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Analysis of interface evolution and pattern formation during CVD
Author(s) -
Thiart Jacob J.,
Hlavacek Vladimir
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.690410810
Subject(s) - deposition (geology) , interface (matter) , mechanics , planar , porosity , stability (learning theory) , materials science , numerical analysis , focus (optics) , point (geometry) , porous medium , computer simulation , computer science , geometry , mathematics , mathematical analysis , physics , geology , optics , composite material , paleontology , computer graphics (images) , bubble , maximum bubble pressure method , sediment , machine learning
Morphological aspects of the evolution of a gas ‐ solid interface during typical CVD processes are presented, as well as a continuum model of CVD growth. A linear stability analysis used determines the effect of reactor conditions on the stability of planar growth. The main focus, however, is numerical solution of governing equations under a wide variety of conditions and with different initial interface shapes as starting point. Simplified solutions under specific deposition conditions and the numerical procedure for solving the complete system of equations are presented. The focuses are on the use of a parametrization that eliminates numerical problems encountered with steep interface gradients and the automatic generation of an adaptive mesh for the domain above the interface. Several examples illustrate the numerical solution procedure. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to simulate interface evolution during CVD for long deposition times from various initial interface shapes. The simulation revealed several morphological phenomena observed experimentally in previous studies, including the formation of occlusions that contributes to film porosity and was clearly shown by the numerical results. Film uniformity strongly depends on the controlling mechanism of deposition. Severe nonuniformities develop under diffusional limitations, while deposition is very uniform under conditions of kinetics control. Film uniformity could be improved by choosing conditions for which a Damköhler number of deposition, Da, would have the lowest value.