Improving thermal conductivity of Sm2O3-doped AlN ceramics by changing sintering conditions

The effects of sintering conditions including soaking time and packing powder on the thermal conductivity of Aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramics with Sm2O3 additives were investigated. The thermal conductivity values of AlN ceramics sintered were improved after increasing soaking time, but not considerably due to the interconnected secondary phases. While the specimen sintered without packing powder showed much higher thermal conductivity by 58 W·m−1·K−1 than the specimen sintered with packing powder. It is due to the removal of the secondary phase with poor thermal conductivity to a fairly low level, and the decreasing of the oxygen content via carbothermal reduction.