A method of manufacturing a ferroelectric element includes forming an insulating film on one side of a metal substrate by an electron beam (EB) vapor deposition method or a sputtering method; forming a metal film on the insulating film by the sputtering method; and forming a ferroelectric film on the metal film by a sol-gel method. The metal substrate includes iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni), and a content of the nickel (Ni) is greater than or equal to 30% and less than or equal to 40%.

Disclosed is a medical instrument coating, being coated on the surface of a nickel-titanium alloy component of a medical instrument. The medical instrument coating comprises an elementary copper phase, an amorphous titanium-containing substance and a transition layer comprising a copper-nickel intermetallic phase. Also mentioned is a preparation method for the medical instrument coating. A medical instrument comprising a copper-titanium coating has good blood compatibility, and simultaneously can inhibit the endothelialization of the medical instrument surface, thereby improving the recovery rate of the medical instrument and prolonging the recovery time window; the copper-titanium coating belongs to the group of metal composite coatings, has a certain toughness and ductility, and avoids the large-amplitude deformation process of the medical instrument damaging the coating; and the mechanical property and the coating quality of the medical instrument comprising a fine nickel-titanium alloy component are guaranteed by the method for preparing the coating.

A coated metallic substrate including at least a first coating of aluminum, such first coating having a thickness below 5 μm and being directly topped by a second coating including from 0.5 to 5.9% by weight of magnesium, the balance being zinc.

An FePt-based sintered sputtering target containing C and/or BN, wherein an area ratio of AgCu alloy grains on a polished surface of a cross section that is perpendicular to a sputtered surface of the sputtering target is 0.5% or more and 15% or less. An object of this invention is to provide a sputtering target capable of reducing particles generation during sputtering and efficiently depositing a magnetic thin film of a magnetic recording medium.

The disclosure describes techniques for forming nanoparticles including Fe.sub.16N.sub.2 phase. In some examples, the nanoparticles may be formed by first forming nanoparticles including iron, nitrogen, and at least one of carbon or boron. The carbon or boron may be incorporated into the nanoparticles such that the iron, nitrogen, and at least one of carbon or boron are mixed. Alternatively, the at least one of carbon or boron may be coated on a surface of a nanoparticle including iron and nitrogen. The nanoparticle including iron, nitrogen, and at least one of carbon or boron then may be annealed to form at least one phase domain including at least one of Fe.sub.16N.sub.2, Fe.sub.16(NB).sub.2, Fe.sub.16(NC).sub.2, or Fe.sub.16(NCB).sub.2.

The invention relates to a nuclear fuel cladding comprising: i) a substrate containing a zirconium-based inner layer, optionally coated with at least one intermediate layer formed by at least one intermediate material selected from among tantalum, molybdenum, tungsten, niobium, vanadium, hafnium or the alloys thereof; and ii) at least one protective outer layer placed on the substrate and formed by a protective material selected from either chromium or an alloy of chromium. The nuclear fuel cladding produced using the method of the invention has improved resistance to oxidation/hydriding. The invention also relates to the method for the production of the nuclear fuel cladding by ion etching of the surface of the substrate and deposition of the outer layer on the substrate with a high power impulse magnetron sputtering method (HiPIMS), as well as to the use thereof to protect against oxidation and/or hydriding.

A piezoelectric ceramic sputtering target containing a perovskite type oxide represented by chemical formula (I) of ABO.sub.3 as a main component, wherein the component A of the chemical formula (I) contains at least K (potassium) and/or Na (sodium), the component B of the chemical formula (I) contains at least Nb (niobium), the piezoelectric ceramic sputtering target is composed of a plurality of crystal grains; and the average particle diameter of the crystal grains is larger than 3 μm and not larger than 30 μm.

A method is provided for forming a piezoelectric layer during a corresponding deposition sequence. The method includes sputtering aluminum nitride onto a sputtering substrate inside a reaction chamber having a gas atmosphere, the gas atmosphere initially including nitrogen gas and an inert gas, causing growth of the piezoelectric layer with a polarity in a negative direction. The method further includes adding a predetermined amount of oxygen containing gas to the gas atmosphere over a predetermined period of time, while continuing the sputtering of the aluminum nitride onto the sputtering substrate during a remainder of the deposition sequence, such that the piezoelectric layer is monolithic. The predetermined amount of oxygen containing gas causes the polarity of the aluminum nitride piezoelectric layer to invert from the negative direction to a positive direction, opposite the negative direction.

Disclosed is a method for improving the high-temperature stability of a component, in particular a blade of a turbomachine, formed at least partially from a molybdenum alloy that, besides molybdenum, silicon, boron and titanium, comprises iron and/or yttrium. The method comprises depositing a diffusion barrier layer formed from technically pure molybdenum or tungsten or being an alloy based on molybdenum and/or tungsten at least on an outer surface, which comprises the molybdenum alloy, of the component, and depositing silicon on the diffusion barrier layer to form molybdenum silicides and/or tungsten silicides.

Methods for fabricating at least one nanoparticle include providing one or more substrates and depositing a substance on the one or more substrates. At least one portion of the substance is heated or annealed so the at least one portion beads up on the one or more substrates due to cohesive forces of the substance being greater than adhesive forces between the substrate and the substance. In some methods, a pattern generation process is performed to define the at least one portion. A combination of a substance material for the substance and a substrate material for the one or more substrates may also be selected so that the at least one portion beads up into a predetermined shape. The substance may also be deposited on the one or more substrates with a sub-monolayer thickness or with gaps to further reduce a nanoparticle size.