Plating apparatus, substrate holder, plating apparatus controlling method, and storage medium configured to store program for instructing computer to implement plating apparatus controlling method

• US 10,273,594 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2017
• Issued: 04/30/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ebara Corporation
• Original Assignee: Ebara Corporation
• Inventors: Fujikata, Jumpei
• Primary Examiner(s): Smith, Nicholas A
• Application Number:
  US15/612,863
• Publication Number:
  US 20170350033A1
• Time in Patent Office: 697 Days
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 17/001 Apparatus specially adapted for electrolytic coating of wafers, e.g. semiconductors or solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 17/004 Sealing devices
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 17/06 Suspending or supporting devices for articles to be coated
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 21/12 Process control or regulation controlling or regulating in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 7/123 Semiconductors first coated with a seed layer or a conductive layer
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/2885 using an external electrical current, i.e. electro-deposition
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67253 Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/68785 characterised by the mechanical construction of the susceptor, stage or support
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/76879 by selective deposition of conductive material in the vias, e.g. selective C.V.D. on semiconductor material, plating plating on semiconductors in general H01L21/288
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/11462 Electroplating
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/117 involving monitoring, e.g. feedback loop
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/11 Manufacturing methods for bumps on insulating substrates H01L21/4853
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 24/742 Apparatus for manufacturing bump connectors

Abstract

Provided is a plating apparatus for plating a substrate by using a substrate holder including an elastic projection that seals a to-be-plated surface of the substrate, the plating apparatus comprising a measurement device configured to measure a deformed state of the elastic projection by measuring at least either one of a compression amount of the elastic projection and load applied to the elastic projection at a time when the substrate physically contacts the elastic projection of the substrate holder; and a controlling device configured to make a judgment on the basis of the measured deformed state as to whether sealing by the elastic projection is normal.

Claims

1. A plating apparatus for plating a substrate by using a substrate holder including an elastic projection that seals a to-be-plated surface of the substrate, the plating apparatus comprising:

a measurement device configured to measure a deformed state of the elastic projection by measuring at least either one of a compression amount of the elastic projection and load applied to the elastic projection at a time when the substrate physically contacts the elastic projection of the substrate holder; and

a controlling device configured to make a judgment on the basis of the measured deformed state as to whether sealing by the elastic projection is normal.

2. The plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the substrate holder includes a seal ring holder configured to hold or include the elastic projection;

the measurement device includes a distance sensor configured to measure distance to an upper face of the seal ring holder of the substrate holder and distance to an upper face of the substrate; and

the compression amount is calculated from difference between the distance to the upper face of the seal ring holder and the distance to the upper face of the substrate.

3. The plating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the compression amount is measured at plural places in an outer circumferential portion of the substrate;

and

the controlling device determines that the sealing by the elastic projection is normal and implements the plating processing with respect to the substrate held by the substrate holder when values of the compression amounts satisfy a first condition that the values of the compression amounts are equal to or higher than a first value and fall within a first value range, and determines that the sealing by the elastic projection is abnormal and does not implement the plating processing with respect to the substrate held by the substrate holder when the values of the compression amounts fail to satisfy the first condition.

4. The plating apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the controlling device is configured so that, when the value of the compression amount fails to satisfy the first condition, the substrate is removed from the substrate holder, and the substrate holder is determined to be unusable.

5. The plating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the distance sensor is configured to scan the entire outer circumferential portion of the substrate;

and

the compression amount is calculated over the entire outer circumferential portion of the substrate.

6. The plating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein

the distance sensor comprises a plurality of distance sensors disposed in the outer circumferential portion of the substrate;

and

the compression amount is calculated at positions where the plurality of distance sensors are located.

7. The plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the substrate holder includes a seal ring holder configured to hold or include the elastic projection;

the measurement device further includes a pressing member configured to press the seal ring holder, the pressing member including a plurality of load cells; and

load that is applied to the elastic projection is measured by the plurality of load cells when the pressing member presses the seal ring holder.

8. The plating apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the controlling device is configured to determine that the sealing by the elastic projection is normal and implement the plating processing with respect to the substrate when values of the loads which have been measured by the plurality of load cells satisfy a second condition that the values of the loads are equal to or lower than a second value and fall within a second value range, and determine that the sealing by the elastic projection is abnormal and does not implement the plating processing with respect to the substrate held by the substrate holder when the values of the loads fail to satisfy the second condition.

9. The plating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the controlling device is configured so that, when the values of the loads fail to satisfy the second condition, the substrate is removed from the substrate holder, and the substrate holder is determined to be unusable.

10. The plating apparatus according to claim 7, wherein

the pressing member is driven by a motor;

and

the load applied to the elastic projection is measured on the basis of a load application rate of the motor at a time when the seal ring holder is pressed by the pressing member to move down to a predetermined position.

11. The plating apparatus according to claim 10, wherein

the controlling device is configured to determine that the sealing by the elastic projection is normal and implement the plating processing with respect to the substrate when a measured value of the load application rate of the motor satisfies a third condition that the value of the load application rate is equal to or higher than a third value and is equal to or lower than a fourth value that is higher than the third value, and determine that the sealing by the elastic projection is abnormal and does not implement the plating processing with respect to the substrate that is held by the substrate holder when the measured value of the load application rate of the motor fails to satisfy the third condition.

12. The plating apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

the controlling device is configured so that, when the measured value of the load application rate of the motor fails to satisfy the third condition, the substrate is removed from the substrate holder, and the substrate holder is determined to be unusable.

13. The plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the plating apparatus comprises the substrate holder;

the substrate holder includes a plurality of pressure sensors arranged in a surface of the substrate holder, with which the substrate comes to contact; and

the loads applied to the elastic projection are measured by the plurality of pressure sensors when the substrate is locked to the substrate holder.

14. The plating apparatus according to claim 13, wherein

the controlling device is configured to determine that the sealing by the elastic projection is normal and implement the plating processing with respect to the substrate when values of the loads which are measured by the plurality of pressure sensors satisfy a fourth condition that the values of the loads are equal to or lower than a fifth value and are within a fourth value range, and determine that the sealing by the elastic projection is abnormal and does not implement the plating processing with respect to the substrate that is held by the substrate holder when the values of the loads fail to satisfy the fourth condition.

15. The plating apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the controlling device is configured so that, when the values of the loads fail to satisfy the fourth condition, the substrate is removed from the substrate holder, and the substrate holder is determined to be unusable.

16. The plating apparatus according to claim 14, wherein:

the controlling device is configured to measure the loads applied to the elastic projection by using the plurality of pressure sensors and judge whether the values of the loads satisfy the fourth condition during the plating processing.

17. The plating apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the controlling device is configured so that, when the load values fail to satisfy the fourth condition during the plating processing, the substrate holder is determined to be unusable after the plating processing.

18. The plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the substrate holder is configured to include a backing base and a movable base that is disposed to be movable relative to the backing base, and the substrate comes into contact with the movable base.

19. The plating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a substrate attachment/detachment station for attaching/detaching the substrate to and from the substrate holder, wherein

the deformed state of the elastic projection is measured in the substrate attachment/detachment station.

20. A method for controlling a plating apparatus configured to plate a substrate by using a substrate holder including an elastic projection that seals a to-be-plated surface of the substrate, wherein

a deformed state of the elastic projection is measured by measuring at least either one of a compression amount of the elastic projection and load applied to the elastic projection at a time when the substrate physically contacts the elastic projection of the substrate holder;

a judgment is made on the basis of the measured deformed state as to whether sealing by the elastic projection is normal; and

plating processing is performed with respect to the substrate that is held by the substrate holder in which the sealing by the elastic projection is judged as normal.

21. A storage device configured to store a program for instructing a computer to implement a method for controlling a plating apparatus that performs plating processing with respect to a substrate by using a substrate holder including an elastic projection that seals a to-be-plated surface of the substrate, wherein the storage device stores a program for instructing the computer to measure the deformed state of the elastic projection by measuring at least either one of a compression amount of the elastic projection and load applied to the elastic projection at the time when the substrate physically contacts the elastic projection of the substrate holder;

make a judgment as to whether sealing by the elastic projection is normal or abnormal on the basis of the measured deformed state; and

perform the plating processing with respect to the substrate that is held by the substrate holder in which the sealing by the elastic projection is judged as normal.