Corrosion of High Thermal Conductive AlN Ceramics in Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

M`±« AlN ·åÛ¿ªµmntH® ½X©êEÑ haEÚ|iEÄ®E¢ LÞ E¬¼Ê×Þ Eª{õOÞ ¡l §åwåw@«îñ¤@C2408501 ¡lsÛyJaeíÕä 797Although there is a strong need to understand the chemical corrosion resistance of aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramics for their applications as structural parts in semiconductor processes, there is insucient informa tion on chemical corrosion. We examined two kinds of commercial AlN ceramics with high thermal conduc tivity (170 and 200 W m |1 K |1 ) in both acid and basic aqueous solutions, such as KOH, NaOH, HNO 3 and H 2 SO 4 , using dierent concentrations. Weight changes, phases present, and microstructures on the surfaces before and after testing were evaluated. Basic aqueous solutions corroded AlN ceramics in exactly the same way as acid aqueous solutions. Although secondary phases, such as yttrium aluminate, were mainly dis solved in acid aqueous solutions, AlN itself was corroded in basic aqueous solutions. Furthermore, we ob served that the weight loss of AlN ceramics with higher thermal conductivity exceeded that of lower thermal conductivity. It seems that oxygen dissolved in AlN grain inuences on corrosion of AlN ceramics.