SOME PROPERTIES OF ALUMINUM-NITRIDE POWDER PREPARED BY METAL-ORGANIC CHEMICAL-VAPOR-DEPOSITION

Ultrafine aluminium-nitride (AlN) powders with primary particle sizes of 10-20 nm were prepared by a metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD): trimethylaluminium (Al(CH3)(3)), triethylaluminium (Al(C2H5)(3)) and triisobutylaluminium (Al(i-C4H9)(3))-vapours were reacted with ammonia (NH3) at 1050 degrees C. the sintered compacts with relative densities of similar to 95% could be fabricated by firing these compressed powders at temperatures as low as 1600 degrees C. The relative densities of the Al(CH3)(3)-derived and Al(C2H5)(3)-derived compacts fired at 1800 degrees C for 10 h attained similar to 98%. the oxygen contents of these compacts were 1.8 and 4.7%, respectively.