Surmet

United States

• ImpuritiesFe,Se
• Particle SizeD50

Aluminum Nitride (AlN), a covalently-bonded ceramic, is synthesized from the abundant elements aluminum and nitrogen. It does not occur naturally. AlN is stable in inert atmospheres at temperatures over 2000°C. It exhibits high thermal conductivity but is, uniquely, a strong dielectric. This unusual combination of properties makes AlN a critical advanced material for many future applications in optics, lighting, electronics and renewable energy. Surmet is the only US-based supplier with the ability to synthesize tonnage quantities of high quality AlN powder, or to fabricate sintered AlN components in complex shapes for electronic and industrial customers. Surmet's Buffalo, NY facility has been a leading supplier of high purity AlN to international customers for over 20 years. In addition to powder production, Surmet is capable of producing and supplying sintered AlN products. To meet the growing demand for thermal management, Surmet is developing copper metalized Aluminum Nitride tapes, net-shaped complex 3D structures and composites. Advanced products such as AlN micro-channel reactors and AlN substrates with novel embedded metallic structures are under development.

• Grain Size (typical)150-250 microns
• StructureCubic, Spinel
• CompositionAl23-1/3XO27+XN5-X

ALON® or Aluminum Oxynitride is an amazing and unique transparent advanced ceramic that is polycrystalline (made from powder) with a cubic spinel crystal structure. In the popular media and in the Star Trek community, it is commonly referred to as Transparent Aluminum. Surmet is the only company globally, that manufactures ALON®. Taking over the development of ALON® from a laboratory demonstration stage in 2002, Surmet is proud to announce the commercial availability of ALON® in large volumes and in really large sizes. Over the last 12 years, Surmet has invested large sums of monies to build up its vertically integrated optical ceramics manufacturing capability. Surmet gratefully acknowledges US DOD funding help in this accomplishment. Creating such a capability required a great deal of patience and attention to detail, and complete commitment, as the return on investment for new technology materials is a slow, uncertain and painstaking endeavor. 18x35 ALON window Today Surmet manufactures precision ALON® components with consistently high quality, in batches that are in tonnage quantities, and in increasing sizes and shape complexity. Surmet has capability to produce precisely finished ALON components and is the only supplier of monolithic windows as big as 18x35-inch and windows with engineered seams as large as 24x27-inch to the US Defense market.

• StructureCubic, Spinel
• CompositionMgAl2O4
• Lattice Constant8.082 A

Surmet is a leading supplier of optical products made from Spinel, a high performance, transparent and polycrystalline ceramic material Surmet’s Magnesium Aluminate Spinel, or simply Spinel, is a durable polycrystalline ceramic with optical transparency from the near ultraviolet through the mid-wave infrared (MWIR) spectrum. Surmet produces Spinel blanks and finished optics using its own proprietary processes. The result is an exceptionally strong optical ceramic ideal for high-performance, precision optical components.