A transparent complex oxide sintered body is manufactured by sintering a compact in an inert atmosphere or vacuum, and HIP treating the sintered compact, provided that the compact is molded from a source powder based on a rare earth oxide: (Tb.sub.xY.sub.1-x).sub.2O.sub.3 wherein 0.4x0.6, and the compact, when heated in air from room temperature at a heating rate of 15 C./min, exhibits a weight gain of at least y% due to oxidative reaction, y being determined by the formula: y=2x+0.3. The sintered body has a long luminescent lifetime as a result of controlling the valence of Tb ion.

A method for fabricating a composite useful in a white light emitting device, includes mixing a phosphor and a filler to form a mixture; sintering the mixture (e.g., using spark plasma sintering) to form a composite; and annealing the composite to reduce oxygen vacancies and improve optical properties of the composite. Also disclosed is a white light emitting device including a laser diode or light emitting diode optically pumping the phosphor in the composite to produce white light. The composite fabricated using the method (and having. e.g., at most 50% phosphor by weight) can (1) reduce an operating temperature of the phosphor by 55 degrees, (2) increase an external quantum efficiency (e.g., by at least 15%) of the white light emitting device, and (3) result in color points and quality of the white light that is equal to or improved, as compared to without the filler.

A dielectric ceramic composition having good properties, particularly good IR property and high temperature accelerated lifetime, even under high electric field intensity. A dielectric ceramic composition having a main component made of a perovskite type compound expressed by a compositional formula of (Ba1-x-ySrxCay)m(Ti1-zZrz)O3 (note that, m, x, y, and z of the above compositional formula all represent molar ratios, and each satisfies 0.9<m<1.1, 0<x<0.5, 0<y<0.3, 0<(x+y)<0.6, and 0.03<z<0.3), and a first sub component made of an oxide of a rare earth element R (note that, R is at least one selected from the group consisting of Sc, Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu), wherein the dielectric ceramic composition includes dielectric particles and a particle boundary.

To provide a dielectric porcelain composition and an electronic component that demonstrate ferroelectricity. A dielectric porcelain composition that is characterized by having a perovskite-type oxynitride as a principal component and by including a polycrystalline body that demonstrates ferroelectricity.

Disclosed herein is an amorphous C12A7 electride thin film which has an electron density of greater than or equal to 2.010.sup.18 cm.sup.3 and less than or equal to 2.310.sup.21 cm.sup.3, and exhibits a light absorption at a photon energy position of 4.6 eV. Also disclosed herein is an amorphous thin film which is fabricated using a target made of a crystalline C12A7 electride, and containing an electride of an amorphous solid material includig calcium, aluminum, and oxygen, in which an Al/Ca molar ratio of the thin film is 0.5 to 4.7.

A method is provided for producing a pulverulent precursor material of the general formula M1.sub.xM2.sub.y(Si,Al).sub.12(O,N).sub.16 or M1.sub.2-zM2.sub.zSi.sub.8Al.sub.4N.sub.16 having the method steps A) producing a pulverulent mixture of starting materials, B) calcining the mixture under a protective gas atmosphere and subsequent grinding, wherein in method step A) at least one nitride with a specific surface area of greater than 2 m.sup.2/g is selected as starting material. A pulverulent precursor material and the use thereof are additionally provided.

A method for producing a transparent polycrystalline ceramic includes forming at least one planar transparent region near a surface within the ceramic, wherein the at least one planar transparent region has a lower thermal expansion coefficient than other regions of the ceramic. The method further includes generating compressive stresses in the at least one planar transparent region near the surface after a thermal treatment and cooling.

A light-emitting ceramic that includes a pyrochlore type compound that contains 0.01 mol % or more of Bi with respect to 100 mol % of ABO.sub.W, and one co-added element selected from the group consisting of Mg, Ca, Zn, Sr, Ba, Sc, Ga, In, Yb, and Lu. The A site contains at least one selected from the group consisting of La, Y, and Gd in a total amount of 80 mol % or more, B contains at least Sn, and W is a positive number for maintaining electrical neutrality.

A C12A7 electride thin film fabrication method includes a step of forming an amorphous C12A7 electride thin film on a substrate by vapor deposition under an atmosphere with an oxygen partial pressure of less than 0.1 Pa using a target made of a crystalline C12A7 electride having an electron density within a range of 2.0?10.sup.18 cm.sup.?3 to 2.3?10.sup.21 cm.sup.?3.

The invention relates to a persistent phosphorescent ceramic composite material which is a sintered dense body comprising two or more phases, a first phase consisting of at least one metal oxide and a second phase consisting of a metal oxide containing at least one activating element in a reduced oxidation state. The invention furthermore relates to a method for the preparation of a phosphorescent ceramic composite material as defined in any of the previous claims, the method comprising the following steps: preparing a mixture of a metal oxide and a phosphor; fabricating a green body from the mixture; and heat treating the green body in a reducing atmosphere.