Silicon Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) on microporous powders in a fluidized bed

The fluidized bed Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process constitutes today one of the most efficient techniques to modify the surface properties of d ense (nonporous) powders. The success encountered in this field is the reas on why this process has been extended to the treatment of microporous powde rs, for which there are very important industrial interests. The article pr esents an experimental analysis of the influence of the main operating para meters on the spatial localisation. and the nanostructure of silicon deposi ts from silane on microporous powders. The first results obtained show that uniform deposits appear on all the surfaces of the pores in the form of di scontinuous rafts. These results, which will be coupled with a theoretical predictive model, prove that the control at the nanometric scale of the org anization of CVD materials on microporous powders today has become possible . (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.