PROPERTIES OF BORON BORON-NITRIDE MULTILAYERS

Boron-Nitride films are of interest for their high hardness and wear r esistant properties. Large intrinsic stresses and poor adhesion which often accompany high hardness materials can be moderated through the u se of a layered structure. Alternate layers of boron (B) and boron-nit ride (BN) are formed by modulating the composition of the sputter gas during deposition from a pure B target. The thin films are characteriz ed with transmission electron microscopy to evaluate the microstructur e and with nanoindentation to determine hardness. Layer pair spacing a nd continuity effects on hardness are evaluated for the B/BN films. (C ) 1997 Acta Metallurgica Inc.