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Characterization of AlN-based ceramic composites for use as millimeter-wave susceptor materials at high temperature: Dielectric properties of AlN:Mo with 0.25 vol% to 4.0 vol% Mo from 25 to 550 °C

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 July 2019

Brad W. Hoff*
Affiliation:
Air Force Research Laboratory, Directed Energy Directorate, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico 87117, USA
Steven C. Hayden
Affiliation:
Aramco Research Center – Boston, Aramco Services Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
Martin S. Hilario
Affiliation:
Air Force Research Laboratory, Directed Energy Directorate, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico 87117, USA
Rachael O. Grudt
Affiliation:
Aramco Research Center – Boston, Aramco Services Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
Frederick W. Dynys
Affiliation:
NASA Glenn Research Center, Materials and Structures Division, Cleveland, Ohio 44135, USA
Anthony E. Baros
Affiliation:
Air Force Research Laboratory, Directed Energy Directorate, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico 87117, USA
Ian M. Rittersdorf
Affiliation:
Naval Research Laboratory, Plasma Physics Division, Washington, District of Columbia 20375, USA
Michele L. Ostraat
Affiliation:
Aramco Research Center – Boston, Aramco Services Company, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: brad.hoff@us.af.mil

Abstract

Microstructural analysis and bulk dielectric property analysis (real and imaginary permittivity at 95 GHz) were performed at temperatures ranging from 25 to 550 °C for ceramic composites comprising a hot-pressed aluminum nitride matrix (containing yttria and trace carbon as sintering additives) with molybdenum powder as a millimeter-wave radiation-absorbing additive. Loading percentages in the range of 0.25 vol% to 4.0 vol% Mo were characterized. For the temperature regime evaluated, the temperature-related changes in real and imaginary components of permittivity were found to be relatively modest compared with those driven by Mo loading. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopic analysis of Mo grains and surrounding regions showed the presence of a mixed-phase layer, containing Mo2C, at the AlN–Mo interface. The Mo2C-containing mixed-phase layer, typically a few micrometers thick, surrounded the Mo grains. Further characterization of this mixed-phase layer is required to determine its contribution to the dielectric properties of the composite.

Information

Type
Invited Feature Paper
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2019
Figure 0

Figure 1: Schematic rendering of a heat exchanger configuration using millimeter-wave susceptor materials.

Figure 1

Figure 2: Crystallographic and particle size characterization for Mo powder prior to incorporation into the AlN matrix. (a) XRD indicated highly crystalline Mo with no other crystalline materials detected. (b) Powder aggregates were measured via SEM (inset), and the spherical components of the aggregates were measured to provide the histogram and log-normal distribution curve. The average particle size was determined to be 1.7 μm.

Figure 2

Figure 3: SEM micrographs of AlN:Mo composites with loading percentages (by volume) of (a) 0.25%, (b) 0.5%, (c) 1.0%, (d) 2.0%, (e) 3.0%, and (f) 4.0%. Left split for each loading percentage depicts the region using a detector that is sensitive to topology and atomic weight; right panel splits reveal the region using a detector that has a low sensitivity to topology, allowing differences in Z# to account for the majority of contrast changes across the micrograph. Mo aggregates appear as the brightest pixels in these micrographs, followed by Y and then AlN, as indicated in panel (b).

Figure 3

Figure 4: Number of Mo aggregates per 0.25 mm2 of surface area as measured via large-area mapping SEM using a backscatter detector. Aggregate sizes are binned into three size categories: 0–1 μm2, 1–10 μm2, and >10 μm2. Percent composition of each aggregate size domain for each additive loading is represented by the pie charts above each bar. Total number of aggregates increased across the series, but the number of large (>10 μm2) aggregates increased more slowly than the number of small aggregates, leading to a larger percentage of small aggregates in the higher additive concentration regimes.

Figure 4

Figure 5: SEM micrograph with elemental composition maps as individual breakout maps by element and as an overlay on the micrograph. Color corresponds to elemental identity as indicated, whereas intensity corresponds to relative concentration for that element. The nitrogen signal is hidden in the overlay for clarity. The carbon signal is artificially inflated by the ubiquitous presence of carbon on surfaces, but some localization is still evident. Lower resolution scans that are more accurate for measuring carbon distribution only are provided in the supplementary material.

Figure 5

Figure 6: Phase analysis overlain onto an SEM micrograph. (a) The micrograph showing an isolated Mo grain (yellow) and a yttria aggregate (pink) in an aluminum nitride matrix (blue). Detected phase regions are indicated by color. (b) Percent composition for each phase region by element. The edges of the Mo aggregate show evidence of a finite, compositionally mixed region comprising both Mo and AlN (purple and cyan).

Figure 6

Figure 7: Measured real and imaginary permittivity as a function of temperature for AlN:Mo composite formulations having (a) 0.25 vol%, (b) 0.5 vol%, (c) 1.0 vol%, (d) 2.0 vol%, (e) 3.0 vol%, or (f) 4.0 vol% Mo, as indicated.

Figure 7

Figure 8: Measured (a) real and (b) imaginary permittivity data as a function of Mo concentration for temperatures of 100 and 500 °C.

Supplementary material: File

Hoff et al. supplementary material

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