Heat and mass-transfer modeling of an angled gas-jet LCVD system

Laser chemical vapor deposition (LCVD) is a new manufacturing process that holds great potential for the production of small and complex metallic, ceramic and composite parts. Since LCVD is a thermally activated process, the most important process variable is temperature. Therefore, a thermal model was developed for a gas-jet LCVD system, accounting for Gaussian-beam laser heating and gas-jet convection cooling. The forced convection cooling imposed by the gas-jet reagent delivery system was significant, accounting for a 15 to 20% change in the substrate temperature. The deposition rate for a given material is not only affected by temperature, but also by the mass transport of reagent gases. An angled gas-jet reagent supply was designed to aid mass transport, but the need and impact of such a system has been debated. Therefore, a two-dimensional mass-transport model was developed to estimate the effects of a gas jet with respect to local reagent concentration variations and reaction rates. Across all deposition regimes, the gas jet was found to be an effective tool for increasing the concentration of reagent gases at the surface of the substrate. The gas jet also generated higher deposition rates and increased deposit resolution for those processes severely limited by diffusion.