Technical Articles

Material scientists and ceramics component manufacturers have been developing new materials and processes that let engines run hotter and hotter in response to the aerospace industry’s focus on higher performance and lower costs.

Increasing energy efficiencies through motor design is just one consideration and further efficiencies can be achieved by looking at all aspects of product design, the manufacturing process and involving trusted suppliers at the initial design stages.

In recent years, there has been great excitement about the use of neuromodulation to treat a wide array of medical conditions and diseases. The technology uses electrical signals to stimulate or block different nerve impulses in the body and is adapted from technology used in cardiac rhythm management. It holds promise for a variety of conditions, including reducing or eliminating back pain, curing obesity, lowering high blood pressure and controlling diabetes without daily injections of insulin.

The increasing global demand to reduce greenhouse gas and CO2 emissions is driving the need to commercialise renewable energy technologies. Fuel cells provide energy that has high electrical efficiency and is more efficient than conventional combustion-based technologies.

World energy consumption is forecast to increase 44% from 2006 levels by 2030. While the use of natural gas and coal will grow, the fastest-growing source of energy will be renewables. This need has created new markets. Those for energy storage and solar panels are well established, but others, such as energy harvesting, remain niche while the technology is being developed. All offer significant business opportunities: energy harvesting, for example, is forecast to be worth $4.4 billion by 2020.

The emerging solar technology industry faces increased pressure to drive down production costs, increase efficiencies and thus increase competitiveness in the marketplace. Jaime Schmitt, Phil McGraw and Kevin McAloon from Morgan Technical Ceramics look at the growing use of ceramics in solar cell production, which is bringing grid parity for solar power closer than ever before.

Morgan Technical Ceramics, Stourport, England, is unique within the Morgan group in offering Silicon Nitride. The company has over 25 years of experience in the manufacture of Silicon Nitride, with experienced and highly skilled machinists providing solutions to the most demanding of customer requirements.

Morgan Technical Ceramics’ freeze cast process offers for the first time, truly durable cast ceramic components, capable of use in a wide range of high wear applications.

Having successfully manufactured injection moulded ceramics and stainless steel, Morgan Technical Ceramics is currently developing Titanium powder injection moulding technology for the production of high precision medial devices and other bio-medical applications.

The continuous strides forward in science and technology lead to ever increasing demands for ceramic components of complexity, precision & of micro size.

Advanced ceramics and high performance superalloys are playing an important role in improving aerospace engines, as aerospace manufacturers look for high-temperature materials that increase performance, improve fuel efficiency and satisfy safety standards, while lowering manufacturing costs.

Consumables such as slurries, pads and conditioners have come under scrutiny in an effort to improve cost of ownership in the Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) processes. With many products appearing to offer similar properties and benefits, price understandably has been a primary focus. Now, with significant developments in the field of CMP pad conditioners, fabrication facilities are able to impact the bottom line through improved productivity as well as cost.

Today’s advanced ceramics offer powerful physical, thermal and electrical properties that make them highly resistant to melting, bending, stretching, corrosion, wear, high voltages and currents. This has opened up development opportunities for manufacturers in a wide range of industries such as aerospace, defence, automotive, medical, electronics, telecommunications, scientific equipment and semiconductor processing.

Aerospace manufacturers face extreme pressure to lower costs, while increasing performance and satisfying stringent safety standards. Producers in the commercial airline, defense and space exploration sectors continually seek new materials that are reliable and robust, and meet the needs of highly specialized applications.

Ceramic material, with its biocompatibility and resistance to wear, is ideally suited for a wide variety of medical implant applications, from artificial joints to implantable electronic sensors, stimulators and drug delivery devices. For well over a decade, alumina, zirconia and other ceramics have successfully proven their ability to withstand the harsh environment of the human body.

IntroductionOver the past decade the use of ceramic in automotive design and manufacture has become increasingly common. Its powerful physical, thermal and electrical properties make it a reliable, highly durable and cost-effective alternative to metal. As the industry faces continued pressure to deliver innovative design, improved safety features and environment-friendly vehicles (while also reducing production costs), use of this material looks set to grow.

Recent advances in ceramic injection molding (CIM) make it technically feasible and economical to produce medium to large volumes of complex, ultra-high precision ceramic components. Engineers can now combine the intricate geometry, which has long been the domain of plastic and metal parts, with the superior performance characteristics of ceramics.

Developments in ceramic materials and product design are offering surgeons and patients new options for joint replacement surgery. Improvements in ceramic production will bring the proven biocompatibility and long-term durability benefits of the material to an increasingly wide range of medical applications. Driven by the medical industry’s need for ever smaller yet more complex components, materials scientists today are making use of innovative processing techniques, including injection moulding, engineered coatings and ceramic-metal assemblies. The results include hand tools, valves, and implantable devices.

Technical ceramics are favoured in a wide range of electronics and engineering applications for their chemical and mechanical properties. Compared to metals, they are stronger in compression, especially at higher temperatures, they have a good thermal stability (ie a low coefficient of thermal expansion) and good thermal and electrical resistivity. They are also hard, and have excellent dimensional stability.

Morgan Technical Ceramics, a division of Morgan Crucible Company plc, sees a bright future for ceramic injection moulded (CIM) parts. PIM International recently visited the company’s multi-million pound CIM facility in Stourport, UK.

Silicon Carbide (SiC) is a natural choice for semiconductor equipment components due to its high thermal conductivity and resistance to abrasion, corrosion and erosion. Its ability to withstand constant and intensive use has made the material one of the most reliable. Although SiC can be manufactured in a variety of ways, including hot pressed, reaction bonded and sintered, the most advantageous is through a process called chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Morgan Advanced Ceramics CVD Materials division has developed advanced CVD SiC manufacturing technology to supply high performance CVD SiC components required by the semiconductor industry.

The makers of high-end cell phones, game systems, MP3 players and other handheld devices are promoting a new innovation: scratch-resistant screens. For example, when Mobiado launched its new Luminoso handset in January, the marketing campaign emphasized that “The front screen is coated with Diamondshield®, the most advanced coating available for polymer substrates.”

Lasers have been used in medicine for many years, mostly as minimally invasive surgical cutting tools. However, in recent years there have been many advances in the market, and the range of applications for lasers and light-based systems continues to expand across several specialities, especially in ophthalmology and cosmetic treatments.

When engineers design a seal for feedthroughs and other electrical connectors, four general classes of material are evaluated. At the low end, a simple epoxy or glue may suffice. Alternatively, a mechanical seal with an elastomer o-ring can provide a somewhat more robust solution. For more demanding applications, glass seals are effective in preventing leakage during severe changes in temperature, pressure and humidity.

Military equipment and instrumentation requires the highest levels of precision and accuracy. Industry demands for the 'latest' and 'best' technologies, means designers and engineers are constantly striving to find ways to increase performance, reliability and range.

Despite common perception, it seems that not all commercial 99.8% pure Alumina oxides are alike. While they may have the same chemistry and meet accepted industry specifications for this material, they can behave differently under key operating conditions.

The quality and performance of mass spectrometers and other scientific equipment depends in part on the quality of the materials that make up critical components. Morgan Technical Ceramics utilizes high purity alumina ceramic, known for its outstanding dimensional stability, to make supports for quadrupole rods and focusing lenses. Advances in material science will continue to play a key role in the evolution of laboratory instruments, enabling better performance, smaller equipment form factors and higher reliability.June 2008

In every industry, from medical to analytical, designers are under increased pressure to improve performance of equipment. A key element is the electrical system. Designers striving to create the most efficient systems that deliver high performance are increasingly turning to ceramic dielectric components and capacitors.

Ceramic materials help manufacturers of thin film photovoltaic cells achieve greater efficiencyThe earth benefits from an impressive 125,000 terawatts (TW) of solar energy. While the future energy needs of the planet will undoubtedly be met with a combination of technologies, many believe that solar – in the form of photovoltaic (PV) cells - is the only renewable energy source with the capacity to make a significant impact on global energy production.

Piezoelectric ceramic components composed of Lead Zirconate Titanates (PZT) have enabled many recent technological innovations in the automobile industry. PZT components from Morgan Technical Ceramics (MTC) can be found throughout many state-of-the-art vehicles, enhancing safety, performance, energy-efficiency and comfort.

Morgan Technical Ceramics' Diamonex Business Offers Diamond-Like Carbon Coatings to Keep Fingerprint Sensors Clean and Accurate

As electronic devices become ever smaller and integrated circuits become increasingly complex, more attention is being focused on chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP), a technique used to flatten semiconductor wafers between the deposited layers that are part of chip fabrication. One seemingly small and largely ignored element of the CMP process, the pad conditioner which is used to constantly clean off the pad that flattens the wafer, is coming into the spotlight. New materials are being developed as chips become more complex and fabricators find that older conditioning materials are unable to produce the required quality. There is a symbiotic relationship between the pad conditioner and the pad. Its design influences the texture of the pad, which in turn affects yield and productivity in the chip fabrication process.

Advancements in Process Residue Adhesion Decrease Chip Defects and Increase Yields In this era of the incredible shrinking chip, improving process residue adhesion is one of the thorniest challenges facing chip fabricators. Since adhesion is improved by roughening surfaces, new materials and technologies are being sought to replace or complement such traditional ceramic roughening methods as grit blasting or twin-wire arc spray (TWAS). With marching orders to improve process uptime, drive down manufacturing costs and improve or maintain yield, while decreasing process-related defects, the semiconductor industry is turning to new materials that help meet their needs.

The world’s energy consumption is expected to increase by 50% from 2005 to 2030 according to a new report from the US Energy Information Agency. With high targets to reduce carbon emissions OEMs are under increased pressure to design products that supply and deliver energy in the most efficient way.