Microstructural and optical properties of BN films deposited by inductively coupled plasma CVD

Boron nitride films were deposited at different substrate temperatures (400–600 K) on Si (100) substrates by RF plasma CVD technique using a mixture of borane-ammonia, argon and nitrogen as the precursor gases. No intentional bias was applied during deposition to modulate the ion energy. The surface textures of the films were obtained by Atomic Force Microscope studies (AFM). X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) studies were carried out to determine the bonding environment in the coatings. Fourier Transformed Infra-Red (FTIR) spectrums indicated that the films deposited at lower substrate temperature contained h-BN phases and the percentage of c-BN content in the films increased with the substrate temperature. Films deposited at temperature ∼553 K were predominantly c-BN in nature.