The present invention relates to a method for making a powder of aluminum nitride.
For manufacturing an aluminum nitride powder, there are many methods well known to those skilled in the art. For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 53-68700, published in 1978, discloses the manufacture by causing an aluminum compound to react with ammonia or the like to produce an aluminum-nitrogen compound which is in turn heat-treated. Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 54-126697, published in 1979, discloses the addition of an aluminum nitride powder to a powdery mixture of alumina and carbon and the subsequent heat-treatment of the resultant mixture in an N.sub.2 atmosphere. Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 57-22106, published in 1982, discloses heating an aluminum foil and a carbon paper to 600.degree. C. or higher in a non-oxidizing atmosphere, contacting them with an oxygen containing gas, and finally treating them in an atmosphere containing a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen.
However, since all of the prior art methods are of a batch production system utilizing a gas-solid reaction, not only is the productivity low, but also the method is complicated. In the case of the method wherein the aluminum nitride powder is mixed, not only is the running cost high, but also since the powder is used as one of the raw material, the raw material tends to scatter, posing a problem in that the working environment is contaminated.