The present disclosure relates to TiMn-based or TiCrMn-based hydrogen storage alloys capable of absorbing and releasing hydrogen. In preferred embodiments the disclosure relates to TiMn-based or TiCrMn-based hydrogen storage alloys comprising ferrovanadium (VFe).

A copper alloy has a composition including 70 mass ppm or more and 400 mass ppm or less of Mg; 5 mass ppm or more and 20 mass ppm or less of Ag; less than 3.0 mass ppm of P; and a Cu balance containing inevitable impurities. In the copper alloy, the electrical conductivity is 90% IACS or more, and a length L.sub.LB of a low-angle grain boundary and a subgrain boundary and a length L.sub.HB of a high-angle grain boundary have a relationship of L.sub.LB/(L.sub.LB+L.sub.HB)>20%.

A copper alloy has a composition including: 70 mass ppm or more and 400 mass ppm or less of Mg; 5 mass ppm or more and 20 mass ppm or less of Ag; less than 3.0 mass ppm of P; and a Cu balance containing inevitable impurities. In the copper alloy, an average crystal grain size is in a range of 10 μm or more and 100 μm or less, an electrical conductivity is 90% IACS or more, and a residual stress rate is 50% or more at 150° C. after 1000 hours.

Exemplary methods of cooling a semiconductor component substrate may include heating the semiconductor component substrate to a temperature of greater than or about 500° C. in a chamber. The semiconductor component substrate may be or include aluminum. The methods may include delivering a gas into the chamber. The gas may be characterized by a temperature below or about 100° C. The methods may include cooling the semiconductor component substrate to a temperature below or about 200° C. in a first time period of less than or about 1 minute.

Exemplary methods of cooling a semiconductor component substrate may include heating the semiconductor component substrate to a temperature of greater than or about 500° C. in a chamber. The semiconductor component substrate may be or include aluminum. The methods may include delivering a gas into the chamber. The gas may be characterized by a temperature below or about 100° C. The methods may include cooling the semiconductor component substrate to a temperature below or about 200° C. in a first time period of less than or about 1 minute.

A method for vacuum heat treating Nb, such as is used in superconducting radio frequency cavities, to engineer the interstitial oxygen profile with depth into the surface to conveniently optimize the low-temperature rf surface resistance of the material. An example application is heating of 1.3 GHz accelerating structures between 250-400° C. to achieve a very high quality factor of 5×10.sup.10 at 2.0 K. With data supplied by secondary ion mass spectrometry measurements, application of oxide decomposition and oxygen diffusion theory was applied to quantify previously unknown parameters crucial in achieving the oxygen alloy concentration profiles required to optimize the rf surface resistance. RF measurements of vacuum heat treated Nb superconducting radio frequency cavities confirmed the minimized surface resistance (higher Q.sub.0) previously expected only from 800° C. diffusive alloying with nitrogen.

A sintered bearing 1 is formed by sintering a raw material powder containing aluminum fluoride. The sintered bearing 1 has a structure obtained by sintering an aluminum-copper alloy and contains 3 to 13 mass % aluminum and 0.05 to 0.6 mass % phosphorus, copper as a main component of the remainder, and inevitable impurities. The sintered bearing 1 is manufactured by performing sintering in a closed space 23, and by, under the assumption that all aluminum fluoride contained in the raw material powder is gasified in the closed space 23, controlling the concentration of the aluminum fluoride gas to be 5 ppm or more, thus performing the sintering.

The present invention discloses a Nb and Al-containing titanium-copper alloy strip, characterized in that the weight percentage composition of the titanium-copper alloy strip comprises: 2.00-4.50 wt % Ti, 0.005-0.4 wt % Nb, and 0.01-0.5 wt % Al, balance being Cu and unavoidable impurities. Preferably, in the microstructure of the titanium-copper alloy strip, the number of Nb and Al-containing intermetallic compound particles with a particle size of 50-500 nm is not less than 1×10.sup.5/mm.sup.2, and the number of Nb and Al-containing intermetallic compound particles with a particle size greater than 1 μm is not more than 1×10.sup.3/mm.sup.2. Under the condition of ensuring excellent bendability, the titanium-copper alloy strip has excellent stability, especially the stability of mechanical properties at high temperatures. The present invention also relates to a method for producing the titanium-copper alloy strip.

A method of producing a case hardened workpiece of a Group IV metal including: placing a workpiece of a Group IV metal in a vessel, creating a low pressure environment in the vessel in which the pressure, pvac, is less than or equal to 10-5 bar, providing oxygen to the vessel to create a reactive atmosphere in the vessel, the reactive atmosphere comprising oxygen at a partial pressure, pO2, in the range of 10 5 bar to 0.01 bar, heating the workpiece to a hardening temperature in the range of 650° C. to 800° C. in the reactive atmosphere or before the reactive atmosphere is created, maintaining the workpiece in the reactive atmosphere at the hardening temperature for a reactive period of at least 5 hours, cooling the workpiece from the hardening temperature to ambient temperature in the reactive atmosphere or in an inert atmosphere.

A method of producing a case hardened workpiece of a Group IV metal including: placing a workpiece of a Group IV metal in a vessel, creating a low pressure environment in the vessel in which the pressure, pvac, is less than or equal to 10-5 bar, providing oxygen to the vessel to create a reactive atmosphere in the vessel, the reactive atmosphere comprising oxygen at a partial pressure, pO2, in the range of 10 5 bar to 0.01 bar, heating the workpiece to a hardening temperature in the range of 650° C. to 800° C. in the reactive atmosphere or before the reactive atmosphere is created, maintaining the workpiece in the reactive atmosphere at the hardening temperature for a reactive period of at least 5 hours, cooling the workpiece from the hardening temperature to ambient temperature in the reactive atmosphere or in an inert atmosphere.