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US 10,480,092 B2Granted
Apparatus and method of contact electroplating of isolated structures
AssigneeEcsi Fibrotools, Inc.
InventorIgor V. Kadija
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The presently disclosed apparatus and method offer the capability to electroplate pure metals or alloys onto substrates, having no current collectors or being connected to the power supply by a low conductivity seed layer. Thus, the disclosed system enables pure metal or alloy deposition on various substrates, including flexible electronic circuits, wafers for IC processing, and discrete electronic devices in surface finishing applications.
Claims20
A method of electroplating metal onto a substrate, the method comprising:
- immersing an apparatus for electroplating a metal onto a substrate in an electroplating solution comprising the metal to be electroplated, wherein the apparatus comprises:
- a substrate comprising a seed pattern with a resistance of 0.001 Ω·cm-100,000 Ω·cm;
- a working electrode comprising fine flexible metal mesh, metal fiber cloth, metal fiber with polymer thread, or metal web, wherein the working electrode has a thickness of 1.5 mm or less;
- a counter electrode comprising fine metal mesh, metal fiber cloth, metal web, or metal mesh;
- and
- a chemically inert porous and flexible material that directly contacts both the working electrode and the counter electrode;
- positioning current collectors to link both electrodes to a respective polarity of a power supply;
- activating the power supply;
- electroplating 1-2 microns of the metal onto the fine metal mesh, metal fiber cloth, or metal web of the working electrode;
- deactivating the power supply;
- positioning the apparatus to establish uniform intimate contact with the substrate such that the fine flexible metal mesh, metal fiber cloth, metal web, or metal fiber with polymer thread of the working electrode directly contacts the chemically inert porous and flexible material and directly contacts the seed pattern of the substrate, wherein the chemically inert porous and flexible material is configured to compress the metal mesh, metal fiber cloth, metal web, or metal fiber with polymer thread of the working electrode;
- proceeding with DC or reverse pulse electroplating for about 2 to 120 seconds to achieve conductivity specified for a single or multiple conveyorized step processing of the seed pattern;
- moving the apparatus to remove the uniform intimate contact with the substrate after the DC or reverse pulse electroplating or proceeding with a next step of conveyorized processing;
- and
- optionally introducing a new substrate.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.