Inductively heated CVD reactor for coating TiN film onto a tungsten carbide surface

Abstract

In an rf inductively heated quartz reactor, high-quality TiN film can be deposited onto a hard alloy cutting tool surface. Preferable operating conditions are found by experiments. Strong natural convection of gas and point-to-point temperature difference occur between the substrate and the reactor wall. Four second-order partial differential equations (PDE) have been set up to describe flow pattern, temperature distribution, and deposition rate. Galerkin's finite element method is applied for this two-dimensional problem. The domain is split into 262 quadrangle elements with 909 nodes. For a cold-wall reactor, the streamlines and isotherms are shown. An upward flow above the substrate causing a nonuniform deposition rate on the horizontal surface matches the authors' experiments. Experiments for TiN deposition rates under different TiCl 4 partial pressures are carried out to check computer simulation results.