A low energy ion beam deposition technique was used to grow boron nitride films on quartz, germanium, silicon, gallium arsenide, and indium phosphide. The film structure was amorphous with evidence of a hexagonal phase. The peak boron concentration was 82 at %. The carbon and oxygen Impurities were in the 5 to 8 at % range. Boron-nitrogen and boron-boron bonds were revealed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The index of refraction varied from 1.65 to 1.67 for films deposited on the III–V compound semiconductors. The coefficient of friction for boron nitride in sliding contact with diamond was less than 0.1. The substrate was silicon.