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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 July 2020
Cubic boron nitride films were prepared by helicon wave plasma CVD process on (100) Si. The film deposited under the intense impact of energetic ions is usually delaminated from the substrate after deposition. The delamination behavior of c-BN film was investigated with transmission electron microscopy. It is found that moisture in the air, surface roughness of the film and substrate, as well as severe compressive stresses in the film are the primary contributors to film delamination. An aqueous oxidation was verified by EDXS analysis, which generate local stress by volume expansion at the crack region in the c-BN layer.
The cross-sectional TEM micrograph of c-BN film in Fig. 1 shows that a very thin layer of h-BN is deposited before the c-BN layer starts to grow at an early stage of film growth. A columnar structured thin h-BN layer about 20 nm thickness at the interface is clearly separated from the c-BN layer in an aspect of microstructure.