An aluminum oxide article containing at least aluminum atoms and oxygen atoms is described. When observed under a transmission electron microscope, a cross section of the aluminum oxide article contains crystallized parts, in which a crystal lattice image is recognizable, and a non-crystallized part, in which no crystal lattice image is recognizable, and has an island-and-sea structure consisting of isolated parts containing the crystallized parts and the continuous non-crystallized part. The isolated parts correspond to island parts in the island-and-sea structure, the continuous non-crystallized part corresponds to a sea part, and a plurality of the island parts are uniformly distributed in the sea part. An aluminum oxide for improving the battery performance of a lithium ion secondary battery, the scratch resistance and hardness of a cured film, and the gas barrier properties of a gas barrier film is provided.

A capacitor includes a stack and an external electrode located on a surface of the stack. The stack includes a plurality of dielectric layers and a plurality of internal electrode layers alternately stacked on one another. Crystal grains include first crystal grains having a small grain size and second crystal grains having a larger grain size. The first crystal grains satisfy 0.13 μm≤d1<0.30 μm, where d1 is the grain size of the first crystal grains. The second crystal grains satisfy 0.30 μm≤d2<0.50 μm, where d2 is the grain size of the second crystal grains. The second crystal grains have a higher additive element content than the first crystal grains.

A solid electrolyte ceramic material that includes sintered solid electrolyte particles containing, at least, lithium (Li), lanthanum (La), bismuth (Bi), and oxygen (O), wherein the Bi is at a higher concentration in a vicinity of a grain boundary of the sintered solid electrolyte particles than in a grain interior of the sintered solid electrolyte particles.

Provided is an aluminum nitride structure that includes a plurality of aluminum nitride particles, wherein aluminum nitride particles that are adjacent are bound to each other through a boehmite phase containing boehmite, and the porosity is 30% or less. Also provided is a method for producing an aluminum nitride structure that includes: obtaining a mixture by mixing an aluminum nitride powder with a solvent containing water; and pressurizing and heating the mixture under conditions of a pressure of 10 to 600 MPa and a temperature of 50 to 300° C.

Provided is a piezoelectric ceramic composition including a potassium sodium niobate-based perovskite type complex oxide represented by Compositional Formula ABO.sub.3, as a main component. Further, the piezoelectric ceramic composition contains Bi in an A site and Zr in a B site. Further, the piezoelectric ceramic composition includes a segregation portion positioned in a crystal grain. At least one of Zr or Bi is localized in the segregation portion.

A fiber comprises a bulk material comprising: one or more of carbon, silicon, boron, silicon carbide, and boron nitride; and a metal or metal alloy whose affinity for oxygen is greater than that of the bulk material. At least a first portion of the metal or metal alloy is present at the entrance to grain boundaries at the surface of the fiber and within the fiber to a depth of at least 1 micron from the fiber surface. A method of improving a fiber comprises heating a fiber in an inert atmosphere to 900-1300 C for sufficient time to allow at least some of a metal or metal alloy, placed on the fiber, to diffuse and/or flow into and along grain boundaries to a depth of at least 1 micron. The metal or metal alloy has a greater affinity for oxygen than that of the fiber bulk material.

A cubic boron nitride sintered material includes: more than or equal to 20 volume % and less than 80 volume % of cubic boron nitride grains; and more than 20 volume % and less than or equal to 80 volume % of a binder phase, and when a carbon content is measured from a cubic boron nitride grain into the binder phase in a direction perpendicular to an interface between the cubic boron nitride grain and the binder phase using TEM-EDX, a first region having a carbon content larger than an average value of a carbon content of the binder phase exists, the interface exists in the first region, and a length of the first region is more than or equal to 0.1 nm and less than or equal to 10 nm.

A sintered body includes a crystal grain containing silicon nitride, and a grain boundary phase. If dielectric losses of the sintered body are measured while applying an alternating voltage to the sintered body and continuously changing a frequency of the alternating voltage from 50 Hz to 1 MHz, an average value ε.sub.A of dielectric losses of the sintered body in a frequency band from 800 kHz to 1 MHz and an average value ε.sub.B of dielectric losses of the sintered body in a frequency band from 100 Hz to 200 Hz satisfy an expression |ε.sub.A−ε.sub.B|≤0.1.

A refractory object may include a zircon body that may include at least about 0.1 wt. % and not greater than about 5.5 wt. % of an Al.sub.2O.sub.3 containing component for a total weight of the zircon body. The zircon body may further include at least about 25 wt. % and not greater than about 35 wt. % of a SiO.sub.2 component for a total weight of the zircon body.

A ferrite sintered magnet 100 comprises M-type ferrite crystal grains 4 and multiple-crystal grain boundaries 6b surrounded by three or more of the M-type ferrite crystal grains 4. The ferrite sintered magnet 100 contains at least Fe, Ca, B, and Si, and contains 0.005 to 0.9 mass % of B in terms of B.sub.2O.sub.3. The multiple-crystal grain boundaries 6b contain Si and Ca, and in a case where the molar ratio of Ca to Si in the multiple-crystal grain boundaries 6b is represented by (Ca/Si).sub.G, the following formula is satisfied.
0.1<(Ca/Si).sub.G<0.9