Numerical study on the fluid dynamical aspects of atomic layer deposition process

Computational fluid dynamics investigations on the mixing process of gases inside an atomic layer deposition (ALD) reactor are carried out. A test case involving a real ALD reactor geometry is investigated under nonreacting, incompressible flow assumption. The relatively low Reynolds number (Re) of the test reactor, often being in the laminar regime, advocates the usage of scale-resolving simulations. The authors investigate mixing of two precursors in two different injection configurations for 40 < Re < 2400. The feasibility of the approach is shown and discussed. The results illustrate how both Reynolds number and injection configurations influence the precursor distribution in the ALD reactor. The authors also carry out a set of experiments in the same ALD reactor and discuss them in light of the simulations.Peer reviewe