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Aluminum Nitride, AIN Material Characteristics Aluminum Nitride, formula AlN, is a newer material in the technical ceramics family. While its discovery occurred over 100 years ago, it has been developed into a commercially viable product with controlled and reproducible properties within the last 20 years. .Key Aluminum Nitride Properties Good dielectric properties High thermal conductivity Low thermal expansion coefficient, close to that of Silicon Non-reactive with normal semiconductor process chemicals and gases . Typical Aluminum Nitride Uses Substrates for electronic packages Heat sinks IC packages Power transistor bases Microwave device packages Material processing kiln furniture Semiconductor processing chamber fixtures and insulators Molten metal handling components General Aluminum Nitride Information Aluminum nitride has a hexagonal crystal structure and is a covalent bonded material. The use of sintering aids and hot pressing is required to produce a dense technical grade material. The material is stable to very high temperatures in inert atmospheres. In air, surface oxidation occurs above 700C. A layer of aluminum oxide forms which protects the material up to 1370C. Above this temperature bulk oxidation occurs. Aluminum nitride is stable in hydrogen and carbon dioxide atmospheres up to 980C. The material dissolves slowly in mineral acids through grain boundary attack, and in strong alkalis through attack on the aluminum nitride grains. The material hydrolyzes slowly in water. Most current applications are in the electronics area where heat removal is important. This material is of interest as a non-toxic alternative to beryllia. Metallization methods are available to allow AlN to be used in place of alumina and BeO for many electronic applications. Aluminum Oxide, Al2O3 Material Characteristics Alumina is the most cost effective and widely used material in the family of engineering ceramics. The raw materials from which this high performance technical grade ceramic is made are readily available and reasonably priced, resulting in good value for the cost in fabricated alumina shapes. With an excellent combination of properties and an attractive price, it is no surprise that fine grain technical grade alumina has a very wide range of applications.

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.Key Properties Hard, wear-resistant Excellent dielectric properties from DC to GHz frequencies Resists strong acid and alkali attack at elevated temperatures Good thermal conductivity Excellent size and shape capability High strength and stiffness Available in purity ranges from 94%, an easily metallizable composition, to 99.5% for the most demanding high temperature applications. . Typical Uses Gas laser tubes Wear pads Seal rings High temperature electrical insulators High voltage insulators Furnace liner tubes Thread and wire guides Electronic substrates Ballistic armor Abrasion resistant tube and elbow liners Thermometry sensors Laboratory instrument tubes and sample holders Instrumentation parts for thermal property test machines Grinding media General Information Aluminum oxide, commonly referred to as alumina, possesses strong ionic interatomic bonding giving rise to its desirable material characteristics. It can exist in several crystalline phases which all revert to the most stable hexagonal alpha phase at elevated temperatures. This is the phase of particular interest for structural applications and the material available from Accuratus. Alpha phase alumina is the strongest and stiffest of the oxide ceramics. Its high hardness, excellent dielectric properties, refractoriness and good thermal properties make it the material of choice for a wide range of applications. High purity alumina is usable in both oxidizing and reducing atmospheres to 1925C. Weight loss in vacuum ranges from 107 to 106 g/cm2.sec over a temperature range of 1700 to 2000C. It resists attack by all gases except wet fluorine and is resistant to all common

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reagents except hydrofluoric acid and phosphoric acid. Elevated temperature attack occurs in the presence of alkali metal vapors particularly at lower purity levels. The composition of the ceramic body can be changed to enhance particular desirable material characteristics. An example would be additions of chrome oxide or manganese oxide to improve hardness and change color. Other additions can be made to improve the ease and consistency of metal films fired to the ceramic for subsequent brazed and soldered assembly. Boron Nitride, BN Material Properties Boron nitride is a white solid material in the as produced hot pressed form. It is a low porosity solid. It is easily machined into complex shapes using standard carbide tooling. The material is anisotropic in its electrical and mechanical properties due to the platy hexagonal crystals and their orientation during the hot press consolidation. .Key Boron Nitride Properties High thermal conductivity Low thermal expansion Good thermal shock resistance High electrical resistance Low dielectric constant and loss tangent Microwave transparency Non toxic Easily machined non abrasive and lubricious Chemically inert Not wet by most molten metals

Typical Boron Nitride Uses Electronic parts heat sinks, substrates, coil forms, prototypes Boron doping wafers in silicon semiconductor processing Vacuum melting crucibles CVD crucibles Microcircuit packaging Sputtering targets High precision sealing, brazing, and metallizing fixtures Microwave tubes Horizontal caster break rings Low friction seals Plasma arc insulators

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High temperature furnace fixtures and supports General Boron Nitride Information Boron nitride is often referred to as white graphite because it is a lubricious material with the same platy hexagonal structure as carbon graphite. Unlike graphite, BN is a very good electrical insulator. It offers very high thermal conductivity and good thermal shock resistance. BN is stable in inert and reducing atmospheres up to 2800C, and in oxidizing atmospheres to 850C. Three grades are commonly used, including a boric oxide binder system, a calcium borate binder system, and a pure diffusion bonded grade. The boric oxide containing material (Grade BO) absorbs moisture which causes swelling and property degradation. The calcium borate containing material (Grade CA) is moisture resistant. The pure BN material (Grade XP) contains no binders and is used for extremes of temperature and where purity is important. The boric oxide material is the most commonly used grade. Fused Silica, SiO2 Material Properties Fused silica is a noncrystalline (glass) form of silicon dioxide (quartz, sand). Typical of glasses, it lacks long range order in its atomic structure. Its highly cross linked three dimensional structure gives rise to its high use temperature and low thermal expansion coefficient. .Key Fused Silica Properties Near zero thermal expansion Exceptionally good thermal shock resistance Very good chemical inertness Can be lapped and polished to fine finishes Low dielectric constant Low dielectric loss Good UV transparency . Typical Fused Silica Uses High temperature lamp envelopes Temperature insensitive optical component supports Lenses, mirrors in highly variable temperature regimes Microwave and millimeter wave components Aeronautical radar windows General Fused Silica Information High purity sand deposits provide the raw material for bulk refractory grade, which is electric arc melted at extremely high temperatures. Optical and general purpose fused silica

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rods and tubing are drawn from a melt made from high purity chemicals. Fiber optic purity is made by thermal decomposition of high purity gaseous silica containing chemicals. The glass may be clear or translucent, in which case it is often referred to as fused quartz. The glass has very high viscosity, and this property allows the glass to be formed, cooled and annealed without crystallizing. Fused silica glass is a very low thermal expansion material, and so is extremely thermal shock resistant. The material is also chemically inert up to moderate temperatures except to hydrofluoric acid, which dissolves silica. It will devitrify above about 1100C in the presence of contaminants such as sodium, phosphorus and vanadium, with the formation of cristobalite crystals which destroy the properties of the glass. The dielectric properties are stable up through gigahertz frequencies. MACOR Machinable Glass Ceramic Material Properties

(See the Macor section in Standard Products for more detailed information) Macor is cast as a two phase glass. After casting, it is heat treated causing crystallization of one phase giving rise to its glass-like and ceramic-like characteristics. .Key Properties of MACOR Machinable Glass Ceramic Low thermal conductivity Low dielectric constant High electrical resistance Excellent resistance to high voltage puncture Easily machined Hermetic with no post-machining firing required

Typical Uses of MACOR Machinable Glass Ceramic Electrical spacers in vacuum systems Thermal insulators in heated or cooled assemblies High intensity lamp reflectors Crystal supports Laser cavity components Microcircuit and photonics packaging General MACOR Machinable Glass Ceramic Information Macor exhibits good thermal shock resistance and mechanical toughness when compared to conventional glasses with similar thermal and mechanical properties. Macor is usable in an air atmosphere to 1000 C. In vacuum systems, where the temperature exceeds 600 C, fluorine evolution will occur manifesting itself as boron trifluoride or hydrofluoric acid. Macor is attacked by halogen acids at elevated temperatures. It is significantly more resistant to NaOH. Alkali salts have a negligible corrosion effect.

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Macor is easily machined using standard metal working tools. It is fully dense and hermetic requiring no firing after machining to develop its physical properties. Tolerances of less than 10 microns (.0005") are easily maintained. Mullite Material Properties Mullite is a good, low cost refractory material with a nominal composition of 3Al2O32SiO2. The raw materials for mullite are easily obtainable and are reasonably priced. It has excellent high temperature properties with improved thermal shock and thermal stress owing to the low thermal expansion, good strength and interlocking grain structure. .Key Mullite Properties Good thermal shock and stress resistance Low thermal conductivity Good strength Wear resistant Usable to high temperatures

Typical Mullite Uses Protection tubes Furnace liners Electrical insulators Sialon Material Properties Sialon, a fine grain nonporous technical grade engineering material, is a silicon nitride ceramic with a small percentage of aluminum oxide added. Sialon is outstanding in nonferrous metal contact. It is highly thermal shock resistant, strong, and is not wet or corroded by aluminum, brass, bronze, and other common industrial metals. .Key Sialon Properties Excellent thermal shock resistance Not wetted or corroded by nonferrous metals High strength Good fracture toughness Good high temperature strength Low thermal expansion Good oxidation resistance

Typical Sialon Uses

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Thermocouple protection tubes for nonferrous metal melting Immersion heater and burner tubes Degassing and injector tubes in nonferrous metals Metal feed tubes in aluminum die casting Welding and brazing fixtures and pins Sialon General Information The combination of silicon nitride and aluminum oxide produces a material with the excellent strength, hardness, fracture toughness and low thermal expansion of silicon nitride, enhanced by corrosion resistance, good high temperature strength and oxidation resistance imparted by the aluminum oxide. Silicon Carbide, SiC Material Properties Silicon Carbide is the only chemical compound of carbon and silicon. It was originally produced by a high temperature electro-chemical reaction of sand and carbon. Silicon carbide is an excellent abrasive and has been produced and made into grinding wheels and other abrasive products for over one hundred years. Today the material has been developed into a high quality technical grade ceramic with very good mechanical properties. It is used in abrasives, refractories, ceramics, and numerous high-performance applications. The material can also be made an electrical conductor and has applications in resistance heating, flame igniters and electronic components. Structural and wear applications are constantly developing. .Key Silicon Carbide Properties Low density High strength Low thermal expansion High thermal conductivity High hardness High elastic modulus Excellent thermal shock resistance Superior chemical inertness . Silicon Carbide Typical Uses Fixed and moving turbine components Suction box covers Seals, bearings Ball valve parts Hot gas flow liners Heat exchangers

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Semiconductor process equipment General Silicon Carbide Information Silicon carbide is composed of tetrahedra of carbon and silicon atoms with strong bonds in the crystal lattice. This produces a very hard and strong material. Silicon carbide is not attacked by any acids or alkalis or molten salts up to 800C. In air, SiC forms a protective silicon oxide coating at 1200C and is able to be used up to 1600C. The high thermal conductivity coupled with low thermal expansion and high strength give this material exceptional thermal shock resistant qualities. Silicon carbide ceramics with little or no grain boundary impurities maintain their strength to very high temperatures, approaching 1600C with no strength loss. Chemical purity, resistance to chemical attack at temperature, and strength retention at high temperatures has made this material very popular as wafer tray supports and paddles in semiconductor furnaces. The electrical conduction of the material has lead to its use in resistance heating elements for electric furnaces, and as a key component in thermistors (temperature variable resistors) and in varistors (voltage variable resistors). Silicon Nitride, Si3N4 Material Properties Silicon nitride is a man made compound synthesized through several different chemical reaction methods. Parts are pressed and sintered by well developed methods to produce a ceramic with a unique set of outstanding properties. The material is dark gray to black in color and can be polished to a very smooth reflective surface, giving parts with a striking appearance. High performance silicon nitride materials were developed for automotive engine wear parts, such as valves and cam followers and proven effective. The cost of the ceramic parts never dropped enough to make the ceramics feasible in engines and turbochargers. The very high quality bodies developed for these demanding high reliability applications are available today and can be used in many severe mechanical, thermal and wear applications. .Key Silicon Nitride Properties High strength over a wide temperature range High fracture toughness High hardness Outstanding wear resistance, both impingement and frictional modes Good thermal shock resistance Good chemical resistance . Typical Silicon Nitride Uses Rotating bearing balls and rollers Cutting tools Engine moving parts valves, turbocharger rotors Engine wear parts cam followers, tappet shims Turbine blades, vanes, buckets

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Metal tube forming rolls and dies Precision shafts and axles in high wear environments Weld positioners General Silicon Nitride Information The material is an electrical insulator and is not wet by nonferrous alloys. Silicon nitride is a rather expensive material, but its performance to cost benefit ratio is excellent in the applications where it can outperform the normally utilized materials with long life and very reliable low maintenance operation. Zirconium Oxide, ZrO2 Material Properties Zirconia is an extremely refractory material. It offers chemical and corrosion inertness to temperatures well above the melting point of alumina. The material has low thermal conductivity. It is electrically conductive above 600C and is used in oxygen sensor cells and as the susceptor (heater) in high temperature induction furnaces. With the attachment of platinum leads, nernst glowers used in spectrometers can be made as a light emitting filament which operates in air. .Key Properties of Zirconium Oxide Use temperatures up to 2400C High density Low thermal conductivity (20% that of alumina) Chemical inertness Resistance to molten metals Ionic electrical conduction Wear resistance High fracture toughness High hardness . Typical Uses of ZrO2 Precision ball valve balls and seats High density ball and pebble mill grinding media Rollers and guides for metal tube forming Thread and wire guides Hot metal extrusion dies Deep well down-hole valves and seats Powder compacting dies Marine pump seals and shaft guides Oxygen sensors

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High temperature induction furnace susceptors Fuel cell membranes Electric furnace heaters over 2000C in oxidizing atmospheres Back to top General Zirconium Oxide Information Pure zirconia exists in three crystal phases at different temperatures. At very high temperatures (>2370C) the material has a cubic structure. At intermediate temperatures (1170 to 2370C) it has a tetragonal structure. At low temperatures (below 1170C) the material transforms to the monoclinic structure. The transformation from tetragonal to monoclinic is rapid and is accompanied by a 3 to 5 percent volume increase that causes extensive cracking in the material. This behavior destroys the mechanical properties of fabricated components during cooling and makes pure zirconia useless for any structural or mechanical application. Several oxides which dissolve in the zirconia crystal structure can slow down or eliminate these crystal structure changes. Commonly used effective additives are MgO, CaO, and Y2O3. With sufficient amounts added, the high temperature cubic structure can be maintained to room temperature. Cubic stabilized zirconia is a useful refractory and technical ceramic material because it does not go through destructive phase transitions during heating and cooling. The controlled, stress induced volume expansion of the tetragonal to monoclinic inversion is used to produce very high strength, hard, tough varieties of zirconia available from Accuratus for mechanical and structural applications. There are several different mechanisms that lead to strengthening and toughness in zirconias that contain tetragonal grains. This is a complex subject matter. Simplistically, these depend on the grain sizes, the thermal history and the kind and amount of stabilizing additive in the body. These variations lead to two strong, commercially available partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ) microstructures identified as TTZ (tetragonally toughened zirconia) and TZP (tetragonal zirconia polycrystal) ceramics. The TTZ is an MgO partially stabilized zirconia often designated MgTTZ or MgPSZ consisting of uniformly dispersed tetragonal precipitates in larger cubic phase crystals. The secondary thermal aging process requiring tight manufacturing controls for proper microstructural development has limited the supplier base for the tetragonally toughened zirconias. The second variety, TZP, is a pure tetragonal phase, very fine grain material stabilized with rare earth oxides, primarily yttria and less commonly ceria. They are often designated YTZP for the yttria stabilized product and CeTZP for the ceria stabilized product. The TZP material has found uses in cutting and wear resistant applications due to its reliable and outstanding hardness and toughness. TZP properties degrade rapidly when the material is exposed to water vapor at 200 to 300C, so controlled use conditions are important for good performance. All of the toughened zirconias show a degrading of properties with increasing temperature, and this class of high strength, tough materials is generally limited to use temperatures below 800C