Method and apparatus for processing substrate

Abstract

A substrate processing method can securely form a metal film by electroless plating on an exposed surface of a base metal, such as interconnects, with increased throughput and without the formation of voids in the base metal. The substrate processing method includes: cleaning a surface of a substrate having a base metal formed in the surface with a cleaning solution comprising an aqueous solution of a carboxyl group-containing organic acid or its salt and a surfactant as an additive; bringing the surface of the substrate after the cleaning into contact with a processing solution comprising a mixture of the cleaning solution and a solution containing a catalyst metal ion, thereby applying the catalyst to the surface of the substrate; and forming a metal film by electroless plating on the catalyst-applied surface of the substrate.

1 . A substrate processing method comprising:
 carrying a substrate, in which a catalyst has been applied to the surface of embedded interconnects formed in a surface of the substrate, into an apparatus frame of an electroless plating apparatus; and   directly forming a protective film by electroless plating selectively on surfaces of interconnects of the substrate.   
   
   
       2 . The substrate processing method according to  claim 1 , wherein immediately before carrying the substrate into the apparatus frame of the electroless plating apparatus, the substrate is stored in a storage container having a controlled internal atmosphere. 
   
   
       3 . The substrate processing method according to  claim 1 , wherein the substrate after the formation of the protective film is subjected to post-processing, followed by drying. 
   
   
       4 . The substrate processing method according to  claim 3 , wherein the post-processing of the substrate is chemical cleaning or etching to selectively remove impurities remaining on a nonmetallic surface of the substrate. 
   
   
       5 . The substrate processing method according to  claim 3 , wherein the post-processing of the substrate is plasma processing to selectively remove or modify impurities remaining on a nonmetallic surface of the substrate. 
   
   
       6 . The substrate processing method according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of a film thickness and a film property of the protective film is measured after drying and, based on comparison of the measured value with a target value, the processing conditions of electroless plating in the electroless plating apparatus are adjusted.