Plating device and plating method

• US 20030051995A1
• Filed: 09/12/2002
• Published: 03/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: SPC Electronics Corp. (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SPC Electronics Corp. (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Shimada, Kiyoshi, Oishi, Tetsuji, Sonoda, Haruki, Nobata, Hirotaka, Morito, Yasuomi, Ando, Ei?apos;Ichi, Ohtsubo, Tetsurou, Tatehaba, Yoshihito, Abe, Yusuke
• Application Number:
  US10/149,051
• Publication Number:
  US 20030051995A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 204/199
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 17/001 Apparatus specially adapted for electrolytic coating of wafers, e.g. semiconductors or solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 17/02 Tanks; Installations therefor
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 21/08 Rinsing
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 7/123 Semiconductors first coated with a seed layer or a conductive layer
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/241 characterised by the electroplating method; means therefor, e.g. baths or apparatus

Abstract

A plating apparatus and plating method for an electronic component substrate or the like which prevent the spread of metal contamination in and out of the plating apparatus, do not dissolve a seed layer, have no defects caused by scattering of a treating liquid and wash only the perimeter of the electronic component substrate or the like are provided. The plating apparatus is a plating apparatus for plating an object to be plated such as an electronic component substrate. The plating apparatus includes appropriate numbers of plating baths and baths used for washing or other purposes therein and carries out plating, edge etching, washing and drying continuously therein.

Claims

1. A plating apparatus for plating an object to be plated such as an electronic component substrate, wherein the apparatus comprises appropriate numbers of a plating bath and baths for washing and the like and is constituted to continuously carry out plating, edge etching, washing and drying therein.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is divided into three areas of a first area in which the plating bath is disposed, a second area in which edge etching, washing and drying are carried out, and a third area which is a loader and unloader area, and the respective areas are separated from one another by means of separation parts.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein in an electronic component substrate transfer area between the first area in which the plating bath is disposed and the second area in which edge etching, washing and drying are carried out, a BOX which is polyhedral or cylindrical and which has a mechanism for holding an electronic component substrate therein and a shutter on each area side is disposed while the separation between the areas is remained.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein an electronic component substrate transfer area provided in the separation part between the second area in which edge etching, washing and drying are carried out and the third area which is a loader and unloader area has an opening which is opened and closed by a shutter.

5. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the plating bath disposed in the apparatus has a mounting table for the object to be plated on the bottom thereof and a cover which is cylindrical or hollow square, is opened toward the bottom, has a plating solution supply space and covers the object to be plated from the above;

a predetermined amount of a plating solution is supplied and stored; and

the air inside the cover is released to supply the plating solution from the plating solution supply space into the inside of the cover.

6. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the plating bath has an opening corresponding to the plating surface of the object to be plated on the bottom side of the bath, and a cathode electrode which comes in contact with the object to be plated.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 or 6, wherein the cover has an anode electrode opposing to the object to be plated.

8. The apparatus of any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the cover can be moved freely in a vertical direction in a range of from a seed layer protection energization point right above the object to be plated at which the anode electrode is placed when the plating solution is supplied to the surface of the object to be plated, that is, when energization is initiated, to a predetermined height from the object to be plated which is a standard position.

9. The apparatus of any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the mounting table for the object to be plated is freely movable in a vertical direction under the plating bath and comes in contact with the cathode electrode and the edge of the opening of the bottom of the plating bath at the highest reachable point to constitute the bottom of the plating bath.

10. The apparatus of any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein a sealing material is attached to the portion of the bottom of the plating bath at which the plating bath comes in contact with the mounting table for the object to be plated.

11. The apparatus of any one of claims 5 to 10, wherein the plating bath has an air releasing valve at the top of the cover.

12. The apparatus of any one of claims 5 to 11, wherein the plating bath has a nitrogen supply pipe on the cover.

13. The apparatus of any one of claims 5 to 12, wherein the plating bath has an air releasing pipe at the top thereof.

14. The apparatus of any one of claims 5 to 13, wherein the plating bath has a solution surface detecting sensor on the side thereof.

15. The apparatus of any one of claims 5 to 14, wherein the plating bath has a drain cover attached to the mounting table for the object to be plated.

16. The apparatus of any one of claims 7 to 15, wherein the anode electrode is a soluble anode such as phosphorus-containing copper or an insoluble anode such as platinum-coated titanium or iridium oxide.

17. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein the apparatus incorporates a bath for etching the perimeter of the object to be plated and a bath for washing and drying the etched object or a bath for etching, washing and drying the perimeter of the object to be plated, any of these baths comprising a rotating mechanism which holds and rotates the object to be plated, treating liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the perimeter of the object to be plated which is held on and rotates with the rotating mechanism, and fluid jetting means for jetting a predetermined fluid from the center side toward the perimeter side of the object to be plated.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the fluid jetting means is a jet nozzle which jets a predetermined fluid, and is disposed in the vicinity of the treating liquid supply means so as to jet the fluid onto the surface of the object to be plated from the center side toward the perimeter side of the object to be plated.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 or 18, wherein the fluid jetting means is concave from the perimeter side to the center side of the object to be plated, is disposed so as to surround a treating liquid to be supplied from the treating liquid supply means, and is constituted to jet the fluid into the concave portion.

20. The apparatus of any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the fluid jetting means has a jet nozzle which jets the fluid in an annular shape along the perimeter of the object to be plated from the above, and the treating liquid supply means is disposed in the vicinity of the outside of the jet nozzle.

21. The apparatus of any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein the fluid jetted from the fluid jetting means is a gas such as air, nitrogen, argon, helium or carbon dioxide, or a liquid such as pure water, hydrofluoric acid, ammonia, hydrochloric acid or sulfuric acid.

22. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the treating liquid supply means is a nozzle which jets a cleaning liquid at the perimeter of the object to be plated.

23. The apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein the object to be plated is a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer or had disk.

24. The apparatus of any one of claims 2 to 23, which has a mechanism as the loader for mounting a cassette having an electronic component substrate before the plating therein, and a mechanism as the unloader for mounting the cassette having the electronic component substrate after the plating therein.

25. A plating method using an integral plating apparatus which plates an object to be plated such as an electronic component substrate, wherein the plating apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 24 is applied to the integral plating apparatus to carry out plating.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein in a copper wiring step for an electronic component substrate or semiconductor wafer, a phosphonic acid, amine or acetic acid based electrolytic copper plating solution with a low seed layer dissolving speed and a pH of 6.5 to 8.5 is plated on a copper seed layer formed on a wiring pattern having pits on the electronic component substrate to reinforce the seed layer within the pits of the wiring pattern.

27. The method of claim 25 or 26, wherein the plating to reinforce a seed layer within the pits of a wiring pattern by use of a phosphonic acid, amine or acetic acid based electrolytic copper plating solution having a low seed layer dissolving speed, a pH of 6.5 to 8.5 and a copper concentration of 7 to 12 g/l is carried out as primary plating to form a reinforcement layer, and then secondary plating to fill the pits of the wiring pattern is carried out by use of a copper plating solution having a pH of not higher than 6.5.