An impinging jet reactor was developed for the deposition of superconducting MgB2 thin films by hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition, a technique that combines Mg evaporation with the thermal decomposition of B2H6 gas. A transport and chemistry model for boron film deposition from B2H6 was initially used to investigate the effect of carrier gas, Mg crucible temperature and gas flow rates on boron film growth rate and uniformity. The modeling studies, which were validated experimentally, demonstrated a reduction in B2H6 gas-phase depletion and an increased boron film growth rate using an argon carrier gas compared to hydrogen. The results were used to identify a suitable set of process conditions for MgB2 deposition in the impinging jet reactor. The deposition of polycrystalline MgB2 thin films that exhibited a transition temperature of 39.5 K was demonstrated at growth rates up to similar to 50 mu m/h. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.