The semiconductor and display industries require the development of plasma resistant materials for use in high density plasma etching process equipment. Yttria (Y2O3) is a ceramic material mainly used to ensure good plasma resistance properties, which requires a dense microstructure. In commercial production, a sintering process is applied to reduce the sintering temperature of Y2O3. In this study, the effect of the addition of glass frit to the sintered specimen was examined when manufacturing yttria sintered specimens for semiconductor process equipment parts. The Y2O3 specimen was shaped into a Ø50 mm size and then sintered at 1,600 °C for 1~8 h. The characteristics, X-ray diffraction pattern, densities, contraction rate of the specimen, and swelling of the surface of the Y2O3 specimens were investigated as a function of the sintering time and glass frit addition. The Y2O3 specimen exhibited a density of over 4.9 g/cm3 as the sintering time increased, and the swelling phenomenon characteristics were improved by glass frit, by controlling particle size.

In nuclear power plant, there were many contaminated tanks dispose of radioactive fluid waste. These tanks are made of stainless-steel, and corrosion can occur when tanks are exposed to radioactive fluid waste containing moisture for a long time. Therefore, those sludge waste including radionuclide should be collected, solidified, and disposed of. If sludge can be melted, sludge can be easily solidified. However, melting points of sludge components (Fe2O3, NiO, Cr2O3) are very high as 1565, 1955, and 2435 , respectively. Therefore, melting sludge is difficult. If a solidification auxiliary material such as cement or asphalt is used to help solidify, solidification can easily occur, but cement and asphalt are vulnerable to heat. Vitrification using glass material can be solidification method, but the waste loading ratio of glass material is higher than 50%. High waste loading ratio is weakness in terms of volume reduction of waste. In this study, ferro frit powder (Na2O, K2O, CaO, Al2O3, B2O3, SiO2, ZnO) is used as solidification auxiliary material. When ferro frit powder mixed with sludge material are melted in sludge material, melted ferro frit powder can stick sludge material and can solidify sludge material without melting. Sludge can be solidified by using ferro frit powder with a smaller waste loading ratio than the vitrification method. However, since the waste loading ratio of the solidification auxiliary material is small, if ferro frit powder is not uniformly distributed between sludge powder, solidification may not be performed properly. Although the mixing ratio between sludge and ferro frit in solidified sludge is same, when the distribution of ferro frit powder in sludge is non-homogeneous, the difference in chemical and physical characteristics as compressive strength and leaching resistance can be observed in solidified sludge. As the ferro frit mixing ratio in the site where ferro frit exists was relatively high, the melting point of the mixed powder (sludge+ferro frit) decreased, and the mixed powder could not maintain its shape and melted. In the case of the area where ferro frit does not exist, since only the stainless-steel oxide sludge exists, sludge was not melted, and the shape was maintained. However, it was confirmed that the leaching resistance was lowered by visually observing the color change of the leachate within a short period of time (about 2 hours) when solidified sludge was immersed in the leachate.

The mixing powder of vitrification material and metallic oxide sludge was solidified by hot isostatic press method and was tested to check whether the solidified waste disposal acceptance criteria were met or not. From various contaminated tank in nuclear power plants, and other nuclear energy facilities, radioactive sludge based on metallic oxide can be generated. The most of tank consist of stainless steel can be oxidated by the long-term exposure on oxygen and moisture, and then can be made sludge layer based on metallic oxide on the inner wall of contaminated tank. Radioactive sludge waste should be solidified and disposed. Melting and hardening is the most basic method for solidification. The melting points of metallic oxide of stainless steel as Fe3O4, NiO, Cr2O3 are 1597, 1955, 2435, respectively. Those are very high temperature. To melt these metallic oxides, a furnace capable of raising the temperature to a very high temperature is required, which requires a lot of thermal energy, which may lead to an increase in disposal cost. Therefore, it is necessary to lower the melting point and solidify non-melted metallic oxide powder by adding vitrifying material powder as Na2O, SiO2, B2O3. The more vitrification material is added, the easier it is to solidify the sludge based on metallic powder at a low temperature, but there is a problem in that the total waste volume increases due to the addition of vitrification material. In this study, the mixing ratio and temperature conditions that can fix the sludge while adding a minimum amount of vitrification material will be confirmed. Mixing ratio conditions of the vitrification material and sludge powder are 10:90, 15:85, 20:80, 25:75. To fix the metallic oxide sludge by melting only the vitrification material without completely melting the metallic oxide, compression by external pressure is required. Therefore, the HIP (Hot Isostatic Pressing) method was used to solidify the metallic oxide sludge by simultaneously heating and pressurizing it. Because the softening points of most of vitrification based on Na2O, SiO2, B2O3 are ranged from 800 to 1000, temperature conditions are 800, 900, 1000. Since the compressive strength for disposing of the solidified materials was 3.4 MPa, the maximum pressure condition was set to 5000 psi (about 34 MPa), which is 10 times 3.4 MPa. And optimal mixing ratio, temperature, pressure conditions that meet the solidified waste disposal acceptance criteria will be found.

본 연구는 고상폐기물인 준설토와 혼합물질인 점토 및 유리프리트를 이용하여 기능성을 갖는 건축자재용으로의 재활용 가능성을 검토하고자 실시되었다. D항만 준설토의 중금속 함량은 Zn이 526.0~13,150.1 mg/kg의 범위를 나타내는 등 심한 오염상태이었다. 준설토(30P)의 주요 화학조성은 SiO₂(48.30 wt%), Al₂O₃(16.60 wt%), CaO(10.10 wt%), Fe₂O₃(7.75 wt%)이었으며, 점토는 SiO₂가 70.82 wt%, Al₂O₃ 18.78 wt%, 유리프리트는 SiO₂가 71.75 wt%, CaO 13.99 wt%, Na₂O 8.51 wt% 함유되어 있었다. 준설토를 점토에 10~40 wt% 첨가한 후 1,000℃와 1,100℃에서 소성한 시편의 압축 강도는 각각 132.6~178.5 kgf/cm2와 581.2~793.7 kgf/cm²이었다. 준설토가 40 wt% 첨가된 경우 (SC46) 1,100℃에서 소성한 경우가 793.7 kgf/cm²로 1,000℃에서 소성한 경우의 153.0 kgf/cm² 보다 5배 이상 높게 나타나 1,100℃ 온도가 소성에 더 적합한 것으로 판단되었으며, KS 1종벽돌 기준을 만족시켰다. 또한, 시편의 용출시험 결과 폐기물관리법상 지정폐기물 판정기준치를 크게 하회하는 것으로 나타났다.

Ag pastes added to Bi-oxide frits have been applied to the electrode material of Si solar cells. It has been reported that frits induce contacts between the Ag electrodes and the Si wafer after firing. During firing, the control of interfaces among Ag, the glass layer, and Si is one of the key factors for improving cell performance. Specifically, the thermo-physical properties of frits considerably influence Ag-Si contact. Therefore, the thermal properties of frits should be carefully controlled to enhance the efficiency of cells. In this study, the interface structures among Ag electrodes, glass layers, and recrystallites on an n+ emitter were carefully analyzed with the thermal properties of lead-free frits. First, a cross-section of the area between the Ag electrodes and the Si wafer was studied in order to understand the interface structures in light of the thermal properties of the frits. The depth and area of the pits formed in the Si wafer were quantitatively calculated with the thermal properties of frits. The area of the glass layers between the Ag electrodes and Si, and the distribution of recrystallites on the n+ emitter, were measured from a macroscopic point of view with the characteristics of the frits. Our studies suggest that the thermophysical properties should be controlled for the optimal performance of Si solar cells; our studies also show why cell performance deteriorated due to the high viscosity of frits in Ag pastes.

The effect of sintering aids and glass-frit on the densification and resistivity of silver paste was investigated in an effort to enhance the sintered density and electrical conductivity of the silver electrode. To prepare Pb-free silver paste for use at low sintering temperatures, two commercial silver powders (0.8 μm and 1.6 μm in size) and 5wt.% lab-synthesized nanoparticles (30-50 nm in size) as a sintering aids were mixed with 3 wt.% or 6 wt.% of glass frit (Bi2O3-based) using a solvent and three roll mills. Thick films from the silver paste were prepared by means of screen printing on an alumina substrate followed by sintering at 450˚C to 550˚C for 15 min. Silver thick films from the paste with bimodal particles showed a high packing density, high densification during sintering and low resistivity compared to films created using monomodal particles. Silver nanoparticles as a sintering aid enhanced the densification of commercial silver powder at a low sintering temperature and induced low resistivity in the silver thick film. The glass frit also enhanced the densification of the films through liquid phase sintering; however, the optimum content of glass frit is necessary to ensure that a dense microstructure and low resistivity are obtained, as excessive glass-frit can provoke low conductivity due to the interconnection of the glass phase with the high resistivity between the silver particles.

Effects of chemical compositions on the sintering behavior of the lead borosilicate glass developed for barrier ribs of plasma display panels were investigated in this study. Formation of pores during sintering of the glass was noted and their formation mechanism was investigated using XPS, TG/DTA, and XRD. The results indicated that pores are formed by the oxygen released from Pb-oxides during sintering.

실험계획법을 이용하여 유리분말의 소결시 그 기공량에 영향을 미치는 각종 소결조건의 영향을 정량적으로 조사하였다. 본 실험범위내에서 결합제 유리의 총기공량, 개기공량 그미고 폐기공량은 모두 소결온도에 의해 가장 큰 영향을 받고 그 다음으로 소결온도에서의 유지시간에 의해 영향을 받으며 승온속도의 경우 그 영향이 상대적으로 미미함을 확인할 수 있었다. 이러한 결과들로부터 실제공정에 있어 승온속도보다는 다른 소결인자, 특히 소결온도를 조절하는 것이 결합제 유리의 기공량 조절에 가장 중요하리라 판단되며 실험계획법을 이용함으로써 보다 정확한 공전조건을 모색할 수 있었다.