Terahertz characterization of Y2O3-added AlN ceramics

Terahertz optical and dielectric properties of AlN ceramics fabricated by hot pressed sintering are investigated by THz time-domain spectroscopy in the frequency range of 0.2-3.5 THz. The measured properties of the pure AlN ceramic are compared with those of Y2O3-added AlN ceramic. Two prominent resonance modes, which are essentially responsible for the dielectric properties of the Y2O3-added AlN in terahertz regime, are characterized at ωTO1/(2π) = 2.76 THz (92 cm−1) and ωTO2/(2π) = 18.2 THz (605 cm−1) and are well described by the pseudo-harmonic oscillator model through theoretical fitting. The resonance ωTO1 at 2.76 THz is proposed to be due to the formation of a YAG (Y3Al5O12) secondary phase in Y2O3-added AlN ceramic. From the experimental results, good correlation is observed between the prominent peak of YAG secondary phase at 2.76 THz and thermal conductivity. Additionally, there is a high correlation between densification and refractive index of AlN ceramics fabricated by hot pressed sintering.