Etching and Material Formation

As mentioned in Chapter 9, many reactions occur simultaneously in luminous chemical vapor deposition (LCVD) systems. In order to understand material formation in the luminous gas phase one should recognize the nature of other processes as well because it is nearly impossible to single out one particular process by eliminating others completely. 

These two early findings lead to the concept of competitive ablation and polymerization (CAP) which emphasizes the importance of a balance between polymer formation and ablation [3]. The first finding demonstrated the control of ablation due to extremely reactive fluorine-related species (atomic fluorine, F , etc.) by chemical reactions, and the second demonstrated the role of discharge conditions that control the production of highly ablative species. 

CF4 cannot polymerize without breaking C-F bonds because the creation of C-C bond constitutes the fundamental step of polymer formation. Once fluorine is 

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