Deposition of Boron Carbide Films by Magnetron Sputtering of Powder and Solid B4C Targets

Boron carbide films deposited by sputtering of powder and solid B4C targets in different frequency modes of magnetron operation (13.56 MHz, 50 kHz and DC) on Si and glass substrates at temperatures of 200–500°C and argon pressure up to 12 mTorr have been investigated. It was found that the magnetron sputtering of the powder target is characterized by higher values of target surface temperature (up to 900°C) and discharge voltage (up to 850 V). Films deposited by sputtering of the powder target at 50 kHz have lower microhardness (up to 16 GPa) and increased boron content by ~20%, film deposition rate (up to 3.5 μm/h) is 30–50% higher as for the solid target. The films are found to be X-ray amorphous. The root mean square (RMS) surface roughness of the films measured by atomic force microscopy was 16–19 nm over an area of 100 × 100 μm.