This paper describes the manufacturing process of tilting pad gas bearing with a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 0.5-1 mm for power MEMS (Micro Electomechanical Systems) applications. The bearing compacts with nanopowder feedstock were prepared by Ni-metal mold with 2-mold system using LIGA process. The effect of the manufacturing conditions on sintering properties of nanopowder gas bearing was investigated. In this work, Fe-45 wt%Ni nanopowder with an average diameter of 30-50 nm size was used as starting material. After mixing the nanopowder and the wax-based binders, the amount of powder was controlled to obtain the certain mixing ratio. The nanopowder bearing compacts were sintered with 1-2 hr holding time under hydrogen atmospheres and under temperatures of to . Finally, the critical batch of mixed powder system was found to be 70% particle fraction in total volume. The maximum density of the sintered bearing specimen was about 94% of theoretical density.

Fe based () amorphous powder were produced by a gas atomization process, and then ductile Cu powder fabricated by the electric explosion of wire(EEW) were mixed in the liquid (methanol) consecutively. The Fe-based amorphous - nanometallic Cu composite powders were compacted by a spark plasma sintering (SPS) processes. The nano-sized Cu powders of 200 produced by EEW in the methanol were mixed and well coated with the atomized Fe amorphous powders through the simple drying process on the hot plate. The relative density of the compacts obtained by the SPS showed over 98% and its hardness was also found to reach over 1100 Hv.

Sintering behavior of iron nanopowder agglomerate compact prepared by slurry compaction method was investigated. The Fe nanopowder agglomerates were prepared by hydrogen reduction of spray dried agglomerates of ball-milled nanopowder at various reduction temperatures of , and , respectively. It was found that the Fe nanopowder agglomerates produced at higher reduction temperature have a higher green density compact which consists of more densified nanopowder agglomerates with coarsed nanopowders. The sintering behavior of the Fe nanopowder agglomerates strongly depended on the powder packing density in the compact and microstructure of the agglomerated nanopowder. It was discussed in terms of two sintering factors affecting the entire densification process of the compact.

The nano-sized Fe powders were prepared by plasma arc discharge process using pure Fe rod. The microstructure and the sintering behavior of the prepared nanopowders were evaluated. The prepared Fe nanopowders had nearly spherical shapes and consisted of metallic core and oxide shell structures. The higher volume shrinkage at low sintering temperature was observed due to the reduction of surface oxide. The nanopowders showed 6 times higher densification rate and more significant isotropic shrinkage behavior than those of micron sized Fe powders.

Using the nano Fe powders having 50 nm in diameter, Fe compact bodies were fabricated by injec-tion molding process. The relationship between microstructure and material properties depending on the volume ratio of powder/binder and sintering temperature were characterized by SEM, TEM techniques. In the compact body with the volume percentage ratio of 45(Fe powder) : 55(binder), which was sintered at the relative density was about and the values of volume shrinkage and hardness were about and 242.0 Hv, respec-tively. Using the composition of 50(Fe powder) : 50(binder) and sintered at the values of relative density, volume shrinkage and hardness of Fe sintered bodies were and 152.8 Hv, respectively. They showed brittle fracture mode due to the porous and fine microstructure.

Fe nanopowders were successfully synthesized by plasma arc discharge (PAD) process using Fe rod. The influence of chamber pressure on the microstructure was investigated by means of X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The prepared particles had nearly spherical shapes and consisted of metallic cores (a-Fe) and oxide shells (FeO), The powder size increased with increasing chamber pressure due to the higher dissolution and ejection rate of H and gas density in the molten metal.