Disclosed are compositions, devices and methods related to thermal barrier coating materials having enhanced toughness. In some embodiments, a multiphase ceramic can include a first phase formed from a cubic and/or a tetragonally stabilized metal oxide, and a second phase formed from a magnetoplumbite-based aluminate that is chemically compatible with the first phase. Various example applications in which such materials can be utilized are disclosed.

Disclosed are embodiments of synthetic garnet materials for use in radiofrequency applications. In some embodiments, increased amounts of bismuth can be added into specific sites in the crystal structure of the synthetic garnet in order to boost certain properties, such as the dielectric constant and magnetization. Accordingly, embodiments of the disclosed materials can be used in high frequency applications, such as in base station antennas.

The embodiments of the present invention disclose a method for synthesizing ceramic composite powder and ceramic composite powder, pertaining to the technical field of inorganic non-metallic materials. Among them, the method includes preparing an aqueous slurry of ceramic raw materials, the aqueous slurry including ceramic raw material, water and low polymerization degree organometallic copolymer, the ceramic raw material including at least two components; adding a crosslinking coagulant into the aqueous slurry to obtain a gel; dehydrating and drying the gel to obtain the dried gel; heating the dried gel to the synthesizing temperature of the ceramic composite powder and conducting the heat preservation to obtain ceramic composite powder or ceramic composite base powder; conducting secondary doping on ceramic composite base powder to obtain the ceramic composite powder. The multi-component ceramic composite powder prepared by the embodiments of the present invention has uniformly dispersed each component and low synthesizing temperature.

A ceramic dielectric composition contains a base material powder represented by one or more of (Ca.sub.1-xSr.sub.x) (Zr.sub.1-yTi.sub.y)O.sub.3, Ca(Zr.sub.1-yTi.sub.y)O.sub.3, Sr(Zr.sub.1-xTi.sub.y)O.sub.3, (Ca.sub.1-xSr.sub.x) ZrO.sub.3, and (Ca.sub.1-xSr.sub.x)TiO.sub.3, in which x and y satisfy 0x1.0 and 0.2y0.9, respectively. The ceramic dielectric composition have on may high room-temperature permittivity and excellent ESD protection characteristics and may secure withstand voltage characteristics while implementing relatively high capacitance.

Monolithic optical structures include a plurality of layer with each layer having an isolated optical pathway confined within a portion of the layer. The monolithic optical structure can be used as an optical fiber preform. Alternatively or additionally, the monolithic optical structure can include integrated optical circuits within one or more layers of the structure. Monolithic optical structures can be formed by performing multiple passes of a substrate through a flowing particle stream. The deposited particles form an optical material following consolidation. Flexible optical fibers include a plurality of independent light channels extending along the length of the optical fiber. The fibers can be pulled from an appropriate preform.

A lead-free piezoelectric ceramic composition includes a first crystal phase made of an alkali niobate/tantalate type perovskite oxide having piezoelectric properties, and a second crystal phase made of an M-TiO spinel compound (where the element M is a monovalent to quadrivalent element).

The present invention discloses a multiphase ceramic material with a giant dielectric constant, wherein the multiphase ceramic material has a general formula of A.sub.xB.sub.nxTi.sub.1(n+1)xO.sub.2; wherein A is at least one selected from the group consisting of Nb, Ta, V, Mo, and Sb, B is at least one selected from the group consisting of In, Ga, Al, Co, Cr, Sc, Fe (III), and a trivalent rare-earth cation; n is a molar ratio of B to A, 1<n5, 0<x0.1. The multiphase ceramic material possesses outstanding properties including a giant dielectric constant, a low dielectric loss, and excellent frequency- and temperature-stability. In particular, it exhibits a high insulation resistivity of higher than 10.sup.11.Math.cm and a high breakdown voltage, which implies it can be applied in high-energy storage devices and supercapacitors. This invention also provides a method to synthesize the multiphase ceramic material.

Disclosed are a grain boundary and surface-doped rare earth zirconium-based ceramic material and a preparation method and application thereof, and part of doped elements are positioned at the grain boundary and surface of the rare earth zirconium-based ceramic material by a step-by-step doping method. The sintering activity of the rare earth zirconium-based ceramic material can be changed by adjusting the type and content of doping elements at the grain boundary and the surface, thereby enabling the control of the grain size and the grain boundary number and characteristics of the rare earth zirconium-based ceramic material, and finally optimizing the properties, such as electrical and mechanical properties, of the material. The doping method has the advantages of simple process, low cost and high universality, and can meet the requirements of different rare earth zirconium-based ceramics on doping elements, and thus is suitable for large-scale application.

Disclosed are embodiments of isolator/circulator junctions that can be used for radio-frequency (RF) applications, and methods of manufacturing the junctions. The junctions can have excellent impedance matching, even as they are being miniaturized, providing significant advantages over previously used junctions. The junctions can be formed of both high and low dielectric constant material.

Disclosed herein are garnet material compositions, e.g., lithium-stuffed garnets and lithium-stuffed garnets doped with alumina, which are suitable for use as electrolytes and catholytes in solid state battery applications. Also disclosed herein are lithium-stuffed garnet thin films having fine grains therein. Also disclosed herein are methods of making and using lithium-stuffed garnets as catholytes, electrolytes and/or anolytes for all solid state lithium rechargeable batteries. Also disclosed herein are electrochemical devices which incorporate these garnet catholytes, electrolytes and/or anolytes. Also disclosed herein are methods for preparing dense thin (<50 um) free standing membranes of an ionically conducting material for use as a catholyte, electrolyte, and, or, anolyte, in an electrochemical device, a battery component (positive or negative electrode materials), or a complete solid state electrochemical energy storage device. Also disclosed herein are sintering techniques, e.g., for heating and/or field assisted (FAST) sintering, for solid state energy storage devices and the components thereof.