It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a thin-film carbon foam and a method of manufacture the same. It is another object of the present disclosure to provide a stack carbon foam having fewer through holes and a method of manufacturing the same. The carbon foam of the present disclosure is, for example, a stack carbon foam being a stack of at least two monolayer carbon foams stacked one another, each monolayer carbon foam comprising linear portions and node portions joining the linear portions, or a carbon foam comprising linear portions and node portions joining the linear portions, wherein the ratio of the number of large through holes having a diameter of 1 mm or more to the surface area of the carbon foam is 0.0003/mm.sup.2 or less.

A silicide-based composite material is disclosed, comprising a silicide of Mo, B, W, Nb, Ta, Ti, Cr, Co, Y, or a combination thereof, Si3N4, and at least an oxide, as well as and a process for producing the same.

A method for preparing nanometer MAX phase ceramic powder or slurry having a laminated structure by means of ball milling and regulating the oxygen content of the powder. Micron-sized MAX phase ceramic coarse powder is adopted as a raw material, during ball milling, a gas or a liquid-state gas having a special effect is introduced into a ball milling tank, and by means of multi-dimensional functions and regulation such as ball milling parameters and gas reaction, the nanometer laminated MAX phase ceramic powder or the slurry containing the component is obtained. The surface components and the activated state of the powder are regulated while the particle size adjustment control of the powder is realized.

An aluminum nitride sintered body with improved mechanical strength without compromised thermal dissipating properties. The aluminum nitride sintered body contains 100 parts by weight of AlN, 3 to 20 parts by weight on an oxide basis of at least one type of nitride selected from the group consisting of Zr and Ti as an additive, and 1 to 10 parts by weight of Y.sub.2O.sub.3 as a sintering aid. The oxygen content in the sintered body is 1.8 wt % or less, and the thermal conductivity is 130 W/m.Math.K or higher.

Aluminum nitride particles used as a material of an aluminum nitride sintered compact are disclosed. The aluminum nitride particles may have a same crystal orientation. The aluminum nitride particles each have an aspect ratio of 3 or more, a plate-like shape, a planar length of 0.6 μm or more and 20 μm or less, and a thickness length of 0.05 μm or more and 2 μm or less.

The present invention aims to provide a method for producing granules for ceramic production, the method having high productivity and making it possible to obtain a ceramic which, when produced by press molding the granules and firing the resulting press molded product, has physical properties kept from lowering. The present invention is characterized by including: a slurry preparation step of preparing a slurry including a mixture containing a powder of an inorganic compound, a binder, and a solvent; a granulation step of introducing the slurry into a spray drying device to form a granulated substance containing the inorganic compound; an exhaust step of exhausting an atmospheric gas within the spray drying device via a cyclone having a surface made of ceramic; and a step of mixing a fine powder, which has been recovered by the cyclone during the exhaust step, with the granulated substance obtained in the granulation step.

A carbon foam formed of carbon fibers, where, at 90% or more of any 20 locations, the carbon fibers have a fiber diameter that is within ±20% of an average fiber diameter.

A tungsten silicide target capable of suppressing the occurrence of particles during sputtering is provided by a method different from conventional methods. The tungsten silicide target includes not more than 5 low-density semi-sintered portions having a size of 50 μm or more per 80000 mm.sup.2 on the sputtering surface.

In a first step of a method for producing a transparent AlN sintered body, first, a formed body is prepared by forming a mixture obtained by mixing a sintering aid with an AlN raw-material powder containing a plate-like AlN powder whose plate surface is a c-plane and which has an aspect ratio of 3 or more. At this time, the mixture is formed such that the plate surface of the plate-like AlN powder is disposed along a surface of the formed body. In a second step, an oriented AlN sintered body is obtained by subjecting the formed body to hot-press sintering in a non-oxidizing atmosphere while applying a pressure to the surface of the formed body. In a third step, a transparent AlN sintered body is obtained by sintering the oriented AlN sintered body at normal pressure in a non-oxidizing atmosphere to remove a component derived from the sintering aid.

A process for manufacturing a composite material part including a particulate reinforcement densified by a ceramic matrix, the process including: formation of a blank of the part to be manufactured by shaping a mixture including a binder, first ceramic or carbon particles intended to form the particulate reinforcement of the part and second ceramic or carbon particles distinct from the first particles, removal or pyrolysis of the binder present in the blank to obtain a porous preform of the part to be manufactured, and infiltration of the porosity of the preform by a molten composition including a metal in order to obtain the part.