Concepedia

Publication | Closed Access

Recent and Prospective Development of Functionally Graded Materials in Japan

141

Citations

0

References

1999

Year

Abstract

The concept of functionally graded materials (FGMs), originally developed for the purpose of reducing thermal stress, has now greatly expanded and is being applied to the development of electrical, optical, magnetic, and biochemical materials. Here in Japan, several FGM research projects have been promoted with the support of the government and other organizations. Many societies concerned with material science now include special sessions or symposia on FGMs at their annual conferences to promote FGM research, and FGM research in Japan has been increasing year by year Many novel fabrication processes have been developed. and various new materials with unique properties have been prepared by introducing graded structures For example, achievement of successful control of electrical properties of perovskite-type (La 1-x Ca x ) MnO 3 has led to a new approach to the control electronic transport behavior by a graded structure, and the advanced optical filter characteristics of graded TiO 2 /SiO 2 multilayer film provide a new avenue not only for application of FGMs but also for understanding their mechanisms In this paper, some recent interesting findings on the design, process, and characteristics of FGMs are described. Future possibilities and trends in FGM research are also discussed.