High Tech Ceramics News articles from May 2000

High Tech Ceramics News archives from May 2000

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS: Manufacturers Report Abrasives Production.
May 1, 2000... The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), collects quarterly data on the production of manufactured abrasives and is published through its Mineral Industry Surveys. The latest survey shows the production for the fourth quarter of 1999. Ceramic...

Fused Aluminum Oxide.
May 1, 2000... During the fourth quarter, fused aluminum oxide was produced by two companies with two plants operating in the U.S. and one in Canada. Although the USGS collects production data from these firms, publication of the data has been discontinued...

Silicon Carbide.
May 1, 2000... Abrasive-grade silicon carbide is produced by one company in the U.S. and one company in Canada. Although the USGS collects production data from these firms, publication of the data has been discontinued to protect company proprietary...

PROCESSING AND TECHNOLOGIES SRI Makes Smart Armor.
May 1, 2000... SRI Intl. researchers (R. W. Klopp, C. A. Shockey, D. R. Curran, and T. Cooper) have been developing granular flow models for developing smart armor. Their investigation modeled the comminution and flow of ceramic under conditions like those...

Effort Produces Nanoporous Ceramics.
May 1, 2000... Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, Cambridge, MA), Mathematical Science Research Institute (Berkeley, CA) IBM Almaden Research Center (San Jose, CA), and the University of Athens (Greece) have developed 3-D ceramic...

METROLOGY AND ANALYSIS Acoustic Techniques Measure Properties.
May 1, 2000... As part of the Nondestructive Characterization (NDC) project, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) has been working to develop faster, lower-cost methods for characterizing CFCC materials. In an article published in CFCC News, Argon researchers...

COATINGS: Nanostructured Coating Approved by Navy.
May 1, 2000... A revolutionary new coating, developed under the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Science and Technology Affordability Initiative and the Department of Defense (DOD) Dual Use S&T Program has been qualified for use on U.S. Navy ships. Using the...

FIBERS AND COMPOSITES Composites Joined by Microwave Heating.
May 1, 2000... Ceramic matrix composites are finding high-technology applications owing to their superior properties. The exotic properties of these ceramic composites can be used/exploited to full advantage only if larger/complex shapes are made. Microwave...

Superplastic Composites Produced in India.
May 1, 2000... Researchers A. H. Chokshi and V. Jayaram (Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India) have been conducting research in synthesis, processing, deformation, and failure of superplastic nanocrystalline ceramic composites. They processed...

Reducing Damage to Alumina Fibers.
May 1, 2000... General Electric researchers M. F. X. Gigliotti, Jr., M. R. Jackson, and A. M. Ritter have proposed coating alumina fibers with sputtered metal as a means to enable the fibers to retain more strength when the fibers are incorporated into...

DIAMOND PRODUCTS: Diamond Deposited on Stainless Steel.
May 1, 2000... The superlative intrinsic properties of diamond have attracted much industrial interest in developing diamond coating methods. However, it has been well recognized that direct diamond deposition on steel substrates is difficult because of poor...

ELECTRONIC CERAMICS: Pushing Blue Diodes Closer to Market.
May 1, 2000... The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) has been promoting commercialization of blue laser diodes. Blue light has a shorter wavelength that allows it to carry much more information than red or infrared (IR) light. This could...

3D-Microscopy with Ceramic Actuator.
May 1, 2000... A new three-dimensional microscopic system developed by Denso Corp. uses a ceramic actuator to create an omnifocal image by focusing on all points of an object. The breakthrough technology was made possible by the adoption of a dynamic...

Next-Generation Magnets for MRIs.
May 1, 2000... Intermagnetics General Corp. has announced that it is designing a compact superconducting magnet for Philips Medical Systems' expanding line of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) products. The joint development of this and other magnets is being...

Motorola Develops Thinnest Transistor.
May 1, 2000... Ceramic material perovskites have been explored for many years in the industry for producing transistors. Motorola, Inc. (Tempe, AZ) has announced the development of the world's thinnest functional transistor using these materials that will...

Lateral Resonant Devices Modeled.
May 1, 2000... Army Research Laboratory researchers R. G. DeAnna, S. Roy, C. A. Zorman, and M. Mehregany have been modeling SiC lateral resonant devices over a broad temperature range. In a report published by National Technical Information Services (Report...

SUPERCONDUCTORS: Improved Fabrication Method from NASA.
May 1, 2000... NASA researcher Glen A. Robertson at Marshall Space Flight Center has developed an improved method of manufacturing high-temperature superconductors of general composition YBa2Cu3O7-x and various grain structures. This method involves mixing,...

INDUSTRY NEWS: APT, Samsung Corning in Nanotech Venture.
May 1, 2000... The University of Western Australia's spin-off company, Advanced Powder Technology (APT), and Samsung Corning (SSC), the Korean-based world leader in electronic materials, have signed an A$12 million 50:50 joint venture agreement. The joint...

Kyocera Buys VisPro Corp.
May 1, 2000... VisPro Corp. (Beaverton, OR), a spin-off of Tekronix, has been purchased by Kyocera Corp. and has been made a division of Kyocera America, Inc. (San Diego). VisPro supplies LTCC multilayer ceramic substrates and structural components, ...

AMSC Revenues Up for the Year.
May 1, 2000... American Superconductor Corp. reported that revenues for the fiscal year 2000, ended March 31, 2000, increased by 34% to $15.1 million from $11.3 million in fiscal year 1999. The net loss for the year just ended was $17.6 million ($1.11 per...

RECENT ABSTRACTS: Dynamic Behavior of Brittle Materials.
May 1, 2000... Brown University researcher L. B. Freund studied the dynamic behavior of brittle materials in a program whose goal was to characterize and quantify physical processes involved in failure of brittle materials under impact loading conditions,...

CALENDAR.
May 1, 2000... June 18-21, 2000, 7th International Symposium on "Ceramic Materials and Components in Engines," Goslar, Germany. Contact: DKG e.V., Am Grott 7, D-51147 Kln, Germany; Tel: (0223) 966480, Fax: (0223) 69301. June 26-29, 2000, 11th Annual...

FILTERS AND MEMBRANES Praxair Joins Fed O2 Separation Efforts.
May 1, 2000... Praxair (777 Old Saw Mill Rd., Tarrytown, NY 10591; Tel: 914/789-2748, Fax: 914/789-2026) has joined the Federal Energy Technology Center's (Tel: 304/285- 4826) effort to develop a more cost-effective method for separating oxygen from air. The...

POWDERS AND NANOCERAMICS Nanophase Powders from Jet Flame.
May 1, 2000... Of the many different methods used to produce nanophase powders, few are able to achieve high production rates while minimizing the agglomeration of particles. Furthermore, the powders produced, if nonoxide, must be handled using costly...