Aluminium Nitride – Revolutionizing Thermal and Electrical Insulation
Aluminium nitride is an exceptional material with many advantageous properties, including thermal conductivity, electrical insulation and high temperature stability.
Plastic’s ability to dissipate heat efficiently makes it an excellent material for electronics and semiconductors, with low coefficient of expansion rates and non-toxic qualities making it the go-to material.
AlN has become an essential material in numerous fields due to the 5G era and new energy vehicles, such as heat dissipation substrates for electronic device packaging and heat dissipation substrates for heat dissipation applications. At Applied Ceramics we produce machineable AlN materials to exact dimensions and tolerances for our clients’ applications.
Thermal Conductivity
Aluminum Nitride boasts the highest thermal conductivity among ceramic materials (on par with most metals) and provides outstanding electrical insulation properties, making it an excellent choice for use in electronics as a heat sink, heat soaking material or component cooling material.
Thermal conductivity of this material is further increased by its high vapor pressure and low coefficient of expansion, making it suitable for use in environments prone to fast fluctuations in temperature and pressure.
Aluminium nitride is an extremely tough and long-wearing material, suitable for withstanding high temperatures and pressures, making it an excellent choice for applications including chemical resistance at elevated temperatures, refractory materials, protective coating for semiconductor devices production lines and protective coating applications.
Machinable AlN is an advanced hybrid material, which combines the strength and mechanical integrity of traditional Aluminum Nitride with Boron Nitride to form an easily machineable material with no lengthy tooling requirements or delivery delays required. This makes Machinable AlN ideal for many uses that traditional Aluminum Nitride cannot.
Material features include excellent dimensional stability and corrosion resistance in environments up to 1370 degrees Fahrenheit. Furthermore, this hard refractory material can be welded with other hard refractory materials like zirconium oxide for seamless welding applications. Although reacting with acids and strong alkalis such as citric acid or strong bases like acid sulfuric, it resists invasion from most molten salts such as chloride or cryolite.
Electrical Insulation
Aluminum Nitride has the unique property of being both heat conductive and electrically insulating, making it suitable for many different applications. Aluminum Nitride’s wide band gap makes it highly attractive as a material suitable for MEMS filters and energy harvesters, especially given its compatibility with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology.
Low thermal expansion coefficient, corrosion-resistance and extreme shock- and thermal-shock-proof properties make it suitable for heat dissipation substrate applications such as LED packages, power modules, wafer bonding components, power resistors and more. With high thermal shock resistance and an air temperature rating of 1200C – 1300C temperature ratings allow it to withstand even extreme conditions with extreme thermal shock resistance rating of 1200C rating allowing use in various power resistor designs and resistors applications.
Aluminium Nitride can be difficult to machine even with the best tools and processes in place, yet Machinable AlN from Shapal Hi-M Soft provides an alternative means of working with this specialist material without significant order quantities, costly tooling costs or extended lead times. Prototypes can be produced quickly for trial purposes before committing to larger orders, helping reduce risks while speeding up product development timescales–particularly important when working in electronics where margins matter greatly.
Resistance to Chemicals
Aluminum Nitride can withstand high temperatures without succumbing to corrosion from oxidation, making it suitable for heat dissipating applications such as electronic substrates. Furthermore, its chemical resistance allows it to withstand acids and alkalis used in sterilization tools or surgical equipment; additionally it has excellent resistance to UV radiation which makes it a perfect material choice for devices used against skin such as implantable medical devices.
Beryllium Oxide can be an ideal option in certain applications due to its superior thermal conductivity and electrical insulation capabilities, non-toxicity, and safe handling practices, making it suitable for consumer electronics or more regulated industrial settings.
Aluminium Nitride can be produced through ball milling, which involves mixing aluminum powder with nitrogen gas until nitrided particles form. This method is straightforward and easy to automate for large-scale production. Other ways include direct nitriding of aluminium powder or high temperature self propagating synthesis method; which uses reaction heat generated to automatically nitride the aluminium powder automatically without losing energy, producing higher quality powder which can then be machined as green, biscuit or fully sintered powders.
Resistance to Oxidation
Aluminium Nitride is one of the most resistant materials to oxidation. In fact, aluminium nitride can resist it for up to 1370 degC when exposed to inert gases.
Aluminium’s nitride structure contains many nitrogen atoms, meaning when exposed to oxygen it can only fill certain vacancies preventing new oxide layers from forming.
Aluminium’s dense nitride structure helps reduce oxygen diffusion, explaining why its resistance can reach 1370 degrees C under inert conditions.
Aluminium Nitride’s ability to withstand oxidation makes it an excellent material for high performance electronics applications such as MEMS, microprocessors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment components. Aluminium Nitride provides superior thermal conductivity, electrical insulation and mechanical strength; additionally its plasma resistance and low coefficient of thermal expansion make it an attractive alternative to beryllium oxide when heat dissipation is a requirement.
Aluminium nitride is both non-toxic and biocompatible, making it the ideal material for implantable electronic devices. Additionally, its compatibility with complementary metal oxide semiconductors makes it suitable for piezoelectric applications like MEMS filters and energy harvesters, with wide band gaps to accommodate piezoelectric elements like MEMS filters or energy harvesters. Furthermore, this material can handle high frequencies as well as high voltages without issue.