Design of gas inlets for the growth of gallium nitride by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

Abstract

The problem of gas inlet design for metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) of group III nitrides from metal alkyls and ammonia is addressed. The focus is on GaN growth from trimethyl-gallium and ammonia. In traditional reactors with well-mixed inlet streams, parasitic gas-phase reactions between the two precursors may lead to the formation of stable adducts that can condense on cool inlet walls, thus reducing the film growth efficiency. Such reactions may also lead to the formation of particulates through gas-phase condensation reactions (e.g. during AlN growth). A fundamentally-based model was developed to describe the MOVPE of GaN and was used to study the effect of inlet design and reactor operating conditions on film thickness uniformity in vertical stagnation-flow and rotating-disk reactors. The model includes a description of gas-phase kinetics and a simple gas-surface reaction mechanism. The kinetic model was coupled to a two-dimensional transport model describing flow, heat and mass transfer in a vertical MOVPE reactor. Predictions of growth rate compare well to experimental observations from a vertical rotating-disk reactor, without any adjustable parameters. The model was also used to study the distribution of gaseous species in the reactor and their role in film growth. Finite element simulations using a massively parallel computer code (MPSalsa) indicate that the species responsible for film growth are Ga-alkyls and not their adducts with ammonia. Sensitivity analysis was also performed to assess the relative importance of each reaction in determining the growth rate. The model was subsequently employed in the design of axisymmetric, multi-aperture gas inlets feeding precursors into the reactor in an alternating (not well-mixed) fashion. Simulations were performed to study the effect of key design parameters, such as inlet velocities, susceptor rotating speed, inlet to susceptor distance as well as the number and distribution of inlets, on GaN film growth rate and uniformity in industrial scale reactors. Optimal cases are presented that lead to uniform films over large-area substrates. An alternating precursor feed scheme based on concentric rings was found to lead to more uniform films as the number of inlets increased. The other important reactor parameters were inlet velocity, relative size of inlet “rings” and susceptor distance from the inlet.