公开(公告)号：US06890416B1

公开(公告)日：2005-05-10

申请号：US10318497

申请日：2002-12-11

申请人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Evan E. Patton ,  Robert L. Jackson ,  Jonathan D. Reid

发明人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Evan E. Patton ,  Robert L. Jackson ,  Jonathan D. Reid

IPC分类号： C25D21/12 ,  C25F7/00 ,  H05K3/24 ,  C25D3/00 ,  C25D3/38

CPC分类号： C25D21/12 ,  C25F7/00 ,  H05K3/241

摘要： An electroplating apparatus prevents anode-mediated degradation of electrolyte additives by creating a mechanism for maintaining separate anolyte and catholyte and preventing mixing thereof within a plating chamber. The separation is accomplished by interposing a porous chemical transport barrier between the anode and cathode. The transport barrier limits the chemical transport (via diffusion and/or convection) of all species but allows migration of ionic species (and hence passage of current) during application of sufficiently large electric fields within electrolyte.

摘要翻译： 电镀装置通过产生用于维持单独的阳极电解液和阴极电解液并防止其在电镀室内的混合的机构来防止阳极介导的电解质添加剂的降解。 分离是通过在阳极和阴极之间插入多孔化学传输屏障来实现的。 运输屏障限制了所有物种的化学传输（通过扩散和/或对流），但是在电解质中施加足够大的电场期间允许离子物质的迁移（因此电流的流动）。

公开(公告)号：US06773571B1

公开(公告)日：2004-08-10

申请号：US10154082

申请日：2002-05-22

申请人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Evan E. Patton ,  Brian Paul Blackman ,  Jonathan D. Reid ,  Thomas Anand Ponnuswamy ,  Harold D. Perry

发明人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Evan E. Patton ,  Brian Paul Blackman ,  Jonathan D. Reid ,  Thomas Anand Ponnuswamy ,  Harold D. Perry

IPC分类号： C25D500

CPC分类号： C25D7/123 ,  C25D17/001 ,  C25D17/12

摘要： The present invention pertains to methods and apparatus for electroplating a substantially uniform layer of a metal onto a work piece having a seed layer thereon. The total current of a plating cell is distributed among a plurality of anodes in the plating cell in order to tailor the current distribution in the plating electrolyte to compensate for resistance and voltage variation across a work piece due to the seed layer. Focusing elements are used to create “virtual anodes” in proximity to the plating surface of the work piece to further control the current distribution in the electrolyte during plating.

摘要翻译： 本发明涉及用于将基本上均匀的金属层电镀到其上具有种子层的工件上的方法和装置。 电镀单元的总电流分布在电镀单元中的多个阳极之间，以便调整电镀电解质中的电流分布，以补偿因种子层而导致的工件上的电阻和电压变化。 聚焦元件用于在工件的电镀表面附近创建“虚拟阳极”，以进一步控制电镀期间电解液中的电流分布。

公开(公告)号：US06551487B1

公开(公告)日：2003-04-22

申请号：US09872341

申请日：2001-05-31

申请人： Jonathan D. Reid ,  Steven T. Mayer ,  Seshasayee Varadarajan ,  David C. Smith ,  Evan E. Patton ,  Dinesh S. Kalakkad ,  Gary Lind

发明人： Jonathan D. Reid ,  Steven T. Mayer ,  Seshasayee Varadarajan ,  David C. Smith ,  Evan E. Patton ,  Dinesh S. Kalakkad ,  Gary Lind

IPC分类号： C25D500

CPC分类号： H01L21/2885 ,  C25D17/001 ,  Y10S414/135 ,  Y10S414/136

摘要： The orientation of a wafer with respect to the surface of an electrolyte is controlled during an electroplating process. The wafer is delivered to an electrolyte bath along a trajectory normal to the surface of the electrolyte. Along this trajectory, the wafer is angled before entry into the electrolyte for angled immersion. A wafer can be plated in an angled orientation or not, depending on what is optimal for a given situation. Also, in some designs, the wafer's orientation can be adjusted actively during immersion or during electroplating, providing flexibility in various electroplating scenarios.

摘要翻译： 在电镀过程中控制晶片相对于电解质表面的取向。 将晶片沿着垂直于电解质表面的轨迹输送到电解质浴中。 沿着该轨迹，晶片在进入电解质之前是成角度的，用于倾斜的浸入。 根据给定情况下的最佳选择，晶圆可以以倾斜的方向进行电镀。 此外，在一些设计中，晶片的取向可以在浸入期间或在电镀期间被主动调节，从而在各种电镀场景中提供灵活性。

公开(公告)号：US6110346A

公开(公告)日：2000-08-29

申请号：US393848

申请日：1999-09-09

申请人： Jonathan D. Reid ,  Robert J. Contolini ,  Edward C. Opocensky ,  Evan E. Patton ,  Eliot K. Broadbent

发明人： Jonathan D. Reid ,  Robert J. Contolini ,  Edward C. Opocensky ,  Evan E. Patton ,  Eliot K. Broadbent

IPC分类号： C25D5/18 ,  C25D7/12 ,  C25D5/00 ,  C25D5/16 ,  C25D9/04

CPC分类号： C25D5/18 ,  C25D7/123 ,  Y10S205/915

摘要： In electroplating a metal layer on a semiconductor wafer, the resistive voltage drop between the edge of the wafer, where the electrical terminal is located, and center of the wafer causes the plating rate to be greater at the edge than at the center. As a result of this so-called "terminal effect", the plated layer tends to be concave. This problem is overcome by first setting the current at a relatively low level until the plated layer is sufficiently thick that the resistive drop is negligible, and then increasing the current to improve the plating rate. Alternatively, the portion of the layer produced at the higher current can be made slightly convex to compensate for the concave shape of the portion of the layer produced at the lower current. This is done by reducing the mass transfer of the electroplating solution near the edge of the wafer to the point that the electroplating process is mass transfer limited in that region. As a result, the portion of the layer formed under these conditions is thinner near the edge of the wafer.

摘要翻译： 在电镀半导体晶片上的金属层时，电极端子所在的晶片边缘与晶片的中心之间的电阻电压降使得电镀速率在边缘比在中心处更大。 作为这种所谓的“终端效应”的结果，镀层倾向于是凹的。 通过首先将电流设置在相对低的电平直到电镀层足够厚以使电阻降可忽略，然后增加电流以提高电镀速率来克服该问题。 或者，可以使在较高电流下产生的层的部分略微凸起，以补偿在较低电流下产生的层的部分的凹形。 这是通过减少靠近晶片边缘的电镀溶液的质量传递来实现的，即在该区域中电镀过程被传质限制。 结果，在这些条件下形成的层的部分在晶片的边缘附近更薄。