Atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition of ZnO: Process modeling and experiments

• ZnO deposition at high rates of 800 nm/min
• Modeling based on two step mechanism gives good fit.
• Modeling gives insight in the inside of the reactor.
• Modeling can even predict static deposition profiles.

The deposition of zinc oxide has been performed by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition and trends in growth rates are compared with the literature. Diethylzinc and tertiary butanol were used as the primary reactants and deposition rates above 800 nm/min were obtained. The reaction kinetics were studied and detailed process modeling based on a reaction mechanism that includes the formation of an alkylzinc alkoxide intermediate product is discussed. This mechanism can explain the temperature dependent variety in deposition profiles observed in the static deposition experiments. The capability of modeling to gain insight in the local process conditions inside a reactor is demonstrated.