Method and apparatus for performing laser CVD

A method of depositing one or more elements on a substrate, the method comprising the steps of:

• providing a donor compound suspended in a carrier gas, the donor compound including the one or more elements for deposition;
• passing the carrier gas with the suspended donor compound over the substrate so as to form a film of the donor compound on the substrate;
• and
• irradiating the donor compound with optical radiation having an intensity sufficient to cause deposition of the one or more elements onto the substrate through photochemical decomposition of molecules of the donor compound within the film formed on the substrate,
• wherein the intensity of the optical radiation is insufficient to cause significant photolytic breakdown of molecules of the donor compound that are suspended in the carrier gas, and
• wherein the optical radiation has a pulse width that does not cause thermal absorption by the element so as to prevent thermally induced breakdown of the donor compound.