Cubic boron nitride (c-BN) films can be used as hard coatings and for electronic devices due to their outstanding material properties, but the gas phase deposition of c-BN is still a challenging task. Until now it has only been possible to achieve nanocrystalline c-BN layers via physical vapor deposition (PVD) methods with rather weak film qualities. Only a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process for c-BN can produce high quality films with material properties similar to those of the product achieved by high pressure. high temperature professes (HPHT) conventional routes. Therefore it is essential to tune the individual steps in the CVD process (nucleation, growth and selective etching) in a similar manner to that for diamond CVD to enable continuous growth of c-BN. Since selective etching of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and sp(2) phases is still a major problem, we investigated the interaction of h-BN and c-BN with different reactive gases - ammonia (NH3), chlorine (Cl-2), hydrogen chloride (HCl) and boron trifluoride (BF3) - regarding their etching behaviour and surface stabilisation properties. Etching ratios from approximate to 10:1 up to 450:1 were found in the temperature range 600-1300 degrees C for the h-BN/c-BN system, clearly indicating a high selectivity due to kinetic effects. The reaction mechanisms will be discussed with respect to the kinetic differentiation of the degradation of c-BN and h-BN (selective etching). The morphological changes and the quality of the remaining BN phases was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and infrared and Raman spectroscopy and these indicated a homogeneous decay of the individual phases. Since a homogeneous decay of c-BN resembles the reversed growth, the study of the interaction of both BN phases with reactive gases allowed us to collect more detailed information of the molecular mechanisms involved in the formation of the individual phases. These results will provide new routes for growing c-BN in a CVD process. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.
