Aluminum Nitride (AlN) Ceramic Components — Properties and Applications
AlN · 氮化鋁 · LONGYI grade ANG34
Aluminum nitride is the technical ceramic engineers reach for when a part has to move heat like a metal while insulating like a ceramic. LONGYI Precision Technology manufactures aluminum nitride ceramic components in grade ANG34 (99% purity) — machined to drawing for power module substrates, laser and LED heat sinks, and semiconductor process equipment. Produced in-house in Taiwan as an OEM / ODM manufacturer, not resold.
Material at a Glance
AlN does what no other material in the range can do at once: conduct heat like a metal and insulate like a ceramic.
Thermal conductivity of 220 W/(m·K) is 7.6× Alumina's 24–29 W/(m·K) and 73× Zirconia's 3 W/(m·K) — approaching pure aluminum — yet volume resistivity holds at >10¹⁴ Ω·cm and dielectric strength stays at 14 kV/mm. Add a 4.6 ×10⁻⁶/°C coefficient of thermal expansion — the closest match to silicon (≈3–4 ×10⁻⁶/°C) of any material LONGYI supplies — and a die bonded directly to it survives tens of thousands of thermal cycles without the bond line delaminating. The honest limit: hardness is only 10.4 GPa and flexural strength 310 MPa. AlN is a thermal management material, not a wear part.
How Aluminum Nitride Compares
Five properties that decide most selections. AlN leads two of them by a wide margin and trails on the other three — both sides matter for choosing correctly.
Bars above show where AlN sits in each property. Markers are spaced evenly by rank, not to linear scale. Representative grades: Aluminum Nitride = ANG34 · Alumina = AOW37 / AOI38 · Zirconia = ZOI60 · Silicon Carbide = SCB32 · Silicon Nitride = Si₃N₄-2 or -3 (highest per property) · Boron Nitride = CRVT-BN-H (2100°C rating is under inert atmosphere; air rating is 900°C) · Porous Ceramic = SED90 · Machinable = BN-T2300. Values from LONGYI internal property testing.
Aluminum Nitride Properties — Grade ANG34
Typical values from LONGYI internal testing. Fully dense with zero water absorption.
| Property | ANG3499% · Gray |
|---|---|
| Physical | |
| Bulk Densityg/cm³ | 3.4 |
| Water Absorption% | 0 |
| Mechanical | |
| Vickers Hardness HV1GPa | 10.4 |
| Flexural StrengthMPa | 310 |
| Compressive StrengthMPa | 2070 |
| Young's ModulusGPa | 320 |
| Poisson's Ratio— | 0.24 |
| Fracture ToughnessMPa·m½ | — |
| Thermal | |
| Thermal Expansion 40–400°C×10⁻⁶/°C | 4.6 |
| Thermal Expansion 40–800°C×10⁻⁶/°C | 5.3 |
| Thermal Conductivity 20°CW/(m·K) | 220 |
| Specific HeatJ/(kg·K) | 730 |
| Thermal Shock Resistance°C, quenched in water | — |
| Max Use Temperature°C | 2200 |
| Electrical | |
| Dielectric StrengthkV/mm | 14 |
| Volume Resistivity 20°CΩ·cm | >10¹⁴ |
| Volume Resistivity 300°CΩ·cm | >10¹⁰ |
| Volume Resistivity 500°CΩ·cm | 10⁸ |
| Dielectric Constantat 1 MHz | 8.6 |
Values are typical for grade ANG34 from LONGYI internal testing, not guaranteed minimums. A dash (—) means the property has not yet been characterized for this grade — fracture toughness and thermal shock resistance are not currently in LONGYI's AlN dataset, not zero; ask us if your application needs a measured value. Final part specification is governed by the approved drawing and order confirmation.
What Each Number Actually Buys You
Where Aluminum Nitride Is Used
Power Electronics & Thermal Management
- Power module substrates (IGBT, SiC MOSFET)
- Laser diode and LED heat sinks
- Ceramic heaters and heat-spreading plates
Semiconductor Process Equipment
- Electrostatic chuck (ESC) bodies
- Test sockets and probe card bases
- Process chamber high-temperature insulation
RF, Microwave & Legacy Replacement
- Microwave and RF packaging
- Non-toxic replacement for beryllium oxide (BeO)
When Aluminum Nitride Is the Wrong Choice
We would rather tell you the limits up front than have you machine a part that fails in service. Each of these is a real boundary in the data above.
For a sliding, rotating or abrasive contact surface, 10.4 GPa hardness and 310 MPa flexural strength are not enough — AlN is among the softest ceramics LONGYI supplies. Choose Alumina (Al₂O₃) at 13.7–15.2 GPa or Silicon Carbide (SiC) at 22–23 GPa instead.
If the part only has to insulate electrically, with no meaningful heat load to move, paying for 220 W/(m·K) buys nothing. Alumina (Al₂O₃) gives the same >10¹⁴ Ω·cm insulation at a materially lower cost.
For a load-bearing structural part, 310 MPa flexural strength is on the low side of the range. Zirconia (ZrO₂) reaches 1000 MPa and Silicon Carbide (SiC) reaches 540 MPa, both well above AlN.
AlN has zero water absorption, so vacuum can only be pulled through drilled holes or machined grooves. Porous Ceramic (PC) carries 35–45% open porosity with 2–100 µm pores, pulling vacuum evenly across the entire working face.
>10¹⁴ Ω·cm is excellent insulation — and a liability against a bare wafer or die, because charge accumulates and then releases in one damaging event. Use Anti-Static Ceramic (ATC) at 10⁶–10⁹ Ω/sq instead, where charge bleeds away continuously.
Parts We Make in Aluminum Nitride
Two of our standard product lines can be produced in Aluminum Nitride when thermal management, not wear resistance, is the design priority.
From Material to Finished Part
Choosing AlN is the easy half. Whether the geometry can actually be produced — and held to tolerance — depends on forming, sintering, grinding and measurement.
Advanced Ceramics Manufacturing
Aluminum nitride is sintered under a controlled nitrogen atmosphere — oxygen contamination degrades both thermal conductivity and insulation, so furnace atmosphere control matters more here than for oxide ceramics. Parts are then finished by diamond grinding and lapping to reach final tolerance and flatness.
See our manufacturing processAbout LONGYI Precision Technology
We are a Taiwan-based advanced ceramic manufacturer, not a trading house. Forming, sintering, CNC and 5-axis machining, brazing, metallization and final inspection are handled in-house, which is what makes true OEM / ODM work — build to drawing, build to sample — practical at low volume.
About LONGYI Precision TechnologyNot Sure AlN Is the Right Call for Your Thermal Design?
Send a drawing or describe the heat load, voltage and thermal cycling condition. Our engineers will confirm whether Aluminum Nitride — or a different material in the range — is the right fit, and return a quotation.
Talk to Our EngineersFrequently Asked Questions
What is Aluminum Nitride (AlN)?
Aluminum nitride is a sintered non-oxide technical ceramic (AlN) used where a part has to conduct heat away from a heat source while remaining electrically insulating — it bridges the gap between metal heat sinks and oxide ceramic insulators. LONGYI supplies it as grade ANG34 (99% purity).
Is "technical ceramics" the same as "advanced ceramics"?
Yes. Advanced ceramics, technical ceramics and fine ceramics are three regional names for the same family of engineered materials — North American and Taiwanese suppliers say advanced ceramics, European and German customers say technical ceramics (Technische Keramik) or engineering ceramics, and Japanese suppliers say fine ceramics. The material is identical; only the term changes with the region.
Why choose AlN over Alumina for a heat sink or substrate?
Because it moves heat 7.6–9× faster (220 vs 24–29 W/(m·K)) while keeping the same class of electrical insulation, and its 4.6 ×10⁻⁶/°C expansion tracks silicon far more closely than Alumina's 7.2. If the part only has to insulate, with no heat load, Alumina remains the cheaper choice.
Can Aluminum Nitride be used for structural or wear parts?
Not recommended. At 10.4 GPa hardness and 310 MPa flexural strength, AlN is among the softest ceramics LONGYI supplies. For structural load, choose Zirconia (1000 MPa) or Silicon Carbide (540 MPa); for wear resistance, choose Silicon Carbide (22–23 GPa).
What is the maximum service temperature for AlN?
2200°C continuous — the highest rating in LONGYI's ceramic range, tied only by Boron Nitride under an inert atmosphere. In real designs the limiting factor is almost always the surrounding assembly (solder, bonding adhesive, seals), not the ceramic itself.
Do you supply AlN to drawing, or only standard parts?
To drawing, and to sample. Custom OEM / ODM geometry is our normal work — send a 2D drawing or 3D model with the critical dimensions identified and we will confirm feasibility and grade fit before quoting.
Explore All LONGYI Ceramic Materials
Ten material families, all manufactured and machined in-house.
Also Known As
aluminium nitride, aluminum nitride, AlN, AlN ceramic, 氮化鋁, 氮化铝陶瓷, ANG34, aluminum nitride substrate, AlN substrate, AlN heat sink, AlN heat spreader, thermally conductive ceramic, thermally conductive insulator, thermally conductive electrical insulator, power module ceramic substrate, IGBT substrate ceramic, electrostatic chuck ceramic, ESC ceramic body, non-toxic BeO replacement, beryllia substitute, technical ceramic, advanced ceramic, engineering ceramic, fine ceramic
Aluminum Nitride Parts in Production
A sample of parts LONGYI has produced in aluminum nitride, from thermal-management substrates through to precision-machined structural components.
Ground shaft for a controlled fit, with a flanged head that acts as a hard mechanical stop and extends the creepage path across the insulator surface between adjoining conductive parts.
Held to a thin, uniform cross-section — since through-thickness thermal resistance scales directly with thickness, tight and consistent control here is what keeps die-to-heatsink temperature rise predictable from part to part.
Spiral channel machined into the face routes an embedded heating element along one continuous path with even turn spacing, while AlN's electrical insulation keeps the winding isolated from the plate body it is heating.
A keyway notch fixes the ring's rotational position so its four-hole bolt pattern lines up the same way on every install, removing reliance on the operator to hand-align the part during assembly.
Stepped-diameter body lets one machined part carry a mounting flange at its base and a keyed top recess, with side ports bored through for wiring or fluid lines — geometry shown is a design view pending final production photos.
Ground flat and to thickness at panel size before final dicing into device-sized substrates, keeping camber low across the panel so downstream metallization and die-attach stay uniform.