Current-leveling electroplating/electropolishing electrode
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsShih-Chieh Chang, Ying-Lang Wang, Kei-Wei Chen, Shih-Ho Lin, Chun-Chang Chen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A current-leveling electrode for improving electroplating and electrochemical polishing uniformity in the electrochemical plating or electropolishing of metals on a substrate is disclosed. The current-leveling electrode includes a base electrode and at least one sub-electrode carried by the base electrode. The at least one sub-electrode has a width which is less than a width of the base electrode to impart a generally tapered, stepped or convex configuration to the current-leveling electrode.
Claims28
A semiconductor wafer electroplating and electropolishing apparatus current-leveling electrode comprising:
- a solid disc-shaped base electrode;
- and
- at least one solid disc-shaped sub-electrode stacked on a major surface of said base electrode, said at least one sub-electrode having a width less than a width of said base electrode, said current-leveling electrode having a generally circular stepped convex configuration.
A semiconductor wafer electroplating and electropolishing apparatus current-leveling electrode comprising:
- a solid disc-shaped base electrode comprising a base electrode body having a set of peg openings on a major surface;
- a solid disc-shaped sub-electrode comprising a sub-electrode body having a width less than a width of said base electrode body of said base electrode;
- and
- a set of mount pegs carried by said sub-electrode body of said sub-electrode for insertion in said set of peg openings, respectively, of said base electrode body of said base electrode, wherein said sub-electrode is stacked on said major surface of said base electrode, said current-leveling electrode having a generally circular stepped convex configuration.
A semiconductor wafer electroplating and electropolishing apparatus current-leveling electrode comprising:
- a solid disc-shaped base electrode;
- a plurality of solid disc-shaped sub-electrodes sequentially attached to a major surface of a respective underlying sub-electrode, one of said sub-electrodes stacked on a major surface of said base electrode, said plurality of sub-electrodes stacked relationship to each other;
- and
- wherein said base electrode and said plurality of sub-electrodes impart a generally circular stepped convex configuration to said current-leveling electrode.
A semiconductor wafer electroplating and electropolishing apparatus comprising:
- a tank for containing a wafer;
- and
- a current-leveling electrode provided in said tank for carrying out an electroplating and electropolishing process on said wafer, said current-leveling electrode comprising a solid disc-shaped base electrode and at least one solid disc-shaped sub-electrode having a width less than a width of said base electrode, said at least one sub-electrode stacked on a major surface of said base electrode, said current-leveling electrode having a generally circular stepped convex configuration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.