Thin films of cubic boron nitride (c-BN) and B4C/BCN/c-BN multilayers, were deposited by r.f. (13.56 MHz) multi-target magnetron sputtering from high-putity (99.99%) h-BN and a (99.5%) B4C targets, in an Ar (90%)/N-2 (10%) gas mixture. Films were deposited onto silicon substrates with (100) orientations at 300 degrees C, with r.f power density near 7 W/cm(2). In order to obtain the highest fraction of the c-BN phase, an r.f substrate bias voltage between -100 and -300 V was applied during the initial nucleation process and -50 to -100 V during the film growth. Additionally, B4C and BCN films were deposited and analyzed individually For their deposition, we varied the bias voltage of the B4C films between -50 and -250 V, and for the BCN coatings, the nitrogen gas flow from 3% to 12%. A 300-nm-thick TiN buffer layer was first deposited to improve the adhesion of all samples. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed the presence of c-BN (111) and h-BN phases. FTIR spectroscopy measurements indicate the presence of a peak at 780 cm(-1) referred to as "out-of-plane" h-BN vibration mode; another peak at 1100 cm(-1) corresponds to the c-BN TO mode and the "in-plane" vibration mode of the h-BN at 1400 cm(-1). BN films deposited at 300 degrees C at a pressure of 4.0 Pa and under -150 V of nucleation r.f. bias, applied for 35 min, presented the highest c-BN fraction, near 85%. By using 32 layers, it was possible to deposit a 4.6-mu m-thick c-BN film with adequate mechanical properties and good adhesion to the substrate. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.