CRYSTALLOGRAPHIC TEXTURE IN CUBIC BORON-NITRIDE THIN-FILMS

We examine the crystallographic texture exhibited by cubic boron;nitri de (cBN) in thin films grown by ion-assisted deposition. Our analysis indicates that the cBN is preferentially oriented such that individual crystallites have at least one [111] direction lying in the plane of the film but are otherwise randomly oriented about (1) the substrate n ormal and (2) the in-plane cBN [111] axis. This preferential orientati on is consistent with an alignment between the cBN {111} planes and th e basal planes of the layer of highly oriented graphitic boron nitride :that forms in the initial stages of film growth.