Effects of the insertion of a thick sp²buffer layer on the adhesion of cBN-rich film

A method was developed for improving the adhesion and increasing the maximum sustainable thickness of cBN-rich films. This method involved the combination of two methods - one which involved the insertion of a thick sp2buffer layer, and second which involved the use of appropriate ion beam energy for assisting the growth of the top cBN-rich layer. The energetic ion bombarding on the growing surface was found to result in the creation and annihilation of defects concurrently, which ultimately resulted in the generation or relaxation of internal stresses. The results indicate that the buffer layer formed under ion bombardment at ion beam energy of 200-360 eV, contains curled and randomly oriented graphite basal planes.