Properties of Cubic Boron Nitride Films

A report describes an experimental study of the surface-chemical, microstructural, and tribological properties of cubic boron nitride (c-BN) films, which are potentially useful as hard, wear-resistant coatings on bearings and on steel-cutting tools. For the experiments, BN films about 500 nm thick were synthesized by magnetically enhanced plasma ion plating onto titanium interlayers on mirror-finish silicon substrates. The films were characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, atomic-force microscopy, and surface profilometry.