of uranium oxides through dissolution in nitric acid followed by drying results in uranium taking the form of UO2(NO3)2 + 6H2O, which can then be converted into various solid-state configurations through different heat treatments. This study specifically focuses on investigating the phase transitions of artificially synthesized UO2(NO3)2 + 6H2O subjected to heat treatment at various temperatures (450, 500, 550, 600°C) using X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis. Heat treatments were also conducted on UO2 to analyze its phase transformations. Additionally, the study utilized XRD analysis on an unidentified oxidized uranium oxide, UO2+X, and employed lattice parameters and Bragg’s law to ascertain the oxidation state of the unknown sample. To synthesize UO2(NO3)2 + 6H2O, U3O8 powder is first dissolved in a 20% HNO3 solution. The solid UO2(NO3)2 + 6H2O is obtained after drying on a hotplate and is subsequently subjected to heat treatment at temperatures of 450, 500, 550, and 600°C. As the heat treatment temperature increases, the color of the samples transitions from orange to dark green, indicating the formation of different phases at different temperatures. XRD analysis confirms that uranyl nitrate, when heattreated at 500 and 550°C, oxidizes to UO3, while the sample subjected to 600°C heat treatment transforms into U3O8 due to the higher temperature. All samples exhibit sharp crystal peaks in their XRD spectra, except for the one heat-treated at 450°C. In the second experiment, the XRD spectra of the heat-treated UO2 consistently indicate the presence of U3O8 rather than UO3, regardless of the temperature. Under an oxidizing atmosphere within a temperature range of 300 to 700°C, UO2 can be oxidized to form U3O8. In the final experiment, the oxidation state of the unknown UO2+X was determined using Bragg’s law and lattice parameters, revealing that it was a material in which UO2 had been oxidized, resulting in an oxidation state of UO2.24.

The stabilization technology for the damaged spent fuel is being developed to process the damaged fuel into sound pellet suitable for dry re-fabrication. It requires several treatments including oxidative decladding followed by reduction treatment for oxidized powder closely related to the quality of oxidized powders for pellet fabrication. For the development of operating condition for the reduction treatment, in this study, we evaluated the effect of air-cylinder based vertical shaking previously applied to oxidative decladding on powder reduction. For U3O8 of 50-100 g, the reduction test were applied with and without vertical shaking at 700°C under reduction atmosphere (Ar + 4%H2) and the concentration of hydrogen in effluent was measured to evaluate the reduction reaction. It was found that the vertical shaking system has allowed the reaction time of 50 g and 100 g U3O8 reduced by 33% compared to the test in static mode. Based on XRD analysis, the better crystallinity of the products was also achieved.

The effect of the metal oxide catalyst in the dimerization of waste vegetable oil was investigated. The high efficiency and recyclability has allowed different metal oxides to be used as catalysts in numerous synthetic reactions. Herein, clay, aluminum, titanium, calcium, magnesium and silicon oxide micro/nanoparticles are used in a Diels-Alder reaction to catalyze the production of the dimer acids. The metal oxides assist the electron transfers during cyclization to produce the desired product. Liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) were used to verify the production of dimer acids. For the confirmation of cyclization, compounds were analyzed using the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. From the analysis, silylated or pristine clay showed its effectiveness as a catalyst in dimerization. Furthermore, alumina and alumina/silica composite showed successful performance in the reaction to yield cyclic dimer acids. These result suggested that metal oxides and montmorillonite might be used in synthesis of dimer acids for the recycle of waste vegetable oils.

세 종류의 산화물(TiO2(아나타제), SiO2(비결정성) 및 Al2O3(비결정성)) 표면에 U(VI)이 흡착될 때 유기산 이 미치는 영향을 연구하였다. 유기산으로는 살리실산과 피콜린산을 사용하였다. 유기산의 존재 여부에 따 라 달라지는 U(VI)의 흡착률 변화를 pH 함수로 측정하였다. 또한 U(VI)의 존재 여부에 따라 달라지는 유기 산의 흡착량을 pH 함수로 측정하였다. TiO2의 경우, 살리실산과 피콜린산이 U(VI)과 수용성 착물을 형성함 으로써 U(VI)의 흡착률을 저하시킨다. SiO2의 경우, 살리실산은 U(VI) 흡착에 영향을 주지 않지만, 피콜린산 은 오히려 U(VI) 흡착을 증가시킨다. 이 현상을 삼성분 표면착물(ternary surface complex) 생성으로 해석하였으며 U(VI) 흡착에 의존하는 피콜린산의 흡착량 변화, 그리고 흡착된 U(VI)의 형광 특성 변화로 이를 확인 하였다. Al2O3의 경우, 살리실산과 피콜린산 모두 U(VI) 흡착과 무관하게 높은 흡착량을 보였으나 U(VI) 흡 착을 감소시키지는 않았다. 따라서 삼성분 표면착물 생성을 배제할 수 없으나 이를 확인하기 위해서는 분광 분석과 같은 추가 연구가 필요하다.