Improved Adhesion of the c-BN Film by the Post ION Implantation: TEM and FTIR

Abstract Boron nitride thin films have been deposited on (100) oriented Si substrate by magnetically enhanced activated reactive evaporation technique. The build up of c-BN is normally accompanied by strong compressive stresses. When these stresses exceeds the strength of the adhesion forces at the interface, adhesion fails causing the destruction of the c-BN film. This has been one of the major limiting factors of using the c-BN films for many important industrial applications such as cutting tools and semiconductor devices. In this experiment, the plasma immersion ion implantation has been applied to improve the adhesion of the film. The post ion implantation was conducted at several implantation energies and constant dose. The effect of ion implantation on the microstructures was investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy. Infrared characterization of c-BN film by FTIR (Fig.l) shows that the IR spectra of the specimens prepared at all energies but 72 kV have strong absorption band at 1080 cm-1 corresponding to cubic boron nitride.