Deciphering Hot-press Sintering Process of AlN Nanoceramics

In this study, large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed using Fortran+MPI codes. The resulting visualizations, crafted with OVITO, offer an illuminating perspective on the nano-scale phenomena under investigation.

To your left, witness the dynamic sintering process of AlN particles with a diameter or 8 nm. Compare this to the sintering of larger, 16 nm diameter particles displayed on the right. Atoms colored in grey color are in amorphous region. Other colors indicate different crystal orientations. These visualizations reveal that sintering initiated with smaller nanoparticles leads to more rapid densification and a pronounced microstructural evolution, including significant grain growth, compared to systems with larger nanoparticles.

For a deeper dive into our findings and methodologies, read our published paper in Physical Review Materials: Hot-press Sintering of Aluminum Nitride Nanoceramics