Abstract: A method is disclosed for improving the rupture strength of a glass material which comprises coating an unannealed glass material with a tractable preceramic coating material capable of pyrolyzing to form a ceramic coating at a temperature not exceeding the annealing temperature of the glass material and heating the coated glass material to a temperature sufficiently high to permit pyrolysis of the pre-ceramic polymer without exceeding the annealing temperature of the glass for a period of time sufficient to form a ceramic coating on the surface of the glass material.

Abstract: A process and machine are provided to manufacture furniture parts and the like with a unique, durable, low gloss finish which has a soft, satin feel, and imparts a monolithic appearance to the part. A blank cut from a suitable substrate material is grooved about its marginal edge to a depth near the opposite surface of the blank. A liquid edge protection material is poured into the groove and fully cured. The blank is then cut through at the filled groove to create a decorative protection strip about the marginal edge of the blank. The formed blank is next coated with a preselected paint or base material. After the base coat is cured, a layer of UV curable, protective material is applied to the painted surfaces of the blank. The UV coated blank is then translated through a multi-stage, continuous feed, ultraviolet processor to selectively and sequentially cure the protective coat. Powered rollers arranged in spaced apart groups convey the parts through the processor.

Abstract: An improved method for producing high temperature superconductors comprising sintering ceramic superconductor material in a sealed confinement chamber made of non-reactive impervious material, thereby preventing loss of oxygen from the material during heating and eliminating the need for reoxygenation after sintering.

Abstract: Superconducting oxides in the A, B, Cu oxide ternary system, where A is yttrium or a rare earth and B is an alkaline earth, are formed as thin films on a substrate by a sol-gel technique.

Abstract: A method of forming a polycrystalline film, such as a diamond, on a foreign substrate involves preparing the substrate before film deposition to define discrete nucleation sites. The substrate is prepared for film deposition by forming a pattern of irregularities in the surface thereof. The irregularities, typically craters, are arranged in a predetermined pattern which corresponds to that desired for the location of film crystals. The craters preferrably are of uniform, predetermined dimensions (in the sub-micron and micron size range) and are uniformly spaced apart by a predetermined distance. The craters may be formed by a number of techniques, including focused ion beam milling, laser vaporization, and chemical or plasma etching using a patterned photoresist. Once the substrate has been prepared the film may be deposited by a number of known techniques. Films prepared by this method are characterized by a regular surface pattern of crystals which may be arranged in virtually any desired pattern.

Abstract: A thin film formation method includes the steps of holding a substrate in a reduced-pressure vapor phase reaction chamber having means for irradiating light in visible and ultraviolet ranges, supplying an organo-titanium compound containing a tri-azo group, and vapor-depositing a titanium nitride film on a surface of the substrate by an excitation reaction caused by light.

Abstract: In humid atmospheres (e.g., 40% relative humidity or above) solutions of 2,2-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane dianhydride/2,2-bis[4-(aminophenoxy)phenyl]hexafluoropropane polyimides tend to be unstable in the sense that during spin coating operations undesirable precipitate formation occurs on the rotating surface of the wafer. The result is the formation of unacceptable coatings due to their irregularity and lack of uniformity. Described are solutions of these polyimide polymers in a solvent containing one or more liquid aromatic hydrocarbons having a boiling point at least about 110.degree. C. and one or more dipolar aprotic solvents having a boiling point of at least about 150.degree. C., such that the solution (a) contains on a weight basis from about 5% to about 50% of the polyimide, and (b) does not undergo precipitate formation during spin coating in an atmosphere of up to about 55% relative humidity.

Abstract: A Josephson junction consisting of high temperature ceramic superconductors layers, separated by an ultra-thin insulating barrier made of an non-oxide substance like diamond-like carbon. An integral part of this disclosure is the technique involving the use of an activated oxygen species for providing an oxygen chemical potential which is higher than that obtainable at barometric pressure.

Abstract: A CVD apparatus having a single loading-unloading chamber that serves as a loading chamber in the left and center parts and as an unloading chamber in the right and center parts. Alternately, wafers provisionally stored in cassettes are put into and taken from an auxiliary chamber connected at the center part. The loading-unloading chamber has a sliding bed for slidingly transferring two cassettes, each used for temporarily carrying a plurality of wafers for loading from a load cassette table through the loading cassette to a reaction chamber and for unloading from the reaction chamber through an unloading cassette to an unloading cassette table.

Abstract: The critical current density J.sub.c of a superconductive oxide film can be tailored, without substantial change in the critical temperature T.sub.c (R.dbd.0), by introduction of radiation damage into the superconductor. Exemplarily, this is done by exposure to energetic (e.g., 1 MeV) ions. The ability to tailor J.sub.c permits optimization of SQUIDS and other thin film devices, and makes it possible to produce superconductive interconnects that comprise "fuses" or current limiters.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for producing a liquid transfer article for use in transferring the liquid to another surface comprising the steps of:(a) coating an article with at least one layer of a coating material selected from the group consisting of ceramic and metallic carbides;(b) superimposing over the coated surface a removable mask material of discontinuous material opaque to a beam of radiation of a selected energy level;(c) directing a laser having a beam of radiation of said selected energy level onto the coated surface of the article so as to produce in the area of the coated surface not covered by the discontinuous material a pattern of wells adapted for receiving liquid and wherein said pattern of wells is defined by the area of the coated surface which is not covered by the discontinuous material; and(d) removing the mask material from the coated article.

Abstract: A method of forming a superconducting YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-x thin film with selected crystal orientation is described which comprises the steps of sputtering simultaneously Y, Ba and Cu onto the surface of a substrate, introducing oxygen at said surface during deposition, controlling the stoichiometry of the elements Y, Ba or both richer or poorer than the 1:2:3 stoichiometry within a few atom percent and followed by annealing to selectively grow an a-axis or a c-axis oriented film of YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-x.

Abstract: A plasma chemical vapor deposition apparatus comprises a reaction chamber, electrodes provided in the reaction chamber and a side wall constituting part of the reaction chamber and having a wafer access opening, at least the side wall having its surface portion covered with an insulating member. The insulating member prevents abnormal discharge between the electrodes and side wall.

Abstract: A method for producing insulated superconductor wire including the steps of a tubular glass preform, filling it with a superconductor material, suspending the preform within an oven to heat a section of the preform to approximately its softening point, and drawing the softened preform into a superconductor wire. A plastic coating can be applied to the wire to increase its durability. The completed wire preferably includes a superconductor core having its superconductor phase aligned with the longitudinal axis of the wire, a glass coating over the superconductor core, and a plastic coating over the glass coating.

Abstract: An electrically conductive article comprising a dielectric substrate, such as a fabric, e.g., fiberglass fabric, and an electrically conductive inorganic nickel sulfide layer which is adherent to the substrate and has good electrical conductivity and stable electrical characteristics at high temperature. Such article is produced by contacting a porous dielectric substrate, such as fiberglass fabric, with an aqueous solution containing a soluble nickel salt, such as nickel sulfate, and a sulfur donor, such as sodium thiosulfate, drying the resulting wet substrate at ambient temperature, and heating the resulting substrate at elevated temperature of about 100.degree. C. to about 400.degree. C. to form an electrically conductive layer of nickel sulfide on the substrate.

Abstract: A CVD method comprises the steps of making a plasma self-cleaning within a chamber using a gas which includes fluorine, coating an inside of the chamber by a first layer of a material which includes silicon and nitrogen, and forming a second layer on a predetermined surface within the chamber by a chemical vapor deposition. The second layer is made of a material which includes a quantity of nitrogen smaller than a quantity of nitrogen included in the first layer.

Abstract: A method of treating articles to improve their biocompatibility is disclosed. A polymeric substrate material is positioned within a reactor vessel and exposed to plasma gas discharge in the presence of an atmosphere of an inert gas and then in the presence of an organic gas, such as a fluorinated hydrocarbon gas, which forms a thin, biocompatible surface covalently bonded to the surface of the substrate. The method is particularly useful in the treatment of vascular graft materials to produce grafts that are both thrombi- and emboli-resistant.

Abstract: An improved method for producing superconductive oxide substance, wherein a solution containing therein a plurality of elements to constitute the superconductive oxide substance is atomized into mists, then the thus atomized mists are transported on a carrier gas into a chemical reaction device, and, after the chemical reaction in this chemical reaction device, the superconductive oxide substance is deposited on a substrate in a desired shape, with further heat-treatment of the thus deposited superconductive oxide substance in an oxygen-containing atmosphere at a temperature ranging from 200.degree. C. to 1,200.degree. C.

Abstract: A method is provided to apply a coating of a superconducting ceramic oxide to a substrate comprising introducing an atomized aqueous solution comprising at least three metal salts into inductively coupled plasma so as to deposit a superconductive ceramic oxide on the substrate, or alternatively, to deposit a mixed metal oxide on the substrate, which is converted into a superconductive ceramic oxide by post-annealing.

Abstract: Bi-based oxide superconducting films are deposited on Bi-based oxide ceramic substrates by screen printing, laser sputtering and other coating methods wherein the substrates have a similar crystalline structure as the Bi-based oxide superconducting films.