Sputter deposition of high resistivity boron carbide

We have succeeded in the rf magnetron sputter deposition of high resistivit y boron carbide (B1-xCx). This has been accomplished by the sputter deposit ing the boron carbide from a methane saturated boron carbide target. We sho w that the composition and optical band gap of the sputter deposited materi al are functions of the applied rf power. Furthermore, boron carbide/silico n heterojunction diodes fabricated via sputtering compare favorably with th ose fabricated from borane cage molecule sources using plasma enhanced chem ical vapor deposition (PECVD). (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A, All rights re served.