Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 March 2011
The hardness of single-crystal aluminum nitride (AlN) 0.5-mm-thick wafers was measured at elevated temperatures and compared with that of other semiconductors. A Vickers indentation method was used to determine the hardness under an applied load of 0.5 – 5 N in the temperature range 20 - 1400°C. The average hardness was measured as 17.7 GPa at room temperature, harder than GaN and InN. The fracture toughness is 0.5 MPa•m1/2. AlN exhibits the hardness higher than that of GaN in the entire temperature range investigated. Up to about 1100°C, AlN maintains its hardness and thus, a high mechanical stability for AlN at elevated temperatures is deduced.