Forced convection and transport effects during hyperbaric laser chemical vapor deposition

This work explores mass transport processes during HP-LCYD, including the transverse forced-flow of precursor gases through a nozzle to enhance fiber growth rates. The use of laser trapping and suspension of nano-scale particles in the precursor flow is also described, providing insights into the nature of the gas flow, including jetting from the fiber tip and thermodiffusion processes near the reaction zone. The effects of differing molecular-weight buffer gases is also explored in conjunction with the Soret effect, and it is found that nucleation at the deposit surface (and homogeneous nucleation in the gas phase) can be enhanced/ retarded, depending on the buffer gas molecular weight. To demonstrate that extensive microstructures can be grown simultaneously, three-dimensional fiber arrays are also grown in-parallel using diffractive optics--without delatory effects from neighboring reaction sites