Influence of the substrate temperature on BCN films deposited by sequential pulsed laser deposition

The influence of substrate temperature on the composition and crystallinity of boron carbonitride (BCN) thin films deposited on (100) Si substrates by sequential pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been investigated. A correlat ion between the target composition, the nitrogen pressure involved in the p rocess, and the amount of B, C, and N elements (at %) in the deposited film s is established from energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. Electr on microscopy studies show that the films deposited on heated substrates ar e mainly amorphous. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis confirms the BCN-compound formation: the peak of C-BN and the peaks from B -N-B bending vibrations and C-N sigma-bond vibrations are present in the sp ectra. SEM studies show that the deposited films have a smooth surface, wit h no cracks and few droplets. Results were compared with those obtained on films deposited at room temperature under similar experimental conditions.