Provided is a ceramic substrate including aluminum oxide (Al.sub.2O.sub.3) with an average grain size between 1.31 and 1.55 m; Zirconium dioxide (ZrO.sub.2) with an average grain size between 0.65 and 0.75 m, Yttrium oxide (Y.sub.2O.sub.3) and further components.

A method of preparing a ceramic fabric and ceramic matrix composite components constructed from the ceramic fabric include transforming ceramic tows, or ceramic fabrics, to varying degrees from a first tow geometry to a second tow geometry, thereby reducing a first dimension of the ceramic tows and increasing a second dimension of the ceramic tows orthogonal to the first dimension. Plies constructed with flattened tows, or as-received tows, have various inter-tow pore sizes that are arranged with increasing inter-tow pore size towards exterior surfaces of the preform structure.

Setter plates are fabricated from Li-stuffed garnet materials having the same, or substantially similar, compositions as a garnet Li-stuffed solid electrolyte. The Li-stuffed garnet setter plates, set forth herein, reduce the evaporation of Li during a sintering treatment step and/or reduce the loss of Li caused by diffusion out of the sintering electrolyte. Li-stuffed garnet setter plates, set forth herein, maintain compositional control over the solid electrolyte during sintering when, upon heating, lithium is prone to diffuse out of the solid electrolyte.

The present invention improves corrosion resistance and thermal shock resistance of a zirconia-carbon based refractory product and refractory member for continuous casting. The refractory product according to the present invention contains a free carbon component in an amount of 8% by mass to 16% by mass, and a remainder in which a main component is a zirconia component, wherein a content of other component than the free carbon component and the zirconia component is less than 5% by mass in total. When a remainder after excluding a composition comprised of the free carbon component from a composition of the refractory product is defined as 100% by volume, refractory particles having a particle size of greater than 0.3 mm account for 5% by volume or more, and refractory particles having a particle size of 0.045 mm or less account for 5% by volume to 40% by volume, and an approximately continuous void layer is present around each of a plurality of coarse particles, at least one of which has a largest particle size among refractory particles in the refractory product. The refractory product has an apparent porosity of 16% or less, and a maximum thermal expansion rate at a temperature up to 1500 C. is 0.6% or less.

Methods of flash sintering have been developed in which particle are initially coated with thin layers by atomic layer deposition (ALD). Examples are provided in which 8 mol % yttria-stabilized zirconia (8YSZ) particles are coated with small quantities of Al.sub.2O.sub.3 by particle atomic layer deposition (ALD). Sintered materials that result from the process have been characterized. Sintered materials having unique characteristics are also described.

A silicon nitride sintered body includes a silicon nitride crystal grains and grain boundary phases. Further, when D stands for width of the silicon nitride sintered body before being subjected to surface processing, relations between an average grain diameter dA and an average aspect ratio rA of the silicon nitride crystal grain in a first region from an outermost surface to a depth of 0 to 0.01 D and an average grain diameter dB and an average aspect ratio rB of the silicon nitride crystal grain in a second region inside the first region satisfy the inequalities:

0.8dA/dB1.2; and

0.8rA/rB1.2.

A nickel-magnesium-zinc-copper ferrite, a preparation method therefor and a magnetic device thereof are provided. The nickel-magnesium-zinc-copper ferrite includes major components, the major components include, by mass fraction, 66.95% to 71.8% of Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, 15.6% to 19.7% of ZnO, 2.1% to 4.2% of NiO, 2.1% to 5.0% of MnO, 2.0% to 4.9% of CuO and 1.82% to 2.98% of MgO; and auxiliary additives including CaCO.sub.3, Bi.sub.2O.sub.3, MoO.sub.3 and Co.sub.2O.sub.3. The preparation method includes weighing the major components according to proportion and wet-grinding same to obtain a first mixture; drying and pre-sintering the first mixture to obtain a pre-sintered material; weighing the auxiliary additives according to proportion, wet-grinding the auxiliary additives with the pre-sintered material and drying same to obtain a second mixture; and, powdering, shaping, and sintering the second mixture in sequence to obtain the nickel-magnesium-zinc-copper ferrite. The nickel-magnesium-zinc-copper ferrite can be applied in a magnetic device.

The invention relates to a sintered molding with a color gradient for use in the manufacture of dental restorations, obtainable by sintering a compression-molded element comprising five or more different ceramic powder layers, each powder layer comprising at least two different base powders and each base powder containing at least 80 wt. % ZrO.sub.2, each weight amount being relative to the total weight of the base powder.

The sliding member according to the embodiment includes a silicon nitride sintered body that includes silicon nitride crystal grains and a grain boundary phase, in which a percentage of a number of the silicon nitride crystal grains including dislocation defect portions inside the silicon nitride crystal grains among any 50 of the silicon nitride crystal grains having completely visible contours in a 50 m50 m observation region of any cross section or surface of the silicon nitride sintered body is not less than 0% and not more than 10%. The percentage is more preferably not less than 0% and not more than 3%.

A rare earth aluminate sintered compact including rare earth aluminate phosphor crystalline phases and voids, wherein an absolute maximum length of 90% or more by number of rare earth aluminate phosphor crystalline phases is in a range from 0.4 m to 1.3 m, and an absolute maximum length of 90% or more by number of voids is in a range from 0.1 m to 1.2 m.