Pulsed laser deposition of adherent hexagonal/cubic boron nitride layer systems at high growth rates

Cubic boron nitride (c-BN) films were prepared by ion-beam-assisted pulsed laser deposition (IAPLD) using a KrF excimer laser for ablation. The c-BN growth rates of 50 nm/min at relatively low substrate temperatures of 250 °C were achieved by using high laser energy densities of more than 30 J/cm2 and at ion beam energies of 600–700 eV. Main advantage of IAPLD for the deposition of c-BN films is that at high laser energy densities the ratio of ions from the ion beam to ablated atoms and ions necessary for cubic film growth can be reduced to 0.14, since the ablated boron and nitrogen species themselves have high mean kinetic energies of 130–180 eV. By using pulsed laser deposited h-BN intermediate layers, 300–420 nm thick well-adherent c-BN films can be prepared on Si and WC hard metal substrates. The maximum c-BN film thickness of some 0.5 μm is limited by the accumulation of particulates, formed during the ablation process, in the films. The microstructure, stress, hardness and adhesion of such layer systems deposited at high growth rates are presented.