Method for producing ceramic components, more particularly ceramic components having recesses and/or hollow spaces, there being at least one sintered ceramic part present. In order to improve the handling qualities of ceramic components, the sintered ceramic part can include a carrier or carrying section which is removed in the further processing from at least one ceramic component.

Ceramic tiles may be prepared employing a process characterized by the addition to the ceramic raw materials of an aqueous slurry comprising a swellable clay of the smectite family, a binder and a water-soluble salt of a monovalent cation. The ceramic raw materials mixed and then subjected to wet grinding to produce a slip. The thus obtained slip is then subjected to spray drying.

The present disclosure includes proppants and methods of making the proppants. The proppants herein may contain titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide, and/or aluminum dioxide. Also included in the present disclosure are methods of using the proppants to treat a reservoir.

Provided are formed bodies comprising hexagonal boron nitride wherein the formed body has a Brinell hardness of at least 2 HBW 2,5/2, and wherein the formed body is obtainable by a process at temperatures of at most 100 C., and wherein the Brinell hardness is measured according to DIN EN ISO 6506-1 (2013). Further provided are processes for making said formed body.

A method of making a plurality of composite granules can include: forming green body granules comprising an aluminosilicate; heating the green body granules to form sintered granules; cooling the sintered granules according to a cooling regime, wherein the cooling regime comprises a temperature hold between 700 C. and 900 C. for at least one hour. In a particular embodiment, the aluminosilicate for making the composite granules can have a particle size less than 150 m. The composite granules are particularly suitable as roofing granules and can have a desired combination of high solar reflectance SR and low lightness L*, a low bulk density, good weather resistance and strength.

A method of an interconnect structure includes the following steps. A first etching stop layer, a first dielectric layer, a second etching stop layer, an insert layer and a second dielectric layer are deposited over the second etching stop layer are deposited over a substrate. The second dielectric layer, the insert layer, the second etching stop layer, the first dielectric layer and the first etching stop layer are patterned thereby forming a trench opening and a via hole. A conductive feature is filled in the trench opening and the via hole thereby forming a conductive line in the second dielectric layer and the insert layer and a via in the first etching stop layer and the first dielectric layer. A material of the insert layer is different from the second dielectric layer and the second etching stop layer.

A densified ceramic matrix composite (CMC) material densified CMC exhibits superior strength and toughness, relative to prior CMCs The material can be made by a process that includes impregnating a set of ceramic fibers with a non-fibrous ceramic material, resulting in a precursor matrix, stabilizing the precursor matrix, resulting in a stabilized matrix, and densifying the stabilized matrix using a frequency assisted sintering technology (FAST) process, resulting in the densified CMC material.

A translucent polycrystalline cubic boron nitride body is provided. It comprises no more than 2 weight % hexagonal boron nitride grains and has an absorption coefficient of less than 100 cm.sup.1 at a wavelength of 1064 nm.

A black zirconia sintered body is obtained by processing and forming a powder for the black zirconia sintered body, and then sintering the same at a high temperature and normal pressure in the atmosphere. The powder for the black zirconia sintered body is prepared by a hydrothermal synthesis method using a soluble zirconium salt, a soluble yttrium salt and a color former as raw materials, wherein the molar ratio of the soluble zirconium salt, the soluble yttrium salt and the color former is 90-95:1-5:1-9. The black zirconia sintered body can be used in ceramic processes.

A method of making a plurality of composite granules can include: forming green body granules comprising an aluminosilicate; heating the green body granules to form sintered granules; cooling the sintered granules according to a cooling regime, wherein the cooling regime comprises a temperature hold between 700 C. and 900 C. for at least one hour. In a particular embodiment, the aluminosilicate for making the composite granules can have a particle size less than 150 m. The composite granules are particularly suitable as roofing granules and can have a desired combination of high solar reflectance SR and low lightness L*, a low bulk density, good weather resistance and strength.