SIMULTANEOUS SPUTTER-DEPOSITION/ION-IMPLAN- TATION PROCESS.

THE USE OF ION BEAMS AS A MEANS OF ENHANCING THE PROPERTIES OF DEPOSITED THIN FILMS HAS ATTRACTED CON- SIDERABLE INTEREST IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGETICALLY-ENHANCED, ION-DEPOS- TION TECHNIQUES IS EXPECTED TO RESULT IN A NEW GENERATION OF EXOTIC COATINGS WITH NEAR-THEORETICAL DENSITIES, VERY HIGH HARDNESS, AND, AT THE SAME TIME, A CAPACITY OF SELF-LUBRICATION. DEVELOPMENT OF A SIMULTANEOUS SPUTTER-COATING, ION-IMPLANTATION TECHNIQUE IS PLANNED FOR CREATION OF DIAMOND-LIKE THIN FILMS WITH EXCELLENT ADHESION AND PARAMETERS CLOSE TO THOSE OF THE BULK MATERIAL. IN THIS APPROACH, A THIN LAYER OF MATERIAL (FOR EXAMPLE, BORON) IS ION- SPUTTERED ONTO A SURFACE THAT IS CONCURRENTLY IM- PLANTED WITH A STEADY BEAM OF IONS (FOR EXAMPLE, NOTROGEN). THE COATINGS SYNTHESIZED BY THIS TECHNIQUE (FOR EXAMPLE, I-BN) ARE EXPECTED NOT ONLY TO BE EXTREMELY HARD AND WEAR-RESISTANT BUT TO TRANSFORM TO A SELF-LUBRICATING FORM UNDER LOAD. THIS TECHNIQUE IS EXPECTED TO BE USEFUL FOR DEPOSITION OF DIAMOND- LIKE COATINGS SUCH AS I-CARBON AND I-BORON NITRIDE AND ALSO SUCH REFRACTORY MATERIALS AS B4C, TIN, TIC AND TIB2.