Structure of Aluminum Oxynitride Powders Produced by Plasma-Chemical Synthesis

Aluminum oxynitride ALON powders obtained by plasma-chemical synthesis are studied using the Rietveld X-ray method and Auger spectroscopy. In addition to the spinel phase, these powders contain aluminum nitride and a long-period polytypoid based on it; the total content of these admixtures is ~50 vol %. The presence of aluminum particles that have not fully reacted with oxygen and ammonia in the quenching chamber is recorded. The results of refinement of the spinel phase structure correspond to the model in which the localization of vacancies is associated with the positions occupied by aluminum atom, while the increase in nitrogen concentration and replacement of oxygen with nitrogen lead to population of the vacancies by aluminum.