In situ texture monitoring for growth of oriented cubic boron nitride films

We report evidence for oriented growth of pure-phase cubic boron nitride on silicon (100) substrates. The films are deposited at high temperatures (up to 1200 degrees C) by reduced-bias ion-assisted sputtering. The growth technique produces highly textured c-BN films with relatively large grain size (similar to 1000 Angstrom) and reduced residual stress as the bias voltage is decreased. We have been able to grow thick (up to 2 mu m) cubic boron nitride films containing 100% of the cubic phase with the (001) crystallographic axis of c-BN oriented perpendicular to the surface of the film. We show how reflection high-energy electron diffraction applied to texture monitoring in polycrystalline films can be used as an in situ process control technique that allows texture identification and quantitative characterization of its angular spread. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)03407-5].