US 5,344,491 AGranted

Apparatus for metal plating

AssigneeNEC Corporation

InventorMariko Katou

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Abstract

Plating cups 2 each hold therein respective semiconductor substrates to be plated. The temperatures of the plating solution in the plating cups are controlled at optimum levels by controlling the operations of heaters 13 and 16, based on the temperature of the plating cups as measured by thermometers 5 mounted on the plating cups 2. Metal ion concentration in the solution and the pH level and specific gravity of the solution are measured by an atomic absorption spectrometer 17, a pH gauge 18, and a gravimeter 19, respectively, for determining necessary amount of replenishing metal ions and solution from a solution level regulator 21, thereby maintaining the relevant parameters of the solution within a permissible range.

An apparatus for metal plating, comprising:

a multiplicity of substrate supporting members for supporting between electrodes a multiplicity of semiconductor substrates;
said substrate supporting members comprising at least one cylindrical member;
supporting pins for supporting said semiconductor substrates at an upper end of said at least one cylindrical member;
a multiplicity of cathode electrodes, there being one cathode electrode for each semiconductor substrate, above and in contact with an upper surface of said semiconductor substrates and a multiplicity of anode electrodes beneath each of said semiconductor substrate,
a plating bath having therein said substrate supporting members;
solution circulation means for circulating said plating solution past said semiconductor substrates;
said solution circulation means including means for ejecting said plating solution from a bottom of said cylindrical member onto a lower surface of each semiconductor substrate and for enabling said plating solution to overflow from the upper end of said cylindrical member,
thermometers mounted on each of said substrate supporting members for measuring the temperatures of the plating solution near said semiconductor substrates;
solution sampling means mounted on each of said substrate supporting members for sampling plating solution near said semiconductor substrates;
heating means mounted in said plating bath for heating said plating solution;
heating control means for controlling the operation of said heating means in response to the signal measured by said thermometers so as to regulate the temperature of said plating solution within a predetermined range;
solution monitoring means for monitoring said plating solution by testing the samples of said plating solution to determine the concentrations of the components of said plating solution;
and
solution replenishment means for replenishing a necessary amount of said components in said plating solution, on a basis of the measurements of said samples by said solution monitoring means.

11 more elements

Facts

Application

08/000,235Filed 4 Jan 1993

Priority

JP 4-0019959 Jan 1992

Granted

6 Sep 1994

Term ends

Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

H10P 72/0448
Apparatus for manufacture or treatment: apparatus for applying a liquid, a resin, an ink or the like
C25D 5/617
Microstructure of the layers, e.g. mixed structure: crystalline layers
C25D 7/123
Semiconductors: semiconductors first coated with a seed layer or a conductive layer
C25D 21/02
Processes for servicing or operating cells for electrolytic coating: heating or cooling

Abstract

Claims9