Principles of Chemical Vapor Deposition: What's Going on Inside the Reactor?

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Summary: CVD Principles and Reactor Technologies - All in One!
Review: The book is a wonderful treatise on the topic of Chemical Vapor Deposition. It provides not only a sound understanding of the state-of-the art technology involved in CVD for contemporary microelectronic applications, but also enunciates the basic principles and fundamental physical laws which are necessary for a detailed understanding of the subject. I found the informal pedagogy scheme followed by the authors as an useful approach, making the complex topic interesting, while at the same time the text equips the reader with the terminology which constitutes the technical parlance on the subject. For example, the authors have (thankfully) clarified and clearly defined various terms (to mention a few) like 'sccm', 'diffusion length', 'step coverage', 'reactive sticking coefficient', 'gap filling', and the various dimensionless numbers including Reynold's number, Peclet number and Knudsen number- all of which are of routine utility for the practicing technologist, but unfortunately are often not addressed in a single text on the subject.

The book addresses the various reactor technologies involved in CVD, along with the system configurations. While on the one hand, it introduces the reader to the various essential system modules and their functions in the CVD process, on the other hand, it outlines the basic physical and-chemical laws which define the different elements of the CVD reactor. The chemistry, kinetics and reaction mechanisms of silicon-dioxide and silicon-nitride deposition are covered in much detail, giving valuable insight into these two applications. Various other CVD films of importance to microelectronics are covered as well. The coverage is comprehensive, and the wide range of topics that the authors have beautifully brought together makes it an optimal introduction to the understanding of physical laws, and their application in CVD technology.

The idiom of the text makes it an easy, yet highly informative compilation on CVD. Process engineers, researchers, reactor designers and practicing technologists should find the detail covered in the book to be very useful. This book bridges the gap between core fundamental laws and their application in CVD technology.