doi:10.1016/S0040-6090(01)01389-X
Copyright © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
B–C–N coatings prepared by microwave chemical vapor deposition
A. Stanishevsky
,
, a, H. Lia, A. Badzianb, T. Badzianb, W. Drawlb, L. Khriachtchevc and E. McDanield
a Institute for Plasma Research, Building 223, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
b Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
c Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 55, FIN-00014 Helsinki, Finland
d Microelectronics Research Laboratory, Columbia, MD 21045, USA
Available online 29 November 2001.
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Abstract
Ternary B–C–N amorphous and crystalline coatings were deposited by microwave chemical vapor deposition using a mixture of NH3, CH4, B2H6 and H2 gases at substrate temperatures in the range 800–1350°C, and a gas pressure in the range (9.0–12)×103 Pa. We studied the influence of deposition conditions (i.e. gas composition, substrate temperature and material) on the coating structure, chemical composition and surface morphology. Both amorphous and polycrystalline coatings were deposited. Amorphous coatings were usually formed at lower substrate temperatures and were non-homogeneous across the coating thickness. Nanocrystalline inclusions of boron carbide, boron nitride and diamond were observed in amorphous B–C–N compounds. Polycrystalline coatings were generally represented by both diamond and boron nitride phases. In one case, a polycrystalline coating with the composition of B2CN4 was fabricated. The experimental results are discussed in detail.
Author Keywords: Chemical vapor deposition; Coatings; Diamond; Boron nitride; Transmission electron microscopy; Raman spectroscopy
Fig. 1. Distribution of: (a) boron; (b) carbon; and (c) nitrogen in a surface layer of a polycrystalline B2CN4 sample. SEM image is shown as the reference (d).
Fig. 2. (a) SEM image of the surface morphology; and (b) Raman spectrum of amorphous B0.59C0.21N0.2 coating.
Fig. 3. (a) SEM images and corresponding Raman spectra of polycrystalline B0.28C0.14N0.56 coating on a silicon substrate; and another B–C–N coating prepared in the same conditions on (b) silicon and (c) diamond.
Fig. 4. High-resolution TEM images of amorphous B0.4C0.27N0.33 coating.
Fig. 5. High-resolution TEM images of amorphous B0.59C0.21N0.2 coating containing nano-crystalline inclusions.
Fig. 6. TEM image (top) of a polycrystalline B0.28C0.14N0.56 coating. Electron diffraction patterns from the interface and a single crystallite are shown in inserts. HRTEM image (bottom) shows a select area of a single crystallite.
Table 1. Examples of the chemical composition of B–C–N coatings prepared by microwave plasma-assisted CVD
