• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.230-233
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• 2003

This study describes the conceptual design of a soft x-ray microscope system based on a laserbased source for biomedical application with high resolution (${\leq}$50nm). The laboratory scale soft x-ray microscope consists of high power laser plasma x-ray source and grazing incidence mirrors with high reflectivity. The laser plasma source used for developing this system employs Q-switched Nd-YAG pulsed laser. The laser beam is focused on a tantalum (Ta) target. The Wolter type I mirror was used as condenser optics for sample illumination and as objective mirror for focusing on a detector. The fabrication of the Wolter type I mirror was direct internal cutting using ultraprecision DTM. A hydrated biological specimen was put between the two silicon wafers, the center of which was $Si_3N_4$ windows of 100㎚ thickness. The main issues in the future development work are to make a stable, reliable and reproducible x-ray microscope system.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2002.05a
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• pp.187-190
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• 2002

Confocal microscopy is very popular technology in bio-medical inspection due to its ability to reject background signals and to measure very thin slide of thick specimens, which is called optical sectioning. But intensity of detected signal in fluorescence type confocal microscopy is so small that only 0.2% of emitted fluorescence light can be detected in the best case. In this paper, we proposed the reflecting optical system to improve the detection intensity and designed the optical system by optimal design method. At the end of the paper, we analyzed the characteristics of the proposed reflecting optical system.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.199-202
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• 2015

A simple and novel transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation method for phase change nanowire is investigated. A $Ge_2Sb_2Te_5$ (GST) nanowire TEM sample was meticulously prepared using nanomanipulator and gas injection system in a field emission scanning electron microscopy for efficient and accurate TEM analysis. The process can minimize the damage during the TEM sample preparation of the nanowires, thus enabling the crystallographic analysis of as-grown GST nanowires without unexpected phase transition caused by e-beam heating.

• Transactions of the Society of Information Storage Systems
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.22-25
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• 2015

In this paper, we demonstrate solid-immersion lens based confocal microscopy using super-continuum generation effect. Using super-continuum generation effect, we could diversify the excitation wavelength of confocal microscopy. Further, high refractive index of solid-immersion lens would increase the resolution of confocal microscopy. As a result, by applying the super-continuum generation effect and solid-immersion lens to confocal microscopy, some problems of confocal fluorescent microscopy, the excitation wavelength and the resolution, could be overcome. To verify it, we made home-built solid-immersion lens based confocal microscopy using super-continuum generation effect, and evaluate the performance of the system.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.51
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• pp.8.1-8.7
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• 2021

Growing demands for comprehending complicated nano-scale phenomena in atomic resolution has attracted in-situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques for understanding their dynamics. However, simple to safe TEM sample preparation for in-situ observation has been limited. Here, we suggested the optical microscopy based micro-manipulating system for transferring TEM samples. By adopting our manipulator system, several types of samples from nano-wires to plate-like thin samples were transferred on micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) chip in a single step. Furthermore, the control of electrostatic force between the sample and the probe tip is found to be a key role in transferring process.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.171-175
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• 2016

A distinctive neuronal network in the brain is believed to make us unique individuals. Electron microscopy is a valuable tool for examining ultrastructural characteristics of neurons, synapses, and subcellular organelles. A recent technological breakthrough in volume electron microscopy allows large-scale circuit reconstruction of the nervous system with unprecedented detail. Serial-section electron microscopy-previously the domain of specialists-became automated with the advent of innovative systems such as the focused ion beam and serial block-face scanning electron microscopes and the automated tape-collecting ultramicrotome. Further advances in microscopic design and instrumentation are also available, which allow the reconstruction of unprecedentedly large volumes of brain tissue at high speed. The recent introduction of correlative light and electron microscopy will help to identify specific neural circuits associated with behavioral characteristics and revolutionize our understanding of how the brain works.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.16-22
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• 2015

The reaction kinetics of the growth of Ni germanide in the Ni/Zr-interlayer/Ge system was investigated using isothermal in situ annealing at three different temperatures in a transmission electron microscope. The growth rate of Ni germanide in the Ni/Zr-interlayer/Ge system was determined to be diffusion controlled and depended on the square root of the time, with the activation energy of $1.04P{\pm}0.04eV$. For the Ni/Zr-interlayer/Ge system, no intermediate or intermixing layer between the Zr-interlayer and Ge substrate was formed, and thus the Ni germanide was formed and grew uniformly due to Ni diffusion through the diffusion path created in the amorphous Zr-interlayer during the annealing process in the absence of any intermetallic compounds. The reaction kinetics in the Ni/Zr-interlayer/Ge system was affected only by the Zr-interlayer.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.50
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• pp.10.1-10.6
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• 2020

Plant specimens for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are commonly treated using standard protocols. Conventional fixatives consist of toxic chemicals such as glutaraldehyde, paraformaldehyde, and osmium tetroxide. In 1996, methanol fixation was reported as a rapid alternative to the standard protocols. If specimens are immersed in methanol for 30 s or longer and critical-point dried, they appear to be comparable in preservation quality to those treated with the chemical fixatives. A modified version that consists of methanol fixation and ethanol dehydration was effective at preserving the tissue morphology and dimensions. These solvent-based fixation and dehydration protocols are regarded as rapid and simple alternatives to standard protocols for SEM of plants.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.187-202
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• 2017

The classical electron band theory is a powerful tool to describe the electronic structures of solids. However, the band theory and corresponding density functional theory become inappropriate if a system comprises localized electrons in a scenario wherein strong electron correlations cannot be neglected. $SrRuO_3$ is one such system, and the partially localized d-band electrons exhibit some interesting behaviors such as enhanced effective mass, spectral incoherency, and oppression of ferromagnetism and itinerancy. In particular, a Metal-Insulator transition occurs when the thickness of $SrRuO_3$ approaches approximately four unit cells. In the computational studies, irrespective of the inclusion of on-site Hubbard repulsion and Hund's coupling parameters, correctly depicting the correlation effects is difficult. Because the oxygen atoms and the symmetry of octahedra are known to play important roles in the system, scrutinizing both the electronic band structure and the lattice system of $SrRuO_3$ is required to find the origin of the correlated behaviors. Transmission electron microscopy is a promising solution to this problem because of its integrated functionalities, which include atomic-resolution imaging and electron energy loss spectroscopy.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.26-31
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• 2005

We describe the design and the implementation of video-rate reflection confocal scanning microscopy (CSM) using an acousto-optical deflector (AOD) for the fast horizontal scan and a galvanometer mirror (GM) for the slow vertical scan. Design parameters of the optical system are determined for optimal resolution and contrast. The OSLO simulations show that the performances of CSM are not changed with deflection angle and the wavefront errors of the system are less than 0.012λ. To evaluate the performances of designed CSM, we do a series of tests, measuring lateral and axial resolution, real time image acquisition. Due to a higher axial resolution compared with conventional microscopy, CSM can detect the surface of sub-micrometer features. We detect 138㎚ line shape pattern with a video-rate (30 frm/sec). And 10㎚ axial resolution is archived. The lateral resolution of the topographic images will be further enhanced by differential confocal microscopy (DCM) method and computational algorithms.