Coupled simulation of gas flow and heat transfer in an RTP-system with rotating wafer

Abstract In this study the concept of a lamp heated RTP-system with rotating wafer is considered. Using the fluid-flow-simulation software Phoenics-CVD, we investigated the cooling of the wafer by a process gas flow which is injected at room temperature into the hot process chamber through an inlet pipe in the side wall. In a full 3D-simulation of the gas flow and of the heat transfer in the gas and in the wafer the Navier–Stokes equations and the energy equation are solved. The radiative power consumption and the energy loss of the wafer have been modeled by the Stefan–Boltzmann law. Simulations without wafer rotation show a strong drop in the temperature distribution at the wafer near the inlet pipe. In contrast to this, simulations with rotation show an axisymmetric temperature distribution with a considerably smaller temperature gradient over the wafer. Comparisons with oxidation experiments showed good agreement with the simulation results.