Synthesis of BN x – SiN y composite films by multisource plasma chemical vapor deposition

BN x – SiN y composite films were deposited by a multisource plasma chemical vapor deposition (PCVD). Two plasma generators, A and B, were implemented. BF 3 and NH 3 gases introduced to plasma generator A were separately decomposed by two rf electrodes, respectively. SiH 4 and NH 3 gases were also separately decomposed in the plasma generator B. Widely spread sheet-like plasma generated by a dc arc plasma gun above the substrate and under a magnetic field also excited the gas in front of the substrate. By this CVD system, the composition of the BN x – SiN y films can be controlled, and the BN x – SiN y films with several atomic percent of silicon are found to have higher hardness and higher electrical resistivity than BN x film.