The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 12, 2000
Filed:
Oct. 15, 1998
Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo-to, JP;
Abstract
Provided by the invention is a novel synthetic inorganic triboluminescent material in the form of a powder, sintered block or thin film, of which the matrix phase is a piezoelectric crystalline material of a wurtzite structure such as zinc sulfide and the activator to serve as the center of luminescence is a transition metal element such as manganese, copper and rare earth elements in an amount of 0.01 to 10% by weight. The triboluminescent material is prepared by subjecting a powder blend of the matrix phase material and a thermally decomposable compound of the activator element first to a preparatory calcination treatment at 500 to 800.degree. C. and then, preferably in the form of a powder compact, to a second calcination treatment at 900 to 1700.degree. C., preferably, in vacuum under a sealed condition, when the material is liable to cause sublimation, or in an atmosphere of a reducing gas. The thus obtained triboluminescent material can be used as a source material for the formation of a thin film on a substrate, for example, by ion plating. The efficiency of the triboluminescence is increased by increasing the crystallinity of the material by controlling the conditions of film deposition and/or by undertaking a heat treatment of the thin film as deposited.