A translucent in-vivo indwelling device with a translucent region including a rare earth doped fluorapatite.

A ceramic article includes a ceramic body including a spinel (MgAl.sub.2O.sub.4) structure, wherein a ratio of a density of the spinel structure to a theoretical density of a spinel is greater than 99.5%. A semiconductor apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor structure includes a ceramic article including a spinel (MgAl.sub.2O.sub.4) structure, wherein a ratio of a density of the spinel structure to a theoretical density of a spinel is greater than 99.5%. A method of manufacturing a ceramic article includes providing a green body; heating the green body to a sintering temperature; compressing the green body; applying a electrical pulse to the green body; and forming a ceramic body including a spinel (MgAl.sub.2O.sub.4) structure after heating, compressing and applying the electrical pulse to the green body.

A method for producing an oriented sintered body according to the present invention includes the steps of: (a) preparing a multilayer body, the multilayer body including a layer including a fine raw-material powder and a layer including a plate-like raw-material powder which are alternately stacked each other, particles of the plate-like raw-material powder being arranged such that surfaces of the particles of the plate-like raw-material powder extend along a surface of the layer including a fine raw-material powder; and (b) sintering the multilayer body.

An oriented piezoelectric film, wherein a crystal forming the oriented piezoelectric film, is a perovskite type crystal of the general formula of Ba.sub.1-xCa.sub.xTi.sub.1-yZr.sub.yO.sub.3 (0x0.2, and 0y0.2), and the oriented piezoelectric film has (111) orientation according to a pseudocubic crystal notation.

The present disclosure is directed to using MXene compositions as templates for the deposition of oriented perovskite films, and compositions derived from such methods. Certain specific embodiments include methods preparing an oriented perovskite, perovskite-type, or perovskite-like film, the methods comprising: (a) depositing at least one perovskite, perovskite-type, or perovskite-like composition or precursor composition using chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD), or atomic layer deposition (ALD) onto a film or layer of a MXene composition supported on a substrate to form a layered composition or precursor composition; and either (b) (1) heat treating or annealing the layered precursor composition to form a layered perovskite-type structure comprising at least one oriented perovskite, perovskite-type, or perovskite-like composition; or (2) annealing the layered composition; or (3) both (1) and (2).

There is provided a platy zinc oxide sintered compact containing 0.80 wt % or less at least one first dopant element selected from the group consisting of Al, Ga and In, the balance consisting essentially of ZnO and optionally at least one second dopant element selected from the group consisting of Br, Cl, F, Sn, Y, Pr, Ge, B, Sc, Si, Ti, Zr, Hf, Mn, Ta, W, Cu, Ni, Cr, La, Gd, Bi, Ce, Sr and Ba, the second dopant element being optional component, wherein the (002)-plane orientation in the plate surface is 60% or more. The zinc oxide sintered compact of the present invention has excellent properties such as high orientation in addition to transparency and conductivity.

A method for producing a transparent alumina sintered body according to the present invention includes (a) a step of preparing an alumina raw material powder containing a plate-like alumina powder having an aspect ratio of 3 or more and a fine alumina powder having an average particle diameter smaller than that of the plate-like alumina powder so that, when a mixing ratio of the plate-like alumina powder to the fine alumina powder in terms of mass ratio is assumed to be T:(100T), T is 0.001 or more and less than 1, and so that a mass ratio R1 of F relative to Al in the alumina raw material powder is less than 15 ppm; (b) a step of forming a raw material for forming containing the alumina raw material powder into a compact; and (c) a step of sintering the compact so as to obtain a transparent alumina sintered body.

A piezoelectric thin film 3 contains a metal oxide, the metal oxide contains bismuth, potassium, titanium, iron and element M, the element M is at least one of magnesium and nickel, at least a part of the metal oxide is a crystal having a perovskite structure, and a (001) plane, a (110) plane or a (111) plane of the crystal is oriented in a normal direction dn of the surface of the piezoelectric thin film 3.

An oriented ceramic sintered body production method includes (a) a step of preparing a ceramic compact before firing into an oriented ceramic sintered body; and (b) a step of obtaining an oriented ceramic sintered body by sandwiching the ceramic compact between a pair of releasing sheets, placing the ceramic compact and the releasing sheets in a hot press firing furnace, and hot press firing the ceramic compact while applying a pressure by a pair of punches through the pair of releasing sheets, wherein each of the releasing sheets is a releasing sheet such that, after the releasing sheet is sandwiched between PET films, is then placed and vacuum-packed on a stainless steel sheet, and is isostatically pressed at 200 kg/cm.sup.2, a surface of the releasing sheet on the side opposite from the stainless steel sheet has a profile curve with a maximum profile height Pt of 0.8 m or less.

A metal oxide film includes indium, M, (M is Al, Ga, Y, or Sn), and zinc and includes a region where a peak having a diffraction intensity derived from a crystal structure is observed by X-ray diffraction in the direction perpendicular to the film surface. Moreover, a plurality of crystal parts is observed in a transmission electron microscope image in the direction perpendicular to the film surface. The proportion of a region other than the crystal parts is higher than or equal to 20% and lower than or equal to 60%.