Numerical study of a three-dimensional chemical vapor deposition reactor with detailed chemistry

A numerical model of a three-dimensional, horizontal channel, chemical vapor deposition reactor is presented in order to study gallium arsenide growth from trimethylgallium and arsine source reactants. Fluid flow and temperature predictions inside the reactor are obtained using the vorticity-velocity form of the three-dimensional, steady-state Navier-Stokes equations coupled with a detailed energy balance equation inside the reactor and on its walls. Detailed gas phase and surface chemistry mechanisms are used to predict the chemical species profiles inside the reactor, the growth rate distribution on the substrate, and the level of carbon incorporation into the grown layer. The species diffusion velocities are written using the recent theory of iterative transport algorithms and account for both thermal diffusion and multicomponent diffusion processes. The influence of susceptor temperature and inlet composition on growth rate and carbon incorporation is found to agree well with previous numerical and experimental work. © 1996 Academic Press, Inc.