Structural and mechanical characterization of BCxNy thin films deposited by pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering

Abstract BC x N y thin films deposited at 250 °C by pulsed reactive magnetron sputtering of a B 4 C target in an Ar/N 2 plasma were studied by elastic recoil detection analysis, Fourier transform infrared, Raman, and photoelectron spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and nanoindentation. In the concentration range of 6% to 100% N 2 in the sputter plasma the segregation into nanocrystalline hexagonal boron nitride and amorphous sp 2 carbon is the dominant process during the film growth. The stoichiometric ratio and structural details of the major phases depend on the N 2 concentration in the plasma and have significant influence on the Young′s modulus and the elastic recovery of the BC x N y thin films.