Provided is a transparent rare earth aluminum garnet ceramic that has a high light transmission rate and can be mass produced. The transparent rare earth aluminum garnet ceramic is represented by general formula R.sub.3Al.sub.5O.sub.12 (R is an element selected from the group consisting of rare earth elements having an atomic number of 65 to 71) and comprises Si and Y as sintering aids, or is represented by general formula R.sub.3Al.sub.5O.sub.12 (R is an element selected from the group consisting of rare earth elements having an atomic number of 65 to 70) and comprises Si and Lu as sintering aids.

A light-emitting ceramic and a light-emitting device. The light-emitting ceramic comprises a YAG substrate and light-emitting centers and diffusion particles evenly dispersed in the YAG substrate. The light-emitting centers are lanthanide-doped YAG fluorescent powder particles of 10-20 m in grain size. The particle size of the scattering particles is 20-50 nm. The YAG substrate is a lanthanide-doped YAG ceramic. Also, the grain size of the YAG substrate is less than the grain size of the YAG fluorescent powder particles.

Provided is a lithium complex oxide sintered plate for use in a positive electrode of a lithium secondary battery. The lithium complex oxide sintered plate has a structure where a plurality of primary grains having a layered rock-salt structure are bonded, and has a porosity of 3 to 40%, a mean pore diameter of 15 m or less, an open pore rate of 70% or more, and a thickness of 40 to 200 m, a primary grain diameter of 20 m or less, the primary grain diameter being a mean diameter of the primary grains, and a mean pore aspect ratio of 1.2 or more.

Disclosed is a lithium complex oxide sintered plate including a plurality of primary grains having a layered rock-salt structure, the primary grains being bonded. The lithium complex oxide has a composition represented by the formula: Li.sub.x(Co.sub.1-yM.sub.y)O.sub.2 (wherein, 1.0x1.1, 0<y=0.1, 0<1, and M is at least one selected from the group consisting of Mg, Ni, Al, and Mn), and the primary grains have a mean tilt angle of more than 0 to 30 or less, the mean tilt angle being a mean value of the angles defined by the (003) planes of the primary grains and the plate face of the lithium complex oxide sintered plate.

A cylindrical sputtering target according to the present invention comprises: a metallic cylindrical substrate; and a ceramic cylindrical target material joined to an outer peripheral side of the cylindrical substrate and integrally formed so as to have a length of 750 mm or more in an axial direction, wherein a variation coefficient of a bulk resistivity in an axial direction is 0.05 or less on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical target material.

Provided is a ceramic-resin composite body that has good mass productivity and product properties (heat dissipation properties, insulation properties and adhesive properties), and particularly a ceramic-resin composite that can dramatically improve the heat dissipation properties for electronic devices. The ceramic-resin composite body includes: 35 to 70% by volume of a sintered body having a monolithic structure in which non-oxide ceramic primary particles having an average major diameter of from 3 to 60 m and an aspect ratio of from 5 to 30 are three-dimensionally continuous; and 65 to 30% by volume of a thermosetting resin composition having an exothermic onset temperature of 180 C. or more and a curing rate of from 5 to 60% as determined with a differential scanning calorimeter, and having a number average molecular weight of from 450 to 4800, wherein the sintered body is impregnated with the thermosetting resin composition.

The localized formation of graphene and diamond like structures on the surface of boron carbide is obtained due to exposure to high intensity laser illumination. The graphitization involves water vapor interacting with the laser illuminated surface of boron carbide and leaving behind excess carbon. The process can be done on the micrometer scale, allowing for a wide range of electronic applications. Raman is a powerful and convenient technique to routinely characterize and distinguish the composition of Boron Carbide (B.sub.4C), particularly since a wide variation in C content is possible in B.sub.4C. Graphitization of 1-3 m icosahedral B.sub.4C powder is observed at ambient conditions under illumination by a 473 nm (2.62 eV) laser during micro-Raman measurements. The graphitization, with 12 nm grain size, is dependent on the illumination intensity. The process is attributed to the oxidation of B.sub.4C to B.sub.2O.sub.3 by water vapor in air, and subsequent evaporation, leaving behind excess carbon. The effectiveness of this process sheds light on amorphization pathways of B.sub.4C, a critical component of resilient mechanical composites, and also enables a means to thermally produce graphitic contacts on single crystal B.sub.4C for nanoelectronics.

Provided is a lithium complex oxide sintered plate for use in a positive electrode of a lithium secondary battery. The lithium complex oxide sintered plate has a structure in which a plurality of primary grains having a layered rock-salt structure are bonded, and has a porosity of 3 to 40%, a mean pore diameter of 15 m or less, an open porosity of 70% or more, and a thickness of 15 to 200 m. The plurality of primary grains has a primary grain diameter, i.e., a mean diameter of the primary grains, of 20 m or less and a mean tilt angle of more than 0 to 30 or less. The mean tilt angle is a mean value of the angles defined by the (003) planes of the primary grains and the plate face of the lithium complex oxide sintered plate.

A method for producing a piezoelectric component is disclosed. In an embodiment, the method includes producing a ceramic precursor material of the general formula Pb.sub.1-x-y-(2a-b)/2V.sub.(2a-b)/2Ba.sub.xSr.sub.y[(Ti.sub.zZr.sub.1-z).sub.1-a-bW.sub.aRE.sub.b]O.sub.3, where RE is a rare earth metal and V is a Pb vacancy, mixing the ceramic precursor material with a sintering aid, forming a stack which includes alternating layers including the ceramic precursor material and a layer including Cu and debindering and sintering the stack thereby forming the piezoelectric component having Cu electrodes and at least one piezoelectric ceramic layer including Pb.sub.1-x-y-[(2a-b)/2]-p/2V.sub.[(2a-b)/2-p/2]Cu.sub.pBa.sub.xSr.sub.y[(Ti.sub.zZr.sub.1-z).sub.1-a-bW.sub.aRE.sub.b]O.sub.3, where 0x0.035, 0y0.025, 0.42z0.5, 0.0045a0.009, 0.009b0.011, and 2a>b, p2ab.

A sintered rare earth oxyfluoride compact is composed of Ln.sub.aO.sub.bF.sub.c (wherein Ln is a rare earth element; and a, b, and c each independently represent a positive number, provided that they are not equal to each other) or Ca-stabilized LnOF as a primary phase and LnOF unstabilized with Ca as a secondary phase. The intensity ratio of the XRD peak of the (018) or (110) plane of the unstabilized LnOF to the highest XRD peak of Ln.sub.aO.sub.bF.sub.c is preferably 0.5% to 30%.