Abstract: With a two-stage method,cubic boron nitride (c-BN) thin films are deposited on p-Si (100) by radio frequency sputter.The thin films are characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.With all other conditions being held constant,the influence of the substrate temperature on the nucleation of c-BN is investigated.When the substrate temperature is below 400℃,the cubic phase can not be formed.Once the substrate temperature is above 400℃,the cubic phase starts to form.When the substrate temperature reaches 500℃,there is only the cubic phase (100%) in the thin films.It is evident that the relative content of c-BN in the films increases with the increase of the substrate temperature in the nucleation stage.We also investigate the effect of the substrate temperature in the nucleation stage on the FTIR absorption peak position and compressive stress in the thin films.The results show that different substrate temperatures in the nucleation stage result in different compressive stress in the thin films and that the compressive stress in the thin films decreases with the increase of the substrate temperature in the nucleation stage.The mechanism of c-BN nucleation is also discussed.

Key words: c-BN,  radio frequency sputter,  substrate temperature,  compressive stress