Fabrication and joining mechanism of Nano-Cu/Si3N4 ceramic substrates

Abstract

A novel method for fabricating a nano-Cu/Si3N4 ceramic substrate is proposed. The nano-Cu/Si3N4 ceramic substrate is first fabricated using spark plasma sintering (SPS) with the addition of nanoscale multilayer films (Ti/TiN/Ti/TiN/Ti) as transition layers. The microstructures of the nano-Cu metal layer and the interface between Cu and Si3N4 are investigated. The results show that a higher SPS temperature increases the grain size of the nano-Cu metal layer and affects the hardness. The microstructure of the transition layer evolves significantly after SPS. Ti in the transition layer can react with Si3N4 and with nano-Cu to form interfacial reaction layers of TiN and Ti–Cu, respectively; these ensure stronger bonding between nano-Cu and Si3N4. Higher SPS temperatures improve the diffusion ability of Ti and Cu, inducing the formation of Ti3Cu3O compounds in the nano-Cu metal layer and Ti2Cu in the transition layer. This study provides an important strategy for designing and constructing a new type of ceramic substrate.