FLUENT has been used to simulate the flow and heat transfer in a barrel type CVD reactor. The effect of varying the adjacent heater temperature on the predicted wafer temperatures was determined. The results show how the local thermal conditions at the wafer are controlled by varying the temperature of the nearby heater.

By providing a quantitative estimate of the species mixing and heat transfer in the rotating barrel susceptor, a better understanding of the performance of the reactor was gained. This type of model is especially helpful because the operating characteristics cannot readily be measured.

Mass fraction contours of GaCl (left) and AsH3 (right) on the symmetry plane