Characteristics such as CTE close to that of silicon, high thermal conductivity, and good dielectric properties make aluminum nitride (AIN) an excellent dielectric for packaging silicon-based high density multichip interconnects. However, there remains many aspects of its behavior that have not been characterized. One such example is the behavior of the various metallizations used within a package. As with A12O3, these metallizations must contribute toward a hermetic seal separating the die from the environment. However, the chemical behavior of the metallization systems used for A12O3 may not be compatible with non-oxide ceramics such as AIN. Consequently, these chemical interactions are investigated in view of the requirements for each application within electronic packages. Hermeticity testing results are also included in the discussion.