Kyocera Corporation

Jun Fukuda

Hisao Arimune

Takeshi Kyoda

Shinya Kawai

Satoshi Tanaka

Hiroyuki Arima

Michio Ohno

Norio Okuda

Hiroaki Ohyama

Kyouji Uchiyama

Makoto Niina

A photoelectric conversion device is provided, which comprises: a substrate serving as an electrode; numerous crystalline semiconductor particles containing a first conductivity-type impurity deposited on the substrate to join thereto; an insulator provided among the crystalline semiconductor particles; and a semiconductor layer containing an impurity of the opposite conductivity-type to which another electrode is connected, which semiconductor layer being provided over the crystalline semiconductor particles, wherein the crystalline semiconductor particles comprise silicon, and the insulator comprises a glass material which contains at least 1 wt % and at most 20 wt % tin oxide. By this arrangement, it is possible to form a good insulator capable of filling spaces among the crystalline semiconductor particles and preventing defects such as cracking, bubbling and abnormal deposition from occurring, and consequently to provide a photoelectric conversion device with high reliability at low cost.

Photoelectric conversion device, glass composition for coating silicon, and insulating coating in contact with silicon

A silicon nitride ceramic heater comprising a base body of silicon nitride ceramics, and a heating element embedded in the body, the ceramic heater being characterized in that the element further comprises, as a main ingredient, at least one of carbides, nitrides or silicides selected from the metal group consisting of W, Mo, Re, Cr, Ti, Ta, Ni and Co, and not more than 75 vol % of the BN content in combination with the main ingredient. This composition can reduce the difference in thermal expansion coefficients between the heating element and the silicon nitride ceramics and can thus prevent the heating element from being cracked by thermal stress. Consequently, the silicon nitride ceramic heater is superior in durability and can maintain high performance for a long time.

Silicon nitride ceramic heater

A ceramic heater for a DC power source comprising an insulating ceramic sintered body, a heating resistor composed of at least two separate layers of heating resistor made of an inorganic conductive material, leads made of high-melting point metal wires and connected to each end of the layers, and electrodes made of an inorganic conductive material, each formed in a single layer or divided into a plurality of pieces and connected to the leads, the heating resistor, leads and electrodes being embedded in the ceramic sintered body. The present invention further includes six related inventions closely related with one another in regard to the above-mentioned ceramic heater and ceramic glow plugs embodied by using the ceramic heater.

Ceramic glow plug

Growing community of inventors

Kokubu, Japan

Jun Fukuda