HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY SINTERED A1N

ALUMINUM NITRIDE (A1N) IS AN IMPORTANT CANDIDATE MATERIAL FOR ADVANCED PACKAGING OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS AS A HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY ALTERNATIVE TO BERYLLIUM OXIDE THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE MADE AVAILABLE AT LOW COST. MUCH EXPERIMENTAL WORK HAS BEEN CONDUCTED ON A1N, BUT THE TECHNOLOGY STILL HAS NOT REACHED A LEVEL SUITABLE FOR APPLICATION. ADVANCES ARE NEEDED ESPECIALLY IN SINTERING TECHNOLOGY AND IN TAILORING THE MICROSTRUCTURE/PHASE COMPOSITION TO OPTIMIZE THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY, DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES, AND EASE OF METALLIZATION. A COMBINATION OF THERMODYNAMICS AND EXPERIMENTATION WILL BE USED TO ACHIEVE AN IMPROVED FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE INTERRELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN OF THE DENSIFICATION, COMPOSITION, MICROSTRUCTURE, AND PROPERTIES. SPECIFICALLY, PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS AND PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH INDICATE THAT OXIDE ADDITIONS CAN BE DEVELOPED FOR A1N THAT PROVIDE A LIQUID PHASE DURING SINTERING AND AT THE SAME TIME ACT AS A GETTER TO REMOVE OXYGEN DISSOLVED IN THE A1N--THUS INCREASING THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY.