Utilization of cathodic arc evaporation for the deposition of boron nitride thin films

A special cathodic arc evaporation assembly has been constructed including a heated cathode holder which makes it possible to operate the cathode at temperatures up to 1000 °C. This device was utilized to demonstrate for the first time the feasibility of the cathodic arc evaporation of a pure boron cathode. In addition, a magnetic coil was implemented which yields a drastic reduction of boron macroparticles in the particle flux and hence in the deposited films (“arc filtering”). Preliminary results on BN films on silicon deposited with the heated-boron cathode arc in a nitrogen/argon atmosphere are reported.