The present disclosure provides a transparent alumina-based plate, and a hot-pressing method to make the transparent alumina-based plate from platelet alumina. Alumina powder with a platelet morphology was hot-pressed to transparency with pre-load pressures of about 0-8 MPa, maximum temperatures of about 1750-1825° C., maximum pressures of about 2.5-80 MPa, and isothermal hold times of 1-7 hours. A novel alumina-based plate has been prepared, wherein the plate has a thickness of 2-5 mm, an in-line transmission of at least 60-75% for a light with a wavelength range of 645-2500 nm, an in-line transmission variance of <15% over the wavelength range of 645-2500 nm, and a relative density of 99.00-99.95%.

It is difficult for a Cr—Si-based sintered body composed of chromium silicide (CrSi.sub.2) and silicon (Si) to have high strength.

Provided is a Cr—Si-based sintered body including Cr (chromium) and silicon (Si), in which the crystal structure attributed by X-ray diffraction is composed of chromium silicide (CrSi.sub.2) and silicon (Si), a CrSi.sub.2 phase is present at 60 wt % or more in a bulk, a density of the sintered body is 95% or more, and an average grain size of the CrSi.sub.2 phase is 60 μm or less.

A novel metal oxide or a novel sputtering target is provided. A sputtering target includes a conductive material and an insulating material. The insulating material includes an oxide, a nitride, or an oxynitride including an element M1. The element M1 is one or more kinds of elements selected from Al, Ga, Si, Mg, Zr, Be, and B. The conductive material includes an oxide, a nitride, or an oxynitride including indium and zinc. A metal oxide film is deposited using the sputtering target in which the conductive material and the insulating material are separated from each other.

A heater includes a base body, a resistance heating element, and a terminal part. The base body is made of ceramic and is a plate shape. The resistance heating element is located inside the base body. The terminal part is electrically connected to the internal conductor, is located inside the base body in at least a part, and is exposed from a lower surface of the base body to an exterior of the base body. The base body includes a hole opened at the lower surface of the base body. The terminal part includes a connection conductor. The connection conductor is inserted in the hole and is connected to the internal conductor. A lower surface of the connection conductor is located on a side closer to the upper surface of the base body other than the lower surface of the base body. The hole includes a reduced-diameter portion which has a diameter smaller than a diameter of the connection conductor between the lower surface of the connection conductor and the lower surface of the base body.

A composite material and a method of using the composite material. The composite material consists of at least 65 volume percent cubic boron nitride (cBN) grains dispersed in a binder matrix, the binder matrix comprising a plurality of microstructures bonded to the cBN grains and a plurality of intermediate regions between the cBN grains; the microstructures comprising nitride or boron compound of a metal; and the intermediate regions including a silicide phase containing the metal chemically bonded with silicon; in which the content of the silicide phase is 2 to 6 weight percent of the composite material, and in which the cBN grains have a mean size of 0.2 to 20 μm.

Provided are a ceramic complex capable of improving the luminous efficiency, a projector comprising a ceramic complex, and a method for producing a ceramic complex. Proposed is a ceramic complex including a rare earth aluminate fluorescent material having an average particle diameter in a range of 15 μm or more and 40 μm or less, aluminum oxide having a purity of aluminum oxide of 99.0% by mass or more, and voids, wherein the content of the rare earth aluminate fluorescent material is in a range of 15% by mass or more and 50% by mass or less relative to a total amount of the rare earth aluminate fluorescent material and the aluminum oxide, and a void fraction is in a range of 1% or more and 10% or less.

A sputtering target configured from a magnesium oxide sintered body, wherein a ratio of crystal grains of the magnesium oxide sintered body in which a number of pinholes in a single crystal grain is 20 or more is 50% or less. The present invention is a sputtering target configured from a magnesium oxide sintered body in which the generation of particles during sputtering is less.

A sintered composite ceramic includes: a lithium-garnet major phase; and a lithium-rich minor phase, such that the lithium-rich minor phase has Li.sub.xTiO.sub.(x+4)/2, with 0.66≤x≤4. The sintered composite ceramic may exhibit a relative density of at least 90% of a theoretical maximum density of the ceramic, an ionic conductivity of at least 0.35 mS.Math.cm.sup.−1, or a critical current density (CCD) of at least 1.0 mA.Math.cm.sup.−2.

Set forth 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 set forth herein are lithium-stuffed garnet thin films having fine grains therein. Disclosed herein are novel and inventive 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 novel electrochemical devices which incorporate these garnet catholytes, electrolytes and/or anolytes. Also set forth herein are methods for preparing novel structures, including 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, the methods set forth herein disclose novel sintering techniques, e.g., for heating and/or field assisted (FAST) sintering, for solid state energy storage devices and the components thereof.

Methods and apparatus for plasma chamber target for reducing defects in workpiece during dielectric sputtering are provided. For example, a dielectric sputter deposition target can comprise a dielectric compound having a predefined average grain size ranging from approximately 65 μm to 500 μm, wherein the dielectric compound is at least one of magnesium oxide or aluminum oxide.