A ceramic waveguide includes: a doped metal oxide ceramic core layer; and at least one cladding layer comprising the metal oxide surrounding the core layer, such that the core layer includes an erbium dopant and at least one rare earth metal dopant being: lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, scandium, or oxides thereof, or at least one non-rare earth metal dopant comprising zirconium or oxides thereof. Also included is a quantum memory including: at least one doped polycrystalline ceramic optical device with the ceramic waveguide and a method of fabricating the ceramic waveguide.

A method of forming a water resistant boundary on a fissile material for use in a water cooled nuclear reactor is described. The method comprises mixing a powdered fissile material selected from the group consisting of UN and U.sub.3Si.sub.2 with an additive selected from oxidation resistant materials having a melting or softening point lower than the sintering temperature of the fissile material, pressing the mixed fissile and additive materials into a pellet, sintering the pellet to a temperature greater than the melting point of the additive. Alternatively, if the melting point of the oxidation resistant particles is greater than the sintering temperature of UN or U.sub.3Si.sub.2, then the oxidation resistant particles can have a particle size distribution less than that of the UN or U.sub.3Si.sub.2.

A cutting element comprises a supporting substrate, and a cutting table attached to an end of the supporting substrate. The cutting table comprises inter-bonded diamond particles, and a thermally stable material within interstitial spaces between the inter-bonded diamond particles. The thermally stable material comprises a carbide precipitate having the general chemical formula, A.sub.3XZ.sub.n-1, where A comprises one or more of Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, Au, Hg, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Ac, Th, Pa, and U; X comprises one or more of Al, Ga, Sn, Be, Bi, Te, Sb, Se, As, Ge, Si, B, and P; Z comprises C; and n is greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 0.75. A method of forming a cutting element, an earth-boring tool, a supporting substrate, and a method of forming a supporting substrate are also described.

A zirconia sintered body that includes a transparent zirconia portion and an opaque zirconia portion has a biaxial bending strength of 300 MPa or more. In addition, the opaque zirconia portion is configured by an opaque zirconia sintered body that is any one of a dark-colored zirconia sintered body, a medium-light-colored zirconia sintered body, and a light-colored zirconia sintered body.

A method for producing a metal-ceramic substrate with a plurality of electrically conductive vias includes: attaching a first metal layer in a planar manner to a first surface side of a ceramic layer; after attaching the first metal layer, introducing a copper hydroxide or copper acetate brine into a plurality of holes in the ceramic layer delimiting a via, to form an assembly; converting the copper hydroxide or copper acetate brine into copper oxide; subjecting the assembly to a high-temperature step above 500° C. in which the copper oxide forms a copper body in the plurality of holes; and after converting the copper hydroxide or copper acetate brine into the copper oxide, attaching a second metal layer in a planar manner to a second surface side of the ceramic layer opposite the first surface side. The copper body produces an electrically conductive connection between the first and the second metal layers.

According to an embodiment, a silicon nitride sintered body includes silicon nitride crystal grains and a grain boundary phase, and in a case where Raman spectroscopy of a 20 μm×20 μm region in a central cross section of the silicon nitride sintered body is performed, two or more peaks are detected in ranges of 780 cm.sup.−1 to 810 cm.sup.−1 and 1340 cm.sup.−1 to 1370 cm.sup.−1, and four to six peaks are detected in ranges of 170 cm.sup.−1 to 190 cm.sup.−1, 607 cm.sup.−1 to 627 cm.sup.−1, 720 cm.sup.−1 to 740 cm.sup.−1, and 924 cm.sup.−1 to 944 cm.sup.−1.

A ceramic waveguide includes: a doped metal oxide ceramic core layer; and at least one cladding layer comprising the metal oxide surrounding the core layer, such that the core layer includes an erbium dopant and at least one rare earth metal dopant being: lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, scandium, or oxides thereof, or at least one non-rare earth metal dopant comprising zirconium or oxides thereof. Also included is a quantum memory including: at least one doped polycrystalline ceramic optical device with the ceramic waveguide and a method of fabricating the ceramic waveguide.

A cutting element comprises a supporting substrate, and a cutting table attached to an end of the supporting substrate. The cutting table comprises inter-bonded diamond particles, and a thermally stable material within interstitial spaces between the inter-bonded diamond particles. The thermally stable material comprises a carbide precipitate having the general chemical formula, A.sub.3XZ.sub.n-1, where A comprises one or more of Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, Au, Hg, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Ac, Th, Pa, and U; X comprises one or more of Al, Ga, Sn, Be, Bi, Te, Sb, Se, As, Ge, Si, B, and P; Z comprises C; and n is greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 0.75. A method of forming a cutting element, an earth-boring tool, a supporting substrate, and a method of forming a supporting substrate are also described.

A cutting element comprises a supporting substrate, and a cutting table attached to an end of the supporting substrate. The cutting table comprises inter-bonded diamond particles, and a thermally stable material within interstitial spaces between the inter-bonded diamond particles. The thermally stable material comprises a carbide precipitate having the general chemical formula, A.sub.3XZ.sub.n-1, where A comprises one or more of Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Cd, Hf, Ta, W, Re, Os, Ir, Pt, Au, Hg, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Ac, Th, Pa, and U; X comprises one or more of Al, Ga, Sn, Be, Bi, Te, Sb, Se, As, Ge, Si, B, and P; Z comprises C; and n is greater than or equal to 0 and less than or equal to 0.75. A method of forming a cutting element, an earth-boring tool, a supporting substrate, and a method of forming a supporting substrate are also described.

A method for manufacturing a wavelength conversion member that offers a high emission intensity and a high light conversion efficiency is provided. The method for manufacturing a wavelength conversion member includes providing a green body containing an yttrium-aluminum-garnet phosphor with a composition represented by Formula (I) below and alumina particles with an alumina purity of 99.0% by mass or more, primary-sintering the green body to obtain a first sintered body, and secondary-sintering the first sintered body by applying a hot isostatic pressing (HIP) treatment to obtain a second sintered body.
(Y.sub.1-a-bGd.sub.aCe.sub.b).sub.3Al.sub.5O.sub.12  (I)
wherein a and b satisfy 0≤a≤0.3 and 0≤b≤0.022.