Electroplating equipment and electroplating method

Abstract

The present invention provides an electroplating device, comprising an anode and a cathode, a power supply, a control board and a controller. The power supply is electrically connected to the anode and the cathode. The control board is arranged between the anode and the cathode. The control board comprises an insulating grid plate and a plurality of wires. The controller is electrically connected to the plurality of wires to control the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of wires. An electroplating method is also provided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an equipment and a method, and in particular to an electroplating equipment and an electroplating method. Background Art

[0002] Electroplating has been widely used in various fields. In addition to being a traditional surface treatment method, it is also used in the production of circuit boards, semiconductor chips, LED conductive substrates, and semiconductor packaging. However, electroplating often has the problem of uniform thickness of the metal coating.

[0003] For example, in the process of manufacturing circuit boards, the electric field lines between the anode and the cathode are often affected by the properties of the film layer on the substrate to be plated (such as insulation properties or other properties that affect the distribution of electric power) and turn when approaching the substrate to be plated, resulting in uneven distribution of the electric field line density. As a result, the metal coating formed on the substrate to be plated will have the problem of poor uniformity of electroplating thickness. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention provides an electroplating device and an electroplating method, which can improve the problem of poor uniformity of electroplating thickness of a metal coating on a substrate to be plated and have better operating freedom.

[0005] An electroplating device of the present invention comprises an anode and a cathode, a power supply, a control board and a controller. The power supply is electrically connected to the anode and the cathode. The control board is arranged between the anode and the cathode. The control board comprises an insulating grid plate and a plurality of wires. The controller is electrically connected to the plurality of wires to control the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of wires.

[0006] In one embodiment of the present invention, the insulating grid plate has a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other, the first surface is close to the anode, and a plurality of wires are disposed on the first surface.

[0007] In one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of conductive wires are regularly arranged on the insulating grid plate.

[0008] In one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of conductive wires are disposed at the intersection of line segments of the insulating grid plate.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of conductive wires are bonded to the insulating grid plate by an adhesive.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, each of the conductive lines extends in the same direction.

[0011] In one embodiment of the present invention, each of the above-mentioned wires extends between the insulating grid plate and the anode.

[0012] In an embodiment of the present invention, there is a distance between the adjacent conductive lines.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, the control board does not have any magnetic material.

[0014] In one embodiment of the present invention, the magnetic substance includes a magnet, a magnetic material or a combination thereof.

[0015] An electroplating method of the present invention comprises at least the following steps. An electroplating device is provided, wherein the electroplating device comprises an anode and a cathode, a power supply, a control board and a controller. The power supply is electrically connected to the anode and the cathode. The control board is arranged between the anode and the cathode. The control board comprises an insulating grid plate and a plurality of wires. The controller is electrically connected to the plurality of wires. A substrate to be plated is fixed on the cathode, wherein the substrate to be plated comprises a dry film, and the dry film has at least a first opening and a second opening, and the first opening is smaller than the second opening. After the power supply supplies power, a plurality of electric lines are formed moving from the anode toward the cathode. The controller controls the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of wires to change the incident angle of the plurality of electric lines passing through the control board relative to the substrate to be plated, so that the number of electric lines entering the first opening is less than the number of said electric lines entering the second opening. A metal coating is formed on the substrate to be plated.

[0016] In one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of power lines move in a straight line before passing through the regulating plate, and the plurality of power lines move in a spiral after passing through the regulating plate.

[0017] In one embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned first opening has a first opening angle, the second opening has a second opening angle, the first opening angle is smaller than the second opening angle, and the incident angles of the electric lines entering the first opening are all less than or equal to the first opening angle, and the incident angles of the electric lines entering the second opening are all less than or equal to the second opening angle.

[0018] In one embodiment of the present invention, the current intensity of the plurality of wires is controlled by the controller to control the state of the electromagnetic field.

[0019] In one embodiment of the present invention, during the formation of the metal plating layer, the controller controls the current intensity of the plurality of wires multiple times.

[0020] In one embodiment of the present invention, the current intensity of each of the above-mentioned wires is different.

[0021] In one embodiment of the present invention, the current direction of the plurality of wires is the same as the moving direction of the plurality of power lines before passing through the control panel.

[0022] In one embodiment of the present invention, the current directions of the plurality of wires are toward the cathode.

[0023] In one embodiment of the present invention, there is no magnetic field generated by magnetic material around the control plate.

[0024] In one embodiment of the present invention, the magnetic substance includes a magnet, a magnetic material or a combination thereof.

[0025] Based on the above, the electroplating equipment of the present invention is designed with a control plate between the anode and the cathode, and its controller can control the electromagnetic field state around the multiple wires on the control plate to change the incident angle of the electric lines passing through the control plate relative to the substrate to be plated (through the action of the Lorentz force generated between the electric lines and the control plate), so that the number of electric lines entering the smaller openings is less than the number of electric lines entering the larger openings. Since the number of electric lines (which can drive the metal ion concentration) is positively correlated with the thickness of the formed metal coating, the number of electric lines entering the openings can be effectively controlled, so that the part of the substrate to be plated where the circuit is to be formed has a consistent electric line density, thereby improving the problem of poor uniformity of the electroplating thickness of the metal coating on the substrate to be plated and having better operating freedom.

[0026] In order to make the above features and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, embodiments are given below with reference to the accompanying drawings for detailed description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1A is a flow chart of an electroplating method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 1B is a schematic side view of an electroplating device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 1C It is a schematic top view of a control panel of an electroplating device according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Whenever possible, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

[0031] The following will fully describe exemplary embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention may also be implemented in a variety of different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described herein. In the accompanying drawings, for the sake of clarity, the size and thickness of each region, part, and layer may not be drawn to scale. For ease of understanding, the same elements in the following description will be described with the same symbols.

[0032] The present invention is more fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings of the present embodiment. However, the present invention may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments described herein. The thickness, size or size of the layers or regions in the accompanying drawings may be exaggerated for clarity. The same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements, and the following paragraphs will not be repeated one by one.

[0033] The directional terms used herein (eg, up, down, right, left, front, back, top, bottom) are used only with reference to the drawings shown and are not intended to imply an absolute orientation.

[0034] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and / or parts, these elements, components, regions, and / or parts should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or part from another element, component, region, layer or part.

[0035] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

[0036] Figure 1A is a flow chart of an electroplating method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1B It is a side view schematic diagram of an electroplating device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1C It is a schematic top view of a control panel of an electroplating device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Please refer to Figure 1A , Figure 1B and Figure 1C , the main process of the electroplating method according to an embodiment of the present invention is described below by using the accompanying drawings. First, an electroplating device 100 is provided (step S100), wherein the electroplating device 100 includes an anode 110 and a cathode 120, a power supply 130, a control board 140 and a controller 150. Further, the power supply 130 is electrically connected to the anode 110 and the cathode 120, and the control board 140 is disposed between the anode 110 and the cathode 120 ( Figure 1B Schematically showing a regulating plate 140 sandwiched between the anode 110 and the cathode 120 , wherein the regulating plate 140 includes an insulating grid plate 142 and a plurality of wires 144 , and the controller 150 is electrically connected to the plurality of wires 144 .

[0038] In addition, the electroplating device 100 may further include an electroplating tank (not shown) containing an electrolyte (including the metal ions Y to be plated), and the anode 110 and the cathode 120 are both disposed in the electroplating tank. Here, the materials and types of the electrolytic tank, the electrolyte, the anode 110, and the cathode 120 can be adjusted according to the type of the actual metal to be plated (such as copper plating), and the present invention is not limited thereto. It should be noted that other specific details of the electroplating device 100 will be further described below.

[0039] Next, the substrate S to be plated is fixed on the cathode 120, wherein the substrate S to be plated includes a dry film 40, and the dry film 40 has at least a first opening 42A and a second opening 42B, and the first opening 42A is smaller than the second opening 42B (step S200). Here, the material of the dry film 40 is, for example, an insulating material, and its thickness can be determined according to actual design requirements. Then, after the power supply 130 supplies power, a plurality of electric lines L (which can be the moving direction of electrons released after the anode 110 is energized) are formed to move from the anode 110 toward the cathode 120 (step S300). In addition, the controller 150 controls the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of wires 144 to change the incident angle of the plurality of electric lines L passing through the control plate 140 relative to the substrate S to be plated, so that the number of electric lines L entering the first opening 42A is less than the number of electric lines L entering the second opening 42B (step S400). Then, a metal plating layer 10 is formed on the substrate S to be plated (step S500). Here, “surroundings” can be defined by the current magnetic effect phenomenon (electromagnetic field) that the wire 144 after being energized will generate a magnetic field around it, and the direction of the magnetic field generated by the wire 144 can be determined by Ampere's right-hand rule, such as Figure 1B The direction of rotation around the wire is shown in .

[0040] Accordingly, the electroplating device 100 of this embodiment is designed with a control plate 140 between the anode 110 and the cathode 120, and its controller 150 can control the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of wires 144 on the control plate 140 to change the incident angle of the electric force line L passing through the control plate 140 relative to the substrate S to be plated (through the effect of the Lorentz force generated between the electric force line L and the control plate 140), so that the electric force line L passing through the control plate 140 can enter the opening of a smaller size (such as Figure 1B The number of electric lines L entering the first opening 42A of the embodiment is less than that entering the larger opening (such as Figure 1B Since the number of electric lines L (which can drive the concentration of metal ions Y) is positively correlated with the thickness of the formed metal plating layer 10, the number of electric lines L entering the opening can be effectively controlled, so that the portion of the substrate S to be plated where the circuit is to be formed has a consistent electric line density, improving the problem of poor uniformity of the electroplating thickness of the metal plating layer on the substrate S to be plated and having better operating freedom. It should be noted that Figure 1BThe spiral electric lines L having the same spiral electric lines L after passing through the regulating plate 140 are only for schematic illustration and do not represent the actual spiral angle of the spiral electric lines L. That is, the spiral electric lines L after passing through the regulating plate 140 may be electric lines L having different spiral angles.

[0041] Here, the Lorentz force can be expressed by F=q(E+v×B), where F is the Lorentz force, q is the charge of the charged particle, E is the electric field strength, v is the speed of the charged particle, and B is the magnetic induction strength. In addition, the moving direction of the electric lines in the present invention can be regarded as the moving direction of the metal ions Y in the electrolyte. On the other hand, the size of the opening can be defined by the opening line width, such as the line width of the first opening 42A can be 20 micrometers, and the line width of the second opening 42B can be 40 micrometers, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0042] In some embodiments, the plurality of electric lines L move in a straight line before passing through the regulating plate 140, and the plurality of electric lines L move in a spiral manner after passing through the regulating plate 140. That is, the plurality of electric lines L may be emitted from the anode 120 in parallel and uniformly, and then, after passing through the regulating plate 140, they move in a spiral manner to drive the metal ions Y in the electrolyte to reach the opening on the substrate S to be plated to form a metal coating 10, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0043] In some embodiments, the current intensity of the plurality of wires 144 is controlled by the controller 150 to control the electromagnetic field state. Since the current intensity on the wires 144 directly affects the corresponding magnetic field intensity, and thus affects the magnitude of the Lorentz force, the incident angle of the electric field line L passing through the control plate 140 relative to the substrate S to be plated can be controlled by the above design. Here, each wire 144 on the insulating grid plate 142 represents the angle at the corresponding number of positions that can be controlled.

[0044] In some embodiments, during the formation of the metal coating 10, the controller 150 may control the current intensity of the plurality of wires 144 multiple times. For example, the multiple controls may be multiple changes in the frequency of the current intensity changes of the wires 144. That is, during the formation of the metal coating 10, the current intensity may be changed 1000 times per second, and each time the current intensity may be different (similar to the concept of frequency modulation of alternating current), and the above settings may be determined according to actual design requirements. In addition, different current intensities may be set in different areas, and the current intensity of each wire 144 may be different (some wires 144 are different and some wires 144 are the same or all wires 144 are completely different). In this way, each wire 144 may flexibly operate the frequency of the current intensity change, so the controller 150 may better improve the degree of freedom of operation, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The controller 150 may also only control the current intensity of each wire 144 once without performing frequency modulation.

[0045] In this embodiment, the first opening 42A has a first opening angle θ, and the second opening 42B has a second opening angle δ. The first opening angle θ is smaller than the second opening angle δ, and the incident angles of the electric lines L entering the first opening 42A are all smaller than or equal to the first opening angle θ, and the incident angles of the electric lines L entering the second opening 42B are all smaller than or equal to the second opening angle δ. In other words, the second opening angle δ is larger than the first opening angle θ and can therefore receive electric lines L with a wider range of incident angles, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0046] In some embodiments, the substrate S to be plated further includes a third opening 42C. The third opening 42C is larger than the first opening 42A and the second opening 42B, and the controller 150 can also control the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of wires 144 to change the incident angle of the plurality of electric lines L passing through the control plate 140 relative to the substrate S to be plated, so that the number of electric lines L entering the third opening 42C is greater than the number of electric lines L entering the first opening 42A and the number of electric lines L entering the second opening 42B. For example, the third opening 42C has a third opening angle The third opening angle is greater than the first opening angle θ and the second opening angle δ, and the incident angle of the electric force line L entering the third opening 42C is less than or equal to the third opening angle That is to say, the third opening angle The electric lines L with a wide range of incident angles can be received, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Here, the line width of the third opening 42C can be 120 micrometers, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0047] In some embodiments, the portion of the substrate S to be plated where the circuit is to be formed may include a circuit-dense area and a circuit-empty area (not shown), and the problem of poor uniformity of the electroplating thickness of the metal coating in the circuit-dense area will be more obvious. Therefore, the electroplating equipment 100 of this embodiment can more significantly improve the problem of poor uniformity of the electroplating thickness of the metal coating in the circuit-dense area of ​​the substrate S to be plated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and an improvement effect can also be achieved in the circuit-empty area.

[0048] In some embodiments, the current direction of the plurality of wires 144 is the same as the moving direction of the plurality of power lines L before passing through the control plate 140 . For example, the current direction of the plurality of wires 144 is toward the cathode 120 , but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0049] The details of the electroplating apparatus 100 are further described below. The insulating grid plate 142 has a first surface 142a and a second surface 142b opposite to each other. The first surface 142a is close to the anode 110, and a plurality of wires 144 are disposed on the first surface 142a. In other words, the plurality of wires 144 can be regularly arranged on the insulating grid plate 142. For example, Figure 1C As shown, the plurality of wires 144 can be disposed at the intersection of the line segments of the insulating grid plate 142 (such as line segments 142A, 142B). In addition, the plurality of wires 144 can be bonded to the insulating grid plate 142 by an adhesive 20, wherein the adhesive 20 can be any suitable bonding material, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0050] In some embodiments, the extension direction of each wire 144 may be the same. For example, each wire 144 extends between the insulating grid plate 142 and the anode 110 , but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0051] In some embodiments, there is a distance d between adjacent conductive lines 144 . In other words, adjacent conductive lines 144 do not contact each other, but the invention is not limited thereto.

[0052] In some embodiments, there is no magnetic substance on the control board 140 , wherein the magnetic substance includes a magnet, a magnetic material or a combination thereof, so there is no magnetic field generated by the magnetic substance around the control board 140 , but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0053] In some embodiments, the distance between the regulating plate 140 and the substrate S to be plated may be between 2 mm and 8 cm, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0054] In some embodiments, the substrate S to be plated may further include a seed layer 30 , and thus the metal coating layer 10 may be plated on the seed layer 30 , but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0055] In summary, the electroplating equipment of the present invention is designed with a control plate between the anode and the cathode, and its controller can control the electromagnetic field state around the multiple wires on the control plate to change the incident angle of the electric field lines passing through the control plate relative to the substrate to be plated (through the action of the Lorentz force generated between the electric field lines and the control plate), so that the number of electric field lines entering the smaller openings is less than the number of electric field lines entering the larger openings. Since the number of electric field lines (which can drive the metal ion concentration) is positively correlated with the thickness of the formed metal coating, the number of electric field lines entering the openings can be effectively controlled, so that the part of the substrate to be plated where the circuit is to be formed has a consistent electric field density, thereby improving the problem of poor uniformity of the electroplating thickness of the metal coating on the substrate to be plated and having better operating freedom.

[0056] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or replace some or all of the technical features therein with equivalents. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electroplating method, characterized in that: include: An electroplating apparatus is provided, wherein the electroplating apparatus comprises: Anode and cathode; a power supply electrically connected to the anode and the cathode; a control board, disposed between the anode and the cathode, wherein the control board comprises an insulating grid board and a plurality of wires; and a controller electrically connected to the plurality of wires; Fixing a substrate to be plated on the cathode, wherein the substrate to be plated comprises a dry film, and the dry film has at least a first opening and a second opening, and the first opening is smaller than the second opening; After the power supply is supplied, a plurality of electric power lines moving from the anode toward the cathode are formed; The controller controls the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of wires to change the incident angles of the plurality of power lines passing through the regulating plate relative to the substrate to be plated, so that the number of the power lines entering the first opening is less than the number of the power lines entering the second opening; and forming a metal coating on the substrate to be plated, The plurality of power lines move in a straight line before passing through the regulating plate, and move in a spiral after passing through the regulating plate.

2. The electroplating method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first opening has a first opening angle, the second opening has a second opening angle, the first opening angle is smaller than the second opening angle, and the incident angles of the electric force lines entering the first opening are all smaller than or equal to the first opening angle, and the incident angles of the electric force lines entering the second opening are all smaller than or equal to the second opening angle.

3. The electroplating method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electromagnetic field state is controlled by setting the current intensity of the plurality of wires.

4. The electroplating method according to claim 3, characterized in that: During the formation of the metal plating layer, the controller controls the current intensity of the plurality of conductive wires multiple times.

5. The electroplating method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The current intensity of each of the wires is different.

6. The electroplating method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The current directions of the plurality of conductors are the same as the moving directions of the plurality of power lines before passing through the control board.

7. The electroplating method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The current directions of the plurality of wires are toward the cathode.

8. The electroplating method according to claim 1, characterized in that: There is no magnetic field generated by magnetic substances around the control plate.

9. The electroplating method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The magnetic substance includes a magnet, a magnetic material or a combination thereof.

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