Preparation of diamond-like carbon and boron nitirde films by high-intensity pulsed ion beam deposition

Intense ion beams (300-keV C{sup +}, O{sup +}, and H{sup +}, 20--30 kA, 50 to 400-ns pulsewidth, up to 0.3-Hz repetition rate) were used to prepare diamond-like carbon (DLC) and boron nitride (BN) films. Deposition rates of up to 25{plus_minus}5 nm/pulse were obtained with instantaneous rates exceeding 1 mm/s. Most films were uniform, light brown, translucent, and nonporous with some micron-size particulates. Raman and parallel electron energy loss spectroscopy indicated the presence of DLC. The films possessed favorable electron field-emission characteristics desirable for cold-cathode displays. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and transmission electron diffraction (TED) revealed that the C films contained diamond crystals with 25 to 125-nm grain size. BN films were composed of hexagonal, cubic and wurtzite phases