Hard boron oxide thin-film deposition using electron cyclotron resonance microwave plasmas

Abstract

Hard boron suboxide thin films were deposited in an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) microwave plasma system at substrate temperatures below 300 °C. A high-temperature effusion cell, operated at 2200°–2250 °C, was used for injection of boron downstream of an Ar/O2 ECR plasma. B ion bombardment is estimated to have been up to 6% of the total boron flux, and Ar ion bombardment is estimated to have contributed ∼100 eV/deposited atom. Boron suboxide films with oxygen concentrations of 11% exhibited hardnesses up to 30 GPa, equal to sapphire and near that of pure boron. The hardness/modulus ratio was 0.1, significantly better than that of sapphire (0.067) or solid boron (0.074), indicating these films may be of interest for a variety of tribological applications.