FAQ

• FAQ
• List of Answers
  • Aluminum Nitride Fine Ceramics
  • Silicon Nitride Fine Ceramics
  • Scintillators
  • Intensifying Screens and Fluorescent Screens
  • Inorganic Electroluminescent (EL) Panels
  • Sputtering Targets
  • Amorphous Magnetic Parts
  • Rare-earth cobalt magnets "TOSREX®"
  • Tungsten and Molybdenum
  • Getters

FAQ List of Answers

Questions on Aluminum Nitride Fine Ceramics

How high is the heat conductivity of AlN ceramics?

They have heat conductivities varying from 160 W/m･K to 250 W/m･K.

Can the products be metallized?

Yes, they can be metallized. We have three ways of metallizing them.

1. One is to bond conducting metal foil onto the AlN surfaces by firing or blazing.
2. The other is to bake and dry the AlN surfaces after they have been printed with conductive paste.
3. The third is to deposit a wiring pattern on the AlN surfaces by vapor deposition or sputtering.

×Copper, tungsten or molybdenum is prepared as a conducting metal. Electric plating with gold or nickel onto the conductive surfaces after metallizing is also recommended.

What is the AMC substrates?

The active metal blazed copper (AMC) method is to bond copper plate onto ceramic surfaces to make electric circuits by blazing, where active metal solders are used.

Are multi-layered wiring substrates possible?

Yes, it is possible to make multi-layered wiring substrates. We can make them by AlN co-firing.
Tungsten and Molybdenum are used as the wiring material for the multi-layered wiring substrates.

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Questions on Silicon Nitride Fine Ceramics

What are their applications?

Silicon nitride(Si₃N₄)ceramics are characterized by four advantages. One is high strength, another is high heat resistance, the third is high corrosion resistance and the fourth is high abrasion resistance. They are used for the structural parts of machines.

What do they look like?

They can be made into balls, rods, plates, blocks, cylinders and so on.

Can they be grinded or machined?

They cannot be cut by nature. We do not grind ball-shaped ceramics.
However, we can grind them when they are shaped into rods, plates, blocks and cylinders.

To what degree of accuracy can they be finished?

The dimensional accuracy of our grinding is one-thousandth mm.

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Questions on scintillators

What purposes are they used for?

They are incorporated into non-destructive checking machines such as X-ray computed tomography systems, baggage inspection machines, food inspection machines and so on.

How many kinds are there?

We have two types of scintillators. One is the sheet type and the other is the ceramic type.

What kind of phosphor is employed?

We use gadolinium oxysulfide as the phosphor.

What properties does it have?

1. It has high sensitivity and short persistence.
2. It contains no cadmium or other harmful substances. It is an environment-friendly product.
3. Its sensitivity has only a low dependency to temperature changes.
4. It has high X-ray-stopping ability.

What is the difference between cadmium tungstate (CWO) and gadolinium oxysulfide (GOS)?

CWO has a single crystalline structure and GOS has a polycrystalline structure.
GOS has a greater maximum emission wave length (nm) and a larger output.
GOS is transparent in appearance and has shorter persistence. It is also easily processed.

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Questions on Intensifying Screens and Fluorescent Screens

Let me know how to store intensifying screens safely.

Hold them upright at room temperature avoiding sunshine and ultraviolet rays.
If they are laid flat and loaded with something, they may be creased by the load.

Is there inter-correlation between intensifying screens and X-ray films?

We will check the inter-correlation if you have informed us of the film type that you are using.
Do not be hesitate to contact us.

Let me know the relation between sharpness, sensitivity and modulation transfer function (MTF).

The higher the sensitivity, the lower the sharpness.
This is because higher sensitivity requires a coarser grain and a thicker layer of phosphor.
Therefore, general speaking, sharpness and sensitivity have an inverse relationship to each other. On the other hand, the modulation transfer function (MTF) has a tendency to degrade when the screen and the film are not in close contact.

Are there any notes on disposal?

Dispose of them separately from other waste observing municipal regulations.

Let me know the distribution of sensitivity-by-sensitivity compensation.

Usually, two- to five-times compensation is prepared. We can make other compensations as per your request.

Let me know about the degradation of intensifying screens.

Damage to the protective film or chemical degradation of the binder agent may affect the sensitivity or image quality. We recommend replacing used screens with new ones every 20,000 shots or periodical replacement every one or two years.

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Questions on inorganic electroluminescent panels

What are its features?

Electroluminescent (EL) panels are thin and flexible surface light. They produce little heat and consume little power, which means that they are environment-friendly products.
They will not abruptly go out not like electric bulbs.

What are they applied to?

They are applied to the LCD back lights of cellular phones or personal data assistants (PDA) or to various-sized billboard panels and displays.

Are they organic or inorganic?

We manufacture only inorganic EL panels.

How thick are they?

A standard-type EL panel is about 100 μm thick.
Thickness and structure will vary according to the customer's requirements. Please inquire for details.

What colors do they produce?

They will emit blue, green, white, and orange light.
You can make a combination of colors when you gather segmental EL panels.
Details on colors and emitting areas will be given on inquiry.

How long are their serviceable lives?

It depends on the activation conditions and running conditions.
For example, the half-life period of brightness of blue and green EL panels will be 2,000 to 3,000 hours if their initial brightness is 70 – 80 cd/m2.
×The above data is a reference when they are on at all times.

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Questions on Sputtering Targets

What fields are they used in?

They are used to make thin films in various fields of industry that manufacture semiconductors, LCDs, electronic devices, office facilities and so on.

What are their features?

We have technologies of the manufacture and quality control of high-purity metals based on experience obtained from special metal manufacturing.
We are sure to satisfy your requirements by our alloy designing and manufacturing.

What materials and compositions do you have?

We have titanium targets, molybdenum targets, tungsten targets and many other targets to meet your requirements. For more details please inquire.

Are there any effective measures to decrease particles?

The points of measures are shield cleaning and spray coating conditions.
In particular, materials to be spray coated and their microstructures optimized are the key to decreasing particles.

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Questions on Amorphous Magnetic Parts

In what temperature range do they work?

They can be used continuously within a range from -40°C to 120°C.
Remember not to apply this condition to FS- and GS-series products.

Let me know the smallest sales unit.

MS- and MT-series products can be sold in units of 100 pieces.
AB-series products are sold in units of 2,000 pieces as a standard.

How the amorphous thin ribbon is manufactured?

Amorphous ribbons are manufactured by ultra-quenching. The molten metal is poured onto the surfaces of rotating cooling rollers so that the metal does not acquire a crystalline structure when it solidifies.

How thin is amorphous thin ribbon?

We offer 12-μm to 20-μm thick cobalt-based amorphous ribbons.

How do you make amorphous cores?

After slitting, reel in an amorphous ribbon to a coil, which will be used as a core of a toroidal coil. Amorphous coils or cores will be packed in protection and insulation cases.

What is the difference between MS-series cores and MT-series cores?

MS-series cores have excellent saturability.
MT-series cores correspond to high-frequency circuits. They are made of thinner ribbons to reduce power loss.

Are they acceptable as lead-free products?

All solders are lead-free solders. We have completed solving the lead-free problem.

Can they be accepted as RoHS products?

MS-, MT- and AB-series cores cleared RoHS requirements at the end of the year 2005.

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Questions on rare-earth cobalt magnets "TOSREX®"

How high is their serviceable temperature?

Please use TOSREX® magnets under 300°C.

Can they be used at any atmosphere?

There is no problem when they are used in an air atmosphere. They will require some surface treatment or coating when they are used in hydrogen.

Can I see their processed or assembled products?

We offer magnet coupling as an assembled product.
We offer designing assistance for magnetic circuits if you give us detailed information.

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Questions on Tungsten and Molybdenum

Let me know how to store them safely.

Avoid high temperature and high humidity for as-drawn wires (blackened wires).
Keep surface-finished wires (whitened wires) in desiccators because they are easily oxidized.

Are there any standardized or standard-sided products?

TIG welding electrodes are offered as standardized products.
Other products will be offered at the required size.

What is the smallest quantity offered by Toshiba Materials?

Depending on the thickness of wires, around 500 m is the smallest quantity to be offered in general.
As for rods and plates, the smallest quantity depends on their shape. For a detailed estimation, please inquire.

What surface treatments can be offered?

Wires can be plated with gold or clad with platinum.

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