Reactive Laser Ablation Synthesis of Nanosize Aluminum Nitride

An aluminum (Al) target was laser ablated in a nitrogen (N 2 ) atmosphere, producing aluminum nitride (AlN) powder. These powders were calcined at 900°C for 2 h. Powders were produced at various nitrogen pressures, and the calcined powders were tested for unreacted aluminum content, using differential thermal analysis (DTA). The AlN powder, produced at a laser fluence of 12 J/cm 2 and a nitrogen pressure of 10.0 kPa (75 torr), showed no evidence of unreacted aluminum by DTA and was phase‐pure AlN by X‐ray diffraction (XRD). The surface area of this powder is 82 m 2 /g, corresponding to a particle size of ∼11 nm, which is in good agreement with TEM observations.