Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)

Chemical Vapor Deposition, CVD, is a process by which films are deposited onto a substrate by the reaction between precursors at elevated temepratures and at atmomospheric or lower pressures.  Volatile precursors or their by-products are absorbed and react at the wafer surface to produce the desired films.  The  characteristics of the deposited film such as crystalinty, composition, quality, etc. are dependent on deposition conditions.  Films typically deposited using CVD processes are, but not limited to - silicon based compounds such as silicon, silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, slicon carbide, some Germanium based films and carbon based compounds. If the deposition occurs at atmospheric pressure, then the process is referred to as APCVD and if the process pressure is lower, it is LPCVD.