High-Energy Electron-Rich Chemical Vapor Deposition (HEER CVD)

High-energy electron-rich chemical vapor deposition (HEER-CVD) harnesses accelerated plasma electrons as reducing agents to enable low-temperature dep-osition of electropositive metals from organometallic precursors. In this process, a hollow-cathode argon discharge generates electrons that are directed to the substrate under positive bias, achieving ~30 eV at the surface to facilitate precursor reduction, ligand fragmentation, and film growth without thermal activation. HEER-CVD excels in defence applications by enabling low-temperature deposition of dense, conformal, corrosion-resistant metallic and compound coatings on complex geometries such as internal channels, sensor housings, steels, alloys, and electronic payloads worldwide, thereby minimising porosity, avoiding wet processes, and enhancing service life in harsh environments.