US2017260641A1PendingUtilityA1
Apparatus and method for uniform metallization on substrate
Est. expiryNov 25, 2034(~8.3 yrs left)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
C25D 17/002C25D 5/20C25D 17/06C25D 21/10C25D 5/04C25D 17/001
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Claims
Abstract
An apparatus and method for uniform metallization on substrate are provided, achieving highly uniform metallic film deposition at a rate far greater than a conventional film growth rate in electrolyte solutions. The apparatus includes an immersion bath ( 3021 ), at least one set of electrode ( 3002 ), a substrate holder ( 3003 ), at least one ultra/mega sonic device ( 3004 ), a reflection plate ( 3005 ), and a rotating actuator ( 3030 ). The immersion bath contains at least one metal salt electrolyte ( 3020 ). The at least one set of electrode ( 3002 ) connects to an independent power supply. The substrate holder ( 3003 ) holds at least one substrate and electrically connects with a conductive side of the substrate. The conductive side of the substrate is exposed to face the electrode. The at least one ultra/mega sonic device ( 3004 ) and the reflection plate ( 3005 ) are disposed parallel for generating ultra/mega sonic standing wave in the immersion bath. The rotating actuator ( 3030 ) rotates the substrate holder ( 3003 ) along its axis in the standing wave field, so as to result in a uniform overall power intensity distribution across the substrate in an accumulated time.
Claims
exact text as granted — not AI-modified1 . An apparatus for uniform metallization on substrate comprising:
an immersion bath containing at least one metal salt electrolyte; at least one set of electrode connecting to an independent power supply; a substrate holder holding at least one substrate and electrically connecting with a conductive side of the substrate, the conductive side of the substrate exposed to face the electrode; at least one ultra/mega sonic device and a reflection plate disposed parallel for generating ultra/mega sonic standing wave in the immersion bath; and a rotating actuator rotating the substrate holder along its axis in the standing wave field, so as to result in a uniform overall power intensity distribution across the substrate in an accumulated time.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a horizontal actuator oscillating the substrate holder along propagation direction of the ultra/mega sonic standing wave.
3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the amplitude of the substrate oscillation equals to
N
·
λ
4
,
N
=
1
,
2
,
3
…
where λ is the wavelength of the ultra/mega sonic standing wave and N is an integer.
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a horizontal actuator oscillating the substrate holder along a direction tilted an angle θ relative to normal direction of propagation direction of the ultra/mega sonic standing wave.
5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the amplitude of the substrate oscillation equals to
N
·
λ
4
sin
θ
,
N
=
1
,
2
,
3
…
where λ is the wavelength of the ultra/mega sonic standing wave and N is an integer, θ is the angle between the substrate oscillation direction and the normal direction of propagation direction of the ultra/mega sonic standing wave.
6 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the θ is 0-45 degrees.
7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a vertical actuator moving the substrate holder up and down to load or unload the substrate into or out of the immersion bath.
8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a vertical actuator oscillating the substrate holder along a direction that an angle θ is formed between the substrate holder oscillation direction and normal direction of propagation direction of the ultra/mega sonic standing wave.
9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the amplitude of the substrate oscillation equals to
N
·
λ
4
sin
θ
,
N
=
1
,
2
,
3
…
where λ is the wavelength of the ultra/mega sonic standing wave and N is an integer, θ is the angle between the substrate oscillation direction and the normal direction of propagation direction of the ultra/mega sonic standing wave.
10 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the vertical actuator moves the substrate holder up and down to load or unload the substrate into or out of the immersion bath.
11 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the vertical actuator oscillates the substrate holder along the direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane.
12 . The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the vertical actuator oscillates the substrate holder along the direction tilted an angle relative to the normal direction of the horizontal plane.
13 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the substrate and the electrode are set with a tilted angle relative to the horizontal plane.
14 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each set of electrode includes one piece of electrode or more pieces of electrodes with independent power control.
15 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising at least one layer of permeable membrane being set between the substrate and the electrode.
16 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the rotation speed of the rotating actuator is in the range of 10 to 100 rpm.
17 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ultra/mega sonic device and the reflection plate are mounted on opposite sidewalls of the immersion bath and tilt an angle θ relative to the substrate oscillation direction, and the substrate is set parallel to the horizontal plane, the substrate oscillation direction is perpendicular to the horizontal plane.
18 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the ultra/mega sonic device and the reflection plate are mounted on opposite sidewalls of the immersion bath and perpendicular to the horizontal plane, the substrate and the electrode are set with a tilted angle relative to the horizontal plane, the substrate is oscillated along a direction tilted the angle relative to the normal direction of the horizontal plane.
19 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an adjusting mechanism for adjusting the surface of the reflection plate to be parallel to the surface of the ultra/mega sonic device.
20 . The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the adjusting mechanism includes an oscillating actuator for oscillating the reflection plate along propagation direction of the ultra/mega sonic standing wave, the oscillation amplitude is equal to N times of half wavelength of the ultra/mega sonic standing wave, N is an integer number from 1 to 10.
21 . The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the frequency of the oscillating actuator is 1 to 10 HZ.
22 . An apparatus for uniform metallization on substrate comprising:
an immersion bath containing at least one metal salt electrolyte; at least one set of electrode connecting to an independent power supply; a substrate holder holding at least one substrate and electrically connecting with a conductive side of the substrate, the conductive side of the substrate exposed to face the electrode; at least one ultra/mega sonic device for generating ultra/mega sonic wave in the immersion bath; and a rotating actuator rotating the substrate holder along its axis in the acoustic wave field, so as to result in a uniform overall power intensity distribution across the substrate in an accumulated time.
23 . The apparatus of claim 22 , further comprising a vertical actuator oscillating the substrate holder along normal direction of propagation direction of the ultra/mega sonic wave.
24 . The apparatus of claim 22 , further comprising an acoustic reflector placed with a tilted angle relative to the ultra/mega sonic device, avoiding forming standing wave across the surface of the substrate.
25 . The apparatus of claim 24 , wherein the acoustic reflector is tilted at its width direction to form the tilted angle relative to the ultra/mega sonic device, so as to reflect the acoustic wave upwards and out of the immersion bath.
26 . The apparatus of claim 25 , wherein the ultra/mega sonic device and the tilted acoustic reflector set the path where the acoustic stream flows horizontally and then out of the immersion bath.
27 . A method for uniform metallization on substrate comprising:
supplying at least one metal salt electrolyte into an immersion bath; transferring a substrate to a substrate holder that is electrically connected with a conductive side of the substrate and the conductive side of the substrate exposed to face an electrode connecting to an independent power supply; applying a first bias voltage to the substrate; rotating the substrate; immersing the substrate into the immersion bath; applying an electrical current to the substrate; turning on an ultra/mega sonic device; oscillating the substrate holder in the acoustic wave field, and meanwhile periodically changing the distance of space between the ultra/mega sonic device and a reflection plate; turning off the ultra/mega sonic device and stopping oscillation of the substrate holder and stopping periodically changing the distance of space between the ultra/mega sonic device and the reflection plate; applying a second bias voltage to the substrate; bringing the substrate out of the metal salt electrolyte; and stopping rotating the substrate.
28 . The method of claim 27 , wherein
the first bias voltage is 0.1V to 10V; the electrical current is 0.1 A to 100 A; the ultra/mega sonic device has an operating frequency of 20 KHz to 10 MHz and a power intensity of 0.01 to 3 W/cm2; the substrate oscillates with an amplitude of 1 mm to 300 mm and a frequency of 0.001 to 0.5 Hz; the second bias voltage is 0.1V to 5V.
29 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the substrate rotates with a rotation speed in range of 10 rpm to 100 rpm.
30 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the amplitude of the substrate oscillation equals to
N
·
λ
4
sin
θ
,
N
=
1
,
2
,
3
…
where λ is the wavelength of the ultra/mega sonic wave and N is an integer, θ is the angle between substrate oscillation direction and the normal direction of propagation direction of the ultra/mega sonic wave.
31 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the frequency of the space distance changing periodically is larger than the frequency of substrate oscillation.
32 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the amplitude of the substrate oscillation in the acoustic wave field is controlled as integer times of quarter wavelength of the ultra/mega sonic wave.
33 . The method of claim 27 , wherein the substrate oscillates with an angle θ in range of 0 to 45 degree, tilted to the normal direction of propagation direction of the ultra/mega sonic wave, and the amplitude of the substrate oscillation equals to
N
·
λ
4
sin
θ
,
N
=
1
,
2
,
3
…
where λ is the wavelength of the ultra/mega sonic wave and N is an integer.Join the waitlist — get patent alerts
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