Process for producing aluminum nitride and aluminum nitride

Abstract

A process for producing aluminum nitride includes a nitrogen occluding step and a nitriding step. In the nitrogen occluding step, nitrogen is occluded in an aluminum powder having an average particle diameter of from 10 to 200 μm by holding the aluminum powder in a nitrogen gas atmosphere of 460° C. or more for 10 minutes or more. In the nitriding step, the aluminum powder with nitrogen occluded therein is nitrided by developing a nitriding reaction at a temperature of from 500 to 1,000° C. while holding the aluminum powder in a nitrogen atmosphere whose nitrogen gas pressure falls in a range of from 80 to 300 kpa. Thus, aluminum nitride, in which aluminum is inhibited from remaining and which has small particle diameters, is calcined at a lower temperature and is actively used to make high-quality substrates, can be produced at a lower temperature with a high yield.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.