A sputtering target containing silicon nitride (Si.sub.3N.sub.4) with reduced specific resistance of is provided. A sputtering target including Si.sub.3N.sub.4, SiC, MgO and TiCN, wherein a specific resistance of the sputtering target is 10 m?.Math.cm or less.

A sintered polycrystalline body and a method of forming the sintered polycrystalline body are disclosed. The sintered polycrystalline body comprises a plurality of particles cubic boron nitride dispersed in a matrix. The matrix includes materials selected from compounds of any of titanium and aluminium. The polycrystalline body further comprises 0.1 to 5.0 volume % of lubricating chalcogenide particles dispersed in the matrix. The chalcogenide particles have a coefficient of friction of less than 0.1 with respect to a workpiece material. Preferably sulfide particles are used as lubricant. Preferably 30-70 vol.-% cBN is contained. Sintering takes place at 1100-1600 C. and 4-8 GPa.

A stiffness controlled abradeable seal system for a gas turbine engine includes a cantilevered arm that supports one of a rotating seal surface and a static seal surface, a stiffness of the cantilevered arm controlled to achieve a desired operational temperature at a seal interface.

Disclosed is a method of fabricating a preceramic polymer for making a ceramic material including a metal boride. The method includes providing a starting preceramic polymer that includes a silicon-containing backbone chain and first and second reactive side groups extending off of the silicon-containing backbone chain, reacting a boron-containing material with the first reactive side group to bond a boron moiety to the silicon-containing backbone chain, and reacting a metal-containing material with the second reactive side group to bond a metal moiety to the silicon-containing backbone chain such that the preceramic polymer includes the boron moiety and the metal moiety extending as side groups off of the silicon-containing backbone chain. Also disclosed is a preceramic polymer composition and a metal-boride-containing ceramic article fabricated from the preceramic polymer.

A hard alloy includes complex carbonitride hard phases that contain Ti and at least one additional element, and a metal binder phase containing an iron group element as a main component element. The complex carbonitride hard phases include homogeneous composition hard phases where in-complex carbonitride hard phase average concentrations of Ti and the additional element have a difference of greater than or equal to 5 atom % and less than or equal to 5 atom % from average concentrations of Ti and the additional element in all the complex carbonitride hard phases. On any cross section specified in the hard alloy, a cross-sectional area of the homogeneous composition hard phases accounts for greater than or equal to 80% of a cross-sectional area of the complex carbonitride hard phases, and the homogeneous composition hard phases account for greater than or equal to 80% of the complex carbonitride hard phases in number.

A crack self-healing functionally gradient material for ceramic cutting tools and a preparation method thereof. The material for ceramic cutting tools has a symmetrical gradient structure, and based on the percentage by mass, components of each layer include 50%-80% of Ti(C.sub.7,N.sub.3), 25%-5% of (W.sub.7,Ti.sub.3)C and 20%-0% of TiSi.sub.2; contents of components of layers that are symmetrical relative to a central layer are the same and a thickness is symmetrically distributed; a content of Ti(C.sub.7,N.sub.3) gradually increases from the surface layer to the central layer, contents of (W.sub.7,Ti.sub.3)C and TiSi.sub.2 gradually decrease by 5% from the surface layer to the central layer, and the contents of Ni and Mo gradually increase from the surface layer to the central layer.

A hard film whose composition formula satisfies M.sub.1-a-bC.sub.aN.sub.b, in which M is at least one element selected from Ti, Cr and Al, or is the element and at least one element selected from Group 4 elements except for Ti, Group 5 elements, Group 6 elements except for Cr, Si, Y, and rare earth elements. Atomic ratios of M, C and N satisfy: 0.01a0.50; 0.10b0.50; and 0<1-a-b. A ratio y of C-to-C bonding to all C bonding in the film is 0.20 or more.

A cBN sintered material cutting tool is provided. The cBN cutting tool includes a cutting tool body, which is a sintered material including cBN grains and a binder phase, wherein the sintered material comprises: the cubic boron nitride grains in a range of 40 volume % or more and less than 60 volume %; and Al in a range from a lower limit of 2 mass % to an upper limit Y, satisfying a relationship, Y=0.1X+10, Y and X being an Al content in mass % and a content of the cubic boron nitride grains in volume %, respectively, the binder phase comprises: at least a Ti compound; Al.sub.2O.sub.3; and inevitable impurities, the Al.sub.2O.sub.3 includes fine Al.sub.2O.sub.3 grains with a diameter of 10 nm to 100 nm dispersedly formed in the binder phase, and there are 30 or more of the fine Al.sub.2O.sub.3 grains generated in an area of 1 m1 m in a cross section of the binder phase.

A cBN sintered material cutting tool is provided. The cBN cutting tool includes a cutting tool body, which is a sintered material including cBN grains and a binder phase, wherein the sintered material comprises: the cubic boron nitride grains in a range of 40 volume % or more and less than 60 volume %; and Al in a range from a lower limit of 2 mass % to an upper limit Y, satisfying a relationship, Y=0.1X+10, Y and X being an Al content in mass % and a content of the cubic boron nitride grains in volume %, respectively, the binder phase comprises: at least a Ti compound; Al.sub.2O.sub.3; and inevitable impurities, the Al.sub.2O.sub.3 includes fine Al.sub.2O.sub.3 grains with a diameter of 10 nm to 100 nm dispersedly formed in the binder phase, and there are 30 or more of the fine Al.sub.2O.sub.3 grains generated in an area of 1 m1 m in a cross section of the binder phase.

A compound sintered body contains cubic boron nitride particles and binder particles. The composite sintered body contains 40 vol % or more and 80 vol % or less of the cubic boron nitride particles. The binder particles contain TiCN particles. The composite sintered body shows a first peak belonging to a (200) plane of the TiCN particles in a range in which a Bragg angle 2 is 41.7 or more and 42.6 or less in an X-ray diffraction spectrum measured using a Cu-K ray as a ray source.