Semiclassical calculation of reaction rate constants for homolytical dissociation reactions of interest in organometallic vapor-phase epitaxy (OMVPE)

A procedure for calculating homolytic dissociation rate constants is reported for modeling organometallic vapor-phase epitaxy (OMVPE) of III-V compounds for all pressure regimes. Reaction rate constants were predicted following a semiclassical approach based on quantum mechanical calculations and transition-state theory. The critical configuration was determined using linear interpolations for the geometry of the intermediate structures, Morse potentials for the intermediate electronic energies, and Hase's relationship for the vibrational frequencies that become annihilated. Low-pressure rate constants were calculated from Rice-Ramsperger-Kassel-Marcus (RRKM) theory following the Troe approach. The calculations were compared with experimental values for the dissociation of one methyl radical from the closed-shell molecules Al(CH3)(3), Ga(CH3)(3), and In(CH3)(3) and the radical molecules Ga(CH3)(2) and In(CH3) and for the dissociation of one hydrogen atom from NH3, PH3, and AsH3. A simplified system of reactions for the homolytic dissociation of In(CH3)(3) was modeled in an OMV reactor designed for the pressure range 10(-2) to 10(2) atm using computational fluid dynamics coupled with chemical kinetics. The steady-state simulations were carried out at 1000 K and at N-2 pressures of 1 and 20 atm.