Texture formation in Al203 substrates after green forming and sintering was studied. The results can be well represented in a texture formation diagram in terms of the green texture and a sintering factor. The sintering factor is related to grain growth. It can be quantified in terms of sintering time and temperatur with a growth rate factor depending on boundary energy and mobility. Two different regions of sintering temperatures can be distinguished of which the high-temperature one is related to liquid phase sintering. Mechanical properties of the substrates were also studied, particularly thermal cycling fatigue of copper plated substrates as well as thermal shock resistence and bending fracture strength. These properties are influenced in different ways by the texture. The properties can be understood taking also the misorientation distribution of the grain boundaries into account.

Non‐oxide ceramics, for example aluminum nitride, silicon carbide, and silicon nitride, are ideal materials for applications under high thermal and mechanical stress. The synthetic methods including liquid‐phase sintering processes, the microstructures of the resulting materials (figure shows Si3N4 from powder produced using the diimide route), and some aspects of the characteization and application of the materials are discussed. magnified image

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