Present status of research on design and processing of functionally graded materials

Recent activities in the research of functionally graded materials (FGMs) are reviewed with an emphasis on the fabrication techniques for graded microstructure and functions. The research activities have focused on the processing of graded structures that satisfy the designed functions. Several examples of practical applications of FGMs are described in the present paper to demonstrate the fabrication approaches typical to this kind of material. The remainder of the paper is devoted to summarizing a recently finished national project supported by the Ministry of Education of Japan. Research and developments with respect to FGMs in various fields including physics, chemistry, medical science, and biology are briefly reviewed.