Conduction aluminas compared

Alumina, or aluminum oxide [1344-28-17, has a thermal conductivity 20 times higher than that of most oxides (5). The flexural strength of commercial high alumina ceramics is two to four times greater than those of most oxide ceramics. The drawbacks of alumina ceramics are their relatively high thermal expansion compared to the chip material (siUcon) and their moderately high dielectric constant. 

Although beryllium oxide [1304-56-9] is in many ways superior to most commonly used alumina-based ceramics, the principal drawback of beryUia-based ceramics is their toxicity thus they should be handled with care. The thermal conductivity of beryUia is roughly about 10 times that of commonly used alumina-based materials (5). BeryUia [1304-56-9] has a lower dielectric constant, a lower coefficient of thermal expansion, and slightly less strength than alumina. Aluminum nitride materials have begun to appear as alternatives to beryUia. Aluminum nitride [24304-00-5] has a thermal conductivity comparable to that of beryUia, but deteriorates less with temperature the thermal conductivity of aluminum nitride can, theoreticaUy, be raised to over 300 W/(m-K) (6). The dielectric constant of aluminum nitride is comparable to that of alumina, but the coefficient of thermal expansion is lower. 

Finally, it is to be expected that the evaporation coefficient of a very stable compound, such as alumina, which has a large heat of sublimation resulting from the decomposition into the elements, will be low. Since the heat of evaporation must be drawn from the surface, in die case of a substance widr a low thermal conductivity such as an oxide, the resultant cooling of the surface may lead to a temperature gradient in and immediately below the surface. This will lower die evaporation rate compared to that which is calculated from the apparent, bulk, temperature of the evaporating sample as observed by optical pyromeuy, and thus lead to an apparently low free surface vaporization coefficient. This is probably die case in the evaporation of alumina in a vacuum. 

If the rf source is applied to the analysis of conducting bulk samples its figures of merit are very similar to those of the dc source [4.208]. This is also shown by comparative depth-profile analyses of commercial coatings an steel [4.209, 4.210]. The capability of the rf source is, however, unsurpassed in the analysis of poorly or nonconducting materials, e.g. anodic alumina films [4.211], chemical vapor deposition (CVD)-coated tool steels [4.212], composite materials such as ceramic coated steel [4.213], coated glass surfaces [4.214], and polymer coatings [4.209, 4.215, 4.216]. These coatings are used for automotive body parts and consist of a number of distinct polymer layers on a metallic substrate. The total thickness of the paint layers is typically more than 100 pm. An example of a quantitative depth profile on prepainted metal-coated steel is shown as in Fig. 4.39. 

Compared with the ionic conductivity of p" —alumina tubes, the electronic conductivity is negligible. The electronic resistivity was found to be 109Qcm at 300 °C and 7x lO3 Qcm at 1000 °C [27]. 

Ramsteiner et al. [156] compared alkali flame ionisation, microcoulometric, flame photometric and electrolytic conductivity detectors for the determination of triazine herbicides in water. Methanol extracts were cleaned up on an alumina column and 12 herbicides were determined by gas chromatography with use of conventional columns containing 3% Carbowax 20m on 80-100 mesh Chromosorb G. 

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