DETAILED MODELS OF THE MOVPE PROCESS

We present physicochemical models of the MOVPE process that describe two- and three-dimensional transport phenomena as well as gas-phase and surface reactions underlying the growth of compound semiconductors. Emphasis is placed on understanding the development of fully three-dimensional flows and on the interaction between transport and chemical reaction processes. The first fully three-dimensional finite element computations of non-axisymmetric flows in vertical MOVPE reactors are presented along with a discussion of conditions leading to loss of symmetry in axisymmetric reactor configurations. For horizontal reactors, three-dimensional simulations are used to predict published interference holography observations of cold finger phenomena and to investigate the disappearance of symmetry about the reactor midplane. A detailed kinetic model for epitaxial growth of GaAs from trimethylgallium and arsine is combined with fluid flow and heat transfer models for a typical horizontal MOVPE reactor. The model simulates GaAs growth rates and carbon incorporation trends with temperature, pressure and V/III ratio. The computations show that the wall temperature plays a critical role in controlling uniformity.