HIGH-PURITY TRANSITION-METAL BORIDES - PROMISING MATERIALS FOR PRESENT-DAY TECHNOLOGY

The structure and properties of metal borides are discussed, and the p rincipal preparation techniques are examined. It is shown that impurit ies can be effectively removed from transition-metal diborides by are remelting without significant changes in stoichiometry. Electrical cha racteristics, microhardness anisotropy, and elastic modulus anisotropy are measured on high-purity single crystals of titanium and niobium b orides. It is demonstrated that transition-metal diborides are promisi ng materials for electronic applications.