Electroplating equipment

Abstract

The present invention discloses an electroplating apparatus comprising a film frame having an intermediate passage and a spaced wall that limits the intermediate passage, wherein no circle with the center of the substrate is present in the orthographic projection region projected onto the substrate position by the spaced wall. When the substrate undergoes the electroplating process in the electroplating apparatus, the rotational trajectory formed from any point on the substrate within the shielding region corresponding to the spaced wall becomes a circle with the center of the substrate. Since the spaced wall is designed so that no circle with the center of the substrate is present in the orthographic projection region projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located, the rotational trajectory of any point on the substrate within the shielding region corresponding to the spaced wall is not completely contained within the range of the orthographic projection region. Therefore, the electric field between any point on the substrate and the anode is never shielded by the spaced wall, and at the same time, the flow field of the electroplating solution in the shielding region on the substrate is not significantly reduced. As a result, abrupt changes in the thickness of the electroplating in the shielding region on the substrate are greatly reduced, and the change in the thickness of the electroplating becomes basically smooth.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor manufacturing, and particularly to an electroplating apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, a conventional electroplating apparatus includes an electroplating chamber, a substrate holding device (not shown), a membrane frame 100', an ion membrane 200', etc. Inside the electroplating chamber, there are a cathode chamber 300' formed in the membrane frame 100' and an anode chamber 400' located below the cathode chamber 300' and accommodating an anode 410'. The ion membrane 200' is installed at the bottom of the membrane frame 100' and is used to isolate the anode chamber 400' and the cathode chamber 300'. Metal ions in the anode liquid in the anode chamber 400' are allowed to enter the cathode liquid in the cathode chamber 300' through the ion membrane 200'. When electroplating the substrate 500', the substrate holding device holds the substrate 500' and immerses the front surface of the substrate 500' downward into the cathode liquid in the cathode chamber 300'. During the electroplating process, an electric field is formed between the anode 410' and the substrate 500', and metal ions (e.g., Cu 2+ ) in the anode liquid and the cathode liquid move to the surface of the substrate 500'. The substrate 500' gains electrons, and the metal ions are deposited on the surface of the substrate 500' to form an electroplated layer.

[0003] The film frame 100' has an intermediate passage 110' that penetrates the center of the film frame 100' and supplies electroplating solution to the intermediate region of the substrate. The intermediate passage 110' is formed by an intermediate spacing wall 120', which is circular in shape and solid. Referring to Figures 2 and 3, Figure 2 shows a schematic plan view of the film frame 100', and Figure 3 shows a schematic orthographic projection of the intermediate spacing wall 120' of the film frame 100' projected onto the plane F' on which the substrate is located. As can be seen from Figure 3, in the orthographic region P' on which the intermediate spacing wall 120' is projected onto the plane F' on which the substrate is located, there is a circle with the center O' of the substrate as its center. The inventors of the present invention recognized that, during the rotation of the substrate 500', the rotational trajectory of any point within the shielding region corresponding to the intermediate spacing wall 120' on the substrate 500', for example, point A' (the dashed circle where point A' is located in Figure 3), is always completely contained within the range of this orthographic region P'. Therefore, the electric field between any point within this shielding region on the substrate and the anode is always shielded by the intermediate spacing wall 120'. Next, since the intermediate spacing wall 120' is located at the center of the film frame 100' and is circular, and there are no cathode solution injection holes at its top, the upward flow velocity of the electroplating solution at the intermediate spacing wall 120' is weakest, the flow field of the electroplating solution in the shielding region on the substrate is significantly reduced, the thickness of the electroplating changes abruptly in the intermediate region of the substrate 500', and a special annular pattern distribution is formed in the shielding region. Figure 4 shows a curve of the electroplating thickness of a substrate obtained after performing an electroplating process on a 12-inch substrate using a conventional electroplating apparatus. The region from approximately 20 mm to 50 mm in radius on this 12-inch substrate corresponds to the shielding region with the intermediate spacing wall 120'. As can be seen from Figure 4, there is a clear variation in the electroplating thickness in the shielding region at substrate 500', and this abrupt change in thickness forms the aforementioned annular special pattern on the substrate. [Overview of the Initiative]

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide an electroplating apparatus that solves the problem of abrupt changes in the thickness of electroplating on a substrate in the prior art.

[0005] To solve the above problems, an embodiment of the present invention provides an electroplating apparatus comprising a film frame including an intermediate passage penetrating the film frame and a spaced wall that limits the intermediate passage, wherein in the orthographic region where the spaced wall is projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located, there is no circle with the center of the substrate as its center.

[0006] The film frame used in the electroplating apparatus is designed so that no circle with the center of the substrate as its center exists in the orthographic projection region projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located. In this way, when the substrate rotates around its center in the cathode chamber formed in the film frame to perform the electroplating process, the trajectory of any point on the substrate within the shielding region corresponding to the film frame is not completely contained within the range of the orthographic projection region. Therefore, the electric field between any point on the substrate within the shielding region corresponding to the film frame and the anode is never completely shielded by the film frame, and at the same time, the flow field of the electroplating solution in the shielding region on the substrate is not significantly reduced. Ultimately, abrupt changes in the thickness of the electroplating in the shielding region on the substrate are greatly reduced, and the change in the thickness of the electroplating becomes basically smooth.

[0007] Other features of the present invention and corresponding beneficial effects are described in the latter part of the specification. Furthermore, it should be understood that at least some of the beneficial effects are evident from the description herein. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] The features and performance of the present invention will be further described based on the following embodiments and their drawings. [Figure 1] This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional electroplating apparatus. [Figure 2] This is a schematic plan view of a conventional membrane frame. [Figure 3] This is a schematic orthographic projection showing a conventional spaced wall projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located. [Figure 4] This is a curve diagram showing the thickness of electroplating on a substrate measured after using a conventional electroplating apparatus with a conventional film frame. [Figure 5] This is a schematic cross-sectional view of an electroplating apparatus according to a first embodiment provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 6] This is a schematic perspective view of a membrane frame according to the first embodiment provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 7] This is a schematic plan view of a membrane frame according to the first embodiment provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 8] This is a schematic cross-sectional view of a membrane frame according to the first embodiment provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 9] This is a schematic orthographic projection showing the intermediate space wall of the first embodiment provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located. [Figure 10] These are plating thickness curve diagrams measured on a substrate after electroplating it using a conventional electroplating apparatus using a conventional film frame and the electroplating apparatus of the present invention using a film frame according to the first embodiment of Embodiment 1. [Figure 11] This is a schematic plan view of a membrane frame according to a second embodiment provided in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 12] This is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of an intermediate wall provided from Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 13] This is a curve diagram showing the thickness of the electroplating on a substrate measured after electroplating was performed on the substrate using a conventional electroplating apparatus using a conventional film frame and the electroplating apparatus of the present invention using a film frame according to the second embodiment of Embodiment 1. [Figure 14] This is a schematic diagram of the intermediate wall of the first embodiment provided from Embodiment 2 of the present invention. [Figure 15] This is a schematic orthographic projection showing the intermediate spacing wall of the first embodiment provided in Embodiment 2 of the present invention projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located. [Figure 16] This is a schematic diagram of an intermediate wall of a second embodiment provided from Embodiment 2 of the present invention. [Figure 17]This is a schematic orthographic projection of the outer ring partition wall provided in Embodiment 3 of the present invention on the plane in which the substrate is located. [Figure 18] and [Figure 19] This is a schematic plan view of a membrane frame provided according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention. [Figure 20] This is a schematic perspective view of a membrane frame provided according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. [Figure 21] This is a schematic orthographic projection showing the second end of each branch pipe provided in Embodiment 4 of the present invention projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located. [Figure 22] This is a schematic perspective view of a membrane frame provided according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below using specific examples. Those skilled in the art will readily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the disclosure herein. The description of the present invention will be given in conjunction with preferred embodiments, but this does not mean that the features of the present invention are limited to these embodiments. On the contrary, the purpose of describing the invention in relation to embodiments is to cover other choices or modifications that may be expanded based on the claims of the present invention. In order to provide a deeper understanding of the present invention, the following description will include many specific details. The present invention can also be carried out without using these details. Also, in order to avoid confusing or obscuring the gist of the present invention, some specific details will be omitted in the description. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the embodiments and features described in the embodiments may be combined with each other where there is no conflict.

[0010] In this specification, similar symbols and letters represent similar terms in the following diagrams; therefore, once a term is defined in one diagram, it is not necessary to discuss it further in the following diagrams.

[0011] The technical concept of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings. It is obvious that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained on the premise that those skilled in the art do not perform inventive labor belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

[0012] In the description of the present invention, the orientation or positional relationship indicated by terms such as "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for facilitating the description of the present invention and simplifying the description, and does not expressly or imply that the indicated device or element must have a specific orientation, be configured and operated in a specific orientation, and thus should not be understood as a limitation to the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first", "second", "third" are used only for the purpose of description and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0013] In the description of the present invention, unless specifically defined and limited, the terms "attach", "contact", "connect" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, they may be fixedly connected, removably connected, integrally connected, mechanically connected, electrically connected, directly contacted, indirectly contacted through an intermediate medium, or the interiors of two elements may be in communication. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention in detail.

[0014] To make the object, technical concept and advantages of the present invention clearer, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below in connection with the accompanying drawings.

[0015] Referring to Figures 5 to 7, Figure 5 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the electroplating apparatus, Figure 6 shows a schematic perspective view of the film frame, and Figure 7 shows a schematic plan view of the film frame. The electroplating apparatus provided in this embodiment 1 comprises an electroplating chamber, an anode 410, an ion film 200, a film frame 100, and a substrate holding device (not shown). The electroplating chamber comprises an anode chamber 400 and a cathode chamber 300. The cathode chamber 300 is formed on the film frame 100, the anode chamber 400 is located below the cathode chamber 300, and the anode 410 is housed inside the anode chamber 400. The ion film 200 is installed at the bottom of the film frame 100 to separate the cathode chamber 300 and the anode chamber 400. Metal ions in the anode solution in the anode chamber 400 enter the cathode solution in the cathode chamber 300 via the ion film 200, and metal ions, such as Cu, enter the cathode chamber 300. 2+ Replenish the solution. The substrate holding device holds the substrate 500 in the cathode chamber 300 for electroplating. The anode solution and cathode solution are collectively referred to as the electroplating solution.

[0016] The membrane frame 100 includes an intermediate passage 110 that penetrates the membrane frame 100 and a spaced wall 120 that limits the intermediate passage 110. The membrane frame 100 further includes a side wall 130 and a plurality of branch pipes 140. The side wall 130 of the membrane frame 100 extends upward to form a cathode chamber 300, and a cathode liquid inlet 131 is installed in the side wall 130 (see Figure 8). Each branch pipe 140 is equipped with a supply channel 141 and an injection hole 1423. The supply channel 141 connects the cathode liquid inlet 131 and the injection hole 1423. Each branch pipe 140 supplies cathode liquid to the cathode chamber 300 through the injection hole 1423.

[0017] Here, the first ends of the multiple branch pipes 140 are spaced apart along the circumferential direction of the side wall 130 of the membrane frame 100, and the second ends of the multiple branch pipes 140 are connected to the intermediate space wall 120. The intermediate space wall 120 is provided with multiple outlet holes 121, which connect the intermediate passage 110 to the supply channels 141 of each branch pipe 140. A center cap 180 covering the intermediate passage 110 is further attached to the top of the intermediate space wall 120 (see also Figure 5), and the center cap 180 includes multiple dispersion holes (not shown) used to allow the cathode liquid in the intermediate passage 110 to pass through.

[0018] When supplying cathode solution to the cathode chamber 300, the cathode solution passes through the cathode solution conduit 310 (see also Figure 5), through the cathode solution inlet 131 to the supply channels 141 of each branch pipe 140, and enters the cathode chamber 300 via the injection holes 1423 and outlet holes 121. Subsequently, the electroplating solution in the cathode chamber 300 (the electroplating solution contains metal ions supplied from the cathode solution and anode solution) is supplied to the surface of the substrate 500 from bottom to top. Here, the cathode solution in the supply channel 141 enters the intermediate passage 110 from the outlet hole 121 and is supplied to the intermediate region of the substrate 500 through the center cap 180.

[0019] In this embodiment, there are six branch pipes 140, which are used to uniformly distribute the flow rate of the cathode fluid. In other embodiments, the number of branch pipes 140 can be increased or decreased according to the actual process requirements.

[0020] As shown in Figure 6, the membrane frame 100 further comprises an outer ring partition 150, which is installed annularly between the intermediate partition wall 120 and the side wall 130. Exemplarily, the top of the outer ring partition 150 is sealed and connected to the bottom of the diffuser plate 190 (see also Figure 5) so as to divide the cathode chamber 300 into at least two independent cathode regions. In this embodiment, the membrane frame 100 comprises one outer ring partition 150, dividing the cathode chamber 300 into two cathode regions, with the region enclosed by the outer ring partition 150 becoming the first cathode region and the region between the outer ring partition 150 and the side wall 130 of the membrane frame 100 becoming the second cathode region. In other embodiments, the number of outer ring partitions 150 can be increased or decreased according to the actual process requirements.

[0021] The electroplating apparatus further comprises an anode partition wall 420 installed within the anode chamber 400 and located below the outer ring partition wall 150, the anode partition wall 420 being used to divide the anode chamber 400 into multiple anode regions, each corresponding to a plurality of cathode regions. Referring to Figure 5, in this embodiment, the electroplating apparatus comprises one anode partition wall 420 for dividing the anode chamber 400 into a first anode region in the center and a second anode region on the outer periphery, the first anode region corresponding to a first cathode region, and the second anode region corresponding to a second cathode region.

[0022] In this application, in order to avoid the electric field between any point in the shielding region corresponding to the intermediate space wall 120 on the substrate 500 and the anode 410 always being shielded by the intermediate space wall 120, related improvements have been made to the intermediate space wall 120 of the film frame 100. Specifically, the intermediate space wall 120 of the film frame 100 is designed so that there is no circle with the center of the substrate as its center in the orthographic projection region projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located. When the substrate 500 rotates around its center in the cathode chamber 300 to perform the electroplating process, any point in the shielding region corresponding to the intermediate space wall 120 on the substrate 500 rotates around the center of the substrate, and the resulting rotation trajectory becomes a circle with the center of the substrate as its center. In this application, since the intermediate space wall 120 is designed so that there is no circle with the center of the substrate as its center in the orthographic projection region projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located, the rotation trajectory of any point in the shielding region corresponding to the intermediate space wall 120 on the substrate 500 is not completely included within the range of the said orthographic projection region. This design ensures that the electric field between any point within the shielding region corresponding to the intermediate spacing wall 120 on the substrate 500 and the anode 410 is not always shielded by the intermediate spacing wall 120. Therefore, the flow field of the electroplating solution in the shielding region on the substrate 500 is not significantly reduced. Ultimately, abrupt changes in the thickness of the electroplating in the shielding region on the substrate 500 are significantly weakened and eventually disappear. In other words, the change in the thickness of the electroplating becomes essentially smooth, achieving the objective of improving the uniformity of the electroplating thickness. Note that the orthographic projection region of the intermediate spacing wall 120 projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located is the region where the intermediate spacing wall 120 shields the substrate. Embodiment 1:

[0023] In this embodiment, the intermediate spacing wall 120 of the film frame 100 comprises an inner contour 1201 and an outer contour 1202, and there is no annular region in the cross-section of the intermediate spacing wall 120 between the outer contour 1202 and the inner contour 1201, and there is no circle with the center of the substrate as its center in the orthographic projection region when the intermediate spacing wall 120 is projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located.

[0024] Figure 9 shows a schematic orthographic projection of the intermediate spacing wall in the first embodiment of this model, projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located. In Figure 9, the shaded area is the orthographic projection region P1 of the intermediate spacing wall, and for convenience, the intermediate spacing wall 120 is shown in Figure 9. Specifically, in the first embodiment, as shown in Figure 9, the shape of the inner contour 1201 and the outer contour 1202 of the intermediate spacing wall 120 are the same, for example, both are regular hexagons, and the inscribed circle 12022 of the outer contour 1202 of the intermediate spacing wall 120 is smaller than the circumscribed circle 12011 of the inner contour 1201. In this case, there is no annular region in the cross-section of the intermediate spacing wall 120 between the inscribed circle 12022 of the outer contour 1202 and the circumscribed circle 12011 of the inner contour 1201. Therefore, whether the intermediate spacing wall 120 is installed eccentrically or concentrically with respect to the center O1 of the substrate, there is no circle with the center O1 of the substrate as its center in the orthographic projection region P1 where the intermediate spacing wall 120 is projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located. The shielding situation from the intermediate spacing wall 120 to the substrate as presented in the first embodiment will now be explained with reference to Figure 9. First, take an arbitrary point, for example, point A1, within the shielding region on the substrate corresponding to the hexagonal intermediate spacing wall 120 (located between the inscribed circle of the inner contour 1201 and the circumscribed circle of the outer contour 1202). When the substrate rotates around the center O1 of the substrate in the cathode chamber to perform the electroplating process, the rotation trajectory of point A1 becomes a circle with the center O1 of the substrate as its center (the dashed circle where point A1 is located in Figure 9). Since there is no circle with the center O1 of the substrate as its center in the orthographic projection region P1, which is the projection of the intermediate space wall 120 onto the plane on which the substrate is located, the rotational trajectory of point A1 is not completely contained within the orthographic projection region P1. Part of it is contained within the orthographic projection region P1, and the other part is located outside the orthographic projection region P1. Therefore, the electric field between any point in the shielding region on the substrate and the anode is not always shielded by the hexagonal intermediate space wall 120, and at the same time, the flow field of the electroplating solution in the shielding region is not significantly reduced. Ultimately, the change in the thickness of the electroplating in the shielding region on the substrate after electroplating becomes basically smooth.

[0025] In embodiments not shown, the shape of the inner contour 1201 and the outer contour 1202 of the intermediate wall 120 may be other polygons such as a regular pentagon, a square, or an equilateral triangle.

[0026] Figure 10 is a curve diagram of the electroplating thickness of a substrate, obtained by measuring after the electroplating process was performed on a substrate using a conventional electroplating apparatus employing a film frame 100' in which the shape of the intermediate space wall 120' is circular, and the electroplating apparatus of the present invention employing a film frame 100 in which the shape of the intermediate space wall 120 is hexagonal. In Figure 10, the horizontal axis represents the radius of the substrate 500, and the vertical axis represents the electroplating thickness. As can be seen from Figure 10, under the same process parameter conditions, in a conventional electroplating apparatus, after performing the electroplating process on a 12-inch substrate, the shielding region corresponding to the intermediate spacing wall 120' is located in a radial range of approximately 20 mm to 50 mm on the substrate, and there is a clear variation in the thickness of the electroplating within this shielding region. In contrast, in the electroplating apparatus of the present invention, after performing the electroplating process on a 12-inch substrate, the shielding region corresponding to the regular hexagonal intermediate spacing wall 120 is also located in a radial range of 20 mm to 50 mm on the substrate, and there is no clear variation in the thickness of the electroplating within this shielding region, resulting in a flatter surface. Therefore, setting the intermediate spacing wall 120 to a regular hexagon is effective in improving the uniformity of the electroplating thickness.

[0027] Referring to Figures 11 and 12, Figure 11 shows a schematic plan view of the film frame in the second embodiment of this embodiment, and Figure 12 shows a schematic view of the intermediate space wall in the second embodiment of this embodiment. In the second embodiment, as shown in Figures 11 and 12, the shape of the inner contour 1201 and the shape of the outer contour 1202 of the intermediate space wall 120 are the same, and both are elliptical. Also, in the second embodiment, if the ratio of the major axis to the minor axis of the ellipse is 1.5 or more, and the difference between the major axis and the minor axis of the ellipse is greater than twice the thickness d1 of the intermediate space wall 120, then as shown in Figure 12, there is no annular region in the cross-section of the intermediate space wall 120 between the outer contour 1202 and the inner contour 1201 of the elliptical intermediate space wall 120. Therefore, whether the intermediate space wall 120 is installed eccentrically or concentrically with respect to the center O1 of the substrate, there is no circle with the center O1 of the substrate as its center in the orthographic projection region projected onto the plane on which the elliptical intermediate space wall 120 is located. Thus, when the substrate rotates, the electric field between an arbitrary point in the shielding region corresponding to the elliptical intermediate space wall 120 on the substrate and the anode is not always shielded by the elliptical intermediate space wall 120. As a result, the flow field of the electroplating solution in the shielding region does not decrease significantly, and ultimately, the change in the thickness of the electroplating in the shielding region on the substrate after electroplating is basically smooth. In this embodiment, the outer contour 1202 and the inner contour 1201 of the elliptical intermediate space wall 120 are concentric and have the same shape, so they are parallel, and the thickness d1 of the intermediate space wall 120 is the distance between the inner contour 1201 and the outer contour 1202 of the intermediate space wall 120.

[0028] Figure 13 is a curve diagram of the electroplating thickness on a substrate, obtained by measuring after electroplating was performed on a substrate using a conventional electroplating apparatus employing a film frame with circular intermediate walls and the electroplating apparatus of the present invention employing a film frame with elliptical intermediate walls. In Figure 13, the horizontal axis represents the radius of the substrate, and the vertical axis represents the electroplating thickness. As can be seen from Figure 13, under the same process parameter conditions, after performing the electroplating process on a 12-inch substrate with the conventional electroplating apparatus, the shielding region corresponding to the intermediate walls on the 12-inch substrate is located in the radial range of approximately 20 mm to 50 mm on the substrate, and there is a clear variation in the electroplating thickness within this shielding region. On the other hand, after performing the electroplating process on a 12-inch substrate with the electroplating apparatus of the present invention, the shielding region corresponding to the elliptical intermediate walls on the 12-inch substrate is located in the radial range of 30 mm to 60 mm on the substrate, and there is no clear variation in the electroplating thickness within this shielding region, resulting in a flatter surface. Therefore, setting the intermediate spacing walls in an elliptical shape is effective in improving the uniformity of the electroplating thickness. Embodiment 2:

[0029] Referring to Figures 14 and 15, Figure 14 shows a schematic diagram of the intermediate space wall provided in Embodiment 2, and Figure 15 shows a schematic orthographic projection of the intermediate space wall provided in Embodiment 2 projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located. In Figure 15, the shaded area is the orthographic projection region when the intermediate space wall, as a reference, coincides with the center of the substrate, and the hatched area is the actual orthographic projection region P2 of the intermediate space wall. For convenience, an intermediate space wall 120 is shown in Figure 15. The intermediate space wall 120 of the film frame provided in Embodiment 2 is installed eccentrically with respect to the center O1 of the substrate, and a first annular region exists in the cross-section of the intermediate space wall 120 between the outer contour 1202 and the inner contour 1201 of the intermediate space wall 120, and the degree of eccentricity of the intermediate space wall 120 is greater than half the thickness d2 of the first annular region, where the center of the intermediate space wall 120 is represented by O2. Specifically, in the first embodiment of this model, as shown in Figure 15, the inner contour 1201 and outer contour 1202 of the intermediate spacing wall 120 have the same shape, for example, both being circular, and the outer contour 1202 and inner contour 1201 of the intermediate spacing wall 120 constitute a first annular region. Since the eccentricity of the intermediate spacing wall 120 is greater than half the thickness d2 of the first annular region, there is no circle with the center O1 of the substrate as its center in the orthographic projection region P2 where the intermediate spacing wall 120 is projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located. Hereinafter, with reference to Figure 15, the shielding situation from the intermediate spacing wall 120 to the substrate as presented in the first embodiment will be described. Take any point on the substrate within the shielding region corresponding to the intermediate spacing wall 120 (the region between the small circle formed around the substrate center O1 at the point of the intermediate spacing wall 120 closest to the substrate center O1, and the large circle formed around O1 at the point furthest from the substrate center O1), for example, point A2. When the substrate rotates around its center within the cathode chamber during the electroplating process, the rotation trajectory of point A2 becomes a circle with the center O1 of the substrate as its center (the dashed circle where point A2 is located in Figure 15).Since there is no circle with the center O1 of the substrate as its center in the orthographic projection region P2, which is the projection of the intermediate spacing wall 120 onto the plane on which the substrate is located, the rotation trajectory of point A2 is not completely contained within the orthographic projection region P2. Part of it is contained within the orthographic projection region P2, and the other part is located outside the orthographic projection region P2. As a result, the electric field between point A2 and the anode is not always shielded by the eccentric intermediate spacing wall 120, and ultimately the abrupt change in the thickness of the electroplating in the shielded region where the rotation trajectory of point A2 is located on the substrate is greatly reduced, and eventually the abrupt change is eliminated, achieving the objective of improving the uniformity of the electroplating thickness.

[0030] Figure 16 shows a schematic diagram of the intermediate space wall in the second embodiment of this embodiment. Specifically, in the second embodiment of this embodiment, the inner contour 1201 and the outer contour 1202 of the intermediate space wall 120 do not have the same shape. For example, the inner contour 1201 of the intermediate space wall 120 is square, and the outer contour 1202 of the intermediate space wall 120 is hexagonal. A first annular region exists between the inner contour 1201 and the outer contour 1202 of the intermediate space wall 120, and the first annular region is composed of the inscribed circle 12022 of the outer contour 1202 and the circumscribed circle 12011 of the inner contour 1201. Since the eccentricity of the intermediate space wall 120 is greater than half the thickness d2 of the first annular region, there is no circle with the center of the substrate as its center in the orthographic projection region when the intermediate space wall 120 is projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located.

[0031] It is necessary to explain that the eccentricity of the intermediate spacing wall 120 described above is the distance between the center O2 of the orthographic projection region where the intermediate spacing wall 120 is projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located and the center O1 of the substrate. Embodiment 3:

[0032] In this application, improvements have been made to the outer ring partition of the film frame in order to avoid the electric field between an arbitrary point within the shielding region corresponding to the outer ring partition on the substrate and the anode always being shielded by the outer ring partition. Specifically, the outer ring partition of the film frame is designed so that there is no circle with the center of the substrate as its center in the orthographic projection region projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located. Figure 17 shows a schematic diagram of the outer ring partition in one embodiment of this third embodiment. The placement of the contour lines of the outer ring partition 150 shown in Figure 17 is similar to the placement of the contour lines of the intermediate spacing wall submitted from the first embodiment of Embodiment 1, and as shown in Figure 17, the shape of the inner contour 1501 and the shape of the outer contour 1502 of the outer ring partition 150 coincide, for example both being regular hexagons, and the inscribed circle 15022 of the outer contour 1502 of the outer ring partition 150 is smaller than the circumscribed circle 15011 of the inner contour 1501. In this case, there is no annular region in the cross-section of the outer ring partition 150 between the inscribed circle 15022 of the outer contour 1502 of the outer ring partition 150 and the circumscribed circle 15011 of the inner contour 1501 of the outer ring partition 150. Therefore, whether the outer ring partition 150 is installed eccentrically or concentrically with respect to the center O1 of the substrate, there is no circle with the center O1 of the substrate as its center in the orthographic projection region where the outer ring partition 150 is projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located. Consequently, the electric field between any point within the shielding region corresponding to the outer ring partition 150 on the substrate and the anode is never shielded by the outer ring partition 150, thus achieving the objective of improving the uniformity of the electroplating thickness in the shielding region.

[0033] Specifically, in the example shown in Figure 18, for example, a gap is provided between the six corners of the outer ring partition 150 and the side wall 130 of the membrane frame 100. Accordingly, in this case, the configuration of the anode partition can match the configuration of the outer ring partition 150, a gap is provided between the six corners of the anode partition and the side wall of the anode chamber, and the anode partition and the outer ring partition 150 correspond vertically. Also, in the example shown in Figure 19, for example, the configuration of the outer ring partition 150 is similar to the inscribed hexagon of the side wall 130 of the membrane frame 100. Accordingly, in this case, the configuration of the anode partition can be similar to the inscribed hexagon of the side wall of the anode chamber, and the anode partition and the outer ring partition 150 correspond vertically.

[0034] It is necessary to explain that Figures 18 and 19 are merely illustrative and do not limit the specific installation configuration of the outer ring partition wall 150. Furthermore, the specific shape of the outline of the outer ring partition wall 150 may be similar to the specific shape of the outline of the intermediate spacing wall in Embodiments 1 and 2 described above, and the descriptions of the installation of the outline of the intermediate spacing wall and the shielding condition from the intermediate spacing wall to the substrate in Embodiments 1 and 2 described above are all applicable to the outer ring partition wall 150. For example, the outer ring partition wall 150 can also be set by referring to the shape of the intermediate spacing wall in Embodiment 2. Specifically, a second annular region exists in the cross-section of the outer ring partition wall 150 between the outer outline 1502 and the inner outline 1501 of the outer ring partition wall 150, and the outer ring partition wall 150 is installed eccentrically with respect to the center O1 of the substrate, where the degree of eccentricity of the outer ring partition wall 150 is greater than half the thickness of the second annular region. Embodiment 4:

[0035] Referring to Figures 20 to 22, Figure 20 shows a perspective view of the film frame provided in Embodiment 4, Figure 21 shows a schematic orthographic projection of the second end of each branch tube provided in Embodiment 4 projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located, and Figure 22 shows a perspective view of the film frame provided in Embodiment 4. The intermediate spacing walls of the film frame 100 of the electroplating apparatus provided in Embodiment 4 are intermittent along the circumferential direction. In contrast, the intermediate spacing walls in Embodiments 1 to 3 are continuous along the circumferential direction.

[0036] In the specific example shown in Figure 20, the second ends of each branch pipe 140 are spaced apart along the circumferential direction of the intermediate passage 110, and the second ends of each branch pipe 140 are confined to intermittent intermediate walls along the circumferential direction. Each branch pipe 140's second end (i.e., the intermittent intermediate walls along the circumferential direction) is provided with an outlet hole 121 that directs toward the intermediate passage 110 to supply cathode fluid to the intermediate passage 110. In this example, the cross-section of the intermediate passage 110 confined by the second ends of each branch pipe 140 is similar to a circle. In other embodiments, depending on the arrangement of each branch pipe 140 and the shape of the second end of each branch pipe 140, the cross-section of the confined intermediate passage 110 may be hexagonal, elliptical, or triangular, etc.

[0037] As shown in Figure 21, in the orthographic projection region where the intermediate spacing wall, which is the second end of each branch pipe 140, is projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located, there is no circle with the center O1 of the substrate as its center. The shielding situation from the intermediate spacing wall to the substrate as presented in this embodiment will now be described with reference to Figure 21. For any point on the substrate within the shielding region corresponding to the intermediate spacing wall, for example, point A3, when the substrate rotates around its center in the cathode chamber to perform the electroplating process, the rotation trajectory of point A3 becomes a circle with the center O1 of the substrate as its center (the dashed circle where point A3 is located in Figure 21). Since there is no circle with the center O1 of the substrate as its center in the orthographic projection region where the intermediate spacing wall is projected onto the plane on which the substrate is located, the rotation trajectory of point A3 is not completely included in the orthographic projection region. Therefore, the electric field between any point on the substrate within this shielding region and the anode is not always shielded by the second end of each branch pipe 140. At the same time, the flow field of the electroplating solution in the shielding region corresponding to the second end of each branch pipe 140 on the substrate is not significantly reduced, and ultimately, the thickness of the electroplating in the shielding region on the substrate is greatly reduced, abrupt changes in the electroplating thickness are reduced, and eventually abrupt changes are eliminated, the change in the electroplating thickness becomes basically smooth, and the objective of improving the uniformity of the electroplating thickness on the substrate can be achieved.

[0038] Specifically, as shown in Figure 22, the ratio of the distance d3 between the second ends of each branch pipe 140 to the thickness d4 of each branch pipe 140 is greater than or equal to the minimum critical value. This minimum critical value refers to the ratio of the distance between the second ends of each branch pipe 140 to the thickness of each branch pipe 140 when the uniformity of the thickness of the electroplating of the substrate satisfies the requirements of the electroplating process. Preferably, the minimum critical value is 50%, i.e., d3 / d4 × 100% > 50%.

[0039] Finally, it should be noted that the embodiments described above are used solely to illustrate the technical idea of ​​the present invention and do not limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiments described above, those skilled in the art should understand that it is still possible to modify the technical idea described in the embodiments described above or to replace some of its technical features equally. These modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical idea to deviate from the scope of the technical idea of ​​each embodiment of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electroplating apparatus comprising a film frame, wherein the film frame has an intermediate passage and an intermediate spacing wall, the intermediate passage penetrates the film frame, the intermediate spacing wall limits the intermediate passage, and in the orthographic region projected by the intermediate spacing wall onto the plane on which the substrate is located, there is no circle with the center of the substrate as its center.

2. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the intermediate space wall has an inner contour and an outer contour, and there is no annular region in the cross-section of the intermediate space wall between the outer contour and the inner contour of the intermediate space wall.

3. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the shape of the inner contour and the shape of the outer contour of the intermediate space wall are coincidentally polygonal, and the inscribed circle of the outer contour of the intermediate space wall is smaller than the circumscribed circle of the inner contour.

4. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the shape of the inner contour and the shape of the outer contour of the intermediate space wall coincide and are elliptical, and the ratio of the major axis to the minor axis of the ellipse is 1.5 or more.

5. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the difference between the major axis and minor axis of the ellipse is greater than twice the thickness of the intermediate space wall.

6. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the intermediate space wall has an inner contour and an outer contour, and a first annular region exists in the cross-section of the intermediate space wall between the outer contour and the inner contour of the intermediate space wall, where the intermediate space wall is installed eccentrically with respect to the center of the substrate, and the degree of eccentricity of the intermediate space wall is greater than half the thickness of the first annular region.

7. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the membrane frame further comprises a side wall and an outer ring partition, the side wall extending upward to form a cathode chamber, and the outer ring partition is installed annularly between the intermediate passage of the membrane frame and the side wall of the membrane frame, and is used to divide the cathode chamber into at least two independent cathode regions.

8. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that, in the orthographic projection region obtained by projecting the outer ring partition onto the plane on which the substrate is located, there is no circle with the center of the substrate as its center.

9. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the outer ring partition wall has an inner contour and an outer contour, and there is no annular region in the cross-section of the outer ring partition wall between the outer contour and the inner contour of the outer ring partition wall.

10. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the outer ring partition wall has an inner contour and an outer contour, and a second annular region exists in the cross-section of the outer ring partition wall between the outer contour and the inner contour of the outer ring partition wall, therein the outer ring partition wall is installed eccentrically with respect to the center of the substrate, and the degree of eccentricity of the intermediate partition wall is greater than half the thickness of the second annular region.

11. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the intermediate spacing walls of the film frame are intermittent along the circumferential direction.

12. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the membrane frame further comprises a plurality of branch pipes, the second end of each branch pipe being spaced apart along the circumferential direction of the intermediate passage, and the second end of each branch pipe being limited to the intermediate space wall which is intermittent along the circumferential direction.

13. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the ratio of the distance between the second ends of each branch pipe to the thickness of each branch pipe is greater than or equal to a minimum critical value, and the minimum critical value refers to the ratio of the distance between the second ends of each branch pipe to the thickness of each branch pipe when at least the uniformity of the thickness of the electroplating of the substrate satisfies the requirements of the electroplating process.

14. The electroplating apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that the minimum critical value is 50%.

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