THE SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES OF BN FILMS PREPARED BY ION IRRADIATION AND VAPOR-DEPOSITION

Boron nitride films were deposited on tungsten carbide substrates by e vaporation of boron and simultaneous nitrogen ion irradiation with ene rgies in the range of 0.2 to 20.0 keV. The effect of preparation condi tions on the mechanical properties such as hardness and adhesion was s tudied, and the deposition process for obtaining a hard film with good adhesion was investigated. For stoichiometric films, decreasing the i on energy increased the hardness, but decreased the film adhesion. On the other hand, boron-rich films showed a better adhesion, but a decre ase in hardness. From these results, multilayer films were prepared us ing high and low energy ions; stoichiometric films prepared by low ene rgy ions were deposited on boron-rich films prepared by high energy io ns. The multilayer films combined the advantages of both preparation c onditions, high hardness and enhanced adhesion.