Boron nitride (BN) film growth from mass selected B and N ion deposition has been investigated for ion energies beyond 10 keV Cubic boron nitride (c-BN) growth was achieved even for 20 keV boron and 27 keV nitrogen ions that cannot be explained by the existing models for the growth and nucleation of c-BN. A volume c-BN growth process using high-energy ions (> 3 keV) might be due to agglomeration of implanted ions at the c-BN grain boundaries. Additionally, the stability and compressive stress of c-BN thin films under nitrogen ion irradiation was studied. It is shown that cubic boron nitride is extremely stable under ion irradiation and that the compressive stress of the films can be reduced by ion irradiation. A decrease of the infrared (IR) absorption intensity at 1080 cm(-1) of c-BN was also observed after ion irradiation, which is due to smaller c-BN grain sizes. Point defects accumulate during successive irradiation into extended defects, stacking faults, and new c-BN/c-BN grain boundaries. This process can be avoided by annealing the sample prior to irradiation, where the compressive stress is reduced, that hampers dynamic annealing upon ion irradiation of BN at room temperature. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.