Combustion deposition systems and methods of use

Abstract

Combustion deposition systems and methods of using combustion deposition systems are disclosed. In an embodiment, a combustion deposition system may include a burner that is in fluid communication with at least one supply of at least one precursor such that the at least one precursor can be introduced to a flame output from the burner, at least one electrode positioned at least proximate to the flame, and a voltage source operably coupled to the at least one electrode. The at least one electrode and the at least one voltage source may be configured to generate an electric field for influencing at least one of flame shape, flame temperature, or kinetics of chemical reactions occurring within the flame, thereby providing enhanced selective control of combustion deposition characteristics. For example, the combustion deposition systems disclosed herein may, for example, be configured to control deposition of a combustion-deposited film on a substrate.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A combustion deposition system, comprising:
 a burner configured to output a flame;   at least one supply of at least one precursor in fluid communication with the burner such that the at least one precursor can be introduced to the flame, wherein the at least one precursor is for forming a combustion-deposited material by interacting with the flame;   at least one electrode positioned at least proximate to the flame when the flame is output from the burner; and   at least one voltage source operatively coupled to the at least one electrode;   wherein the at least one electrode and the at least one voltage source are collectively configured to generate an electric field in one or more regions at least proximate to the flame effective to influence at least one characteristic of combustion of the at least one precursor in the flame and/or at least one characteristic of the combustion-deposited material.   
     
     
         2 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the burner is the at least one electrode. 
     
     
         3 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the burner acts as an additional electrode configured to cooperate with the at least one electrode to generate the electric field therebetween. 
     
     
         4 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the electric field includes a time varying electric field. 
     
     
         5 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the electric field includes a substantially constant electric field. 
     
     
         6 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one electrode includes a plurality of electrodes configured to apply the electric field to the one or more regions at least proximate to the flame. 
     
     
         7 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more ionizing elements positioned adjacent to the flame, the one or more ionizing elements configured to influence one or more characteristics of the flame. 
     
     
         8 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1 , further comprising one or more ionizing elements positioned adjacent to the flame, the one or more ionizing elements configured to generate an ionic wind sufficient to affect a temperature of the flame. 
     
     
         9 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one electrode includes a plurality of electrodes arranged in a generally hollow configuration laterally surrounding the flame. 
     
     
         10 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 9  wherein the generally hollow configuration is a generally hollow elliptical pattern, a generally hollow rectangular pattern, a generally hollow triangular pattern, a generally hexagonal pattern, or a generally polygonal pattern. 
     
     
         11 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein:
 the flame includes an inner flame having a shape; and 
 the at least one electrode and the at least one voltage source are collectively configured to influence the shape of the inner flame by varying the application of the electric field. 
 
     
     
         12 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one electrode and the at least one voltage source are collectively configured to influence one or more kinetic properties of one or more chemical reactions within the flame. 
     
     
         13 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one electrode and the at least one voltage source are collectively configured to influence at least one of a stoichiometry of one or more chemical reactions within the flame, crystal structure of the combustion-deposited material, or phase size of the combustion-deposited material. 
     
     
         14 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one electrode and the at least one voltage source are collectively configured to influence distribution of chemical species of the flame by varying application of the electric field at selected locations and/or times. 
     
     
         15 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one electrode and the at least one voltage source are collectively configured to influence one or more combustion characteristics of the flame by varying a voltage applied by the at least one voltage source at selected locations and/or times. 
     
     
         16 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1 , further comprising a substrate positioned adjacent to the flame for receiving the combustion-deposited material thereon. 
     
     
         17 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one supply of the at least one precursor includes at least one precursor for forming at least one of a metal, an alloy, a metal oxide, a nitride, diamond, diamond-like carbon, a carbide, a fluoride, a boride, a carbonate, or a nanoparticle combustion-deposited material. 
     
     
         18 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one supply of the at least one precursor includes at least one of ethylene, oxygen, acetylene, methane, tungsten hexafluoride, silane, or a metal-salt solution. 
     
     
         19 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1 , further comprising a cooling stage configured to cool a temperature of a substrate positioned thereon on which the combustion-deposited material can be deposited. 
     
     
         20 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 19  wherein the cooling stage is configured to cool the substrate to about 700° C. to about 850° C. 
     
     
         21 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 19  wherein the cooling stage is configured to cool the substrate to about 740° C. to about 800° C. 
     
     
         22 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 19  wherein the cooling stage is configured to cool the substrate to about 760° C. to about 780° C. 
     
     
         23 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the nozzle includes a passageway in fluid communication with the at least one supply of the at least one precursor through which the at least one precursor can be introduced to the flame. 
     
     
         24 . The combustion deposition system of  claim 1  wherein the at least one supply of the at least one precursor is configured to introduce the at least one precursor adjacent to the nozzle and into the flame. 
     
     
         25 . A method of combustion flame deposition, comprising:
 directing a flame output from a burner toward a substrate;   introducing at least one precursor into the flame, wherein the at least one precursor is for forming a combustion-deposited material on the substrate by interacting with the flame;   applying an electric field at least proximate to the flame to selectively influence at least one characteristic of combustion in the flame and/or at least one characteristic of the combustion-deposited material produced from the flame; and   combustion depositing the combustion-deposited material onto the substrate from the at least one precursor introduced to the flame.   
     
     
         26 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25  wherein the substrate includes at least one of silica, a silicate, silicon, diamond, tungsten carbide, molybdenum, or glass. 
     
     
         27 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25  wherein the substrate includes a surface that is pre-seeded with particles. 
     
     
         28 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25  wherein the substrate includes a surface that is pre-seeded with at least one of diamond particles, carbide particles, metal particles, metalloid particles, oxide particles, nitride particles, boride particles, or carbonate particles. 
     
     
         29 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25 , further comprising polishing a surface of the substrate before introducing the at least one precursor into the flame. 
     
     
         30 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25 , further comprising cooling the substrate to a temperature of about 700° C. to about 1050° C. 
     
     
         31 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25 , further comprising cooling the substrate to a temperature of about 740° C. to about 900° C. 
     
     
         32 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25 , further comprising cooling the substrate to a temperature of about 760° C. to about 780° C. 
     
     
         33 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25 , further comprising cooling the substrate sufficiently to result in a generally smaller average deposition grain size of the combustion-deposited material than an average deposition grain size of the combustion-deposited material without cooling the substrate. 
     
     
         34 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25 , further comprising cooling the substrate sufficiently to result in a generally larger average deposition grain size of the combustion-deposited material than an average deposition grain size of the material without cooling the substrate. 
     
     
         35 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25 , further comprising selectively cooling the flame with an ionic wind generated from the at least one electrode adjacent to the flame. 
     
     
         36 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25  wherein applying the electric field includes applying the electric field via one or more electrodes. 
     
     
         37 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25  wherein applying the electric field includes applying a time-varying electric field. 
     
     
         38 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25  wherein applying the electric field includes applying a substantially constant electric field. 
     
     
         39 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25  wherein applying the electric field includes varying the application of the electric field to control one or more combustion characteristics of the flame. 
     
     
         40 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25  wherein applying the electric field includes varying a magnitude of a voltage applied by at least one or more voltage sources. 
     
     
         41 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25  wherein applying the electric field includes varying the application of the electric field at selected locations and/or times. 
     
     
         42 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25  wherein introducing at least one precursor into the flame includes introducing into the flame at least one of silane, methane, tungsten hexafluoride, acetylene, oxygen, ethylene, or a metal-salt solution. 
     
     
         43 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25  wherein introducing at least one precursor into the flame includes introducing into the flame at least one precursor for forming at least one of a metal, a metal oxide, a nitride, diamond, diamond-like carbon, a carbide, a fluoride, a boride, or a carbonate. 
     
     
         44 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25 , further comprising positioning an inner flame tip at a distance of about 0.1 mm to about 2.0 mm from the substrate. 
     
     
         45 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25 , further comprising positioning an inner flame tip at a distance of about 0.25 mm to about 0.75 mm from the substrate. 
     
     
         46 . The method of combustion flame deposition of  claim 25  wherein the combustion-deposited material is configured as a film or discrete particles. 
     
     
         47 . A method of combustion flame deposition, comprising:
 directing a flame output from a burner toward a substrate;   introducing at least one precursor into the flame for forming a combustion-deposited material on the substrate by interacting with the flame, wherein the at least one precursor includes at least one of silane, methane, tungsten hexafluoride, acetylene, oxygen, ethylene, or a metal-salt solution;   applying an electric field at least proximate to the flame to selectively influence at least one characteristic of combustion in the flame and/or at least one characteristic of the combustion-deposited material produced from the flame; and   combustion depositing the combustion-deposited material onto the substrate from the at least one precursor introduced to the flame, wherein the combustion-deposited material is configured as a film or discrete particles.