High Tech Ceramics News articles from April 2000

High Tech Ceramics News archives from April 2000

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS: Growth Continues in Advanced Ceramics.
April 1, 2000... Advanced ceramics have been growing steadily in the 1990s, despite the fact that the cuts in U.S. military programs affected some of the anticipated demand in this decade. Electronic ceramics still constitute a major segment with a matured...

Superconductor Stocks Plunge.
April 1, 2000... Last month this publication had reported the phenomenal rise in superconductor stocks. This month the stocks plunged between 18.8% to 60.7% for individual stocks in this category since the last month's reporting date, i.e. March 10th (please...

PROCESSING AND TECHNOLOGIES: Gelcast AS800 Characterization for Rocket Engine Applications.
April 1, 2000... Boeing researcher S.R. Khoshbin characterized AlliedSignal's (now a Honeywell company) gelcast silicon nitride (AS800) under the light weight thrust chamber assembly (LWTCA) program; one of the Air Force IHPRPT programs. Silicon nitride is...

Combined Effects Fuel and Coatings in Diesel Engine Studied.
April 1, 2000... North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State Univ. researchers D.E. Klett, and D.M. Indire conducted an experimental study on the combined effects of using JP-8 fuel in conjunction with thin thermal barrier coatings on the specific fuel...

METROLOGY AND ANALYSIS: Pressure Sensor Film Helps Ceramic Fabrication.
April 1, 2000... Sensor Products, Inc. introduces Super Pressurex, a tactile force indicating sensor film that is now 50% more accurate. This sensor is useful in assessing compression magnitude and distribution between any two mating or impacting surfaces with...

POWDERS AND NANO CERAMICS: Nanophase Gains Surface Modification Patent.
April 1, 2000... Nanophase Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: NANX), a leader in nanomaterials and nanoengineered products, has been granted an additional patent in nanoparticle surface modification as U.S. No. 6,033,781 entitled "Siloxane Star-Graft Polymers,...

Titanium Diboride Whiskers Synthesized.
April 1, 2000... Swedish researchers M. Carlsson and M. Johnsson at Stockholm University synthesized TiB2 whiskers via a vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism. In this VLS mechanism Ti and B in form of gaseous halogenide and oxohalogenide species are...

COATINGS: Iscar Introduces Coated Endmills.
April 1, 2000... Iscar Metals is offering two PVD coated submicron substrates, the IC3000 with TiCN layer and the IC900 with TiAIN, to cover all industrial milling applications requiring square or full-radius endmills. The submicron powder and the new...

High Temperature Ceramic Paints for R&D.
April 1, 2000... ZYP Coatings, Inc. has expanded its full line of ceramic paints for use in R&D for protecting metals, ceramics, and graphites from high temperature reactions. ZYP's coatings made using Y2O3, ZrO2, BN, Er2O3, TiC, SiC, Gd2O3, Si3N4, TiN, ZrB2,...

Nanophase Qualifies for Navy Spec.
April 1, 2000... Nanophase Technologies Corp., a leader in nanomaterials and nanoengineered products, recently announced that it had received an initial order for its NanoClad metal oxides for use in thermal spray coatings for high reliability applications on...

FIBERS AND COMPOSITES: Continuous Fluid Carbon Fiber Coating.
April 1, 2000... Carbon fibers are found today in a wide range of applications as reinforcing component in ceramic and metal matrix composites with characteristic features as high tenacity and elastic modulus. Commercially available fibers aren't appropriate...

DIAMOND PRODUCTS: Diamond Micromachines, A World's First at Sandia.
April 1, 2000... Sandia National Laboratories has created what are believed to be the world's first diamond micromachines. The machines at the Dept. of Energy's (DOE) national security facility are etched from a surface of amorphous diamond, the hardest...

FILTERS AND MEMBRANES More Robust Filter Elements.
April 1, 2000... Advanced, coal-based power generation systems require hot gas filtration under high-temperature/high-pressure conditions. Reliability of individual filter elements is a major factor in determining overall system reliability, and testing has...

ELECTRONIC CERAMICS: AVX Corp. Expands Feedthrough Capacitor Line.
April 1, 2000... AVX has expanded its feedthrough capacitor with the addition of a 1206 array, providing reduced component count and PC board space savings. The W3F4 series contains four elements with a dual common ground connection, making them suitable for...

Johanson Introduces High Frequency Chip Inductors.
April 1, 2000... Johanson Technology has introduced a line of high frequency multilayer ceramic inductors for RF/wireless applications. These components are ideal for wireless applications because of their high frequency operating characteristics such as self...

Ceramic Subtrates for Disks.
April 1, 2000... Kyocera Group in Japan has developed a ceramic substrate for the production of 3.5 in. disks. Kyocera is building a new factory to produce 100,000 disks/month starting next year. So far, Al disks have been used, but these are difficult to...

Intermagnetics Receives Rights for Advanced Superconductors.
April 1, 2000... Intermagnetics General Corp. (AMEX: IMG) has announced that it has signed an agreement with two government laboratories to develop manufacturing facilities for the world's most advanced high-temperature superconductors (HTS). Intermagnetics...

STI Receives Order for 27 SuperFilter Systems.
April 1, 2000... Superconductor Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCON), a leading developer and manufacturer of superconducting products for wireless communications and wireless Internet access, has announced that it has received a purchase order for 27 SuperFilter...

Electricite de France Orders SMES from AMSC.
April 1, 2000... American Superconductor (Nasdaq: AMSC) has an order for one of its new power quality-industrial voltage restorer (PQ IVR(TM) units from Electricite de France (EDF), one of the world's largest utilities. The PQ IVR is based on American...

COMPANY NEWS: Cree to Acquire Nitres, Inc.
April 1, 2000... Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: Cree), the world leader in the development and manufacture of semiconductor materials and electronic devices made from silicon carbide (SiC), today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held...

CoorsTek Semiconductor Capacity.
April 1, 2000... CoorsTek, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRTK) (formerly Coors Ceramics, part of ACX Technologies), a leading manufacturer and assembler for the semiconductor equipment industry, has announced the opening of a 45,000 sq. ft. facility in Austin, Texas. This new...

EDO Corp. Awarded $19 Million in New Contracts.
April 1, 2000... EDO Corp. (NYSE:EDO) has been awarded contracts with a total value of approximately $19 million through 2002. The awards include contracts valued at approximately $16 million for aircraft armament equipment consisting of production funding for...

Ceradyne Opens European Office.
April 1, 2000... Ceradyne, Inc. (Nasdaq:CRDN) announced it has opened a European sale and marketing office located in England and headed by Ceradyne's newly appointed European marketing director, Eddie Belfield. Ceradyne established this office as part of its...

ISCO Net Down.
April 1, 2000... Illinois Superconductor Corp.'s net revenues in the fourth quarter of 1999 were $452,812, a decrease of 69.9% from the $1.5 million reported in the fourth quarter of 1998. Net revenues for the full 1999 year totaled $2.4 million, a 25.7%...

Alcoa Profits Gain by 61%.
April 1, 2000... Alcoa, Inc. (NYSE: AA), the world's largest producer of aluminum and alumina, on Thursday said its first-quarter earnings rose a better-than-expected 61% due to higher prices for both materials and amid cost cutting. The Pittsburgh-based...

Ceramics Process Systems Net Down.
April 1, 2000... Ceramics Process Systems Corp. (CPS) (OTC Bulletin Board: CPSX) today announced net income of $238 thousand, or $0.02 per basic share, $0.02 per diluted share, on revenue of $4.8 million for the year ended January 1, 2000. This compares with a...

MEETINGS: Powders 2000 Conference Announced.
April 1, 2000... The third annual Business Communications Co. (BCC) conference Fine, Ultrafine and Nano Powders 2000 will be held October 29-31, 2000 at the Delta Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. This conference brings together the industry's leading...

RECENT ABSTRACTS: Creep Mechanisms in High-Temp Composites.
April 1, 2000... B.P. Bewlay, M.R. Jackson, and C.L. Briant at GE's corporate research and development center (Schenectady, NY) developed this abstract. This work describes a three-year investigation of creep and toughening mechanisms in high strength,...

CALENDAR.
April 1, 2000... April 28-May 3, 2000, 102nd ACerS Annual Meeting and Exposition, St. Louis, MO. Contact: American Ceramic Society, PO Box 6136, Westerville, OH 43086-6136; Tel: 614/890-4700, Fax: 614/899-6109. June 18-21, 2000, Seventh International...

BIOCERAMICS: Implant Material with Improved Properties.
April 1, 2000... Turkish researchers Recep Artir, Yilmaz Karakas, and Cuma Bindal at Sakarya University investigated the production of ceramic-based dental implant material with improved properties. The nominal composition of dental implant material was...

MSI Systems to Save the Manatee.
April 1, 2000... Materials Systems, Inc. (MSI) has been selected by Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution and the Army Corps Engineers to build acoustic sensors for a research and management initiative. The Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) is...

SUPERCONDUCTORS: ISCO Introduces Compact Filter System Wireless.
April 1, 2000... Illinois Superconductor Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: ISCO) has announced that it has introduced industry's smallest superconducting filter product for digital wireless networks. The trademarked ATP Classic occupies only 1 cu. ft. in volume and...