Chuck and grab bucket for substrate electroplating

Abstract

The utility model provides a chuck and a grab bucket for electroplating a substrate, which can reduce the thickness of a plating layer in a pattern area adjacent to a notch area, improve the electroplating uniformity, are convenient to disassemble and are suitable for electroplating different substrates, and the substrate comprises the notch area and the pattern area adjacent to the notch area. The chuck comprises a conducting ring and a sealing piece located at the lower end of the conducting ring, the sealing piece makes contact with the edge of a substrate to form sealing, the conducting ring comprises a plurality of contact fingers, the contact fingers are configured to make contact with the edge of the substrate, and the conducting ring is used for conducting current when the substrate is electroplated. The contact fingers corresponding to the gap area of the substrate are sleeved with detachable insulation sleeves, and the insulation sleeves are configured to disconnect current paths between the corresponding contact fingers and the substrate when the substrate is electroplated.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of integrated circuit production equipment technology, specifically to an electroplating apparatus for depositing metal thin films on a substrate, and more specifically, to a chuck and grab for substrate electroplating. Background Technology

[0002] In integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing, electroplating technology is commonly used to deposit one or more conductive metal layers on a substrate due to its advantages such as simplicity, low cost, and ease of mass production. This allows for the formation of single-layer or multi-layer metal interconnects between various substrate features. In wafer-level packaging, the provided product substrate has notched areas at its edges. These notched areas are covered with photoresist and are therefore non-conductive, meaning they are not electroplated during the electroplating process. The resulting problem is that the lack of plating in these notched areas leads to over-plating of adjacent patterned areas, ultimately resulting in a metal layer thickness in the neighboring notched areas exceeding the target value.

[0003] Figure 1 The basic principle behind the over-plating of patterned region 12 adjacent to the notch region 11 is revealed. Since the notch region 11 is non-conductive, during the plating process, electric field lines are transmitted from the virtual anode 13 corresponding to the notch region 11 to the patterned region 12 adjacent to the notch region 11, resulting in over-plating of the patterned region 12.

[0004] Chinese invention patent with publication number CN111032925A discloses an electroplating chuck, which discloses that a protective cover is added to the chuck, and the notch area of ​​the substrate is covered by the cover plate on the protective cover. The electric field lines of the virtual anode corresponding to the notch area are shielded, which reduces the influence on the pattern area of ​​the adjacent notch area. Therefore, the plating thickness of the pattern area of ​​the adjacent notch area is reduced and the uniformity of the substrate plating is improved.

[0005] However, the protective cover is fixed to the cup-shaped chuck. The shape and position of the notch area vary for different substrates. To electroplate different substrates, the cup-shaped chuck needs to be disassembled to replace the protective cover, which is very inconvenient to use. Utility Model Content

[0006] To address the aforementioned problems, this utility model provides a chuck and gripper for substrate electroplating, which can reduce the plating thickness in the patterned area adjacent to the notch, improve the electroplating uniformity, and is easy to disassemble, making it suitable for electroplating different substrates.

[0007] The technical solution is as follows: a clamp for electroplating a substrate, the substrate including a notched area and a patterned area adjacent to the notched area, the clamp including a conductive ring and a sealing member located at the lower end of the conductive ring, the sealing member contacting the edge of the substrate to form a seal, the conductive ring including a plurality of contact fingers, the contact fingers being configured to contact the edge of the substrate, the conductive ring being used to conduct current during electroplating of the substrate, a removable insulating sleeve being fitted on the contact finger corresponding to the notched area of ​​the substrate, the insulating sleeve being configured to disconnect the current path between the corresponding contact finger and the substrate during electroplating of the substrate.

[0008] Furthermore, the conductive ring includes a ring body and contact fingers connected to the ring body. The contact fingers are configured to be evenly spaced around the periphery of the substrate. The contact fingers have elastic free tips that can be pressed down to contact the edge of the substrate.

[0009] Furthermore, the insulating sleeve includes an inner cavity that matches the free tip of a single contact finger. The insulating sleeve is fitted onto the contact finger through the inner cavity and the free tip. The insulating sleeve is fitted onto each contact finger corresponding to the notch area of ​​the substrate.

[0010] Furthermore, the insulating sleeve includes an arc-shaped receiving cavity that matches the contact fingers corresponding to the notch area of ​​the substrate, the arc-shaped receiving cavity being configured to accommodate the free tips of all the contact fingers corresponding to the notch area of ​​the substrate.

[0011] Furthermore, the insulating sleeve is made of a flexible insulating material, which is any one of fluororubber, silicone rubber, nitrile rubber, and polytetrafluoroethylene.

[0012] Furthermore, the thickness of the insulating sleeve is less than 1 mm.

[0013] Furthermore, the insulating sleeve is also fitted onto the contact finger corresponding to the graphic area adjacent to the notch area.

[0014] Furthermore, the clamp also includes a cup body and a base plate, which are detachably connected by a connector, and the conductive ring and the seal are fixed in the receiving area between the cup body and the base plate.

[0015] A grab for substrate electroplating, the grab comprising the aforementioned clamping disc and clamping plate, the clamping disc and clamping plate cooperating to clamp the substrate in the clamping disc.

[0016] Furthermore, the clamping plate is connected to a vertical driving device, which can drive the clamping plate to rise and fall. The clamping plate is also connected to a rotary driving device, which can drive the clamping plate, the clamping plate, and the base plate clamped between the clamping plate and the clamping plate to rotate. The rotary driving device and the vertical driving device are mounted on a top plate. The top plate is connected to the clamping plate through a support rod, which passes through the clamping plate.

[0017] Unlike existing technologies that use protective covers to shield the notched areas of the substrate, the clamp and gripper for substrate electroplating provided by this invention eliminate the need for protective covers of various shapes and sizes for the notched areas of the substrate. Instead, insulating sleeves are simply fitted onto the corresponding contact fingers. By installing these removable insulating sleeves onto the conductive ring contact fingers corresponding to the notched areas of the substrate, the current path between the conductive ring contact fingers and the substrate is broken during electroplating. The electric field lines of the virtual anode corresponding to the notched areas are shielded, reducing the impact on the adjacent notched areas and decreasing the plating thickness in these areas, thus improving plating uniformity. Since the insulating sleeves are removable, when electroplating different substrates, only the position of the insulating sleeve needs to be adjusted to the corresponding contact finger for the notched area, facilitating operation. This invention is suitable for substrates with notched areas of different shapes and positions, eliminating the need to disassemble the clamp, greatly improving operational convenience and production efficiency, as well as enhancing the versatility and applicability of the equipment. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the patterned area 12 of the substrate adjacent to the notch area 11 being over-plated;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the interaction between the clamping plate used for substrate electroplating, the substrate, and the clamping plate in the embodiment.

[0020] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the electroplating of the patterned area 12 of the substrate adjacent to the notch area 11 after the chuck is used for substrate electroplating in the embodiment.

[0021] Figure 4 This is a partial schematic diagram of an embodiment where the insulating sleeve is mounted on the conductive ring;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of an insulating sleeve in one embodiment;

[0023] Figure 6 This is a partial schematic diagram of an insulating sleeve mounted on a conductive ring in another embodiment;

[0024] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the insulating sleeve in another embodiment;

[0025] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a grab for substrate electroplating in another embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the illustrations provided in this embodiment are only schematic representations of the basic concept of the present invention. Therefore, the drawings only show the components related to the present invention and are not drawn according to the actual number, shape and size of the components. In actual implementation, the form, quantity and proportion of each component can be arbitrarily changed, and the layout of the components may also be more complex.

[0027] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "semiconductor wafer", "wafer", "substrate", "wafer substrate" and "substrate" are used interchangeably.

[0028] Substrate electroplating: The electroplating operation of the semiconductor substrate is carried out in an electroplating unit. The semiconductor substrate is placed in the grab bucket of the electroplating unit, and the grab bucket submerges the semiconductor substrate in an electrolyte pool, so that one surface of the substrate is exposed to the electrolyte. One or more electrical contact sites (conducted by conductive ring contacts) are established with respect to the substrate surface to drive current through the electroplating unit to deposit available metal ions from the electrolyte onto the substrate surface.

[0029] See Figures 2 to 7 In an embodiment of this utility model, a chuck for substrate electroplating is provided. The substrate 1 includes a notched area 11 and a patterned area 12 adjacent to the notched area 11. The chuck 100 includes a conductive ring 110 and a sealing member 120 located at the lower end of the conductive ring 110. The sealing member 120 contacts the edge of the substrate 1 to form a seal. The sealing member 120 is made of an elastomeric material and its function is to engage with the surface of the substrate to form a seal and prevent electrolyte from entering the substrate area. The conductive ring 110 includes a plurality of contact fingers 111. The contact fingers 111 are configured to contact the edge of the substrate 1. A portion of the conductive ring 110 can contact a continuous metal strip. The conductive ring 110 is used to conduct current during the electroplating of the substrate 1. A removable insulating sleeve 130 is fitted on the contact fingers 111 corresponding to the notched area 11 of the substrate 1. The insulating sleeve 130 is configured to disconnect the current path between the corresponding contact fingers 111 and the substrate 1 during the electroplating of the substrate 1.

[0030] Unlike existing technologies that use protective covers to shield the notched area of ​​the substrate, this invention utilizes insulating sleeves to disconnect the current path between the contact fingers corresponding to the notched area and the substrate. It eliminates the need for protective covers of various shapes and sizes for the notched areas of the substrate; simply placing an insulating sleeve on the corresponding contact finger is sufficient. Figure 3As shown, the electric field lines of the virtual anode 13 corresponding to the notch region are shielded, reducing the impact on the patterned region 12 adjacent to the notch region 11, decreasing the plating thickness of the patterned region 12 adjacent to the notch region 11, and improving the plating uniformity. Furthermore, in addition to being installed on the contact fingers 111 corresponding to the notch region 11, the insulating sleeve can also be installed on the contact fingers corresponding to the patterned region 12 adjacent to the notch region 11 to weaken the electric field of the patterned region 12 adjacent to the notch region 11, further reducing the plating thickness of the patterned region 12 adjacent to the notch region 11, making the plating layer of the entire substrate more uniform.

[0031] Specifically, in the embodiments, the conductive ring 110 includes a ring body 112 and contact fingers 111 connected to the ring body 112. The contact fingers 111 are configured to be evenly spaced around the periphery defined by the substrate. For example, in a configuration corresponding to a 300mm substrate, the conductive ring 110 consists of at least about 300 individual contact fingers 502 evenly spaced around the entire periphery defined by the substrate. The conductive ring can be a continuous ring. The contact fingers 111 have elastic free tips 113 that can be pressed down to contact the edge of the substrate 1, ensuring good contact with the substrate edge. The conductive ring 405 is made of a conductive material, such as stainless steel, copper, titanium, gold, silver, and other similar alloys. It can also be made of stainless steel, titanium, tantalum, or aluminum with a platinum or gold coating, or other highly conductive materials such as spring steel.

[0032] In this embodiment, the size of the insulating sleeve of the contact finger 111 is defined by the conductive ring contact finger, the thickness is less than 1 mm, it is integrally molded, and the material is a flexible material such as fluororubber, silicone rubber, nitrile rubber and polytetrafluoroethylene.

[0033] like Figure 4 , 5 As shown, in one embodiment of the present invention, the insulating sleeve 130 includes an inner cavity 131 that matches the free tip of a single contact finger 111. The insulating sleeve 130 is fitted onto the contact finger 111 through the inner cavity 131 and the free tip 113. Each contact finger 113 corresponding to the notch area of ​​the substrate is fitted with an insulating sleeve 130.

[0034] In addition, in the embodiment, an insulating sleeve 130 can also be installed on the contact finger 111 corresponding to the pattern area 12 adjacent to the notch area 11 to weaken the electric field of the pattern area 12 adjacent to the notch area 11 and further reduce the coating thickness of the pattern area 12 adjacent to the notch area 11.

[0035] like Figure 6 , 7As shown, in another embodiment of the present invention, the insulating sleeve 130 includes an arc-shaped receiving cavity 132 that matches the contact fingers corresponding to the notch area of ​​the substrate. The arc-shaped receiving cavity 132 can accommodate the free tips 113 of all the contact fingers 111 corresponding to the notch area of ​​the substrate. In this embodiment, the insulating sleeve 130 is easier to disassemble.

[0036] In addition, in the embodiment, the arc-shaped receiving cavity 132 can also be made larger, so that the arc-shaped receiving cavity 132 can accommodate the contact finger 111 corresponding to the pattern area 12 of the adjacent notch area 11, thereby weakening the electric field of the pattern area 12 of the adjacent notch area 11 and further reducing the coating thickness of the pattern area 12 of the adjacent notch area 11.

[0037] In existing technologies, the protective cover is fixed to the clamp, requiring disassembly of the clamp to replace the cover for substrates with different notch areas, which is cumbersome. This invention, by employing a detachable insulating sleeve, avoids this tedious disassembly process, enabling quick and convenient adjustments. This significantly reduces the time required for cover replacement and equipment adjustment, improving the efficiency of the electroplating production line. Because the insulating sleeve can be freely disassembled and repositioned, the clamp of this invention can adapt to substrates with various notch shapes and positions, exhibiting strong versatility and adaptability. Compared to traditional fixed protective covers, this invention allows for faster adaptation to the needs of different substrates without complex mechanical disassembly, greatly improving the flexibility and responsiveness of the production process.

[0038] In one embodiment of this invention, the clamp 100 further includes a cup body 140 and a base plate 150, which are detachably connected by a connector, which may be a screw or other fastening component. A conductive ring 110 and a seal 120 are fixed in a receiving area between the cup body 140 and the base plate 150. The base plate 150 prevents leakage during substrate immersion in electroplating. The base plate 150 can be removed to allow replacement of various components of the clamp 100.

[0039] See Figure 8In an embodiment of this utility model, a grab for substrate electroplating is also provided. The grab includes the aforementioned clamping disc 100 and clamping plate 200. The clamping disc 100 and clamping plate 200 cooperate to clamp the substrate 1 in the clamping disc 100. The clamping plate 200 is connected to a vertical driving device 400, which can drive the clamping plate 200 to move up and down. The clamping plate 100 is connected to a rotary driving device 300, which can drive the clamping plate 200, the clamping disc 100, and the substrate 1 clamped between the clamping disc 100 and the clamping plate 200 to rotate. The rotary driving device 300 and the vertical driving device 400 are mounted on a top plate 500. The top plate 500 is connected to the clamping disc 100 through a support rod 600. The support rod 600 passes through the clamping plate 200. The vertical driving device 400 can drive the clamping plate 200 to move up and down along the support rod 600.

[0040] The rotary drive can be an electric motor. During electroplating, the motor's spindle transmits torque to the grab, causing the substrate held therein to rotate. The vertical drive can be a cylinder, which provides vertical force for engaging the clamping plates and chucks. In this embodiment, the vertical drive is a cylinder located in the motor's spindle. When the substrate is inserted between the clamping plates and chucks, the vertical drive drives the clamping plates to engage with the chucks, fixing the substrate inside the grab. This exposes one working surface of the substrate (but not the other) for contact with the electrolyte solution. The rotary drive drives the clamping plates, chucks, and the substrate held between the clamping plates and chucks to rotate for electroplating.

[0041] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that the invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered in all respects as exemplary and non-limiting, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, it is intended that all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims be included within the present invention.

[0042] Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A clamp for electroplating a substrate, the substrate including a notched region and a patterned region adjacent to the notched region, the clamp including a conductive ring and a sealing member located at the lower end of the conductive ring, the sealing member contacting an edge of the substrate to form a seal, the conductive ring including a plurality of contact fingers configured to contact the edge of the substrate, the conductive ring being used to conduct current during electroplating of the substrate, characterized in that: A removable insulating sleeve is fitted onto the contact finger corresponding to the notch area of ​​the substrate. The insulating sleeve is configured to disconnect the current path between the corresponding contact finger and the substrate when the substrate is electroplated.

2. The clamp for substrate electroplating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conductive ring includes a ring body and contact fingers connected to the ring body. The contact fingers are configured to be evenly spaced around the periphery of the substrate. The contact fingers have elastic free tips that can be pressed down to contact the edge of the substrate.

3. The clamp for substrate electroplating according to claim 2, characterized in that: The insulating sleeve includes an inner cavity that matches the free tip of a single contact finger. The insulating sleeve is fitted onto the contact finger through the inner cavity and the free tip. The insulating sleeve is fitted onto each contact finger corresponding to the notch area of ​​the substrate.

4. A chuck for substrate electroplating according to claim 2, characterized in that: The insulating sleeve includes an arc-shaped receiving cavity that matches the contact fingers corresponding to the notch area of ​​the substrate, the arc-shaped receiving cavity being configured to accommodate the free tips of all the contact fingers corresponding to the notch area of ​​the substrate.

5. A chuck for substrate electroplating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The insulating sleeve is made of a flexible insulating material, which is any one of fluororubber, silicone rubber, nitrile rubber, and polytetrafluoroethylene.

6. A chuck for substrate electroplating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the insulating sleeve is less than 1 mm.

7. A chuck for substrate electroplating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The insulating sleeve is also fitted onto the contact finger corresponding to the graphic area adjacent to the notch area.

8. A chuck for substrate electroplating according to claim 1, characterized in that: The clamp also includes a cup body and a base plate, which are detachably connected by a connector, and the conductive ring and the seal are fixed in the receiving area between the cup body and the base plate.

9. A grab for substrate electroplating, characterized in that: The grab includes a clamping disc and a clamping plate as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the clamping disc and the clamping plate cooperate to clamp the substrate in the clamping disc.

10. A grab for substrate electroplating according to claim 9, characterized in that: The clamping plate is connected to a vertical drive device, which can drive the clamping plate to move up and down. The clamping plate is also connected to a rotary drive device, which can drive the clamping plate, the clamping plate, and the base plate clamped between the clamping plate and the clamping plate to rotate. The rotary drive device and the vertical drive device are mounted on the top plate, which is connected to the clamping plate via a support rod. The strut is positioned to pass through the clamping plate.

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