Abstract

Carbon boron nitride (CBN) thin films were grown on Si and NaCl at temperatures in the range of 100-400 °C using electron-beam evaporation of graphite and boron assisted with electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma generated nitrogen species. The effect of varying the boron flux on the compositional, structural, and electrical properties of the films was investigated using electron probe microanalysis (EPMA), Auger depth profiling (ADP), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Hall measurements. The films were either carbon rich with B/N<1 and C/N>1 or boron rich B/N>1 and C/N>1. Although the nitrogen flux was kept constant for all deposition, the nitrogen content in the film varied with the B concentration in the film. In fact lower nitrogen content was found in films with higher B concentration and vice-virsa. The CBN films synthesized were either graphitic-like whose composition was C_0.59B_0.10N_0.31 or more insulating- BN like whose composition was C_0.33B_0.42N_0.25.