The disclosure provides seals for devices that operate at elevated temperatures and have reactive metal vapors, such as lithium, sodium or magnesium. In some examples, such devices include energy storage devices that may be used within an electrical power grid or as part of a standalone system. The energy storage devices may be charged from an electricity production source for later discharge, such as when there is a demand for electrical energy consumption.

An example article may include a component, a substrate including a first ceramic, a joining layer between the component and the substrate, and a joint surface coating between the substrate and the joining layer. The joint surface coating may include a diffusion barrier layer including a second ceramic material, and a compliance layer including at least one of a metal or a metalloid. An example technique may include holding a first joining surface of a coated component adjacent a second joining surface of a second component. The example technique may further include heating at least one of the coated component, the second component, and a braze material, and brazing the coated component by allowing the braze material to flow in a region between the first joining surface and the second joining surface.

Methods of forming ceramic matrix composite structures include joining at least two lamina together to form a flexible ceramic matrix composite structure. Ceramic matrix composite structures include at least one region of reduced inter-laminar bonding at a selected location between lamina thereof. Thermal protection systems include at least one seal comprising a ceramic matrix composite material and have at least one region of reduced inter-laminar bonding at a selected location between lamina used to form the seal. Methods of forming thermal protection systems include providing one or more such seals between adjacent panels of a thermal protection system.

A bonded body is formed to configured to join a ceramic member formed of a Si-based ceramic and a copper member formed of copper or a copper alloy, in which, in a joint layer formed between the ceramic member and the copper member, a crystalline active metal compound layer formed of a compound including an active metal is formed on the ceramic member side.

A power module substrate according to the present invention is a power module substrate in which a copper sheet made of copper or a copper alloy is laminated and bonded onto a surface of a ceramic substrate (11), an oxide layer (31) is formed on the surface of the ceramic substrate (11) between the copper sheet and the ceramic substrate (11), and the thickness of a AgCu eutectic structure layer (32) is set to 15 m or less.

A bonded body of the present invention includes a ceramic member formed of ceramics and a Cu member formed of Cu or a Cu alloy. In a bonding layer formed between the ceramic member and the Cu member, an area ratio of a Cu.sub.3P phase in a region extending by up to 50 m toward the Cu member side from a bonding surface of the ceramic member is equal to or lower than 15%.

A thermally-actuatable gas valve assembly comprising a ceramic heater is shown and described. The gas valve assembly comprises a housing with a gas inlet and a gas outlet. A bimetal thermal actuator has a valve plug that removably seals the gas outlet from the interior of the housing. The ceramic heater is energizable to cause the thermal actuator to deflect which unseats the valve plug from the gas outlet, thereby placing the gas outlet in fluid communication with the gas inlet and the interior of the housing. A gas heating system is also shown and described in which the gas valve assembly selectively supplies cooking gas to a silicon nitride ceramic igniter. The igniter and the heater are in series such that when a source of alternating current is applied across the igniter and the heater, the igniter reaches the autoignition temperature of the combustion gas before the valve assembly opens

A heater includes an aluminum nitride (AlN) substrate and a heating layer. The heating layer is made from a molybdenum material and is bonded to the AlN substrate via transient liquid phase bonding. The heater can also include a routing layer and a plurality of first conductive vias connecting the heating layer to the routing layer. The routing layer and the plurality of first conductive vias can be made from the molybdenum material and at least one of the routing layer and the plurality of first conductive vias are bonded to the AlN substrate via a transient liquid phase bond. A plurality of second conductive vias connecting the routing layer to a surface of the AlN substrate can be included and the plurality of second conductive vias are made of the molybdenum material and can be bonded to the AlN substrate via a transient liquid phase bond.

The disclosure provides seals for devices that operate at elevated temperatures and have reactive metal vapors, such as lithium, sodium or magnesium. In some examples, such devices include energy storage devices that may be used within an electrical power grid or as part of a standalone system. The energy storage devices may be charged from an electricity production source for later discharge, such as when there is a demand for electrical energy consumption.

A bonded body of the present invention includes a ceramic member formed of ceramics and a Cu member formed of Cu or a Cu alloy. In a bonded interface between the ceramic member and the Cu member, a CuSn layer which is positioned on the ceramic member side and in which Sn forms a solid solution in Cu, a first intermetallic compound layer which is positioned on the Cu member side and contains Cu and Ti, and a second intermetallic compound layer which is positioned between the first intermetallic compound layer and the CuSn layer and contains P and Ti are formed.