GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EPITAXIAL CUBIC BORON-NITRIDE FILMS ONSILICON - COMMENT

We review the x-ray-diffraction and high-resolution transmission elect ron microscopy (HRTEM) data that Doll et al. [Phys. Rev. B 43, 6816 (1 991)] used as evidence for the epitaxial growth of cubic boron nitride (cBN) on silicon (001) surfaces. The three reported x-ray-diffraction peaks do not provide unambiguous evidence for cBN due to potential in terference from the graphitelike phase of BN and from artifacts of the silicon substrate. We provide an interpretation of their HRTEM image. Our interpretation does not provide support for an epitaxial cBN/Si r elationship or the presence of cBN.