Temperature Dependence of the Thermal Diffusivity/Conductivity of Aluminum Nitride

Abstract

The temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity of a polycrystalline AIN was measured using the flash‐diffusivity technique over a range of experimental conditions. Thermal conductivity data from room temperature to 300°C, obtained with attenuated laser pulse energies to minimize the specimen temperature increase, were found to be inversely proportional to the absolute temperature, as expected from theory. For high pulse energies, the experimental data deviated significantly from expected behavior. This latter effect is offered as an explanation for the anomalously low temperature dependence for the thermal conductivity reported in the literature.