Scientists at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) have synthesized what is reportedly the first transparent sample of a popular industrial ceramic. The result is a super-hard window made of cubic silicon nitride (SiN) that can potentially be used under extreme conditions like engines, as the Japanese-German team writes in the journal Scientific Reports.

Additive manufacturing (AM) of ceramics doesn’t seem to garner the same attention as AM for plastics and metals. Our industry is smaller, and our products are more often behind the scenes in applications. Ceramic processing is also more complicated in many ways than that for plastics and metals.

From next-generation missile domes for defense systems to hip implant components for the medical industry, the mechanical properties of ceramic materials make them ideal for a wide range of applications.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Thomas Scioscia in Richmond, Va.

Lyons will lead the effort to increase the adoption of silicon nitride implants in the spinal fusion market.

The additional sizes of the Valeo II LL interbody fusion device became commercially available at the end of August.

Listed here are the year’s 15 most-viewed new product stories on the Ceramic Industry website.

The study compared outcomes from single-level cervical fusion between Amedica’s porous silicon nitride vs. bone autograft.

Under the agreement, Weigao Orthopedic will have exclusive rights for Amedica-branded silicon nitride spinal implants.

This weekly roundup highlights the ceramic, glass, refractories, brick and related news stories that garnered the most attention during the previous week.