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US 5,543,269 AGranted
Image writing on ceramics
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorsDilip K. Chatterjee, Syamal K. Ghosh, Wayne K. Shaffer, Alan P. Vankerkhove
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to writing and marking images on ceramic surfaces in a reversible fashion. The images are marked using a laser. The images are erased by heating the ceramic surfaces to a temperature of approximately 200.degree. C. or using a CO.sub.2 laser.
Claims5
A method of imaging a ceramic surface comprising:
- providing a ceramic having a surface, having an image due to a color difference, the ceramic consisting essentially of zirconia and a dopant selected from the group consisting of rare earth oxides and oxides of calcium, magnesium, yttrium and scandium wherein the ceramic has a molar ratio of dopant to zirconia of from about. 0.5:99.5 to about 25:75, the ceramic having an essentially tetragonal crystal grain;
- and
- focusing a laser beam having a diameter of 5 .mu.m or greater on the surface for a time sufficient to change the color difference of the surface by reducing the doped zirconium oxide to produce an image.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.