A method for coupling free molecular and continuum regime methods in order to simulate chemical vapor deposition

In this study we describe a fully integrated three scale low pressure chemical vapor deposition simulator. Full integration means that both continuum and ballistic transport models are integrated into the same simulation code. This eliminates the need for running separate codes for each scale and allows for easier optimization of the solution algorithm. Reductions in solution time are attained by changing the number of iterations done at each scale between passing information between scales. The modifications to the boundary conditions and inter-scale communication required when using finite volume based methods instead of previously used finite element methods are also discussed.