CERAMIC COMPOSITE AND PROCESS FOR PREPARATION THEREOF

Abstract: Disclosed is a ceramic composite consisting essentially of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), aluminum nitride and, if any, unavoidably formed aluminum oxynitride (AlON), and a sintering aid and/or a reaction product of the sintering aid with the above-mentioned components (h-BN, AlN and AlON), in which the total amount of the sintering aid and the reaction product is 0.01 to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the sum of h-BN, AlN and AlON. This sintered body comprises AlN and AlON in a total amount of 60 to 5% by weight with 40 (not inclusive) to 95% by weight of h-BN. Alternatively, this sintered body comprises AlN and AlON in a total amount of 80 to 5% by weight with 20 to 95% by weight of h-BN, the degree of anisotropy of the thermal conductivity of the sintered body (the ratio of the maximum thermal conductivity to the minimum thermal conductivity, the direction of the maximum thermal conductivity being perpendicular to the direction of the minimum thermal conductivity) being at least 2.

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ceramic composite and a process for the preparation thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a ceramic composite composed mainly of hexagonal boron nitride and aluminum nitride, which is electrically insulating and has a high thermal conductivity, a relatively small thermal expansion coefficient, a low dielectric constant, and a good machinability. More specifically, the present invention relates to a ceramic composite which can be used as an IC package material, an IC substrate material, an electrically insulating radiating material with high thermal conductivity applicable at room temperature to a high temperature, and a machinable ceramic material. (2) Description of the Related Art Aluminum nitride has a high thermal conductivity of about 110 to about 195 W/m·K at room temperature, which is several times to ten times as high as the thermal conductivity of alumina. Accordingly, aluminum nitride has attracted attention as a substrate of a semiconductor device or a package material, to replace alumina, and is in practical use in this field (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61-270264, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-36069 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-41766). This is because, to satisfy recent requirements for a reduction in the size of electronic devices, and to improve the performances thereof, an increase of the degree of integration, a multiplication of the functions, an increase of the operation speed, an increase of the output, and an enhancement of the reliability are being rapidly developed, with the result that the quantities of heat generated from semiconductors tend to increase correspondingly. Nevertheless, several problems are encountered when aluminum nitride is utilized as an IC package material, an IC substrate material or an electrically insulating material. For example, although aluminum nitride has a higher thermal conductivity than alumina, and thus the problem of the heat radiating efficiency can be solved, the dielectric constant at room temperature and 1 MHz is as large as 9 to 10, and therefore, the delay of a signal in a wiring pattern formed thereon is prolonged, and accordingly, high-speed operation is hindered. Moreover, since the thermal expansion coefficient of aluminum nitride is larger than that of a single crystal of silicon, high-density packaging is difficult. The machining of an aluminum nitride sintered body, as well as that of ordinary structural ceramics, is difficult, and the sintered body is defective in that a long time is required to machine it into a desired shape, and thus the machining cost is increased. A hexagonal boron nitride sintered body has an excellent machinability, corrosion resistance, thermal shock resistance, and electrically insulating property, and therefore, this sintered body is used in many fields. In general, the hexagonal boron nitride ceramics is produced by the hot-press method using an oxide type assistant, and it is known that the sintered body obtained according to this method has a structural anisotropy attributable to the layered crystal structure of hexagonal boron nitride [see, for example, Bulletin of the Ceramic Society of Japan, Vol. 7, No. 4, page 243 (1972)]. This anisotropy is also found in the physical properties such as thermal conductivity, but even in a sintered body in which the anisotropy exists, the thermal conductivity is not very high, e.g., it has been reported that the thermal conductivity is only about 60 W/m·K at highest see, for example, Electronic Ceramics, Vol. 17, No. 84, page 68 (1986)]. The reason for this is considered to be that a large amount of the oxide type sintering aids or a reaction product of the sintering aids with another component is present in the sintered body. A sintered body composed solely of boron nitride has a relatively lower thermal conductivity than that of the aluminum nitride sintered body, but the thermal expansion coefficient of boron nitride is too low, and a good match with silicon, which semiconductor is to be actually mounted on a substrate or package, cannot be obtained. Accordingly, boron nitride is rarely utilized as an IC package material or an IC substrate material. A sintered body formed by combining aluminum nitride with hexagonal boron nitride, mainly in an attempt to improve the machinability of the sintered body while maintaining the high thermal conductivity of the aluminum nitride sintered body, and a process for the preparation of this composite have been proposed. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-195058 discloses a process for preparation of an aluminum nitride sintered body by adding at least one compound selected from the group of calcium nitrite, barium nitrite and strontium nitrite as a sintering aid in an amount of 0.01 - 5% by weight to an aluminum nitride powder or a mixed powder of aluminum nitride with boron nitride and/or silicon nitride, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 60-195059 discloses a sintered body comprising aluminum nitride, boron nitride, and compounds of metals of the groups IIa and IIIa, in which polygonal aluminum nitride particles are filled in fracture planes and a thin layer of boron nitride is interposed in a part of, or all of the grain boundary. It is stated that this sintered body is characterized in that it is a machinable ceramic composite which can be machined at a high speed by an ordinary tool. This sintered body is homogeneous and isotropic, and a value of 55 to 122 W/m·K has been reported as an example of the thermal conductivity thereof. Nevertheless, although this sintered body has an excellent machinability, the thermal conductivity is 122 W/m·K at highest, and in some applications this thermal conductivity is not sufficient for an IC substrate material, an IC package material or an electrically insulating material. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-32073 discloses a process in which an electrically insulating sintered body having a high thermal conductivity is prepared by incorporating up to 30% by weight of cubic or hexagonal boron nitride in a aluminum nitride, forming the mixture, and sintering the formed body in a vacuum or in a non-oxidizing atmosphere, or hot-press-sintering the formed body. This publication discloses that this sintered body has a thermal conductivity of about 85 to about 195 W/m·K, but does not disclose the anisotropy of the sintered body or the machinability of the sintered body with an ordinary tool or the like. Furthermore, since these aluminum nitride/boron nitride ceramic composites have a composition close to aluminum nitride, these ceramics are defective in that, like aluminum nitride, the dielectric constant is large and the thermal expansion coefficient is large. Even in these aluminum nitride/boron nitride ceramic composites, in some certain preparation, as in the case of boron nitride which is sintered by hot-pressing, sometimes the structural anisotropy and the anisotropy of the physical properties attributed to the structural anisotropy of boron nitride are present (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 62-56377), then the preparation process for eliminating this anisotropy and the way of the utilization of a material having a very small anisotropy has been focused and subjected for investigation. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing conventional techniques, the present invention is intended to provide a novel sintered body of a boron nitride/aluminum nitride ceramic composites system satisfying all of the requirements for thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, electrically insulating property, dielectric constant, and machinability. Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide ceramic composites having a relatively small thermal expansion coefficient, a low dielectric constant, and an excellent machinability, while maintaining a high thermal conductivity and a high electrically insulating property. Another object of the present invention is to provide a ceramic composite in which the thermal conductivity is greatly improved, though only in a certain plane, while maintaining an excellent machinability. In accordance with the present invention, these objects can be realized by a ceramic composite consisting essentially of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), aluminum nitride (AlN), unavoidably formed aluminum oxynitride (AlON), and a sintering aid and/or a reaction product of the sintering aid with the other components (h-BN, AlN and AlON), the total amount of the sintering aid and the reaction product being 0.01 to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the sum of h-BN, AlN and AlON, the sintered body comprises AlN and AlON in a total amount of 80 to 5% by weight with 20 to 95% by weight of h-BN, a degree of anisotropy of the thermal conductivity of the sintered body (the ratio of the maximum thermal conductivity to the minimum thermal conductivity, the direction of the maximum thermal conductivity being perpendicular to the direction of the minimum thermal conductivity) being at least 2. This h-BN/AlN ceramic composite provides a sintered body having a degree of anisotropy of the thermal conductivity of at least 2 and a thermal conductivity not lower than 150 W/m·K. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing the anisotropic h-BN/AlN ceramic composite according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The h-BN/AlN ceramic composites of the present invention are commonly characterized in that the sintered body consists essentially of h-BN, AlN, unavoidably formed AlON, if any, and a sintering aid and/or a reaction product of the sintering aid with the above-mentioned other components (h-BN, AlN and AlON), the total amount of the sintering aid and the reaction product thereof being 0.01 to 5 parts by weight, preferably 0.2 to 0.5 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the sum of h-BN, AlN and AlON. Furthermore, the (h-BN)/(AlN + AlON) weight ratio is from 20/80 to 95/5. Hexagonal boron nitride in the sintered body is obtained by using as the starting material a hexagonal boron nitride powder having as high a purity as possible. Boron nitride includes hexagonal boron nitride and cubic boron nitride. The hexagonal boron nitride is used because the machinability is improved thereby. Aluminum nitride in the sintered body is obtained by using an aluminum nitride powder as the starting material. Aluminum oxynitride is a compound formed during the sintering by reaction between aluminum nitride and an oxide component, mainly aluminum oxide formed on the surface of the aluminum nitride powder [Toshikazu Sakai, Journal of the Ceramic Society of Japan, 86 (3), 125 (1978), and J. W. Maccauley et al., Progress in Nitrogen Ceramics, page 111 (1983)], and it is known that several compound phases for aluminum oxynitride exist. Aluminum oxynitride is exactly represented by Al (8/3 + x/3) O x N x but is referred to hereinafter as AlON, for convenience. These compound phases depend mainly on the temperature adopted for the production of the sintered body. In the present invention, the compound phase of aluminum oxynitride is not particularly critical, and the aluminum oxynitride may be present in an amount of 0 to 7.5% by weight based on the aluminum nitride content. In the present invention, the aluminum oxynitride may be present in an amount of up to 7.5% by weight of the aluminum nitride, but is preferably in a less amount as possible to obtain high thermal conductivity. Particularly, the second type of the sintered body having the anisotropy particularly preferably contains the aluminum oxynitride in an amount of not more than 1% by weight of the aluminum nitride. This reduction of the amount of aluminum oxynitride in the sintered body can be realized by appropriately selecting an amount of a calcium or yttrium compound added as a sintering aid so that a complex compound of CaAl₁₂O₁₉ , CaAl₄O₇ , CaAl₂O₄ etc., when the calcium compound is added, and Y₃Al₅O₁₂ , YAlO₃ , Y₄Al₂O₉ , etc., when the yttrium compound is added, is formed and the aluminum oxynitride is disappeared in the sintered body. The appropriate amount of the sintering aid to be added depends on the amount of oxide formed on the surface of the starting materials. Selection of the amount of the sintering aid to be added should be carefully done since the thermal conductivity of the sintered body is sensitive to the amount of the added sintering aid, as described below. As typical instances of the sintering aid used in the present invention, there can be mentioned calcium compounds such as calcium oxide, calcium carbide, calcium carbonate, calcium nitrate, calcium fluoride, calcium hydroxide, calcium cyanide, and calcium cyanamide, and yttrium compounds such as yttrium oxide, yttrium carbide, yttrium fluoride, and yttrium nitrate. Boron oxide can be used in combination with these sintering aids. The reaction product of the sintering aid with other components (h-BN, AlN and AlON) consists mainly of calcium aluminate or yttrium aluminate. Calcium aluminate and yttrium aluminate are a compound composed of calcium oxide and aluminum oxide and a compound composed of yttrium oxide and aluminum oxide, respectively, and it is known that several compounds can be formed by varying the mixing ratio of the two components [R.W. Nurse et al., Trans. Brit. Ceram. Soc. 64 (9), 416 (1965) and T. Noguchi et al., Kogyo Kagaku Zasshi, 70 (6), 839 (1967)]. In the present invention, the kind of calcium aluminate or yttrium aluminate is not particularly critical. As other compound, there can be mentioned calcium boride, calcium borate, and yttrium borate, but substantially, there is no possibility of a formation of calcium borate and yttrium borate. Where anhydrous boron oxide (B₂O₃) is used as the sintering aid, since this compound is substantially vaporized and most of the remaining B₂O₃ is converted to boron nitride, during the sintering, boron oxide is not substantially present in the sintered body. In the sintered body of the present invention, the sintering aid and the reaction product thereof are present in an amount of 0.01 to 5 parts by weight, preferably 0.2 to 5 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the sum of h-BN, AlN, and AlON. If the amount of the sintering aid is smaller than 0.01 part by weight, a sintered body having the intended characteristics cannot be obtained. Of the sintering aids, as mentioned above, B₂O₃ used in a particular case is not substantially present in the sintered body. Accordingly, the calcium compound or yttrium compound and the reaction product thereof are mainly present in the sintered body, but if the amount exceeds 5 parts by weight, a decrease of the thermal conductivity occurs. The sintering aid, especially the above-mentioned calcium compound or yttrium compound, promotes densification because it forms a liquid phase, and to reduce the amount of oxygen in aluminum nitride particles and increase the thermal conductivity, the sintering aid should be contained in on amount of at least 0.01 part by weight, preferably at least 0.2 part by weight. Incorporation of the sintering aid in an amount exceeding 5 parts by weight is not preferred because a decrease of the thermal conductivity occurs. The ceramic composite provided according to the present invention is a sintered body comprising 80 to 5% by weight of the total amount of AlN, and AlON if present, with 20 to 95% by weight of h-BN, and further comprising 0.01 to 5 parts by weight, preferably 0.2 to 5 parts by weight of a sintering aid and/or a reaction product thereof with the other components per 100 parts by weight of the sum of h-BN, AlN and AlON, wherein the degree of anisotropy of the thermal conductivity of the sintered body (the ratio of the maximum thermal conductivity to the minimum thermal conductivity, the direction of the maximum thermal conductivity being perpendicular to the direction of the minimum thermal conductivity) is at least 2. Where the composition has a content of h-BN close to 20% by weight based on the sum of h-BN, AlN and AlON, a sintered body can be obtained in which the flexural strength and Vickers hardness are relatively high, the thermal expansion coefficient is relatively large, and the anisotropy is relatively small. Conversely, where the composition has an amount of h-BN close to 95% by weight, a sintered body can be obtained in which the anisotropy is conspicuous, the thermal expansion is relatively small in a two-dimensional plane, and the machinability is very good. If the composition is outside this range and the content of h-BN is lower than 20% by weight, the anisotropy of the sintered body is not conspicuous and the thermal conductivity is substantially equal to that of the AlN sintered body, and therefore, since the sintered body is composed substantially solely of AlN, the machinability of the obtained sintered body is reduced. In a sintered body having an h-BN content exceeding 95% by weight, the flexural strength and the thermal conductivity are low. Preferably, the content of h-BN is 20 to 80% by weight, especially 25 to 75% by weight, based on the sum of h-BN, AlN and AlON. This sintered body having an anisotropy has a structure in which boron nitride particles are oriented and laminated in the form of thin scales in the direction of the z axis, as shown in the diagram of Fig. 1, and accordingly, the anisotropy of the physical property values such as the thermal conductivity is produced. By the degree of anisotropy is meant the ratio of the thermal conductivity in an optional direction on the plane (x-y plane) including the x axis and y axis (the maximum thermal conductivity) and the thermal conductivity in the direction of the z axis (the maximum thermal conductivity), i.e., the ratio of the thermal conductivity in an optional direction on the x-y plane/the thermal conductivity in the direction of the z axis. If the hot-pressing axis is set in the direction of the z axis, a lamination of BN occurs in the direction of the z axis and the thermal conductivity is poor in this direction. On the other hand, in the x axis and y axis and the plane including both axes, the sintered body shows a high thermal conductivity. In the sintered body of the present invention, there exists an anisotropy of the values of physical properties other than the thermal conductivity, such as the thermal expansion coefficient and Vickers hardness, but in the instant specification and appended claims, reference to the degree of anisotropy denotes only the anisotropy of the thermal conductivity. This sintered body has a degree of anisotropy of at least 2, and the value of the higher thermal conductivity (the thermal conductivity in an optional direction on the x-y plane including the x axis and y axis) is at least 100 W/m·K, preferably at least 150 W/m·K. The composition satisfying this requirement comprises 20 to 95% by weight of h-BN, preferably 20 to 80% by weight of h-BN, of the sum of h-BN, AlN, and AlON. Although this anisotropy is observed in a sintered body composed solely of h-BN, the thermal conductivity is not very high, i.e., about 60 W/m·K, at highest. A thermal conductivity of at least 100 W/m·K, preferably at least 150 W/m·K, is obtained for the first time by an incorporation of at least 5% by weight, preferably 20 to 80% by weight, of AlN (and AlON). The grain size constituting the sintered body, especially the grain size of h-BN, has a great influence on the anisotropy of the sintered body. The average grain size of h-BN constituting this sintered body is at least 1 µm, preferably 5 µm to 30 µm. Changes of the thermal conductivity caused by changing the composition of the sintered body composed of h-BN grains having an average grain size of at least 1 µm will be described in detail in the examples given hereinafter. When the AlN content is increased, the thermal conductivity is highest at an h-BN content of about 75 to 50%. If the AlN content is further increased, the value of the high thermal conductivity gradually decreases and becomes close to the value of the sintered body of AlN. Changes of the lower thermal conductivity, i.e., the thermal conductivity in the direction of the z axis in Fig. 1, are such that the thermal conductivity is almost constant when the content of boron nitride is up to 50% by weight, but if the AlN content exceeds 50% by weight, the value of the thermal conductivity gradually increases and becomes close to the value of the sintered body of AlN, and the anisotropy is usually lost. The change of the thermal conductivity will now be examined with respect to the anisotropy. The degree of anisotropy is largest in a composition comprising about 75 to about 50% by weight of boron nitride, and the value is at least 10 in many cases and as large as about 15 in an extreme case. If the h-BN content is about 50% by weight and higher, an increase of the content of AlN and AlON results in a gradual decrease of the degree of anisotropy, and the degree of anisotropy is about 2 when the h-BN content is about 20% by weight and the content of AlN and AlON is about 80% by weight. The degree of anisotropy of the sintered body composed of h-BN grains having an average grain size smaller than 1 µm will now be described. The degree of anisotropy of the sintered body composed of h-BN grains having an average grain size of about 0.1 µm is small and about 1/5 to about 1/10 of the degree of anisotropy of the sintered body according to the present invention. Accordingly, in a specific composition, the degree of anisotropy is at least 2 and the higher thermal conductivity is at least 100 W/m·K, preferably at least 150 W/m·K. In case of the sintered body composed of h-BN grains having a grain size of about 0.01 µm, the degree of anisotropy is almost equal to 1, and the change of the thermal conductivity according to the composition is such that the thermal conductivity tends to monotonously increase with an increase of the content of AlN (and AlON). More specifically, in the anisotropic sintered body according to the present invention, if the average grain size of h-BN grains constituting the sintered body is at least 1 µm, a desired thermal conductivity and a desired degree of anisotropy can be easily obtained where a composition has an h-BN content of 20 to 95% by weight, preferably 20 to 80% by weight. By the grain size of h-BN grains referred to herein is meant the size in the plane direction of thin scaly boron nitride grains, and the size of the thickness direction is excluded therefrom. In this sintered body, preferably the sintering aid and the reaction product of the sintering aid with other components are present in an amount of 0.01 to 5 parts by weight, preferably 0.2 to 5 parts by weight, per 100 parts by weight of the sum of h-BN, AlN and AlON. The thermal conductivity, especially the higher thermal conductivity, of this sintered body is very sensitive to the amount of sintering aid added, and the optimum amount of sintering aid added depends mainly on the surface condition of the starting powder, especially the amount of the oxide formed on the surface. This h-BN/AlN sintered body having an anisotropy can be easily machined and processed, regardless of the composition, so long as the boron nitride content is 20 to 95% by weight. The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the following examples, that by no means limit the scope of the invention. Example 1 A hexagonal boron nitride powder having an average particle size of 6 µm, and aluminum nitride powder having an average particle size of 1.8 µm, and calcium carbide were mixed at a ratio shown in Table 2, and wet mixing was carried out for 24 hours in a ball mill using acetone as the solvent. The resultant powder was dried and filled in a graphite die, and hot-press sintering was carried out at 1800°C under a pressure of 40 MPa for 2 hours in a nitrogen gas flow of 2 ℓ/min. The cooling rate was adjusted to 10°C/min. The bulk density, thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, flexural strength, Vickers hardness, specific dielectric constant and electric resistance of the obtained sintered body were measured, and since an anisotropy existed in the sintered body, the thermal conductivity, thermal expansion coefficient, flexural strength, and Vickers hardness were determined with respect to either the directions perpendicular or parallel to the compression axis of the hot pressing. The bulk density was measured according to the Archimedes method, using water, the thermal conductivity was measured by the laser flash method, the Vickers hardness was measured under a load of 1 to 5 kg, the average thermal expansion coefficient was determined in the range of from 0 to 400°C according to the differential method using an aluminum oxide (corundum) sintered body as the reference material, and the strength was determined according to the three-point bending strength method of the JIS Standards. The results are shown in Table 2. A degree of anisotropy as prominent as 2.1 to 13.6 was observed when the boron nitride content was 95 to 20% by weight, and in each composition, the higher thermal conductivity was at least 100 W/m·K. There was a tendency for the degree of anisotropy of the thermal expansion coefficient to be decreased with a decrease of the boron nitride content. The flexural strength tended to increase with a decrease of the boron nitride content in both the directions perpendicular and parallel to the compression axis of the hot press. The ratio of both values was substantially constant at about 2 in all of the compositions except an example Of the composition of 90 parts of h-BN by weight and 10 parts of AlN by weight. The Vickers hardness increased with a decrease of the boron nitride content, and the Vickers hardness abruptly increased when a boron nitride content reaches a boundary of about 50%, and the anisotropy was gradually decreased. As seen from the results obtained when the amount added of CaC₂ was changed in the composition comprising 50% by weight of boron nitride, the thermal conductivity, especially the higher thermal conductivity, was very sensitive to the amount added of CaC₂. Note, the oxygen contents in the starting boron nitride powder and aluminum nitride powder used in this example were 0.13% by weight and 0.9% by weight, respectively. Example 2 The hot-press sintering was carried out in the same manner as described in Example 5, except that a powder having an average particle size of 10 µm was used as the starting h-BN powder and yttrium oxide was added as the sintered aid. The physical properties of the obtained sintered body are shown in Table 2. In each composition, results similar to those shown in Example 5 were obtained. The higher thermal conductivity was at least 150 W/m·K and the anisotropy was 2.1 to 14.2 in each composition.

Claims: A ceramic composite consisting essentially of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), aluminum nitride (AlN) and unavoidably formed aluminum oxynitride (AlON) if any, and a sintering aid and/or a reaction product of the sintering aid with said other components (h-BN, AlN and AlON), the total amount of the sintering aid and the reaction product being 0.01 to 5 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the sum of h-BN, AlN, and AlON, wherein the sintered body comprises AlN and AlON in a total amount of 80 to 5% by weight with 20 to 95% by weight of h-BN, a degree of anisotropy of the thermal conductivity of the sintered body (the ratio of the maximum thermal conductivity to the minimum thermal conductivity, the direction of the maximum thermal conductivity being perpendicular to the direction of the minimum thermal conductivity) being at least 2. A ceramic composite as set forth in claim 1, wherein the sintering aid is at least one compound selected from the group consisting of calcium compounds and yttrium compounds. A ceramic composite as set forth in claim 1, wherein the reaction product of the sintering aid with the other components is composed mainly of a compound selected from the group consisting of calcium aluminates and yttrium aluminates. A ceramic composite as set forth in claim 1, wherein the sintered body comprises AlN and, if any, AlON in a total amount of 80 to 20% by weight with 20 to 80% by weight of h-BN, the degree of anisotropy of the thermal conductivity of the sintered body is at least 2, and, the sintered body has a thermal conductivity of at least 150 W/m·K in at least one direction. A ceramic composite as set forth in claim 4, wherein the sintered body comprises AlN and, if any, AlON in a total amount of 75 to 50% by weight with 25 to 50% by weight of h-BN. A ceramic composite as set forth in claim 4, wherein the sintered body comprises AlN and, if any, AlON in a total amount of 50 to 25% by weight with 50 to 75% by weight of h-BN. A ceramic composite as set forth in claims 4, wherein the grain size of h-BN is at least 1 µm. A ceramic composite as set forth in claim 7, wherein the grain size of h-BN is 5 µm to 30 µm. A ceramic composite as set forth in claim 4, wherein the sintering aid and the reaction product of the sintering aid with the other components are present in a total amount of 0.2 to 5.0 parts by weight per 100 parts by weight of the sum of h-BN, AlN, and, if any, AlON.

Inventors: KANAI, TAKAO C/O NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION, KUBO, HIROSHI C/O NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION, SATO, TOYOHIKO C/O NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION, TANEMOTO, KEI C/O NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
Applicants: NIPPON STEEL CORPORATION
Application year: 1988
Main classification: C04B35
IPC codes: C04B35