High Tech Ceramics News articles from April 2001

High Tech Ceramics News archives from April 2001

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS: Nanostructured Materials Market to Grow.
April 1, 2001... "Nano-," once a seldom-used prefix found in the back of scientific textbooks, has moved into the industrial mainstream. Although nano may not yet be a household word, it is indeed well known within, and increasingly vital to, the advanced...

PROCESSING AND TECHNOLOGIES A Superior Silicon Nitride Ceramic.
April 1, 2001... Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, led by Professor I- Wei Chen of Scientific Research, discovered a new form of silicon nitride with a combined strength, toughness and hardness superior to all other engineering ceramics on the...

Ceralink Develops Advanced Sintering.
April 1, 2001... Ceralink, Inc., newly located in the Alfred Ceramics Corridor Innovation Center (CCIC), offers unique services to advanced ceramic producers. Having international experience in innovative technologies in advanced structural and electronic...

METROLOGY AND ANALYSIS Tactile Sensors Interpret Stress.
April 1, 2001... Sensor Products, Inc. has introduced the Topaq Pressure Analysis System. Used in conjunction with Pressurex/Fuji Prescale stress indicating films, Topaq provides a unique perspective of the distribution and actual magnitude (PSI) of pressure...

Penn State Labs Merge.
April 1, 2001... Penn State's Materials Characterization Laboratory and Materials Research Laboratory have merged with its Materials Research Institute (MRI) to establish a single organization to coordinate interdisciplinary materials research at Penn State. In...

POWDERS AND NANO CERAMICS Boron Nitride Nanotubes Synthesized.
April 1, 2001... Northwestern University professor of materials science and engineering, Laurence D. Marks, and his graduate student Erman Bengu have developed a technique to prepare boron nitride nanotubes and other shaped structures. They also have provided...

Electroluminescent Display Patent to SMP.
April 1, 2001... Superior MicroPowders, LLC (SMP), a materials technologies company, has recently been issued a U.S. patent pertaining to electroluminescent (EL) display technologies. SMP's newly issued display patent (U.S. Patent 6,193,908), entitled...

COATINGS: New Superhard Thin Film.
April 1, 2001... A remarkable discovery in thin film technology, which began with Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) funding, offers potential for a wide variety of Air Force and industrial applications. University material scientists have...

Ceramabond Coats Oxygen Sensors.
April 1, 2001... Aremco has introduced Ceramabond 571, a new high-temperature, magnesium oxide-based ceramic adhesive that can be used to coat oxygen sensors used in the control of incineration equipment to 3,000(F. The adhesive is ideal for assembling and...

Sol Gel vs. CVD in Optical Devices.
April 1, 2001... Simax Technologies has introduced several proprietary sol-gel technologies, Chemical Solution Gelation (CSG) and Chemical Solution Deposition (CSD) monophase processes, which the company believes will eventually replace the complex and...

FIBERS AND COMPOSITES Improved C/C Aircraft Brakes.
April 1, 2001... A research effort supported by Air Force Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing Directorate will lead to substantial improvements in aircraft brakes, including up to a 30% increase in braking efficiency, lower costs and an increased...

Monazite-Coated Silicon Carbide Fibers.
April 1, 2001... NASA researchers N.P. Bansal, D. R. Wheeler and Y. L. Chen at John H. Glenn Research Center conducted mechanical, chemical and microstructural characterization of monazite-coated silicon carbide fibers. Tensile strengths of as-received...

BIOCERAMICS: 'Reverse Fuel Cell' Produces Pure Oxygen.
April 1, 2001... A ceramic membrane sandwich developed by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (One Cyclotron Rd., Mailstop 62-203, Berkeley, CA 94720; Tel: 510/486-5821, Fax: 510/486-4881) may provide a way to get pure, pressurized oxygen to users in...

FDA Approves Ear Implant.
April 1, 2001... Advanced Bionics Corp. (13291 Ralston St., Sylmar, CA; Tel: 818/362-7588) has received FDA approval for its Clarion CII Bionic Ear system for treating deafness. The product, which incorporates biocompatible, radiolucent materials such as zircon...

FILTERS AND MEMBRANES Nitride Improves Cycle Life.
April 1, 2001... T/J Technolgies, Inc. (3850 Research Park Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48108; Tel: 734/213-1637) has a transition metal-based ceramic in the development stage. Used to make cathodes in rechargeable lithium batteries, the ceramic will improve cycle life....

Laminated Filter Stronger, Lighter.
April 1, 2001... NGK Insulators, Ltd. (2-56 Suda-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya 467, Japan; Tel: 052-872-7171, Fax: 052-872-7690) has a method for preparing a laminated ceramic filter for electrochemical cells, such as solid oxide fuel cells. The laminated structure...

ELECTRONIC CERAMICS Center Promotes UltraRF Products.
April 1, 2001... UltraRF, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), and a leader in manufacturing high-power, high-performance laterally diffused metal oxide silicon (LDMOS) RF power semiconductors for the wireless industry, has announced...

EDO Enters Comms Market.
April 1, 2001... EDO Corp. has entered the fiber-optic communications market with a $3.5-million contract award from a leading global fiber-optic network operator for electronic modules for use in broadband fiber-optic network systems. The units, the first...

IBM, Hitachi in Joint Development.
April 1, 2001... IBM Corp. of Armonk, New York, and Hitachi, Ltd. of Tokyo, Japan, plan to codevelop and manufacture a range of semiconductors and related components, including IBM PowerPC processors. The components will include multichip ceramic modules (MCM),...

SUPERCONDUCTORS: STI Introduces SuperLink Solutions.
April 1, 2001... Superconductor Technologies, Inc. launched SuperLink Solutions's product family at CTIA Wireless 2001, the Cellular Telephone Industry Association's annual trade show, March 20-22, 2001 in Las Vegas at the Sands Expo and Convention Center. ...

ISCO Prototypes 3G Front-End Systems.
April 1, 2001... ISCO International, a leading supplier of interference-management solutions for the wireless telecommunications industry, has announced that it has received orders from two leading Japanese wireless equipment suppliers ("OEMs") for three new...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Washington Mills to Acquire Exolon-ESK.
April 1, 2001... Washington Mills Co., Inc. and Exolon-ESK Co. have signed an agreement in which Washington Mills has agreed to acquire the Tonowanda, New York-based supplier of aluminum oxide, silicon carbide and other electrofused materials for abrasive,...

SP3 Acquires Precision Machine.
April 1, 2001... sp3, Inc. has acquired the assets and operations of Precision Machine Service, Inc. (PMS), a manufacturer of polycrystalline diamond and cubic boron nitride cutting tools, and the Ultra-Mill family of milling cutters. Combined with sp3's...

Alcoa's Quarterly Profits Rise.
April 1, 2001... Alcoa, Inc., a basic material producer of alumina and aluminum metal has first-quarter net earnings increase of 16%, aided by acquisitions, cost cutting and electricity sales. Pittsburgh-based Alcoa reported earnings of $404 million, or $0.46...

Intermagnetics Income Rises.
April 1, 2001... Intermagnetics General Corporation (Amex: IMG), citing record sales and continuing strong product demand, reported third-quarter net income increased more than 72% to $2.9 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, compared with $1.7 million, or...

Net Income Down for CPS.
April 1, 2001... Ceramics Process Systems Corp. (CPS) has announced a net loss of $194 thousand, or ($0.02) per basic and diluted share, on revenue of $5.0 million for the fiscal year ended December 30, 2000. This compares with a net income of $238 thousand, or...

Nanophase Tech Revenues Rise.
April 1, 2001... Nanophase Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq: NANX), a leader in nanomaterials and nanoengineered products, has announced that initial revenue figures for the quarter ending March 31, 2001 show approximately $1,072,000, representing a 73%...

Morgan Crucible Beats Forecasts.
April 1, 2001... Morgan Crucible, British industrial materials group, reported an underlying pretax profit of 95.1 million pounds ($138.7 million) for 2000, well above forecasts. The figure is 17.3% higher than the 81.1 million pounds recorded for 1999 and...

BOOKS AND REPORTS Practice Guide on Particle Size.
April 1, 2001... The first in a new publication series, the NIST Recommended Practice Guide: Particle Size Characterization, will help industrial and academic laboratories measure particle size and size distribution of ceramic powders in a more reliable and...

CALENDAR.
April 1, 2001... April 21-26, 2001: Society of Vacuum Coaters 44th Annual Technical Conference, Philadelphia Marriott Hotel, Philadelphia, PA. Contact: Vivienne Harwood Mattox, Society of Vacuum Coaters, 71 Pinon Hill Place NE, Albuquerque, NM 87122-1914; Tel:...