NDLI: Numerical Investigation of Pulsed Chemical Vapor Deposition of Aluminum Nitride to Reduce Particle Formation

Content Provider	The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Digital Collection
Author	Endres, Derek Mazumder, Sandip
Copyright Year	2011
Abstract	Particles of aluminum nitride (AlN) have been observed to form during epitaxial growth of AlN films by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Particle formation is undesirable because particles do not contribute to the film growth, and are detrimental to the hydraulic system of the reactor. It is believed that particle formation is triggered by adducts that are formed when the group-III precursor, namely tri-methyl-aluminum (TMAl), and the group-V precursor, namely ammonia (NH3), come in direct contact in the gas-phase. Thus, one way to eliminate particle formation is to prevent the group-III and the group-V precursors from coming in direct contact at all in the gas-phase. In this article, pulsing of TMAl and NH3 is numerically investigated as a means to reduce AlN particle formation. The investigations are conducted using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis with the inclusion of detailed chemical reaction mechanisms both in the gas-phase and at the surface. The CFD code is first validated for steady-state (non-pulsed) MOCVD of AlN against published data. Subsequently, it is exercised for pulsed MOCVD with various pulse widths, precursor gas flow rates, wafer temperature, and reactor pressure. It is found that in order to significantly reduce particle formation, the group-III and group-V precursors need to be separated by a carrier gas pulse, and the carrier gas pulse should be at least 5–6 times as long as the precursor gas pulses. The studies also reveal that with the same time-averaged precursor gas flow rates as steady injection (non-pulsed) conditions, pulsed MOCVD can result in higher film growth rates because the precursors are incorporated into the film, rather than being wasted as particles. The improvement in growth rate was noted for both horizontal and vertical reactors, and was found to be most pronounced for intermediate wafer temperature and intermediate reactor pressure.
Starting Page	1275
Ending Page	1283
Page Count	9
File Format	PDF
ISBN	9780791854921
DOI	10.1115/IMECE2011-65925
Volume Number	Volume 6: Fluids and Thermal Systems; Advances for Process Industries, Parts A and B
Conference Proceedings	ASME 2011 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition
Language	English
Publisher Date	2011-11-11
Publisher Place	Denver, Colorado, USA
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Subject Keyword	Temperature Computational fluid dynamics Aluminum Metals Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition Chemical reactions Semiconductor wafers Chemical vapor deposition Pressure Steady state Hydraulic drive systems Gas flow Particulate matter
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article

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