Plating method and apparatus

• US 8,317,993 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2009
• Issued: 11/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/02/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ebara Corporation
• Original Assignee: Ebara Corporation
• Inventors: Kuriyama, Fumio, Kiumi, Rei, Saito, Nobutoshi, Takemura, Takashi, Kimura, Masaaki, Takeda, Sachiko, Guo, Yugang
• Primary Examiner(s): Wilkins, III, Harry D
• Application Number:
  US12/461,613
• Publication Number:
  US 20090311429A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,197 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 205/220
• CPC Class Codes: B05B 13/0228 the movement of the objects being rotative B05B13/0242 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1632 Features specific for the apparatus, e.g. layout of cells and of its equipment, multiple cells
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1689 After-treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/18 Pretreatment of the material to be coated
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/182 Radiation, e.g. UV, laser
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1824 by chemical pretreatment
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 18/1837 Multistep pretreatment
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 17/001 Apparatus specially adapted for electrolytic coating of wafers, e.g. semiconductors or solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 5/34 Pretreatment of metallic surfaces to be electroplated
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 5/48 After-treatment of electroplated surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: C25D 7/123 Semiconductors first coated with a seed layer or a conductive layer
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/288 from a liquid, e.g. electrolytic deposition
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/241 characterised by the electroplating method; means therefor, e.g. baths or apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/244 Finish plating of conductors, especially of copper conductors, e.g. for pads or lands selective plating methods H05K3/243; finish plating of conductors made by printing techniques H05K3/246; solder as finish H05K3/3457, e.g. by plating H05K3/3473

Abstract

A plating apparatus has a steam treatment chamber configured to perform a steam treatment using steam on a surface of a substrate, and a plating chamber configured to plate the surface of the substrate subjected to the steam treatment. The plating apparatus also has an acid treatment chamber configured to bring the surface of the substrate subjected to the steam treatment into contact with an acid liquid. The plating apparatus includes a frame housing the steam treatment chamber, the acid treatment chamber, and the plating chamber.

Claims

1. A plating method comprising:

holding a substrate by a substrate holder;

plating a surface of the substrate held by the substrate holder with an acidic plating solution;

cleaning the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holder with pure water after said plating process;

producing an alkalescent aqueous solution by;

generating cathodic water by electrolysis of pure water; and

adding a tripotassium phosphate solution to the cathodic water;

cleaning the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holder with the alkalescent aqueous solution after said plating process;

removing the plated substrate from the substrate holder; and

then

cleaning and drying the plated surface of the substrate.

2. The plating method as recited in claim 1, further comprising bringing the surface of the substrate into contact with ozone water so as to improve the wettability of the surface of the substrate before said plating process.

3. The plating method as recited in claim 2, further comprising bringing the surface of the substrate into contact with an acid liquid after said bringing process with the ozone water before said plating process.

4. The plating method as recited in claim 2, further comprising dissolving an ozone gas in pure water by diffusion and dissolution through an ozone dissolution membrane to generate the ozone water.

5. The plating method as recited in claim 1, further comprising bringing the surface of the substrate into contact with electrolytic ionized water so as to improve the wettability of the surface of the substrate before said plating process.

6. The plating method as recited in claim 5, further comprising bringing the surface of the substrate into contact with an acid liquid after said bringing the surface of the substrate into contact with the electrolytic ionized water before said plating process.

7. The plating method as recited in claim 5, wherein the electrolytic ionized water comprises at least one of anodic water and cathodic water generated by electrolysis of pure water or a solution containing an electrolyte.

8. The plating method as recited in claim 1, wherein the substrate has an organic resist film with a predetermined pattern formed in the organic resist film.

9. The plating method as recited in claim 1, wherein the alkalescent aqueous solution consists of the cathodic water and the tripotassium phosphate solution.

10. The plating method as recited in claim 1, wherein said cleaning the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holder with the alkalescent aqueous solution after said plating process comprises spraying the alkalescent aqueous solution on to the surface of the substrate.

11. The plating method as recited in claim 1, wherein, during said holding of the substrate by the substrate holder, the substrate is transferred between stations together with the substrate holder.