NANOSTRUCTURED MATERIALS PRODUCTION BY HYPERSONIC PLASMA PARTICLE DEPOSITION

Abstract We report on a new process for producing nanostructured materials, hypersonic plasma particle deposition (HPPD), wherein a thermal plasma seeded with vapor-phase precursors is supersonically expanded through a nozzle to nucleate ultrafine particles, which are then deposited by hypersonic impaction onto a temperature-controlled substrate. Results from preliminary experiments aimed at synthesizing nanostructured silicon are presented.