A method for producing a transparent polycrystalline ceramic includes forming at least one planar transparent region near a surface within the ceramic, wherein the at least one planar transparent region has a lower thermal expansion coefficient than other regions of the ceramic. The method further includes generating compressive stresses in the at least one planar transparent region near the surface after a thermal treatment and cooling.

A zirconia ceramic body for use with dental prosthetics has an L* value between 10 and 20 for a sample thickness 011 to 1.3 mm in accordance with CIE L*a*b* colorimetric system. The zirconia ceramic body can have between 6-20 wt % or 7.20 wt % of yttria based on total weight percent of the zirconia ceramic body. The zirconia ceramic body is subsequently finally sinterable to produce a translucent zirconia sintered body. In one aspect, the sintered body has a total light transmittance of at least 36% and less than 50% to light with a wavelength of 400 nm, and less than 55% to light with a wavelength of 600 nm, at a thickness of 0.6 mm, measured using a LAMBDA 35 UV/VIS Spectrophotometer manufactured by Perkin Elmer.

A multilayer ceramic capacitor includes a multilayer body in which a plurality of internal electrodes including Ni and a plurality of ceramic dielectric layers are alternately stacked, and external electrodes. The ceramic dielectric layer includes an inner dielectric layer located between internal electrodes, and an outer dielectric layer located outside in a stacking direction and including at least NiO. A difference between average grain sizes of dielectric grains of the outer dielectric layers and the inner dielectric layers is about 10% or less. A molar amount of NiO with respect to about 100 moles of Ti is larger by about 0.6 mole or more in the outer dielectric layer than in the inner dielectric layer.

A method of making a translucent colored zirconia dental restoration comprises obtaining a zirconia green body, forming a dental restoration precursor from the zirconia green body, applying a color liquid to the precursor, and sintering the restoration precursor with regular sintering in air without post HIP processing. The zirconia green body comprises between 7 wt % to 20 wt % of stabilizer based on a total weight percent of the zirconia green body, and at least some particles with a diameter of 100 nanometers to 1000 nanometers. The zirconia green body is subsequently finally sinterable with regular sintering in air without post HIP processing to produce a translucent zirconia sintered body having a total light transmittance of at least 36% and less than 50% to light with a wavelength of 400 nm, and less than 55% to light with a wavelength of 600 nm, at a thickness of 0.6 mm.

A method of making a translucent colored zirconia dental restoration comprises obtaining a zirconia green body, forming a dental restoration precursor from the zirconia green body, applying a color liquid to the precursor, and sintering the restoration precursor with regular sintering in air without post HIP processing. The zirconia green body comprises between 7 wt % to 20 wt % of stabilizer based on a total weight percent, and an L* value between 10 and 20 for a sample thickness of 1 to 1.3 mm. The zirconia green body is subsequently finally sinterable with regular sintering in air without post HIP processing to produce a translucent zirconia sintered body having a total light transmittance of at least 36% and less than 50% to light with a wavelength of 400 nm, and less than 55% to light with a wavelength of 600 nm, at a thickness of 0.6 mm.

A capacitor component includes a body in which a dielectric layer and an internal electrode are alternately stacked, and an external electrode disposed on the body and connected to the internal electrode. The dielectric layer includes a composite layer including a dielectric material powder and a metallic particle and first and second protective layers including a dielectric material powder and spaced apart by the composite layer. A thickness of each of the first and second protective layers is equal to or greater than of a thickness of the dielectric layer.

A thermoelectric conversion material formed of a sintered body containing magnesium silicide as a main component contains 0.5 mass % or more and 10 mass % or less of aluminum oxide. The aluminum oxide is distributed at a crystal grain boundary of the magnesium silicide.

The invention relates to multilayer oxide ceramic bodies and in particular presintered multilayer oxide ceramic blanks and oxide ceramic green bodies, which comprise at least two different layers and are suitable for dental applications, wherein at least one layer contains La.sub.2O.sub.3 and the at least two different layers differ in their content of La.sub.2O.sub.3. These bodies can be thermally densified by further sintering without distortion and are therefore particularly suitable for the production of dental restorations. The invention also relates to a process for the production of such multilayer oxide ceramic bodies as well as a process for the production of dental restorations using the multilayer oxide ceramic bodies.

Disclosed herein is a dual density disc comprising a dense outer tube comprising alumina having a purity of greater than 99%; and a porous core comprising alumina of a lower density than a density of the dense outer tube; wherein the porous core has an alumina purity of greater than 99%. Disclosed herein too is method comprising disposing in a dense outer tube a slurry comprising alumina powder and a pore former; heating the dense outer tube with the slurry disposed therein to a temperature of 300 to 600? C. to activate the pore former; creating a porous core in the dense outer tube; and sintering the dense outer tube with the porous core at a temperature of 800 to 2000? C. in one or more stages.

Disclosed are a multi-layer porcelain block, a preparation method thereof and a denture. The multi-layer porcelain block includes a first zirconia powder layer, a second zirconia powder layer, a third zirconia powder layer, a fourth zirconia powder layer, a fifth zirconia powder layer, a sixth zirconia powder layer, a seventh zirconia powder layer, and an eighth zirconia powder layer laid in sequence. The zirconia powers in the first to eighth zirconia powder layers are doped with yttria. The first zirconia powder layer accounts for 13% to 17% by mass, the second zirconia powder layer accounts for 8% to 12% by mass, the third zirconia powder layer accounts for 10% to 14% by mass, the fourth zirconia powder layer accounts for 10% to 14% by mass, the fifth zirconia powder layer accounts for 10% to 14% by mass, the sixth zirconia powder layer accounts for 10% to 14% by mass.