Carrier gas flow in a rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition (RTCVD) reactor was studied using flow visualization and laser induced Rayleigh light scattering (RLS). The flow field consists of a downward axisymmetric jet of carrier gas impinging on a wafer which undergoes transient heating. Flow visualization results showed three stable flow regimes as the surface rose from ambient to high temperature: momentum dominated, buoyancy dominated, and a second momentum dominated regime at high temperature; each separated by unstable, chaotic flows. RLS temperature measurements provided transient gas temperature histories, documenting flow visualization results. Regions of momentum dominated, buoyancy dominated, and unstable flows were defined as a function of Grashof number, Reynolds number, pressure, and wafer temperature.

Previous study of carrier gas flow in rapid chemical vapor deposition (RCVD) reactors has been limited mostly to numerical simulations and flow visualizations. In the present work flow regimes were observed and temperatures were measured in a vertical axisymmetric pedestal RCVD reactor using flow visualization and Rayleigh light scattering (RLS) for noninvasive temperature measurement. Flow visualizations revealed that the flow undergoes complex transitions between stable flow regimes as heating occurs. The two dominant stable flow regimes were buoyant stable (BS) and momentum stable (MS). RLS was used to determine the instantaneous carrier gas temperature at discrete points in the test section. The flow regimes and their transition points were easily recognized and agreed with flow visualization data. The flow visualizations and RLS tests showed identifiable trends in transition points between flow regimes and in the types of regimes encountered. These trends were dependent on Grashof number and Reynolds number.