Fabrication and characterization of highly thermal conductive Si3N4/diamond composite materials

A novel composite materials using silicon nitride (Si3N4) as the substrate and diamond particles as the reinforcement phase were developed to increase both thermal conductivity and mechanical properties. The Ti coating on the surfaces of the diamond particles facilitated the formation of a titanium carboni-tride (TiCiN1-i) interface between the two constituents during sintering, creating a strong bonding for high thermal conduction at the diamond-Si3N4 interface and inhibiting the graphitization of diamond during the sintering process. Furthermore, a sandwiched material design was made whereby Si3N4 and Si3N4/Ti-coated diamond layers were stacked alternately to endow the composites with a directional heat conduction characteristic. The thermal conductivity of the fabricated Si3N4/diamond composites increased by up to 272.87 % compared to that of commercially available Si3N4, making them excellent candidates for thermal management materials required in high-performance electronic devices. CO 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

A novel composite material using Si3N4 as the substrate and diamond particles as reinforcement was developed to enhance thermal conductivity and mechanical properties. The Ti coating on diamond particles promoted the formation of a strong bond at the diamond-Si3N4 interface, preventing graphitization. A sandwiched structure with alternating Si3N4 and Si3N4/Ti-coated diamond layers was designed to enable directional heat conduction. The fabricated Si3N4/diamond composites showed a significant increase in thermal conductivity, making them suitable for high-performance electronic devices.