Patent ID: 7087112

Claim:
A method for fabricating a mount for an aluminum nitride (AlN) seed for single crystal aluminum nitride growth, the method comprising: (a) providing a holder having a proximal base and wall portions extending therefrom to define a cavity; (b) the holder being fabricated from a material selected from the group consisting of BN (boron nitride), pBN (pyrolitic boron nitride), W (tungsten), Re (rhenium), graphite, Ta (tantalum), TaN (tantalum nitride), and combinations thereof; (c) disposing an AlN seed within the cavity of the holder; (d) providing pellets fabricated from aluminum; (e) placing the holder and seed within a nitrogen atmosphere at a temperature above the melting point of the pellets; (f) dropping the aluminum pellets into the holder and onto the seed; (g) permitting the pellets to melt and react with the nitrogen atmosphere to form a nitride ceramic, wherein the nitride ceramic is formed in conforming surface to surface engagement with the seed; (h) repeating the dropping (f) and permitting (g) until the seed is substantially buried inside the ceramic; and (i) cutting off a distal portion of the holder, ceramic, and seed, wherein the proximal end of the holder includes a proximal portion of the seed embedded within the ceramic, with the seed having an exposed crystal growth surface co-planar with a surface of the ceramic.