On the rate and uniformity of CdTe deposition in an impinging jet reactor: numerical simulations

The impinging jet with a parabolic inlet profile was modeled numerically and the results were compared to an existing series solution. The results at nozzle heights of 0.5 radii and above agreed within 1% of the series solution, but discrepancies of several percent were obtained at nozzle heights below 0.375 radii where the series solution did not converge well. Numerical solutions that allowed for thermal gradients, details of an actual impinging jet reactor, and cadmium telluride deposition from organometallic precursors, were also obtained. The experimentally-derived mass-transfer-limited deposition profile and the model simulations agreed when the model's concentrations at the bubbler outlets were reduced by a factor of four from the saturation values. This correction was justified when an inventory of reactant revealed that the mixtures at the bubbler outlets were far from saturated.