Electron-Beam Processing of Aluminum-Containing Ceramics in the Forevacuum Pressure Range

We have investigated the effect of electron-beam irradiation by a forevacuum-pressure plasma-cathode electron source on the surface roughness and hardness of Al2O3- and AlN-based ceramics. The roughness increases with increasing temperature of the processed surface, while the hardness slightly decreases. For aluminum nitride ceramic, we find that the thermal conductivity increases by a factor of 1.5 to 2 depending on the electron-beam irradiation regime.