Deposition time influence on cubic boron nitride thin films by tuned rf magnetron sputtering

Boron nitride (BN) thin films were deposited on silicon by tuned substrate rf magnetron sputtering from a sintered h-BN target. The deposition process was carried out in a vacuum chamber at 1-1.1 x 10(-3) Torr, produced by a total gas flow of 3 seem (Ar 90% and N-2 10%). The DC potential developed at the target was - 220 V (360 W) for all the samples. The substrate holder, heated at 350 degrees C, was self-biased at -75 V. Maintaining all these parameters fixed, the deposition time was varied in order to observe its influence on the c-BN content and the stress of the films. FT-IR characterization revealed very homogeneous films with a c-BN percentage reaching 90%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed the stressed surface of the films and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) gave information about the crystallinity of the samples. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.