In order to broaden the range of application of light weight aluminum alloys, it is necessary to enhance the mechanical properties of the alloys and combine them with other materials, such as cast iron. In this study, the effects of adding small amounts of Cu and Zr to the Al-Si-Mg based alloy on tensile properties and corrosion characteristics were investigated, and the effect of the addition on the interfacial compounds layer with the cast iron was also analyzed. Although the tensile strength of the Al-Si-Mg alloy was not significantly affected by the additions of Cu and Zr, the corrosion resistance in 3.5 %NaCl solution was found to be somewhat lowered in this research. The influence of Cu and Zr addition on the type and thickness of the interfacial compounds layer formed during compound casting with cast iron was not significant, and the main interfacial compounds were identified to be Al5FeSi and Al8Fe2Si phases, as in the case of the Al-Si-Mg alloys.

Dry etching of copper thin films is performed using high density plasma of ethylenediamine (EDA)/ hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP)/Ar gas mixture. The etch rates, etch selectivities and etch profiles of the copper thin films are improved by adding HFIP to EDA/Ar gas. As the EDA/HFIP concentration in EDA/HFIP/Ar increases, the etch rate of copper thin films decreases, whereas the etch profile is improved. In the EDA/HFIP/Ar gas mixture, the optimal ratio of EDA to HFIP is investigated. In addition, the etch parameters including ICP source power, dc-bias voltage, process pressure are varied to examine the etch characteristics. Optical emission spectroscopy results show that among all species, [CH], [CN] and [H] are the main species in the EDA/HFIP/Ar plasma. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results indicate the formation of CuCN compound and C-N-H-containing polymers during the etching process, leading to a good etch profile. Finally, anisotropic etch profiles of the copper thin films patterned with 150 nm scale are obtained in EDA/HFIP/Ar gas mixture.

Effects of Sc addition on microstructure, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and mechanical properties of the as-cast and as-extruded Al-2Zn-1Cu-0.3Mg-xSc (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5 wt%) alloys are investigated. The average grain size of the as-cast Al-2Zn-1Cu-0.3Mg alloy is 2,334 μm; however, this value drops to 914 and 529 μm with addition of Sc element at 0.25 wt% and 0.5 wt%, respectively. This grain refinement is due to primary Al3Sc phase forming during solidification. The as-extruded Al-2Zn-1Cu-0.3Mg alloy has a recrystallization structure consisting of almost equiaxed grains. However, the asextruded Sc-containing alloys consist of grains that are extremely elongated in the extrusion direction. In addition, it is found that the proportion of low-angle grain boundaries below 15 degree is dominant. This is because the addition of Sc results in the formation of coherent and nano-scale Al3Sc phases during hot extrusion, inhibiting the process of recrystallization and improving the strength by pinning of dislocations and the formation of subgrain boundaries. The maximum values of the yield and tensile strength are 126 MPa and 215 MPa for the as-extruded Al-2Zn-1Cu-0.3Mg-0.25Sc alloy, respectively. The increase in strength is probably due to the existence of nano-scale Al3Sc precipitates and dense Al2Cu phases. Thermal conductivity of the as-cast Al-2Zn-1Cu-0.3Mg-xSc alloy is reduced to 204, 187 and 183 W/MK by additions of elemental Sc of 0, 0.25 and 0.5 wt%, respectively. On the other hand, the thermal conductivity of the as-extruded Al-2Zn-1Cu-0.3Mg-xSc alloy is about 200 W/Mk regardless of the content of Sc. This is because of the formation of coherent Al3Sc phase, which decreases Sc content and causes extremely high electrical resistivity.

In this study, the effects of Sm addition (0, 0.05, 0.2, 0.5 wt%) on the microstructure, hardness, and electrical and thermal conductivity of Al-11Si-1.5Cu aluminum alloy were investigated. As a result of Sm addition, increment in the amount of α-Al and refinement of primary Si from 70 to 10 μm were observed due to eutectic temperature depression. On the other hand, Sm was less effective at refining eutectic Si because of insufficient addition. The phase analysis results indicated that Sm-rich intermetallic phases such as Al-Fe-Mg-Si and Al-Si-Cu formed and led to decrements in the amount of primary Si and eutectic Si. These microstructure changes affected not only the hardness but also the electrical and thermal conductivity. When 0.5 wt% Sm was added to the alloy, hardness increased from 84.4 to 91.3 Hv, and electric conductivity increased from 15.14 to 16.97 MS/m. Thermal conductivity greatly increased from 133 to 157 W/m·K.

For the development of a low-melting point filler metal for brazing aluminum alloy, we analyzed change of melting point and wettability with addition of Sn into Al-20Cu-10Si filler metal. DSC results showed that the addition of 5 wt% Sn into the Al-20Cu-10Si filler metal caused its liquidus temperature to decrease by about 30 oC. In the wettability test, spread area of melted Al-Cu-Si-Sn alloy is increased through the addition of Sn from 1 to 5 wt%. For the measuring of the mechanical properties of the joint region, Al 3003 plate is brazed by Al-20Cu-10Si-5Sn filler metal and the mechanical property is measured by tensile test. The results showed that the tensile strength of the joint region is higher than the tensile strength of Al 3003. Thus, failure occurred in the Al 3003 plate.

Two types of nanoclusters, termed Cluster (1) and Cluster (2) here, both play an important role in the age-hardening behavior in Al-Mg-Si alloys. Small amounts of additions of Cu and Ag affect the formation of nanoclusters. Two exothermic peaks were clearly detected in differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) curves by means of peak separation by the Gaussian method in the base, Cu-added, Ag-added and Cu-Ag-added Al-Mg-Si alloys. The formation of nanoclusters in the initial stage of natural aging was suppressed in the Ag-added and Cu-Ag-added alloys, while the formation of nanoclusters was enhanced at an aging time longer than 259.2 ks(3 days) of natural aging with the addition Cu and Ag. The formation of nanoclusters while aging at 100˚C was accelerated in the Cu-added, Ag-added and Cu-Ag-added alloys due to the attractive interaction between the Cu and Ag atoms and the Mg atoms. The influence of additions of Cu and Ag on the clustering behavior during low-temperature aging was well characterized based on the interaction energies among solute atoms and on vacancies derived from the first-principle calculation of the full-potential Korrinaga-Kohn-Rostoker(FPKKR)-Green function method. The effects of low Cu and Ag additions on the formation of nanoclusters were also discussed based on the age-hardening phenomena.

For the fabrication of core-shell structure bimetallic lead-free solder balls, both the critical temperature (Tcr) for the phase separation of two immiscible liquid phases and the temperature coefficient of the interfacial tension between the two separated liquid phases are required. In order to obtain this information, the temperature dependence of the surface tension of 60%Bi-24%Cu-16%Sn(-REM) alloys was measured using the constrained drop method. The slope of the temperature dependence of the surface tension changed clearly at a critical temperature for the separation of two immiscible liquid phases. The critical temperature of the 60%Bi-24%Cu-16%Sn alloy was estimated to be 1097K. An addition of 0.05% Ce decreased the critical temperature to 1085K, whereas that of 0.05% La increased it to 1117K. It was found that the surface tension and its temperature coefficient of the 60%Bi-24%Cu-16%Sn alloy were slightly increased by the addition of 0.05% Ce and 0.05% La. In addition, additions of Ce and La increased the temperature coefficient of the interfacial tension.

Al-Cu-Mn 주조합금의 피로성질에 미치는 Cd 첨가의 영향을 저주기 및 고주기 피로시험을 통하여 조사하였다. Cd 첨가량이 증가함에 따라 피로수명이 증가하였으며, 인장강도도 증가하였다. 고주기 피로시험결과 피로강도는 115MPa이었으며 피로비는 0.31이었다. 피로시험 결과 균열이 표면에서 발생하여 입계를 따라 전파되었는데 이러한 입계파괴는 입계를 따라 존재하는 무석출대의 영향으로 생각된다. 인장강도값은 Cd이 첨가되지 않았을 경우 330MPa이었으나 0.15%의 Cd이 첨가됨으로써 401MPa 까지 증가되었다.

Al-Cu-Mn 주조합금의 응력부식균열 저항성에 미치는 Cd첨가의 영향을 C-ring test와 전기전도도 시험을 통하여 조사하였다. Cd첨가량이 증가함에 따라 전기전도도가 증가하였고 SCC 저항성도 증가하였다. SCC 시험결과 균열이 입계를 따라 전파되는 입계파괴가 일어났으며, 파면은 취성파괴양상을 나타내었고, 입계를 따라 조대 석출물과 무석출대가 나타난 것으로 보아서 이 합금의 SCC 기구는 anodic dissolution model이라고 판단된다. Cd을 첨가하지 않은 경우 최대경도값은 127Hv였으나, Cd을 첨가한 경우 최대경도값은 138∼146Hv로 증가하였다.

원소 분말을 합성하여 Ti5SI3 화합물을 합성하는 방법을 연구하였다. 합성법으로서는 기본적으로 반응소결법을 사용하였으며, 치밀화를 위하여는 유사-열간 정수압 성형법(PHIP, pseude-hot isostatic pressing)을 사용하였다. 반응소결법에서는 분말의 입도, 반응온도 및 유지시간이 소결밀도에 영향을 주었으며, PHIP법에 의한 치밀화에서는 압력 및 유지 간이 주요 변수로 사용되었다. 이들 변수중 미세한 입도와 유지시간이 기공을 감소시켰다. 또한 Cu의 첨가 영향을 연구하였는데, 약 6wt%이내의 Cu 첨가는 밀도 향상에 좋은 영향을 미쳤다. 반응소결 및 PHIP를 통해 Ti5SI3 -Cu의 상대밀도를 약 99%까지 높일 수 있었으며, 이때 Cu의 효과는 감도지수 부합됨을 확인하였다.

BaCeO3를 첨가하여 용융공정으로 제조한 단결정형 YBa2Cu3Ox</TEX>(1-2-3) 초전도체의 온도에 대한 자화특성을 연구하였다. 고상반응법과 용융공정으로 0에서 30wt% BaCeO3를 1-2-3 결정내에 미세 분산시켰다. 초전도체의 자화특성은 VSM(vibrating sample magnetometer)을 사용하여 77K, 60K, 40K와 20K, 2 Tesla 자장범위에서 측정하였다. BaCeO3를 첨가하지 않은 겨우나 5wt% BaCeO3를 첨가한 1-2-3 결정의 경우, 77K, 외부자장이 증가시 자화율 차이가 증가하는 비정상 자화특성이 관찰된다. 측정온도가 60K에서는 제2차 최대점이 나타나는 자장값이 고자장쪽으로 이동한다. 20K와 40K의 저온에서는 비정상자화특성이 2 T의 자장범위까지 관찰되지 않았다. 15wt%와 20wt% BaCeO3첨가한 시편에서는 자장이 증가하면 자화율차이가 단순히 감소한다. Y-Ba-Cu-O의 flux pinning 기구를 BaCeO3첨가에 의한 미세조직변화로 설명하였다.

Y-Ba-Cu-O 계에서 123상의 성장에 미치는 Sn의 효과를 관찰하기 위하여 Sn이 첨가된 123+Sn성형체와 Sn이 첨가되지 않은 123성형체와의 couple시편을 만들었다. 1100˚C에서 24시간 유지한 후 970˚C에서 1시간 유지한 시편에서 123상은 Sn이 첨가된 123+Sn 성형체의 표면에서부터 생성되어 Sn이 첨가되지 않은 123성형체 내부쪽으로 성장하였다. 1100˚C에서 48시간 유지한 후 970˚C에서 1시간 유지한 시편에서는 123상이 관찰되지 않았으며 Y-Ba-Sn으로 구성된 결정립이 관찰되었다.