Thermal Conductivity of AlN/Diamond Composites Sintered under High-Pressure and High-Temperature

GONG Fa; LIANG Wenjia; WANG Qiming; LI Qian; LIU Hongwen; HE Peihong; HE Duanwei; PENG Fang

doi:10.11858/gywlxb.20261071

Volume 40 Issue 9

Sep 2026

Turn off MathJax

Article Contents

Chinese Journal of High Pressure Physics > 2026 > 40(9): 090111.

GONG Fa, LIANG Wenjia, WANG Qiming, LI Qian, LIU Hongwen, HE Peihong, HE Duanwei, PENG Fang. Thermal Conductivity of AlN/Diamond Composites Sintered under High-Pressure and High-Temperature[J]. Chinese Journal of High Pressure Physics, 2026, 40(9): 090111. doi: 10.11858/gywlxb.20261071

Citation:

GONG Fa, LIANG Wenjia, WANG Qiming, LI Qian, LIU Hongwen, HE Peihong, HE Duanwei, PENG Fang. Thermal Conductivity of AlN/Diamond Composites Sintered under High-Pressure and High-Temperature[J]. Chinese Journal of High Pressure Physics, 2026, 40(9): 090111. doi: 10.11858/gywlxb.20261071

Citation:

GONG Fa, LIANG Wenjia, WANG Qiming, LI Qian, LIU Hongwen, HE Peihong, HE Duanwei, PENG Fang. Thermal Conductivity of AlN/Diamond Composites Sintered under High-Pressure and High-Temperature[J]. Chinese Journal of High Pressure Physics, 2026, 40(9): 090111. doi: 10.11858/gywlxb.20261071

PDF( 13312 KB)

Thermal Conductivity of AlN/Diamond Composites Sintered under High-Pressure and High-Temperature

doi: 10.11858/gywlxb.20261071

GONG Fa^1
,,
LIANG Wenjia²,
WANG Qiming¹,
LI Qian¹,
LIU Hongwen¹,
HE Peihong¹,
HE Duanwei^{1,*
,
,},
PENG Fang^{1,*
,
,}

1.
Institute of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, Sichuan, China
2.
School of Intelligent Manufacturing, Sichuan University of Arts and Science, Dazhou 635002, Sichuan, China

Received Date: 02 Apr 2026
Rev Recd Date: 24 Apr 2026

Available Online: 29 Apr 2026

Issue Publish Date: 05 Sep 2026

Abstract

Abstract

Aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramics are important heat-dissipation materials for high-power electronic devices. However, the high sintering temperature required by conventional processing routes limits practical application of AlN ceramics and increases fabrication costs. Therefore, it is necessary to develop preparation method that is capable of achieving densification at relatively low temperature. To address the difficulty of simultaneously obtaining high densification and high thermal conductivity in polycrystalline AlN ceramics under reduced-temperature sintering conditions, this work adopts a stepwise research strategy. First, the densification behavior and thermal conductivity of pure AlN under high-pressure assistance were investigated to identify the optimal sintering conditions. Under additive-free conditions, pure-phase AlN ceramics with clean grain boundaries and high densification were prepared at 5.0 GPa and 1400 ℃, achieving a thermal conductivity of 101.6 W/(m·K). Based on these optimized conditions, the AlN/diamond composite system was further studied, and the effects of diamond volume fraction on the structure and properties of the composites were systematically examined. The results show that the thermal conductivity of the composites first decreases and then increases with increasing diamond volume fraction, reaching 112.4 W/(m·K) at 33.3%. Mechanistic analysis indicates that interfacial thermal resistance dominates at low diamond contents, whereas at high diamond contents the enhancement of heat transport by thermally conductive diamond pathways becomes more significant. By taking full advantage of the processing benefits of high-temperature and high-pressure technology, this work achieves substantial improvement of AlN-based materials at temperatures lower than those required in conventional sintering, thereby providing a new route for the low-temperature fabrication of high-performance thermally conductive ceramics.
- aluminum nitride ceramics,
- diamond,
- high-temperature and high-pressure,
- high-pressure sintering,
- thermal conductivity

FullText(HTML)

References(39)

References

[1]	LUO Q, LI C H, ZHOU N Y, et al. Electrical properties, microstructure, and thermal conductivity of hot-pressed CaO-doped AlN ceramics [J]. Ceramics International, 2024, 50(9): 14200–14208. doi: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2024.01.326
[2]	HASSAN N, LEE J, KIM M, et al. Enhanced mechanical properties of aluminum nitride-yttria ceramics through grain refinement by pressure assisted two-step sintering [J]. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2024, 44(2): 831–840. doi: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2023.09.039
[3]	TANG Y X, XUE Z H, ZHOU G H, et al. Fabrication of high thermal conductivity aluminum nitride ceramics via digital light processing 3D printing [J]. Materials, 2024, 17(9): 2010. doi: 10.3390/ma17092010
[4]	PARK S, KIM M, KIM S G, et al. Numerical investigation of heat transfer in aluminum nitride ceramics with engineered microstructures [J]. Materials Letters, 2024, 356: 135554. doi: 10.1016/j.matlet.2023.135554
[5]	ZHANG Z R, WU H Y, ZHANG S T, et al. The quantitative investigation of the lattice oxygen and grain edge oxygen on the thermal conductivity of aluminum nitride ceramics [J]. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2023, 43(2): 313–320. doi: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2022.10.023
[6]	WANG L, GUO W M, SHENG P F, et al. Effects of YH₂ addition on pressureless sintered AlN ceramics [J]. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2023, 43(3): 862–870. doi: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2022.11.009
[7]	TANG D Q, WANG Z H, YIN C H, et al. Effects of samarium oxide and graphene addition on the properties of AlN ceramics produced via spark plasma sintering [J]. Ceramics International, 2024, 50(20): 37919–37931. doi: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2024.07.154
[8]	HUANG D, TIAN Z B, CUI W, et al. Effects of Y₂O₃ and yttrium aluminates as sintering additives on the thermal conductivity of AlN ceramic substrates [J]. Ceramics International, 2018, 44(16): 20556–20559. doi: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2018.07.178
[9]	KOBAYASHI R, NAKAJIMA Y, MOCHIZUKI K, et al. Densification of AlN ceramics by spark plasma sintering under 1550 ℃ [J]. Advanced Powder Technology, 2016, 27(3): 860–863. doi: 10.1016/j.apt.2015.12.014
[10]	LIM S B, SONG T S, PEE J H, et al. Relocation of secondary phases and oxygen-related defect of AlN ceramics [J]. Ceramics International, 2025, 51(25): 44071–44078. doi: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2025.07.139
[11]	KIM J, KIM J Y, AHN H, et al. Direct evidence on effect of oxygen dissolution on thermal and electrical conductivity of AlN ceramics using Al solid-state NMR analysis [J]. Materials, 2022, 15(22): 8125. doi: 10.3390/ma15228125
[12]	ZHAO F Y, HE Y J, HUANG B, et al. A review of diamond materials and applications in power semiconductor devices [J]. Materials, 2024, 17(14): 3437. doi: 10.3390/ma17143437
[13]	FAN K K, GUO J C, HUANG Z H, et al. GaN-on-diamond technology for next-generation power devices [J]. Moore and More, 2025, 2(1): 8. doi: 10.1007/s44275-024-00022-z
[14]	YAN X Z, REN X T, HE D W. Pressure calibration in solid pressure transmitting medium in large volume press [J]. Review of Scientific Instruments, 2016, 87(12): 125006. doi: 10.1063/1.4973448
[15]	YIN X S, KOU Z L, WANG Z W, et al. Micro-sized polycrystalline cubic boron nitride with properties comparable to nanocrystalline counterparts [J]. Ceramics International, 2020, 46(7): 8806–8810. doi: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.12.120
[16]	YEH C T, TUAN W H. Oxidation mechanism of aluminum nitride revisited [J]. Journal of Advanced Ceramics, 2017, 6(1): 27–32. doi: 10.1007/s40145-016-0213-1
[17]	DOLABELLA S, BORZÌ A, DOMMANN A, et al. Lattice strain and defects analysis in nanostructured semiconductor materials and devices by high-resolution X-ray diffraction: theoretical and practical aspects [J]. Small Methods, 2022, 6(2): 2100932. doi: 10.1002/smtd.202100932
[18]	LASKA A, SZKODO M, CAVALIERE P, et al. Analysis of residual stresses and dislocation density of AA6082 butt welds produced by friction sir welding [J]. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A, 2023, 54(1): 211–225. doi: 10.1007/s11661-022-06862-4
[19]	韩巍, 卢芳云. 应用XRD方法研究AlN粉体的冲击波改性 [J]. 高压物理学报, 1997, 11(1): 75–80. doi: 10.11858/gywlxb.1997.01.014 HAN W, LU F Y. Research of modification on shocked aluminium nitride powder through X-ray diffraction [J]. Chinese Journal of High Pressure Physics, 1997, 11(1): 75–80. doi: 10.11858/gywlxb.1997.01.014
[20]	KIM J, AHN H, KIM S J, et al. Effect of residual oxygen concentration on the lattice parameters of aluminum nitride powder prepared via carbothermal reduction nitridation reaction [J]. Materials, 2022, 15(24): 8926. doi: 10.3390/ma15248926
[21]	DUAN W Y, LI S, WANG G, et al. Thermal conductivities and mechanical properties of AlN ceramics fabricated by three dimensional printing [J]. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2020, 40(10): 3535–3540. doi: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2020.04.004
[22]	PADUANO Q S, WEYBURNE D W, DREHMAN A J. An X-ray diffraction technique for analyzing structural defects including microstrain in nitride materials [J]. Journal of Crystal Growth, 2011, 318(1): 418–422. doi: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2010.10.019
[23]	LIN K J, ZONG X, SHENG P F, et al. Effects of SmF₃ addition on aluminum nitride ceramics via pressureless sintering [J]. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2023, 43(15): 6804–6814. doi: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2023.07.051
[24]	QIAO L, ZHOU H P, LI C W. Microstructure and thermal conductivity of spark plasma sintering AlN ceramics [J]. Materials Science and Engineering: B, 2003, 99(1/2/3): 102–105. doi: 10.1016/S0921-5107(02)00429-4
[25]	LIANG D Y, LI X Q, YIN W L, et al. Synergistic enhancement of thermal conductivity, dielectric properties, and flexural strength in AlN ceramics via Y₂O₃-LiF sintering and annealing [J]. Journal of the European Ceramic Society, 2026, 46(3): 117895. doi: 10.1016/j.jeurceramsoc.2025.117895
[26]	LI X L, MA H A, ZUO G H, et al. Low-temperature sintering of high-density aluminium nitride ceramics without additives at high pressure [J]. Scripta Materialia, 2007, 56(12): 1015–1018. doi: 10.1016/j.scriptamat.2007.03.009
[27]	HE Y L, WU H M. Investigation on low-temperature sintered AlN nanoceramics with high thermal conductivity [J]. International Journal of Applied Ceramic Technology, 2019, 16(5): 2101–2106. doi: 10.1111/ijac.13208
[28]	ZAGO I P, VARGAS R, SCIUTI V F, et al. DIC to evaluate a model composite system cracking due to CTE mismatch [J]. Theoretical and Applied Fracture Mechanics, 2024, 131: 104330. doi: 10.1016/j.tafmec.2024.104330
[29]	LI G J, HUANG M J, FENG W J, et al. Effects of the Cu coating thickness on the interfacial mechanical behavior of the AlN/Ag-Cu composite structure [J]. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 2025, 108(8): e20554. doi: 10.1111/jace.20554
[30]	FAN K Y, RUIZ-HERVIAS J, PASTOR J Y, et al. Residual stress and diffraction line-broadening analysis of Al₂O₃/Y-TZP ceramic composites by neutron diffraction measurement [J]. International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials, 2017, 64: 122–134. doi: 10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2017.01.011
[31]	BALOKHONOV R, ZEMLIANOV A, GATIYATULLINA D, et al. Computational analysis of the influence of residual stress on the strength of composites with different aluminum matrices and carbide particles [J]. Metals, 2023, 13(4): 724. doi: 10.3390/met13040724
[32]	SWARTZ E T, POHL R O. Thermal boundary resistance [J]. Reviews of Modern Physics, 1989, 61(3): 605–668. doi: 10.1103/RevModPhys.61.605
[33]	ZHOU H Y, RAN M R, LI Y Q, et al. Improvement of thermal conductivity of diamond/Al composites by optimization of liquid-solid separation process [J]. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 2021, 297: 117267. doi: 10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2021.117267
[34]	HASSELMAN D P H, JOHNSON L F. Effective thermal conductivity of composites with interfacial thermal barrier resistance [J]. Journal of Composite Materials, 1987, 21(6): 508–515. doi: 10.1177/002199838702100602
[35]	LIU C H, WU C, ZHAO Y S, et al. Actively and reversibly controlling thermal conductivity in solid materials [J]. Physics Reports, 2024, 1058: 1–32. doi: 10.1016/j.physrep.2024.01.001
[36]	ZHANG W H, DU L, ZHU J W, et al. Preparation and thermal properties of special-shaped diamond/Cu composites [J]. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 2025, 1020: 179559. doi: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2025.179559
[37]	MCLACHLAN D S. The percolation exponents for electrical and thermal conductivities and the permittivity and permeability of binary composites [J]. Physica B: Condensed Matter, 2021, 606: 412658. doi: 10.1016/j.physb.2020.412658
[38]	KIM B W, PARK S H, KAPADIA R S, et al. Evidence of percolation related power law behavior in the thermal conductivity of nanotube/polymer composites [J]. Applied Physics Letters, 2013, 102(24): 243105. doi: 10.1063/1.4811497
[39]	KIM J I, KIM J, LEE S M, et al. Low-temperature hot-press sintering of AlN ceramics with MgO-CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ glass additives for ceramic heater applications [J]. Ceramics International, 2022, 48(18): 26022–26027. doi: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2022.05.284

Relative Articles

Supplements(0)

Cited By

Proportional views

Proportional views

通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com

1.
沈阳化工大学材料科学与工程学院沈阳 110142

Figures(9) / Tables(2)

Get Citation

PDF

XML

Article Metrics

Article views(837) PDF downloads(74)

Thermal Conductivity of AlN/Diamond Composites Sintered under High-Pressure and High-Temperature

doi: 10.11858/gywlxb.20261071

Abstract

References

Proportional views

Catalog

通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com

Article Metrics

Proportional views

Related

Thermal Conductivity of AlN/Diamond Composites Sintered under High-Pressure and High-Temperature

doi: 10.11858/gywlxb.20261071

Abstract

References

Proportional views

Catalog

通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com

Article Metrics

Proportional views

Related

Export File

Citation

Format

Content