Heteroepitaxial growth of cubic boron nitride (cBN) on diamond using fluorine-assisted chemical vapor deposition is reported. Since cBN grown on diamond shows extraordinary film adhesion and stability, diamond serves as a universal intermediate layer for growing cBN films on a host of materials. The Figure illustrates the heteroepitaxial relationship between the interfacing materials, i.e, cBN-diamond and diamond-silicon.