The invention relates to a transparent composite material for various applications, having crystalline and amorphous inorganic materials with improved material properties.

A method of producing a hermetic package of the present invention includes the steps of: preparing a ceramic base; preparing a glass cover; forming, on the glass cover, a sealing material layer having a total light transmittance in a thickness direction at a wavelength of laser light to be radiated of 10% or more and 80% or less; arranging the glass cover and the ceramic base so that the glass cover and the ceramic base are laminated on each other through intermediation of the sealing material layer; and irradiating the sealing material layer with the laser light from a glass cover side to soften and deform the sealing material layer, to thereby hermetically integrate the ceramic base and the glass cover with each other to obtain a hermetic package.

An intermediate member is a member which is directly or indirectly sandwiched between a first object and a second object. The intermediate member includes a plate-like supporting member having a lower surface which is one main surface opposed to the first object and a plurality of ceramic blocks fixed on an upper surface which is the other main surface of the supporting member in a state of being separated from one another. Thus, in a state where the plurality of ceramic blocks are collectively held by the supporting member having relatively high shape retention, by disposing the intermediate member between the objects, it is possible to easily arrange the plurality of ceramic blocks between the objects with high positioning accuracy.

Coated components, along with methods of their formation, are provided. The coated component may include a ceramic substrate having a Si-treated layer surrounding a ceramic core and an environmental barrier coating on the Si-treated layer of the ceramic substrate. The ceramic core may include silicon carbide, and the Si-treated layer may be pretreated to tailor its surface's properties for inhibiting or delaying the formation of carbon oxides to upon exposure of the Si-treated layer to oxygen.

A method of producing a hermetic package of the present invention includes the steps of: preparing an aluminum nitride base, and forming a sintered glass-containing layer on the aluminum nitride base; preparing a glass cover, and forming a sealing material layer on the glass cover; arranging the aluminum nitride base and the glass cover so that the sintered glass-containing layer and the sealing material layer are brought into contact with each other; and irradiating the sealing material layer with laser light from a glass cover side to soften and deform the sealing material layer, to thereby hermetically seal the sintered glass-containing layer and the sealing material layer with each other to obtain a hermetic package.

A braze alloy composition for sealing a ceramic component to a metal component in an electrochemical cell is presented. The braze alloy composition includes copper, nickel, and an active metal element. The braze alloy includes nickel in an amount less than about 30 weight percent, and the active metal element in an amount less than about 10 weight percent. An electrochemical cell using the braze alloy for sealing a ceramic component to a metal component in the cell is also provided.

A ceramic-copper composite having a flat plate shape, including: a ceramic layer; a copper layer; and a brazing material layer present between the ceramic layer and the copper layer. When a region having a length of 1,700 ?m in a long-side direction is a region P on a cut surface of the ceramic-copper composite obtained when the ceramic-copper composite is cut with a plane perpendicular to a main surface of the ceramic-copper composite, an average crystal grain size D1 of copper crystals at least partially present in a region P1 within 50 ?m on a side of the copper layer from an interface between the ceramic layer and the brazing material layer in the region P is 30 ?m or more and 100 ?m or less.

There are provided a continuous fiber-reinforced silicon carbide member and the like which allow sufficient improvement in a mechanical property and environmental resistance. The continuous fiber-reinforced silicon carbide member of an embodiment is a tubular shape and has a first composite material layer and a second composite material layer. In the first composite material layer, continuous fibers of silicon carbide are combined with a matrix of silicon carbide. In the second composite material layer, continuous fibers of carbon are combined with a matrix of silicon carbide. Then, the first composite material layer and the second composite material layer are stacked.

A braze alloy composition for sealing a ceramic component to a metal component in an electrochemical cell is presented. The braze alloy composition includes copper, nickel, and an active metal element. The braze alloy includes nickel in an amount less than about 30 weight percent, and the active metal element in an amount less than about 10 weight percent. An electrochemical cell using the braze alloy for sealing a ceramic component to a metal component in the cell is also provided.

The present invention relates to joined silicon carbide (SiC) ceramics and a method for processing the same. And, most particularly, the joined silicon carbide (SiC) ceramics and the method for processing the same provide a method for processing joined silicon carbide (SiC) ceramics including the steps of sintering silicon carbide substrates configuring the joined ceramics, processing a joined silicon carbide ceramics preparation by layering a non-sintered silicon carbide bond having a same composition as the silicon carbide substrate between at least two substrates selected from the sintered silicon carbide substrates, and processing the joined silicon carbide ceramics by performing heat treatment on the joined silicon carbide ceramics preparation. According to the above-described invention, by using a bond having the same composition as the silicon carbide substrate, since residual stress-free joined ceramics can be processed, joined silicon carbide ceramics having a high strength corresponding to 65 to 190% of a strength of the substrate may be processed.