A lead-free piezoelectric material includes perovskite-type metal oxide containing Na, Nb, Ba, Ti, and Mg and indicates excellent piezoelectric properties. The piezoelectric material satisfies the following relational expression (1): 0.430a0.460, 0.433b0.479, 0.040c0.070, 0.0125d0.0650, 0.0015e0.0092, 0.93ecd1.13e, a+b+c+d+e=1, where a, b, c, d, and e denote the relative numbers of Na, Nb, Ba, Ti, and Mg atoms, respectively.

A thermistor sintered body that can control a B constant at 1000 C. to the same level as that of a conventional wide range type. The thermistor sintered body according to the present invention has a composite structure that includes a Y.sub.2O.sub.3 phase and a Y(Cr, Mn)O.sub.3 phase or a YMnO.sub.3 phase. In the thermistor sintered body according to one aspect of the present invention, a chemical composition of Cr, Mn, Ca and Y excluding oxygen is Cr: 3 to 9 mol %, Mn: 5 to 15 mol %, Ca: 1 to 8 mol % (where Cr/Mn<1.0), and the balance being unavoidable impurities and Y. In the thermistor sintered body, the B constant (B(0/1000)) determined by the following Expression (1) is 2400 K or lower; B=(lnRmlnRn)/(1/Tm1/Tn) . . . (1). Rm: resistance value at 0 C., Rn: resistance value at 1000 C., Tm: 0 C., and Tn: 1000 C.

A hard lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramic has an ABO.sub.3 structure with A sites and B sites. The PZT ceramic is doped with Mn and with Nb on the B sites and the ratio Nb/Mn is <2. A piezoelectric multilayer component having such a PZT ceramic and also a method for producing a piezoelectric multilayer component are also disclosed.

Provided are a black mixed oxide that contains chromium per se of any valency as a main component, and fails to contain cobalt as the main component material, and has a high safety, an excellent color tone and economical efficiency, and a method for producing the same, and various products using the black mixed oxide material. The mixed oxides comprise oxides containing La, Mn and Cu as main components but containing neither Cr nor Co as a main component, wherein the contents of La, Mn and Cu in the mixed oxides satisfy the following ratios, as oxide equivalent amount with respect to 100% by weight of the oxide equivalent amount: the La content as La.sub.2O.sub.3 being 35-70 wt %; the Mn content as MnO.sub.2 being 25-60 wt %; and the Cu content as CuO being 0.5-10 wt %.

A laminated electronic component includes a body including a magnetic layer containing magnetic particles; a coil provided within the body; and outer electrodes provided on a bottom surface of the body and each electrically connected to any one of end portions of the coil. The coil is formed by connecting a plurality of coil conductors stacked within the body, and the body includes a non-magnetic layer present between one of the outer electrodes and one of the coil conductors opposing the one of the outer electrodes.

A ceramic material for a multilayer ceramic capacitor has a capacitance variation from 17 percent to +15 percent at a temperature ranging from 55 C. to 200 C., and has a dielectric loss less than 1% at a temperature ranging from 90 C. to 200 C. The ceramic material includes a base component consisting of a barium titanate and a sodium bismuth titanate, and a manganese dopant in an amount not greater than 0.05 mole percent based on total moles of the base component.

A thermistor sintered body that can control a B constant at 1000 C. to the same level as that of a conventional wide range type. The thermistor sintered body according to the present invention has a composite structure that includes a Y.sub.2O.sub.3 phase and a Y(Cr, Mn)O.sub.3 phase or a YMnO.sub.3 phase. In the thermistor sintered body according to one aspect of the present invention, a chemical composition of Cr, Mn, Ca and Y excluding oxygen is Cr: 3 to 9 mol %, Mn: 5 to 15 mol %, Ca: 1 to 8 mol % (where Cr/Mn<1.0), and the balance being unavoidable impurities and Y. In the thermistor sintered body, the B constant (B(0/1000)) determined by the following Expression (1) is 2400 K or lower; B=(ln Rmln Rn)/(1/Tm1/Tn) . . . (1). Rm: resistance value at 0 C., Rn: resistance value at 1000 C., Tm: 0 C., and Tn: 1000 C.

A zirconia sintered body contains aluminum, cobalt, and manganese and a remaining portion consisting of yttria-containing zirconia. In an oxide exchange, aluminum content is 5.0 wt % or more and 30.0 wt % or less, cobalt content is 0.1 wt % or more and 2.0 wt % or less, and manganese content is 0.5 wt % or more and 7.0 wt % or less.

Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a ferrite magnetic substance, including: a first mixing operation of providing a first mixture composed of 47 to 49 wt % of Fe, 16 to 18 wt % of Mn, 5.2 to 7.2 wt % of Zn, and a remainder of oxygen and other inevitable impurities, a second mixing operation of providing a second mixture composed of the first mixture and an additive including, based on 100 parts by weight of the first mixture, 28 to 51 ppm of Si, 140 to 210 ppm of Nb and 155 to 185 ppm of Zr, and a finish operation of producing a ferrite magnetic substance by sintering the second mixture.

A ceramic substrate and a method for production thereof are provided, in which the ceramic substrate includes a composite of: a first ceramic layer including Sr anorthite and Al.sub.2O.sub.3 or an oxide dielectric with a dielectric constant higher than that of Al.sub.2O.sub.3; and a second ceramic layer including Sr anorthite and cordierite and having a dielectric constant lower than that of the first ceramic layer.