Boron insulating films

CVD of boron nitride films on silicon or germanium or on printed circuit boards is now a common practice in the electronic industry [154 to 162]. The high thermal conductivity combined with the excellent electrical insulation properties are most valuable for these applications [163] see additional references in Section 4.1.1.10.8, p. 129. The use of a-BN layers is of particular importance in the manufacture of electrophotographic photoreceptors (such as solar cells) and of X-ray lithographic masks (see Section 4.1.1.10.8, p. 129). In the last mentioned application, structural aspects of the deposited films are of importance. In films still containing hydrogen, (N)H moieties are depleted by annealing at about 600°C, while (B)H moieties are depleted above 1000°C [164]. Also, elastic stiffness and thermal expansion of boron nitride films have to be viewed in connection with the temperature-dependent stress of CVD-deposited boron nitride films [165]. Reviews of properties and electronic applications of boron nitride layers have appeared in Polish [166] and Japanese [167]. 

Diamondlike Carbon and Hard Carbon-Based Sensors Sensors that are based upon diamond technology include thermistors, pressure and flow sensors, radiation detectors, and surface acoustic wave devices [103]. The relative ease of depositing prepattemed, dielectrically isolated insulating and. semiconducting (boron-doped p type) diamond films has made polycrystalline diamond-based sensors low-cost alternatives to those based on conventional semiconductors. Diamondlike carbon and diamond films synthesized by chemical... 

Another application for diamond films depends on the possibility of producing the material for microelectronic components by building up layers of carbon atoms on a diamond film. Although diamond is an electrical insulator, like silicon and other materials, it becomes a conductor when small quantities of other substances, such as boron, are added to it. We say that the diamond has been doped and behaves as a semiconductor. (We will discuss semiconductors in Section 13.5.) In principle, diamond could supplant silicon as the material for constructing microelectronics devices, and theoretically these devices would be much faster than ones constructed from silicon. 

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