At CERcuits, we provide laser-cut Aluminum Nitride (AlN) substrates with a high precision made to your design. Simply complete the form above and click ‘calculate’ to get a quote right away. If you like the price you are getting, you can order immediately or adjust some parameters. Production can take up to 15 working days for difficult & complex designs but we ship most orders within 5 working days!
Aluminum Nitride or AlN, is the best thermally conductive material available that is also a strong electric isolator and therefore the material of choice for sub-mounts, PCBs & packages for high power – high-reliability components, heat spreaders, and electronic circuits. Whether you need to heat up or cool down materials fast using a low expansion, durable, hermetic, non-outgassing material, Aluminum Nitride (AlN) is the best option available. Because of its hardness and thermal conductivity, after firing, flat substrates can only be precisely machined using high power laser or diamond methods in a controlled non-oxide environment. AlN Is used in high power LEDs, IC, IGBTs, battery applications, piezoelectric applications, high power motors, quantum computing, … More information about the material and its properties can be found in the material table below.
At CERcuits, we can do the following processes:
- Cutting
- Drilling
- Milling
- Laser scribing (click for more info)
- Laser Marking
Dimensions & thicknesses of our laser-cut aluminum nitride substrates :
Available thicknesses | Max dimensions |
---|---|
0.25mm / 0.010" | Standard: 100 mm x 100 mm / 3.9 in x 3.9 in |
0.38mm / 0.015" | Standard: 110 mm x 110 mm / 4.3 in x 4.3 in Special: 114 mm x 114 mm / 4.5 in x 4.5 in |
0.50mm / 0.020" | Standard: 110 mm x 110 mm / 4.3 in x 4.3 in Special: 114 mm x 114 mm / 4.5 in x 4.5 in |
0.63mm / 0.025" | Standard: 110 mm x 110 mm / 4.3 in x 4.3 in Special: 150 mm x 140 mm / 5.9 in x 5.5 in |
1.00mm / 0.040" | Standard: 110 mm x 110 mm / 4.3 in x 4.3 in Special: 178 mm x 127 mm / 7.0 in x 5.0 in |
1.5mm / 0.060" (available on request) | Special: 114 mm x 114 mm / 6.4 in x 4.5 in |
2.0mm / 0.080" | Standard: 110 mm x 110 mm / 4.3 in x 4.3 in Special: 113.5 mm x 113.5 mm / 4.4 in x 4.4 in |
Thickness tolerances:
- 0.38mm: +/-0.05 or 0.015″ +/-0.002
- 0.5mm: +/-0.05 or 0.020″ +/-0.002
- 0.63mm +/-0.06 or 0.025″ +/-0.002
- 1mm +/-0.10 or 0.040″ +/-0.004
- 1.5mm: +/- 0.10 or 0.060″ +/-0.004
- 2mm: +/- 0.10 or 0.080″ +/-0.004
Machining tolerances
Item | Thickness | Standard tolerance |
---|---|---|
Dimensional L X W | ≤0.635mm | +0.15mm / -0.05mm |
>0.635 & ≤ 1mm | +0.20mm / -0.05mm | |
> 1mm | +0.35mm / -0.05mm | |
Holes & Lines | ≤0.635mm | +0.15mm / -0.05mm |
>0.635 & ≤ 1mm | +0.20mm / -0.05mm | |
> 1mm | +0.35mm / -0.05mm | |
Hole Diameter | ≤5mm | +/- 0.05mm |
>5mm | +/-0.1mm |
We can accept the following file types for your drawings
- DXF, DWG
- Step
- Gerber
Aluminim Nitride (AlN) material properties:
Property | Items | Unit | AlN |
---|---|---|---|
Physical | Color | - | Grey |
Water absorption | % | 0 | |
Reflectivity | % | 30* | |
Electrical | Dielectric Constant (1MHz) | - | 8~10 |
Dielectric Loss | *10^-4 | 3 | |
Dielectric strength | MV/m or KV/mm | >17 | |
Insulation/Volume resistance | Ω·cm | >10^14 | |
Mechanical | Density after sintering (Bulk density) | g/cm3 | 3.26 |
Flexural Strength (3 point) | Mpa | ~380 | |
Hardness | 9.3 | ||
Elasticity (Young's Modulus) | GPa | 302 | |
Surface Roughness | μm | 0.3~0.6 | |
Camber | Lenght% | ≦2 | |
Thermal | Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) | ppm/°C | 2~3 |
Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE) RT~500 °C | ppm/°C | 2.5~3.5 | |
Thermal Conductivity (25°C) | W/m‧K | 170 | |
* Reflectivity test reference thickness of 0.5mm |
Frequently asked questions about our laser machined aluminum nitride services:
How are the ceramic substrates machined?
We use 100% laser processes. This is the best way to ensure precise and clean milling and drilling of the ceramic.
What is laser scribing
Laser scribing is drilling a series of blind holes in a line to create a weak spot in the material and ensure a clean cut when breaking out. We have a full page dedicated to this technique. Read more about laser scribing here.
How can I single out a panel?
If you have chosen to add laser scribing, you can simply break out the individual design from a panel with manual force. it will require a bit of practice initially bit will go very fast after a few rounds. You will notice that designs will snap-off along the scribing line. Remember to always snap off the shortest scribing lines first. Read more here.
If you are unsure about doing it in, build a small jig that holds the rest of the panel in place while snapping off individual designs.
What type of design files can you accept ?
Answer: We prefer Gerber or ODB++ format but can also accept most other vector/CAD formats (DXF, DWG, SVG, AI, ...).
Also 3D designs are possible to be made (.step, .stl, .stp).
And if your design is simple, we can also work of a pdf file or even a simple word document or a drawing as long as you clarify all relevant dimensions.
We cannot work with native files from PCB design files (for example Altium's .pcbdoc, Eagles '.brd or KiCad .kicad files)