Numerical and experimental studies on synthesis of ultrafine nanosize powders of AlN by ion beam evaporation

Synthesis of ultrafine nanosize powders by ion beam evaporation (IBE) has been studied numerically and experimentally. Theoretical models have been developed, which involve such physical processes as beam-target interaction, plasma expansion, and the synthesis of powders. The macroscopic properties of the ultrafine powders have been predicted. As an application of our models, the macroscopic properties of AlN powders synthesized by IBE with an AlN target have been predicted. The energy density, pulse width, and spot size of the ion beam are 20 J/cm2, 70 ns, and 1 cm2, respectively. The main results have shown that the particle size distribution is log normal and that 70% of all particles exist between 20 and 40 nm. The average diameter and the specific surface area are ∼30 nm and ∼50 m2/g, respectively. Experimentally, the ultrafine AlN powders have been successfully synthesized by IBE, which has been verified by x-ray diffraction and transmission electron diffraction. Furthermore, particle size distributions have been obtained by transmission electron microscopy. The experimental results are found to be in a reasonable agreement with the numerical studies.