A COMPUTATIONAL ANALYSIS FOR OUTLET SHAPE DESIGN TO SUPPRESS FLOW RECIRCULATION IN A ROTATING-DISK CVD REACTOR

A numerical design analysis is conducted to search for an optimal shape of outlet in a rotating-disk CVD reactor. The goal is to suppress flow recirculation that has been found in a reactor having a sudden expansion of flow passage outside of the rotating disk. In order to streamline gas flow, the sidewall at which the flow in the Ekman layer is impinged, is tilted. The axisymmetric laminar flow and heat transfer in the reactor are simulated using the incompressible ideal gas model. For the conventional vertical sidewall, the flow recirculation forming in the corner region could be expanded into the interior to distort the upstream flow. The numerical results show that this unfavorable phenomenon inducing back flow could be dramatically suppressed by tilting the sidewall at a certain range of angle. The assessment of deviation in deposition rate based on the characteristic isotherm illustrates that the sidewall tilting may expand the domain of stable plug-like flow regime toward higher pressure. A physica