Howmet Corporation

Jeffrey S Smith

David C Punola

William C Basta

A chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method utilizing an apparatus comprising a reactor having a coating chamber at elevated temperature, means for supporting substrates to be coated at different zones in the coating chamber, and means for supplying a gaseous reactant stream to the chamber for distribution to the coating zones in a manner that the stream is heated to substantially different temperatures at different coating zones. Reactivity-altering material is disposed at the coating zones for contact by the reactant stream supplied thereto before the reactant stream contacts a substrate at the zones. The reactivity-altering material includes a composition that differs between coating zones in dependence on the reactant stream temperatures at the coating zones as necessary to alter the reactivity of the reactant (i.e., activity of a particular chemical specie of the reactant stream) stream at the coating zones in a manner to provide substantially the same reactant reactivity at all coating zones. CVD coatings are thereby produced on the substrates that exhibit improved uniformity in composition and thickness from one substrate to the next at the different zones.

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Muskegon, MI, United States of America

Jeffrey S Smith