High Tech Ceramics News articles from March 1999

High Tech Ceramics News archives from March 1999

INDUSTRY ANALYSISLearning About Smart Materials.
March 1, 1999... Smart materials, which include several types of ceramics, have been the focus of much attention in both the popular and the technical press. Articles have been written detailing how buildings made from smart materials will be able to withstand...

PROCESSING AND TECHNOLOGIESTempering Process Makes Glass Stronger.
March 1, 1999... Pennsylvania State University researchers have developed a new method for tempering glass that promises to not only make the glass stronger, but offer visible warnings when possibly dangerous cracks are starting. Glass is normally strengthened...

Simulating Ultrafine Particle Growth.
March 1, 1999... Penn State University (303 Osmond Lab, University Park, PA 16802- 6310; Tel: 814/863-3537) engineers have developed a simpler computer simulation for ultrafine particle size growth and distribution potentially applicable to processes ranging...

Producing Bur Blanks and Miniature Rods.
March 1, 1999... Micro Tools has recently completed a multi-year development project of a new and unique technology for producing miniature carbide rods for dental drill burs and carbide-teeth bandsaw blade applications. The parts are pressed one-by-one...

Decreasing AutoEmissions.
March 1, 1999... Corning has developed a new product that it says will enable automobile manufacturers to reduce emissions by as much as 70 percent over current national standards. The company's new 900/2 catalytic converter substrate is designed to be used at...

AlMMC SiCw Program.
March 1, 1999... ART's recent advancements in Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites (A1MMC) using silicon carbide whiskers (SiCw) reinforcement are discussed in relation to property improvements in both alloy/squeeze casting as well as in reinforcement quality...

POWDERS AND NANO CERAMICSCeramic Powders from Polymeric Precursors.
March 1, 1999... Japanese researchers Y. Iwamoto (Synergy Ceramics Laboratory, Nagoya, Japan) and K. Kikuta and S. Hirano (Nagoya University) have synthesized [Si-Y-Ti-O-N] amorphous powders by the pyrolysis at 1000C, in NH3, of chemically modified...

Low CostCarbide Powders.
March 1, 1999... Second phase nanocrystalline particles have been shown to significantly improve the strength, toughness, and creep resistance of structural ceramics. Nano-particulate reinforcement can be used to control the microstructure at nano scale by...

FIBERS AND COMPOSITESJoining Techniques for CMCs.
March 1, 1999... Researchers A.S. Fareed, and C.C. Cropper (DuPont Lanxide Composites, Newark, DE) and B.R. Rossing (M3 Technologies, Newark, DE) have been investigating different joining techniques for finer-reinforced ceramic matrix composites (CMCs). Three...

Microwave Joiningof Ceramic Composites.
March 1, 1999... The excellent properties of ceramic composites will be fully utilized if they are readily formed into complex shaped components. Microwave joining is one such technique that attracts ceramists because of its inherent advantages such as time...

DIAMOND PRODUCTS: Sandia Creates WearResistant Coating.
March 1, 1999... A team of Sandia scientists has developed a simple, inexpensive way to relieve the normal internal stresses of amorphous (non- crystalline) diamond files-a significant advance in producing wear- resistant coatings. This should mean improved...

ELECTRONIC CERAMICSAVX Offers Power Capacitors.
March 1, 1999... With the acquisition of Thomson SA's passive components business (TPC), AVX Corp. (NYSE:AVX) has expanded its offering of capacitors to include Thomson's power capacitor line. These high energy devices are typically used for filtering,...

High Temperature Semiconductor Process.
March 1, 1999... CVC, Inc. (Rochester, NY) has developed a sputter deposition system for depositing thin films with the support of Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The SC-4000 deposition system was developed...

VLOC Grows onLaser Crystals.
March 1, 1999... VLOC, Inc. (New Port Richey, FL) has carved out a unique place in the laser industry. A diversity of product coupled with vertical integration of the manufacturing process has made this possible. Exploration by the company in certain laser...

Piezoelectric Targets Commercial Microrobots.
March 1, 1999... A structure developed at Switzerland's Ecole Polytechnique in Lausanne and based on a piezoelectric ceramic (or piezoceramic) is expected to lead to the commercialization of microrobots. The machine, at five millimeters across, is one tenth...

SUPERCONDUCTORS: Oak Ridge TestsSouthwire's Cable.
March 1, 1999... A high-temperature superconducting (HTS) power cable developed by Southwire, consisting of a single-phase, 5-m HTS cable, has been tested at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The cable carried 1400 A, which was an achievement 12% above...

Austrian Utility Orders SMES Unit.
March 1, 1999... American Superconductor Corp. (AMSC) has announced the first European sale of its superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES) product to STEWEAG, an Austrian electric utility. The company also announced it had signed an agreement with...

INDUSTRY NEWS: Vishay to Sell Nicolitch, S.A.
March 1, 1999... Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. has entered into an agreement to sell Nicolitch, S.A., its French manufacturer of printed circuit boards to Leonische Drahtwerke AG Nuremberg, Germany. The transaction is expected to be completed during the first...

Nanophase Staffs Up,Receives New Patents.
March 1, 1999... Nanophase Technologies Corp., a leader in engineering advanced materials using nanocrystalline compounds, has announced that Gina R. Kritchevsky, Ph.D., formerly vice president of Donnelly Optics Corp., has joined Nanophase as vice president...

Aviall Hires Merrill to Assess Alternatives.
March 1, 1999... Aviall, Inc., a distributor of aviation parts and supplies, says it hired Merrill Lynch & Co. to help evaluate alternatives to boost its sagging share price, including a sale of the company or joint venture. Aviall is also a major service...

Some Winners,Some Losers.
March 1, 1999... Ceramics related companies continue to report yearly and quarterly results. Here are some of the recent statements: Conductus, Inc., a leading manufacturer of high-performance superconductive wireless systems, has announced results for the...

First TechnologyAcquires Control Devices.
March 1, 1999... First Technology and Control Devices have announced a definitive agreement for First Technology's acquisition of Control Devices in a recommended tender offer at $16.25 per share in cash for all of Control Devices' outstanding shares. The...

Oglebay Norton FormsHolding Company.
March 1, 1999... Oglebay Norton has completed its earlier announced corporate restructuring to become a holding company. According to John N. Lauer, chairman, president and CEO of the company, the change in structure was accomplished through the merger of...

BOOKS AND REPORTS: PVD Literature at Fingertips.
March 1, 1999... The Society of Vacuum Coaters has taken 41 years of literature on physical vapor deposition and put it onto one CD-ROM. The Annual Technical Conference Proceeding CD-ROM is designed to help the user easily and quickly search through the...

CALENDAR.
March 1, 1999... April 5-9, 1999: Spring Meeting of the Materials Research Society, San Francisco, CA. Contact: Materials Research Society, 506 Keystone Dr., Warrendale, PA 15086; Tel: 412/779-3003, Fax: 412/779-8313. April 25-28, 1999: 101st ACerS Annual...