A Review on Sustainable Manufacturing of Ceramic-Based Thin Films by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD): Reactions Kinetics and the Deposition Mechanisms

Abstract

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a process that a solid is formed on a substrate by the chemical reaction in the vapor phase. Employing this technology, a wide range of materials, including ceramic nanocomposite coatings, dielectrics, and single crystalline silicon materials, can be coated on a variety of substrates. Among the factors influencing the design of a CVD system are the dimensions or geometry of the substrate, substrate temperature, chemical composition of the substrate, type of the deposition process, the temperature within the chamber, purity of the target material, and the economics of the production. Three major phenomena of surface reaction (kinetic), diffusion or mass transfer reaction, and desorption reaction are involved during the CVD process. Thermodynamically, CVD technology requires high temperatures and low pressures in most systems. Under such conditions, the Gibbs free energy of the chemical system quickly reaches its lowest value, resulting in the production of solids. The kinetic control of the CVD technology should always be used at low temperatures, and the diffusion control should be done at high temperatures. The coating in the CVD technology is deposited in the temperature range of 900–1400 °C. Overall, it is shown here that by controlling the temperature of the chamber and the purity of the precursors, together with the control of the flow rate of the precursors into the chamber, it is possible to partially control the deposition rate and the microstructure of the ceramic coatings during the CVD process.