The Durability of Various Crucible Materials for Aluminum Nitride Crystal Growth by Sublimation
B. Liu, J.H. Edgar, Z. Gu, D. Zhuang
Department of Chemical Engineering, Kansas State University
B. Raghothamachar, M. Dudley
Department of Materials Science Engineering, State University of New York at Stony Brook
A. Sarua, Martin Kuball
University of Bristol, H. H. Wills Physics Laboratory
H. M. Meyer III
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, High Temperature Materials Laboratory
This article was received on Monday, July 12, 2004 and
accepted on Wednesday, October 20, 2004. Abstract
Producing
high purity aluminum nitride crystals by the sublimation-recondensation
technique is difficult due to the inherently reactive crystal growth
environment, normally at temperature in excess of 2100 °C. The
durability of the furnace fixture materials (crucibles, retorts, etc.) at such
a high temperature remains a critical problem. In the present study, the
suitability of several refractory materials for AlN crystal growth is
investigated, including tantalum carbide, niobium carbide, tungsten, graphite,
and hot-pressed boron nitride. The thermal and chemical properties and
performance of these materials in inert gas, as well as under AlN crystal
growth conditions are discussed. TaC and NbC are the most stable crucible
materials with very low elemental vapor pressures in the crystal growth system.
Compared with refractory material coated graphite crucibles, HPBN crucible is
better for AlN self-seeded growth, as crystals tend to nucleate in thin
colorless platelets with low dislocation density.Outline
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Cite this article as: MRS Internet J. Nitride Semicond. Res. 9, 6(2004).
last updated Thursday, October 21, 2004 3:10:56 PM.© 2004 The Materials Research Society
