Abstract
The sintering behavior of the fine AlN powder with different amounts of sintering additive was investigated in the present work. The sintering aid was firstly synthesized by mixing as-received Y2O3, Li2CO3 and CaCO3 powders with a composition of 10.44Li2O-78.44Y2O3-11.12CaO(wt%), followed by calcining at 1400oC for 4h. And then the AlN powder doped with the as-synthesized sintering aid were fired at 1400-1650oC for 6h. At the initial stage of sintering, it was recognized that sintering of primary particles occurred in agglomerations. With an increase of firing temperature, particles were rearranged and grains grew rapidly at the final stage. It was also observed that the densified specimens were obtained at 1600oC.
