Manufacturing of Gallium Nitride Thin Films in a Multi-Wafer MOCVD Reactor

Gallium nitride (GaN) thin films have attracted considerable attention for manufacturing optical and electronic devices. They have wide bandgap and superb performance in these applications. The reliability and durability of optoelectronic devices depend on the quality of the GaN thin films. The metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process is a common manufacturing technique for fabricating high-quality thin films. By manipulating the operating conditions and the reactor design, one can control the deposition rate and the uniformity of the thin film. In this paper, the manufacturing process for GaN thin films in a multi-wafer MOCVD reactor is simulated based on the three-dimensional computational model of an experimental system which provides data for validation as well as realistic design parameters. The reactor pressure and the flow rate of the precursor, trimethyl-gallium (TMG), significantly affect the deposition rate and film uniformity. The incursion of impurities in the deposition can be reduced by increasing the volumetric ratio of NH₃ to TMG (V/III) and reducing the reactor pressure. The deposition rate and quality of the thin film are enhanced using an appropriate mixture of H₂ and N₂ as the carrier gas. The design of the inlet can also be varied to improve the utilization of metal-organic precursors and increase the deposition rate. This paper presents and discusses results on these aspects for this important manufacturing process. Thus, it leads to a better understanding of the basic mechanisms involved and provides guidelines for obtaining high deposition rates with high film quality in practical chemical vapor deposition reactors.