A dielectric thin film containing MgO as a main component, wherein the dielectric thin film is composed of a columnar structure group containing at least one columnar structure A constructed by single crystal and at least one columnar structure B constructed by polycrystal, respectively, and in the cross section of the direction perpendicular to the dielectric thin film, when the area occupied by the columnar structure A is set as C.sub.A and the area occupied by the columnar structure B is set as C.sub.B, the relationship between C.sub.A and C.sub.B satisfies 0.4≦C.sub.B/C.sub.A≦1.1.

A cordierite-based sintered body according to the present invention contains cordierite as a main component and silicon nitride or silicon carbide. The cordierite-based sintered body preferably has a thermal expansion coefficient less than 2.4 ppm; ° C. at 40° C. to 400° C., an open porosity of 0.5% or less, and an average grain size of 1 μm or less.

Provided is a zirconia sintered body that suppresses discoloration due to porcelain. The zirconia sintered body comprises at least one of a coloring agent A: erbium oxide and a coloring agent B: nickel oxide, and a composite oxide of zirconium and vanadium.

A sintered Ni ferrite body having a composition comprising, calculated as oxide, 47.0-48.3% by mol of Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, 14.5% or more and less than 25% by mol of ZnO, 8.2-10.0% by mol of CuO, and more than 0.6% and 2.5% or less by mol of CoO, the balance being NiO and inevitable impurities, and having an average crystal grain size of more than 2.5 μm and less than 5.5 μm.

A method of growing a FE material thin film using physical vapor deposition by pulsed laser deposition or RF sputtering is disclosed. The method involves creating a target to be used for the pulsed laser deposition in order to create a KBNNO thin film. The resultant KBNNO thin film is able to be used in photovoltaic cells.

The present disclosure relates to a precursor solution for the preparation of a ceramic of the BZT-αBXT type, where X is selected from Ca, Sn, Mn, and Nb, and α is a molar fraction selected in the range between 0.10 and 0.90, said solution comprising: 1) at least one barium precursor compound; 2) a precursor compound selected from the group consisting of at least one calcium compound, at least one tin compound, at least one manganese compound, and at least one niobium compound; 3) at least one anhydrous precursor compound of zirconium; 4) at least one anhydrous precursor compound of titanium; 5) a solvent selected from the group consisting of a polyol and mixtures of a polyol and a secondary solvent selected from the group consisting of alcohols, carboxylic acids, ketones, and mixtures thereof; and 6) a chelating agent, as well as method of using the same.

A Li.sub.3Mg.sub.2SbO.sub.6-based microwave dielectric ceramic material easy to sinter and with high Q value, and a preparation method thereof are disclosed. A chemical formula of the material is Li.sub.3(Mg.sub.1-xZn.sub.x).sub.2SbO.sub.6, wherein 0.02≤x≤0.08. The preparation method includes: 1) mixing and ball-milling Sb.sub.2O.sub.3 and Li.sub.2CO.sub.3 according to a chemical ratio and then drying, and conducting pre-sintering to obtain a Li.sub.3SbO.sub.4 phase; and 2) mixing and ball-milling MgO, ZnO and Li.sub.3SbO.sub.4 powder according a chemical ratio of Li.sub.3(Mg.sub.1-xZn.sub.x).sub.2SbO.sub.6 and then drying, conducting granulation and sieving after adding an adhesive, pressing into a cylindrical body, and sintering the cylindrical body into ceramic in the air at 1325° C. and under normal pressure, wherein a dielectric constant is 7.2-8.5, a quality factor is 51844-97719 GHz, and a temperature coefficient of resonance frequency is −14-1 ppm/° C.

There are provided a cubic boron nitride sintered body having a surface also excellent in adhesiveness to a ceramic coating film, while having excellent wear resistance and defect resistance, and a manufacturing method thereof, and a tool. The cubic boron nitride sintered body of the present invention includes 60.0 to 90.0% by volume of cubic boron nitride, the remainder being a binder phase, wherein the binder phase contains: at least any of a nitride, a boride, and an oxide of Al; at least any of a carbide, a nitride, a carbonitride, and a boride of Ti; and a compound represented by the following formula (1):
W.sub.2Ni.sub.xCo.sub.(1-x)B.sub.2(0.40≤x<1)  (1).

A semiconductor ceramic composition which is a BaTiO.sub.3 based semiconductor ceramic composition, wherein, part of Ba is replaced by at least A (at least one alkali metal element selected from Na and K), Bi and RE (at least one element selected from rare earth elements including Y), and part of Ti is replaced by at least TM (at least one element selected from the group including of V, Nb and Ta), the relationships of 0.7≦{(the content of Bi)/(the content of A)}≦1.43, 0.017≦{(the content of Bi)+(the content of A)}≦0.25, and 0<{(the content of RE)+(the content of TM)}≦0.01 are satisfied when the total content of Ti and TM is set as 1 mol, the grain sizes have a maximum peak in a grain size distribution in a range of 1.1 μm to 4.0 μm or less, and the distribution frequency of the peak is 20% or more.

A method of producing a boron nitride polycrystal includes: a first step of obtaining a thermally treated powder by thermally treating a powder of a high pressure phase boron nitride at more than or equal to 1300° C.; and a second step of obtaining a boron nitride polycrystal by sintering the thermally treated powder under a condition of 8 to 20 GPa and 1200 to 2300° C.