Characterization and growth mechanisms of boron nitride films synthesized by ion-beam-assisted deposition

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Abstract
We have studied boron nitride films deposited at room temperature by ion-beam-assisted deposition in an ultrahigh vacuum apparatus, with ion accelerating voltages ranging between 0.25 and 2 kV. By using complementarily in situ Auger electron spectrometry and ex situ nuclear analyses to determine the respective surface and bulk N concentrations in the deposited films, we were able to identify the different phases of the mechanism leading to the nitridation of evaporated boron by nitrogen ions. For low nitrogen/boron flux ratios, the incorporation of nitrogen seems to be only governed by ion implantation, and, with respect to the depth of the deposit, the surface is found largely depleted in nitrogen, while the N-incorporation yield remains close to one whatever the ion energy. Such a behavior is well verified as long as a critical bulk nitrogen concentration close to 5.5×1022 cm−3 has not been achieved. For concentrations greater than this, superstoichiometric material is obtained up to a saturation which corresponds to a bulk N incorporation ranging from 6 to 7×1022 cm−3. Further increase of the N/B flux ratio induces a strong diffusion process from N-rich bulk to N-depleted surface, which results in the nitridation of surface boron atoms and a loss of nitrogen by sputtering or desorption. The density measurements seem to indicate that the synthesized phase is close to h-BN. However, the density of B-rich layers ([N]/[B]≊0.2–0.3) is found to be very close to that calculated for a mixture of pure boron and c-BN. The transparency and microhardness of the synthesized BN have satisfying values for its application as a wear-resistant optical coating, but it is not c-BN.