A systematic computational fluid dynamic (CFD) study was performed to investigate the effects of operating parameters such as: chamber pressure, wafer carrier rotation rate, growth temperature, and total carrier gas flow rate for different carrier gases on the deposition rate and uniformity in vertical rotating disc metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactors. The methodology for the optimization of process parameters for the maximum growth rate (GR) and GR uniformity is presented. It is shown that significant improvement of the reactors efficiency can be achieved by finding the optimal total carrier gas flow rate, which in general, has two opposing effects on the deposition rate: increased total flow rate can allow for higher operating pressures and hence, higher deposition rates, but at the same this could also reduce the deposition rate due to the higher dilution of the reactants. The critical Reynolds number at the inlet, below which the deposition uniformity starts rapidly to degrade, has also been identified. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.