Pulse plasma beam deposition of cubic boron nitride films on GCr15 steel bearing substrate at room temperature

Boron nitride films were deposited onto GCr15 bearing steel substrate by a high energy density pulse plasma beam at room temperature. The surface microhardness and wear resistance of GCr15 bearing steel are increased remarkably due to the formation of cubic boron nitride films. The stronger adhesion of boron nitride films to the substrate was observed in the scratch test. The AES analysis revealed that a wide mixing interlayer existed between the films and substrate, which no doubt results in a good adhesion of deposited films. IR, XPS and SEM were used to characterize the boron nitride films.