Abstract: A silicon nitride cutting tool comprising a sintered product is disclosed. The sintered product comprises silicon nitride, at least one rare earth element compound, and a magnesium compound. The silicon nitride cutting tool further comprises a surface region and an inside region comprising the sintered product with varying content ratios of component compounds to provide enhanced wear and fracture resistance.

Abstract: A sintered product of silicon nitride includes a crystal phase mainly having silicon nitride crystal grains and an amorphous grain-boundary phase located on the grain boundaries of the silicon nitride crystal grains. The grain-boundary phase contains lanthanum, aluminum, magnesium, silicon, and oxygen. The sintered product described above contains 0.1% by mass or more of lanthanum on an oxide basis, 0.05 to 0.6% by mass of aluminum on an oxide basis, 0.3% by mass or more of magnesium on an oxide basis, and 2.5% by mass or less of oxygen. The total amount of lanthanum on an oxide basis, aluminum on an oxide basis, and magnesium on an oxide basis is 3.5% by mass or less.

Abstract: A silicon nitride cutting tool comprising a sintered product is disclosed. The sintered product comprises silicon nitride, at least one rare earth element compound, and a magnesium compound. The silicon nitride cutting tool further comprises a surface region and an inside region comprising the sintered product with varying content ratios of component compounds to provide enhanced wear and fracture resistance.

Abstract: A corrosion-resistant silicon nitride ceramics in which an adhesion enhancing layer (3), a stress relaxing layer (4) and a crack extension preventing layer (5) are laminated in this order on a ceramic substrate (2) composed mainly of silicon nitride, and a surface corrosion-resistant layer (6) composed mainly of zirconium oxide stabilized by an element of the group 3a of the periodic table is laminated. The thermal expansion coefficient (?0) of the ceramic substrate (2), the thermal expansion coefficient(?1) of the adhesion enhancing layer (3), and the thermal expansion coefficient (?2) of the stress relaxing layer (4), the thermal expansion coefficient (?3) of the crack extension preventing layer (5), and the thermal expansion coefficient (?4) of the surface corrosion-resistant layer (6) satisfy the following relational expressions (I) to (III): ?0??1??(I) ?3<?2??(II) ?3<?4??(III).

Abstract: A sintered product of silicon nitride includes a crystal phase mainly having silicon nitride crystal grains and an amorphous grain-boundary phase located on the grain boundaries of the silicon nitride crystal grains. The grain-boundary phase contains lanthanum, aluminum, magnesium, silicon, and oxygen. The sintered product described above contains 0.1% by mass or more of lanthanum on an oxide basis, 0.05 to 0.6% by mass of aluminum on an oxide basis, 0.3% by mass or more of magnesium on an oxide basis, and 2.5% by mass or less of oxygen. The total amount of lanthanum on an oxide basis, aluminum on an oxide basis, and magnesium on an oxide basis is 3.5% by mass or less.

Abstract: A corrosion-resistant silicon nitride ceramics in which an adhesion enhancing layer (3), a stress relaxing layer (4) and a crack extension preventing layer (5) are laminated in this order on a ceramic substrate (2) composed mainly of silicon nitride, and a surface corrosion-resistant layer (6) composed mainly of zirconium oxide stabilized by an element of the group 3a of the periodic table is laminated.

Abstract: Anti-corrosion ceramics comprising a substrate of at least one kind of silicon-containing ceramics selected from a silicon nitride, a silicon carbide and Sialon, and a surface protection layer formed on the surface of the substrate, wherein the surface protection layer comprises a zirconium oxide stabilized with an element of the Group IIIa of periodic table, and the total amount of Al and Si in the surface protection layer is suppressed to be not larger than 1% by mass. Particularly, the surface layer has a thickness of from 5 to 200 &mgr;m and a porosity of 5 to 30%. The anti-corrosion ceramics exhibits a high resistance against the corrosion due to the water vapor of high temperatures in a region of not lower than 1000° C., and can be preferably used as parts of internal combustion engines such as parts of gas turbine engines, like a turbine rotor, nozzles, a combustor liner and a transition duct.

Abstract: A surface-coated sintered body of silicon nitride wherein a coating layer on the surface comprises a crystalline phase of RE2Si2O7 and/or RE2SiO5 (RE=rare earth element), the crystalline phase having an average crystalline particle diameter of not smaller than 0.1 &mgr;m, and the excess amount of SiO2 contained in the coating layer being not larger than 10 mole %. The coating layer formed on the surfaces of the sintered body exhibits excellent adhering force even in a high-temperature zone of around 1500° C. and features a long life.

Abstract: Anti-corrosion ceramics comprising a substrate of at least one kind of silicon-containing ceramics selected from a silicon nitride, a silicon carbide and Sialon, and a surface protection layer formed on the surface of the substrate, wherein the surface protection layer comprises a zirconium oxide stabilized with an element of the Group IIIa of periodic table, and the total amount of Al and Si in the surface protection layer is suppressed to be not larger than 1% by mass. Particularly, the surface layer has a thickness of from 5 to 200 &mgr;m and a porosity of 5 to 30%. The anti-corrosion ceramics exhibits a high resistance against the corrosion due to the water vapor of high temperatures in a region of not lower than 1000° C., and can be preferably used as parts of internal combustion engines such as parts of gas turbine engines, like a turbine rotor, nozzles, a combustor liner and a transition duct.

Abstract: A surface-coated sintered body of silicon nitride wherein a coating layer on the surface comprises a crystalline phase of RE2Si2O7 and/or RE2SiO5 (RE=rare earth element), the crystalline phase having an average crystalline particle diameter of not smaller than 0.1 &mgr;m, and the excess amount of SiO2 contained in the coating layer being not larger than 10 mole %. The coating layer formed on the surfaces of the sintered body exhibits excellent adhering force even in a high-temperature zone of around 1500° C. and features a long life.

Abstract: A sintered product of silicon nitride has a crystal phase of RE2Si3N2O5 or RE3AlSi2O7N2 (RE is an element of the Group 3a of periodic table) precipitated on the grain boundaries of the silicon nitride crystal phase, and exhibits a high strength over a wide temperature region of from normal temperature to a temperature of as high as 1000° C., as well as excellent oxidation resistance and static fatigue property. The sintered product of silicon nitride is very useful as parts for heat engines, such as parts for engines and parts for gas turbines.

Abstract: The semi-insulating aluminum nitride sintered body of this invention is composed of aluminum nitride particles, electroconductive fine particles having a volume inherent resistivity value of not larger than 10.sup.2 .OMEGA..multidot.cm which are dispersed among the aluminum nitride particles and an intergranular phase formed from an oxide containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ti, Ce, Ni, Ta, Y, Er and Yb, or from Si. This sintered body has a volume inherent resistivity value of 10.sup.4 to 10.sup.11 .OMEGA..multidot.cm, and is very useful, for example, as a member for removing static electricity, or a dielectric layer of an electrostatic chuck. Since dispersions of volume inherent resistivity values are very small, a material having a volume inherent resistivity value within a certain range can be produced with good reproducibility. Accordingly, the yield is high, and the productivity is very good.

Abstract: A silicon nitride sintered body containing a .beta.-silicon nitride crystal phase and further containing at least a rare earth element component and an aluminium component in a grain boundary phase, wherein the intensity ratio (X2/X1) of the Si peak X.sub.2 at 521 cm.sup.-1 to the Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 peak X.sub.1 at 206 cm.sup.-1, as detected by a Raman spectrochemical analysis method, is 0.2 to 3. A very minor amount of Si (elemental silicon), as detected by the Raman spectrochemical analysis method, is precipitated in the sintered body, and by this precipitation of Si, strength and toughness are markedly increased.