Structural, thermal and mechanical properties of aluminum nitride ceramics with CeO2 as a sintering aid

AlN ceramics have been prepared with CeO2 as a sintering aid at a sintering temperature of 1900 °C. The effect of CeO2 contents on the microstructure, density, thermal conductivity and hardness was investigated. Addition of CeO2 exerted a significant effect on the densification of AlN ceramics and hence on the microstructure. Thermal conductivity of AlN ceramics increased with CeO2 content and was greater than that of Y2O3-doped AlN ceramics at a similar sintering temperature. The resulting AlN ceramics with 1.50 wt% of CeO2 had the highest relative density of 99.94%, thermal conductivity of 156 W m−1 K−1 and hardness of 72.46 kg/mm2.