Boron Nitride Applications in Pysical Vapor Deposition Equipment

Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) is a technique used in the production of various types of thin films, including wear-resistant coatings, decorative coatings, nanocomposite structures, and optical coatings. This process involves heating a solid material in a vacuum environment to create a vapor that condenses on a substrate to form a thin film. PVD is an essential process in modern engineering and manufacturing, especially in industries such as aerospace, electronic devices, and automotive. Boron Nitride (BN), a compound of boron and nitrogen, has unique properties that make it an ideal material for the components of PVD coating equipment.

Introduction

Boron Nitride materials, known for its exceptional thermal stability and extreme inertness, are steadily gaining popularity as a key material in industrial processing. In the context of physical vapor deposition techniques, researchers have demonstrated significant improvements when utilizing BN materials to fabricate various components. The application of BN in PVD technology, specifically for crockets and crucibles construction, has seen critical advancements worldwide.

PVD Coating Process with Boron Nitride Components

The implementation of BN components in Physical Vapor Deposition techniques has proven to be advantageous, enabling controlled material deposition without any contamination. BN influences the tribological behavior of coatings, which protects against adhesion, roughness, friction, and wear. Due to the innate stability of BN compounds at higher temperatures, using BN in crocket material ensures prolonged use. By contrast, crucibles composed of BN ensure stability and constant temperature conditions during the compartment of material deposition (1).

Advantages of Using Boron Ntride in PVD Equipment Construction

Components made of BN offer several distinct advantages over other materials, including superior corrosion resistance, excellent mechanical properties even at high temperatures, stable chemical properties, and low coefficients of thermal expansion. These properties make BN a suitable material choice for PVD equipment components such as the traditional graphite composite due to the risk of contamination at high temperatures.

Additionally, the chemical structure of BN endows it with remarkable thermal properties, such as high boiling and melting points, which makes it ideal for use in extreme temperature environments. Highly uniform in composition, BN materials have a slight tendency to degrade under heating only after reaching 3000°C. Thus, the stability of BN-crucibles and crockets made of this material promotes smooth deposition process conditions for improved coating morphology.

Moreover, BN components exhibit lower coefficients of friction compared to traditional materials like graphite, explaining a noticeable reduction in coating debris (2). Reducing debris is a considerable advantage because it minimizes contamination during material deposition, leading to higher-quality coatings suitable for diverse functionalities, including wear resistance, decorative coating, and nanocomposite structures.

Applications of BN-Coated PVD Equipment

Physical Vapor Deposition technology has far-reaching applications for various industries, including semiconductor chip manufacturing, medical devices, aerospace systems, power generation, optical engineering, among others. Baring wear-resistant coatings, BN-coated PVD equipment can be used in precision machining technologies for metal parts that require accurate cutting without being damaged or broken. The abrasion resistance and superior heat conduction properties of BN make it an ideal material choice for injection molding equipment for production parts given its unique composition. BN-based crucibles are preferred in the deposition of refractory metals where purity demands are stringent, preserving the non-reactive surfaces of complementary coalescence and reducing coating defects from occurring (3).

Conclusion

The use of Boron Nitride materials in the construction of components for physical vapor deposition processes has shown significant advancements in coating quality with minimal contamination. Through the use of BN in crocket construction, researchers have demonstrated prolonged use while maintaining optimal operating conditions, especially when handling reactive materials at high temperatures. Using BN-crucibles ensures maintained stability and uniform temperature conditions preventing undesired oxidation and scaling resulting in contaminant-free coating depositions.

 Components composed of BN possess valuable properties like superior mechanical properties, high temperature and chemical stability, low coefficient of thermal expansion, outstanding tribological behavior, thermal resistance, and non-reactivity, making them a suitable material choice in the construction of PVD equipment. The many critical advantages of BN components ensure successful deposition and high-quality coating operations across various fields ranging from aerospace to coating nanocomposite structures. With Boron Nitride materials gaining popularity worldwide for an extensive range of applications due to its unique properties, it is clear its importance and utility will continue to grow in the years to come.

References:

Goch, G., HeeBae C., Masashi M., Yang S., Sung, Eyun Jong. (2018). Boron nitride crucible for thin films deposition by PLD technique. Journal of Materials Research Express.

Medina, M., Safronova, E., Bunshah, R., & Jain, A. (2003). HDDR Coatings with Reduced Carbon Contamination Deposited on BN Synthesized by Chemical Vapor Deposition. Surface Engineering, 19(6), 429-436.