A copper powder automatic adding system for a carrier plate electroplating process and a pre-warning method thereof

Abstract

This invention discloses an automatic copper powder addition system and its early warning method for substrate electroplating processes. The addition system includes a conveying unit, an addition unit, a metering unit, and a control unit. The conveying unit includes a spiral metering device, used to control the rotation of its spiral shaft to convey copper powder with a minimum addition amount equal to a preset threshold, based on instructions from the control unit. The addition unit is connected to the conveying unit and adds the copper powder conveyed by the conveying unit to the electroplating solution. The addition unit includes an online feedback module for real-time detection of the copper ion concentration in the electroplating solution. The metering unit is located on the conveying unit and is used to real-time detect the remaining copper powder in the metering micro-quantification module. The control unit is connected to other signals and, based on the detection data from the online feedback module and the metering unit, controls the conveying unit and the addition unit to perform copper powder addition operations. This invention enables precise, multiple additions of copper powder for substrate electroplating processes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of integrated circuit (IC) substrate manufacturing technology, and more specifically to an automatic copper powder addition system and its early warning method for substrate electroplating processes. Background Technology

[0002] In the copper plating process for high-precision electronic components such as IC substrates, maintaining a stable copper ion concentration in the plating solution is crucial for ensuring coating uniformity and avoiding defects such as voids within holes. Currently, advanced production lines employ automated copper powder addition systems to replace dissolving anodes or manual addition of copper oxide powder. However, existing technologies have the following drawbacks: (1) Insufficient precision: The addition method is crude, the minimum addition amount is large, which can easily lead to process fluctuations; (2) Failure to prevent mistakes: There is only an action to add, but there is no online feedback and verification mechanism for the effect of the addition, so it is impossible to determine whether the addition is accurate and in place; (3) Continuity risk: The material level monitoring is simple and crude, and often alarms only when the material is completely empty, which leads to production interruption, loss of control of electroplating solution concentration, and easy to cause batch product scrapping. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an automatic copper powder addition system and its early warning method for carrier plate electroplating process, which addresses the shortcomings of the prior art. The system can achieve precise addition of copper powder in small amounts and multiple times for carrier plate electroplating process, prevent error in the addition process, and accurately and reliably monitor and warn of the copper powder balance, thereby effectively ensuring the continuity, stability and consistency of electroplating production and product quality.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, according to one aspect of the present invention, an automatic copper powder addition system for a substrate electroplating process is provided, comprising: a conveying unit, an addition unit, a metering unit, and a control unit; The conveying unit includes a metering and micro-quantification module, and the conveying unit is used to convey copper powder with a minimum addition amount of a preset threshold based on the instructions of the control unit; The adding unit is connected to the conveying unit and is used to add the copper powder conveyed by the conveying unit to the electroplating solution; the adding unit includes an online feedback module, which is used to detect the copper ion concentration of the electroplating solution in real time; The metering unit is mounted on the conveying unit and is used to detect the remaining amount of copper powder in the metering micro-quantization module in real time. The control unit is signal-connected to the conveying unit, the adding unit, and the metering unit, and is used to control the conveying unit and the adding unit to perform copper powder adding operations based on the detection data of the online feedback module and the metering unit; The metering and micro-quantification module is a spiral metering device that stores copper powder. The spiral metering device controls the number of rotations of its spiral shaft to deliver copper powder in a single batch at a minimum amount equal to the preset threshold.

[0005] In the above scheme, the control unit is configured as follows: The control unit is preset with at least two different margin alarm thresholds, including a first threshold and a second threshold, wherein the first threshold is higher than the second threshold; Based on the copper powder balance data detected by the metering unit, the control unit triggers a low-level warning when the copper powder balance data is lower than the first threshold, and generates an emergency stop signal when the copper powder balance data is lower than the second threshold, and triggers equipment interlocking to stop the copper powder adding operation of the conveying unit and the adding unit.

[0006] In the above scheme, the preset threshold is 50 grams.

[0007] In the above scheme, the online feedback module includes an online copper ion analyzer, which detects the copper ion concentration in the electroplating solution in real time and sends the copper ion concentration detection value to the control unit; the control unit compares the copper ion concentration detection value with a preset target concentration range to determine whether the addition effect meets the standard.

[0008] In the above scheme, when the control unit determines that the addition effect has not reached the preset target based on the copper ion concentration detection value, the control unit performs a compensation operation; The compensation operation includes: restarting the conveying unit to perform compensatory addition, and / or triggering an alarm.

[0009] In the above scheme, the alarm prompt is an audible and visual alarm prompt.

[0010] In the above scheme, the online copper ion analyzer includes a detector composed of a light source LED, a light receiving element, and a front magnifying glass. Its signal is processed by a microcomputer and then fed back to the control unit.

[0011] In the above scheme, the metering unit includes a material level monitoring module, which collects the copper powder balance data in the metering micro-quantization module in real time and sends the copper powder balance data to the control unit.

[0012] In the above scheme, the control unit further includes a data recording module, which automatically records and stores at least one of the following information for each copper powder addition operation: time, amount added, remaining copper powder data, and warning events.

[0013] Another aspect of the present invention provides an early warning method for an automatic copper powder addition system for a substrate electroplating process, comprising: The metering unit detects the remaining copper powder in the conveying unit in real time and sends the data to the control unit. At least two margin alarm thresholds are preset in the control unit, including a first threshold and a second threshold; The control unit compares the received real-time copper powder balance with the balance alarm threshold. When the real-time margin is lower than the first threshold, the control unit triggers a low-level warning. When the real-time reserve is lower than the second threshold, the control unit triggers an emergency shutdown of the conveying unit and the adding unit and executes equipment interlocking.

[0014] In summary, compared with the prior art, the above-described technical solutions conceived by this invention can achieve the following beneficial effects: (1) This invention provides an automatic copper powder addition system for substrate electroplating process, which realizes high-precision control of copper powder addition. Through the "small amount and multiple times" addition mode, it significantly reduces the risk of process fluctuation caused by excessive single addition, and improves process stability and product quality consistency.

[0015] (2) The system of the present invention can accurately and reliably monitor and warn of the copper powder balance, thereby effectively ensuring the continuity, stability and consistency of electroplating production and product quality; the multi-level material level early warning mechanism constitutes a safety defense line, the low-level early warning reminds the operators to prepare to replenish the material, and the emergency shutdown and equipment interlock prevent production interruption and batch scrapping caused by material depletion, creating conditions for safe and orderly shutdown and replenishment.

[0016] (3) The system of the present invention automatically records each addition operation and key parameters, providing a solid data foundation for subsequent production process traceability, quality analysis and process optimization; the entire process of the addition system can be completed automatically, reducing the reliance on human experience, regular inspection and manual recording, avoiding the risks that may be caused by human negligence, and making the production process more intelligent and reliable. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the invention. Furthermore, the same reference numerals denote the same parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of online copper ion monitoring and feedback in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0018] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the invention. Furthermore, the technical features involved in the various embodiments of this invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0019] It should be understood that the sequence number of each step in the embodiment does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0020] Example 1 This application provides an automatic copper powder addition system for carrier plate electroplating processes. The system includes a conveying unit, an addition unit, a metering unit, and a control unit. The conveying unit includes a metering and micro-quantification module, which is used to convey copper powder with a minimum addition amount of a preset threshold based on instructions from the control unit; The adding unit is connected to the conveying unit and is used to add copper powder conveyed by the conveying unit to the electroplating solution; the adding unit includes an online feedback module, which is used to detect the copper ion concentration of the electroplating solution in real time; The metering unit is installed on the conveying unit and is used to detect the remaining amount of copper powder in the metering micro-quantization module in real time; The control unit is connected to the conveying unit, the adding unit, and the metering unit by signal, and is used to control the conveying unit and the adding unit to perform copper powder adding operations based on the detection data of the online feedback module and the metering unit.

[0021] Specifically, in this embodiment, the metering and micro-quantification module of the conveying unit is a spiral metering device that stores copper powder. Specifically, this embodiment uses a spiral copper powder adder. The spiral copper powder adder controls the number of rotations of its spiral shaft to achieve a minimum single addition of 50 grams of copper powder (50g of copper powder can be conveyed per rotation of the spiral shaft). In this embodiment, the spiral copper powder adder includes a copper powder container, a motor, a reducer, a spiral shaft, and a conveying pipe. The number of rotations of the spiral shaft driven by the motor is precisely controlled by the control unit. Since the fixed pitch and volume of the spiral shaft can quantitatively dispense 50g of copper powder per rotation, this system can achieve "small-volume, multiple-time" delivery with a single addition accurate to 50g, avoiding the drastic fluctuations in electroplating solution concentration caused by large single additions in traditional methods.

[0022] The addition unit in this embodiment includes a feeding funnel connected to the outlet of the conveying pipe. This funnel leads to the electroplating tank and is used to add the copper powder conveyed by the conveying unit to the electroplating solution. Specifically, the addition unit integrates an online feedback module, namely an online copper ion analyzer, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the online copper ion analyzer uses an optical method and consists of an LED light source, a light-receiving element, and a preamplifier. The probe of the online copper ion analyzer is immersed in the electroplating solution to detect the copper ion concentration in the solution in real time. The copper ion concentration signal is then processed by a microcomputer and converted into an electrical signal, which is then sent to the control unit.

[0023] In this embodiment, the control unit has a preset target copper ion concentration range. After a copper powder addition command is executed, the control unit reads the feedback value from the online copper ion analyzer. If the feedback value is lower than the lower limit of the target range, it indicates that the addition amount has not achieved the expected effect (for example, it may be due to pipe blockage or copper powder caking caused by moisture, resulting in poor material feeding). At this time, the control unit will perform a compensation operation: on the one hand, it restarts the spiral metering equipment and performs an additional compensatory addition until the feedback value reaches the target; on the other hand, it pops up an alarm message on the system's human-machine interface and sends an "addition abnormality" signal to remind the operator to check the equipment.

[0024] In addition, the metering unit installed on the copper powder hopper (total capacity of 200kg) of the spiral copper powder adder monitors the copper powder balance in the hopper in real time. The control unit sets two different balance alarm thresholds: 40kg is the first threshold (low level warning). When the balance is below 40kg, the on-site audible and visual alarm sounds to prompt the operator to prepare new material; 20kg is the second threshold (emergency shutdown). When the balance is below 20kg, the control unit immediately cuts off the power to the spiral copper powder adder motor and locks the entire system to prevent damage to the equipment from running dry without material. At the same time, it notifies the MES (Manufacturing Execution System) to stop the machine at this station and wait for material, thus realizing equipment interlock protection.

[0025] In summary, this embodiment provides an automatic copper powder addition system for substrate electroplating processes. This system can achieve precise addition of copper powder in small amounts multiple times, prevent errors in the addition process, and accurately and reliably monitor and warn of the remaining copper powder, thereby effectively ensuring the continuity, stability, and consistency of electroplating production and product quality.

[0026] Example 2 This application provides an automatic copper powder addition system for a substrate electroplating process. This addition system is basically the same as the addition system in Embodiment 1, except that: The control unit of the automatic copper powder addition system for carrier plate electroplating process in this embodiment further includes a data recording module. In this embodiment, the data recording module automatically records and stores at least one of the following information: time, amount added, copper powder balance data, and warning event for each copper powder addition operation.

[0027] Specifically, the copper powder automatic addition system for carrier plate electroplating provided in this embodiment automatically records each addition operation and key parameters, providing a solid data foundation for subsequent production process traceability, quality analysis, and process optimization; the entire addition process can be completed automatically, reducing reliance on human experience, regular inspections, and manual recording, avoiding the risks that may be caused by human negligence, and making the production process more intelligent and reliable.

[0028] It should be noted that, depending on the implementation needs, the various steps described in this application can be broken down into more steps, or two or more steps or parts of the steps can be combined into new steps to achieve the purpose of this invention.

[0029] Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A copper powder automatic addition system for a carrier plate electroplating process, characterized by, It includes a conveying unit, an adding unit, a metering unit, and a control unit; The conveying unit includes a metering and micro-quantification module, and the conveying unit is used to convey copper powder with a minimum addition amount of a preset threshold based on the instructions of the control unit; The adding unit is connected to the conveying unit and is used to add the copper powder conveyed by the conveying unit to the electroplating solution; the adding unit includes an online feedback module, which is used to detect the copper ion concentration of the electroplating solution in real time; The metering unit is mounted on the conveying unit and is used to detect the remaining amount of copper powder in the metering micro-quantization module in real time. The control unit is signal-connected to the conveying unit, the adding unit, and the metering unit, and is used to control the conveying unit and the adding unit to perform copper powder adding operations based on the detection data of the online feedback module and the metering unit; The metering and micro-quantification module is a spiral metering device that stores copper powder. The spiral metering device controls the number of rotations of its spiral shaft to deliver copper powder in a single batch at a minimum amount equal to the preset threshold.

2. The automatic copper powder adding system for the carrier plate electroplating process according to claim 1, wherein, The control unit is configured to: The control unit is preset with at least two different margin alarm thresholds, including a first threshold and a second threshold, wherein the first threshold is higher than the second threshold; Based on the copper powder balance data detected by the metering unit, the control unit triggers a low-level warning when the copper powder balance data is lower than the first threshold, and generates an emergency stop signal when the copper powder balance data is lower than the second threshold, and triggers equipment interlocking to stop the copper powder adding operation of the conveying unit and the adding unit.

3. The automatic copper powder adding system for the electroplating process of carrier plate according to claim 1, wherein, The preset threshold is 50 grams.

4. The automatic copper powder addition system for carrier plate electroplating process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The online feedback module includes an online copper ion analyzer, which detects the copper ion concentration in the electroplating solution in real time and sends the copper ion concentration detection value to the control unit. The control unit compares the copper ion concentration detection value with a preset target concentration range to determine whether the addition effect meets the standard.

5. The automatic copper powder addition system for carrier plate electroplating process according to claim 4, characterized in that, When the control unit determines that the addition effect has not reached the preset target based on the copper ion concentration detection value, the control unit performs a compensation operation; The compensation operation includes: restarting the conveying unit to perform compensatory addition, and / or triggering an alarm.

6. The automatic copper powder addition system for carrier plate electroplating process according to claim 4, characterized in that, The online copper ion analyzer includes a detector consisting of a light source LED, a light receiving element, and a front magnifying glass. Its signal is processed by a microcomputer and then fed back to the control unit.

7. The automatic copper powder addition system for carrier plate electroplating process according to claim 5, characterized in that, The alarm notification is an audible and visual alarm.

8. The automatic copper powder addition system for carrier plate electroplating process according to claim 1, characterized in that, The metering unit includes a material level monitoring module, which collects the copper powder balance data in the metering micro-quantization module in real time and sends the copper powder balance data to the control unit.

9. An automatic copper powder adding system for a substrate electroplating process according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The control unit also includes a data recording module, which automatically records and stores at least one of the following information for each copper powder addition operation: time, amount added, remaining copper powder data, and warning events.

10. A warning method for an automatic copper powder addition system for a substrate electroplating process according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, include: The metering unit detects the remaining copper powder in the conveying unit in real time and sends the data to the control unit. At least two margin alarm thresholds are preset in the control unit, including a first threshold and a second threshold; The control unit compares the received real-time copper powder balance with the balance alarm threshold. When the real-time margin is lower than the first threshold, the control unit triggers a low-level warning. When the real-time reserve is lower than the second threshold, the control unit triggers an emergency shutdown of the conveying unit and the adding unit and executes equipment interlocking.

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