Young’s modulus and density of nanocrystalline cubic boron nitride films determined by dispersion of surface acoustic waves

Cubic boron nitride (c-BN) films of 200–420 nm thickness and high phase purity were deposited on silicon (100) substrates by ion-assisted pulsed laser deposition (IA PLD)from a boron nitride target using a KrF-excimer laser, and by plasma-enhanced physical vapor deposition (PE PVD)with a hollow-cathode arc evaporation device. In order to improve the c-BNfilm adhesion, hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) films with 25–50 nm thickness were used as buffer layers. The density and Young’s modulus of the c-BNfilms were obtained by investigating the dispersion of surface acoustic waves. In data analysis a two-layer model was applied in order to take the influence of the h-BNlayer into consideration. The values for the density vary from 2.95±0.25 g/cm3to 3.35±0.3 g/cm3, and those for the Young’s modulus from 420±40 GPa to 505±30 GPa. The results are compared with literature values reported for nanocrystalline films, polycrystalline disks and single crystal c-BN.