Reactor-scale Modeling of MOCVD of High-Temperature Superconductors
The objective of this DARPA-sponsored work was to develop a physics-based reactor-scale, physical model of Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Depostion (MOCVD) of superconducting thin films composed of Yttrium Barium Copper Oxides (YBCO). A Thomas Swan reactor used by STI (Santa Barbara, CA) was modeled. The model predicts deposition rate and stoichiometry along the wafer surface when the operating conditions and inflow gas composition are specified.
The physical model addressed precursor decomposition and oxide formation chemistry, and the transport processes (fluid mechanics, species diffusion, and heat transfer) associated with CVD. For modeling chemistry, we used kinetics data developed from quantum chemistry calculations, supplemented by other data in the literature. Stanford University was a collaborator on this project.