Boron films with different thickness were deposited on single crystal Si substrates via electron beam evaporation of pure
metallic boron using plasma immersion ion
implantation(PBII) technique. The nitrogen ion implanted boron films were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy(XPS). XPS depth concentration profiles show a gauss curve for N distribution and N/B ratio increases with implantation voltage. High implantation voltage results in an interfacial mixing between film and substrate. Boron exists in the form of both metallic boron and
boron nitride as indicated by B1s band. FTIR spectra revealed that amorphous boron nitride(a-BN) or hexagonal boron nitride(h-BN) formed during nitrogen ion implantation into boron films. As implantation voltage and implantation time increase, first amorphous BN was formed, while h-BN occurs at greater implantation parameters. The thinner film led to the formation of h-BN at relatively low implantation voltages and implantation time. The structural transformation of nitrogen ion implantation into boron film as a function of the film thickness, implantation voltages and implantation time was systematically investigated.