Development and Microstructural Characterization of High‐Thermal‐Conductivity Aluminum Nitride Ceramics

The effect of several additives, such as CaC2, CaO, Y2O3, and C, on thermal conductivity of hot-pressed AlN ceramics was investigated. The addition of CaC2 reductant was found to be useful for achieving high thermal conductivity of 180 W/(m·K) at room temperature. The characterization of AlN ceramics with CaC2 additive was performed by chemical analysis of Ca, C, and O and microstructural analysis using transmission electron microscopes equipped with an energy-dispersive X-ray analyzer and an electron energy loss spectrometer. The major influence on high thermal conductivity is the disappearance of a thermal barrier caused by oxygen impurities at the grain boundary.