Chemical Vapor Deposition

CVD is an extremely versatile process that can be used to process almost any metallic or ceramic compound. Some of these include elements, metals and alloys, carbides, nitrides, oxides and intermetallic compounds. Materials are deposited from the gaseous state during CVD and there p recursor gases are often diluted in carrier gases and delivered into the reaction chamber. As they pass over or come into contact with a heated substrate, they react or decompose forming a solid phase which and are deposited onto the substrate. The substrate temperature is critical and can influence what reactions will take place. In this section we will discuss the basic steps involved in a CVD process, typical precursor materials used, different types of CVD processes and systems.