Shielding system for process fluids for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of substrates

Abstract

The present invention relates to a shielding system for a process fluid for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of a substrate, to the use of the shielding system, and to a method for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of a substrate in a process fluid. [Solution] The shield system includes a shield and an agitation unit. The shield has a plurality of openings that direct the flow of process fluid and / or current density distribution toward the substrate being processed. The agitation unit is configured to move the shield together with the substrate vertically and / or horizontally relative to the PQDc body. Alternatively or additionally, the agitation unit is configured to move the shield together with the substrate vertically and / or horizontally relative to a deposition chamber for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a shielding system for a process fluid for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of a substrate, to the use of the shielding system, and to a method for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of a substrate in a process fluid. [Background technology]

[0002] Chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatments, such as electroless and electrochemical or electrolytic treatments or depositions, are frequently used for surface coating of planar, non-planar, patterned or non-patterned, non-metallic, and metallic and / or metallized surfaces.

[0003] Currently, processes for generating uniformly distributed current density distributions across the surface of large substrates to be plated are often no longer efficient or adequate. This is primarily due to the continuing shrinkage of surface elements to be plated (i.e., electronic device geometries continue to shrink to ever smaller dimensions) and their accumulation in high-density device areas, while other areas on the substrate may have very low-density or very large features that require plating. Furthermore, achieving highly uniform metal plating, especially for fabricating very thick 3D metal structures on very large substrates (also known as mold plating or mold electroplating), poses numerous challenges, including plating process, equipment design, and substrate handling. For example, recesses are exposed on the substrate to be plated by pre-depositing and appropriately structuring a thick photoresist layer on the substrate to be plated.

[0004] One of the main challenges during the plating process is establishing and maintaining a well-controlled current distribution between the anode (usually made of an inert material or the metal to be deposited, such as copper) and the cathode (usually the substrate) throughout the plating process. The anode and cathode can also be temporarily reversed for special plating applications.

[0005] In conventional techniques, current distribution can be established and controlled by patterning a thick photoresist layer to direct the current for electrodeposition into open recesses, where plating can occur. However, in this basic process, the current distribution is primarily induced in the open areas within the last few microns of the substrate. However, the main effects of the current distribution occur at greater distances, before this final distribution adjustment on the micron scale. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve high efficiency and high uniformity in a satisfactory manner.

[0006] An exemplary apparatus and method for generating targeted flow and current density patterns in chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatments is disclosed in DE 102010033256 A1. The apparatus includes a flow distribution body arranged plane-parallel with its front side facing the substrate to be treated and having an outlet opening on the front side through which the treatment solution flows onto the substrate surface. However, even though this method can improve the plating process and make the current distribution more uniform on a macroscopic scale and across the entire panel size, it is unable to fully achieve targeted current distribution to specific recesses in the μm range.

[0007] In particular, when performing mold plating processes to achieve very thick metal layers in predefined areas or lines, additional options are needed to specifically tailor and focus the current distribution. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] German Patent Application No. 102010033256A1 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] Therefore, there is a need to provide an improved shielding system for process fluids for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of substrates, which allows for well-controlled current distribution and uniform electroplating of the substrate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The above problems are solved by the subject matter of the independent claims, and further embodiments are incorporated in the dependent claims. It should be noted that the aspects of the present disclosure described below are also applicable to a shielding system for a process fluid for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of a substrate, to the use of the shielding system, and to a method for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of a substrate in a process fluid.

[0011] According to the present disclosure, a shield system for process fluids for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of substrates is provided. The shield system includes a shield and an agitation unit. The shield has a plurality of openings for directing or passing a flow of process fluid and / or a current density distribution toward or through the substrate to be treated. The agitation unit is configured to move the shield, together with the substrate, vertically and / or horizontally relative to the PQDc body. The PQDc body may include a plurality of openings for directing the flow of process fluid and / or the current density distribution toward the shield. The PQDc body can accelerate or decelerate the flow of process fluid and / or the current density distribution toward the substrate. Alternatively or additionally, the agitation unit is configured to move the shield together with the substrate vertically and / or horizontally relative to the deposition chamber for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment.

[0012] The shield system of the present disclosure solves the problems of the prior art by implementing a novel method of surface treatment by directing a process fluid flow and / or current density distribution through openings in the shield onto the substrate being treated. The agitation unit of the present disclosure is configured to move the shield vertically and / or horizontally together with the substrate for controlled and uniform chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of the substrate.

[0013] The main advantage of this novel device design is that, for example, the photoresist layer is not the only one involved in directing the electrolyte and / or current distribution to the surface elements to be plated (microscopic scale in the μm range). The shielding body already plays a role in directing the electrolyte and / or current distribution on the macroscale, so that the microscale has more influence. The shielding body can also be considered as an additional plating mask, which can concentrate the electrolyte and / or current density on critical surface areas already at a short distance from the substrate (for example, up to several mm upstream), thereby enabling higher plating efficiency and uniformity in the final plating result on the nanometer range scale.

[0014] The shield body can be understood as a perforated plate. The openings of the shield body can be circular, angular, or linear. The linear openings can be straight, round, zigzag, or wavy. The multiple openings can include a combination of openings of different shapes or sizes, or all can be the same. The circular or angular openings can have a diameter or width of 0.1 μm to 12 μm, preferably 0.5 μm to 6 μm. The linear openings can have a length of 0.5 μm to 6 μm. Adjacent openings are spaced apart by 5 μm to 80 μm (preferably for circular or angular openings) and / or 0.1 μm to 12 μm (preferably for linear openings). The stirring unit can be understood as an electric or hydraulic engine, etc.

[0015] In one embodiment, the shield body is positioned and / or dimensioned such that the openings in the shield body correspond exactly or approximately exactly to the surface elements of the substrate being processed, which can be understood as the number, location, size, shape, etc. of the openings in the shield body being designed to correspond to the number, location, size, shape, etc. of the surface elements of the substrate. The number, location, and shape (e.g., circular, rectangular, etc.) of the openings in the shield body can be any number, location, or shape.

[0016] For example, a substrate with a large number of surface elements can be processed with a shield body having many openings on the surface facing the substrate. In one example, the shield body is positioned and / or sized so that the openings in the shield body correspond to the surface elements of the substrate being processed, but are sized to match the density of the surface elements. By sizing and positioning the openings relative to the surface elements, accurate processing of the targeted surface elements and uniform electroplating of the substrate can be achieved. The openings in the shield body can be automatically and manually positioned and / or sized relative to the surface elements of the substrate being processed prior to the start of surface processing.

[0017] The phrase "approximately corresponding" can be understood to mean that the number, position, size, shape, etc. of the openings in the shield body are designed to approximately correspond to the number, position, size, shape, etc. of the surface elements of the substrate. To improve plating results on the μm scale, the number, position, size, shape, etc. of the openings in the shield body can also be slightly adjusted. For example, in the case of a very dense structure, slightly increasing or enlarging the number, position, size, shape, etc. of the openings in the shield body can be advantageous for the uniformity of the final plating. In some cases, it can also be advantageous to reduce the number, position, size, shape, etc. of the openings in the shield body.

[0018] Additionally, the shield body may be approximately the same size as the substrate being plated. More specifically, the shield body may be the size of the surface of the substrate being plated to achieve more uniform electroplating of the substrate. The shield body may also be wider than the substrate being processed to ensure that process fluids do not reach the substrate surface from undesired areas.

[0019] In one embodiment, the shield system further comprises a rotation unit configured to rotate the shield together with the substrate relative to the PQDc body. In this embodiment, the shield and substrate can rotate around a parallel axis. The rotation unit can rotate the shield together with the substrate around an axis parallel, perpendicular, or at an angle to the PQDc body. In other words, the shield or substrate can rotate around an axis facing the PQDc body and parallel to the axis passing through the PQDc body. Alternatively, the rotation unit can rotate the shield and substrate around an axis at an angle to the axis passing through the PQDc body. The angle is 0. o ~90 o , preferably 45 o The angle can be 0 o When the angle is 90°, the rotation axis is parallel to the PQDc body / substrate axis. o In this case, the rotation axis is perpendicular to the PQDc body / substrate axis. o ~90 o Similarly, to process the back side of the board, the angle can be chosen from any value between 90 o ~180 o can be chosen to be any value between

[0020] In one embodiment, the shield system further includes a rotation unit configured to rotate the shield together with the substrate relative to the deposition chamber for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment. This can be understood as the rotation unit rotating the shield at the same speed, acceleration, etc. as the substrate. The rotation unit may be an electric, hydraulic, or other engine. The rotation unit can enable uniform surface treatment (uniform and complete deposition on the surface elements) by rotating the substrate relative to the PQDc body and / or the deposition chamber. By simultaneously rotating the shield and substrate, the openings and surface elements can remain engaged and aligned throughout the process. The PQDc body and / or the deposition chamber can be part of the shield system.

[0021] In one embodiment, the shield system further includes a PQDc body having multiple openings that direct the process fluid flow and / or current density distribution toward the shield. The shield may be positioned adjacent to the PQDc body at intervals of 50 μm to 12 mm. The PQDc body can be understood as a plate containing an array of openings for process fluid distribution. Furthermore, the PQDc body can have other shapes that allow the process fluid flow and / or current density distribution to be directed toward the shield. The PQDc body can be positioned between the anode and the shield, 50 μm to 12 mm away from the shield, on the side of the shield facing the anode. The distance between the shield and the PQDc body is 100 μm to 5 mm, preferably 500 μm to 1 mm. Thus, the process fluid is first guided by the PQDc body to the shield, and then reaches the substrate through the openings in the shield. This two-stage process fluid guidance onto the substrate and / or the close proximity between the PQDc body and the shield allows for more precise surface treatment of the desired surface elements. The distance between the PQDc body and the shield may be selected to ensure that the process fluid flow and / or current density distribution effectively passes through the openings of both the PQDc body and the shield.

[0022] The PQDc body can have essentially the same size as the substrate, more specifically, the same size as the surface of the substrate facing the PQDc body, so that the process fluid flow and / or current density distribution can be fully applied to all portions of the substrate.

[0023] The PQDc body can be a high-speed plate (HSP). The HSP has multiple jets that direct the process fluid toward the substrate and multiple drains that return the process fluid from the substrate and pass through the drain of the HSP. The drains are located next to or around the jets. In other words, there is at least one drain dedicated to or assigned to a jet. Preferably, there are multiple drains dedicated to or corresponding to fewer jets. As a result, the flow path is somewhat shorter and / or the flow cell is somewhat smaller. This is particularly noticeable when compared to prior art PQDc bodies that do not have drains. They induce backflow through the open edges of the PQDc body, forming a much longer flow path and / or a larger flow cell. As a result, the HSP can allow the process fluid to be accelerated and the current distribution toward the substrate to be more easily controlled, balanced, and / or equilibrated.

[0024] For the same reason, the shield body may include at least a return opening configured to direct a return flow of the process fluid in a direction opposite to the direction toward the substrate. The return flow improves and accelerates the flow of the process fluid. In one embodiment, at least one return opening has an opening surface smaller than the combined opening surface of the multiple openings. The combined opening surface of the multiple openings can be understood as the sum of all opening surfaces. Furthermore, the surface of the return opening can be larger than the combined opening surface of the shield body to mitigate the flow of the return fluid and prevent blockages in the return opening.

[0025] In one embodiment, the shield system further includes a mounting unit configured to mount the shield to a substrate or a substrate holder that holds the substrate. The mounting unit may be understood as a mechanical fastening unit, such as one or more screws, clips, or the like. By attaching the shield system and the substrate to each other, a constant distance between them can be maintained. The mounting unit may be configured to provide a constant distance between the shield and the substrate. The distance between the shield system and the substrate can vary between a few microns and a few millimeters depending on the results to be achieved. For example, the distance may be 50 μm to 12 mm. Specifically, the shield may be positioned 1 to 5 mm away from the substrate. The mounting unit may further mount the shield to an agitation unit within a specific distance from the substrate surface to be plated. By fixing the shield to the substrate or the agitation unit, the shield can be agitated synchronously with the substrate. Synchronous agitation enables continuous supply of electrolyte and / or current density distribution to the area (e.g., open area) on the substrate to be plated, achieving uniform plating.

[0026] In one embodiment, the shield system further includes an alignment unit configured to align the shield with respect to the substrate. The alignment unit may be understood as a processor configured to control relative movement between the shield and the substrate. Additionally or alternatively, the alignment unit may include manual manipulation of the shield and / or the substrate to align them with each other. In this example, a user may align the shield with the substrate to be processed with or without automatic alignment provided by the alignment unit (or processor). Thus, aligning the shield with the substrate with the alignment unit may include both automatic alignment and manual correction. By aligning the shield with the substrate, the openings in the shield can remain aligned with the surface elements to be plated throughout the process. Thus, the chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment can continue without significant interference. In one example, the alignment unit can control the agitation unit to move and align the shield with respect to the substrate. Thus, the shield can be automatically aligned with the substrate.

[0027] In one example, the substrate may include an additional photoresist pattern (either open or closed areas). The openings in the shield body may be partial (to some extent) or complete copies of the photoresist pattern on the substrate. The areas of the shield body corresponding to the photoresist areas of the substrate may be solid and impervious, especially if the substrate includes at least one closed photoresist area. If the substrate includes open photoresist areas to allow plating of metal wires, such as copper wires, the shield body includes openings to allow electrolyte and / or plating current to reach the specific areas of the substrate surface to be plated.

[0028] Additionally or alternatively, the shield body system may further include a mold disposed between the shield body and the substrate. The mold may be disposed upstream of the substrate at a short distance (e.g., 100 μm to 1 mm). The mold may have circular, rectangular, or linear openings. The linear openings may be straight, round, zigzag, or wavy. The mold openings may include a combination of openings of different shapes or sizes, or may all be the same. The size of the mold openings may be the same as, smaller than, or larger than the size of the openings in the shield body. The circular or rectangular mold openings may have a diameter or width of 0.1 μm to 12 μm, preferably 0.5 μm to 6 μm. The length of the linear mold openings may be 0.5 μm to 6 μm. The distance between adjacent mold openings may be 5 μm to 80 μm (preferably for circular or rectangular molds) and / or 0.1 μm to 12 μm (preferably for linear molds). The mold and mold openings allow for better concentration of the electrolyte and / or current density to a particular surface area, which can enable higher plating efficiency and uniformity in the final plating on a μm-range scale.

[0029] In one example, the shield body is configured to be easily interchangeable depending on the structure of the substrate being plated. For example, when plating a substrate with a low density of surface features, a shield body with fewer or smaller openings can be selected. The openings in the shield body can be varied in number, position, size, shape, etc. to adjust for changes in the density of surface features.

[0030] In one example, the shield body may preferably have a flat plate shape. Furthermore, the shape of the surface of the shield body may correspond to the shape of the surface of the substrate. For example, if the substrate has a flat or curved surface, the shield body may also have a flat or curved surface. In one example, the shield body may preferably include a shield body portion held by a shield body frame.

[0031] In one example, the shielding body can be made of glass, quartz, or any other metal or plastic material that does not interfere with the chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment process. The material can be selected so that the shielding body is less likely to accumulate electric charge.

[0032] The shield system can be used in a pre-wetting system. The pre-wetting system can include a rotation unit. In one example, the shield system can be used in mold plating applications. The shield system can also be used in applications other than mold plating. Furthermore, the shield system, preferably equipped with a rotation unit, can be particularly advantageous not only for vertical plating systems, but also for horizontal plating systems (e.g., horizontal processing) with specific current density distribution requirements in which a substrate (e.g., a circular substrate) can rotate above an on-streaming process fluid (e.g., a flow of electrolyte). Thus, the rotation axis of the substrate can be parallel or perpendicular to the axis on which the PQDc body is positioned. When the shield is in a horizontal position, the rotation unit can rotate the shield in a plane parallel to the flow of the process fluid.

[0033] The present disclosure also presents the use of a shield system for treating surface elements on a substrate.

[0034] In one embodiment, the surface elements of the substrate at least partially have a thickness of 0.1 μm to 12 μm. The surface elements may specifically have a thickness of 0.5 μm to 6 μm.

[0035] In one embodiment, the surface elements of the substrate are linear. The distance between adjacent surface elements may be 0.1 μm to 12 μm. The linear surface elements may specifically have a thickness of 0.5 μm to 6 μm.

[0036] In one embodiment, the surface elements of the substrate are columnar. The distance between adjacent surface elements may be 5 μm to 80 μm. The columnar surface elements may specifically have a thickness of 10 μm to 40 μm.

[0037] In one embodiment, the shield has a size essentially equal to the size of the substrate to be processed. The relevant size may be the size of the surface of the substrate facing the PQDc body. However, the size of the shield may be smaller or larger than the substrate surface to be plated.

[0038] According to the present disclosure, there is also provided a method for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of a substrate in a process fluid, the method comprising, but not necessarily in this order: providing a shield body, wherein the shield body includes a plurality of openings; - providing an agitation unit, wherein the agitation unit is configured to move the shield body together with the substrate vertically and / or horizontally relative to the distributor body and / or relative to the deposition chamber for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment; - Directing the process fluid flow and / or current density distribution from the shield body to the substrate; and Chemical and / or electrolytic treatment of the surface elements of the substrate.

[0039] The agitation unit can move the shield with the substrate to ensure that the process fluid and / or current density distribution is directed toward the substrate and through the openings in the shield to reach the surface elements. By targeting the surface elements in such a precise manner, the process fluid flow and / or current density distribution can be used efficiently and the substrate can be plated uniformly.

[0040] In one embodiment, the method may further include moving the shield body together with the substrate vertically and / or horizontally relative to the distributor and / or relative to the deposition chamber for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment. Depending on the structure of the surface elements on the substrate and / or how the surface elements are arranged, translational, analog, or corresponding movement of the shield body and substrate in either the vertical or horizontal direction can be selected.

[0041] In one example, the method may further include returning excess process fluid to the shield system. The process fluid from the return port may be returned to the process fluid stream used in the chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment. In this way, the process fluid can be used efficiently.

[0042] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0043] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are schematic and exemplary diagrams illustrating embodiments of a disclosed shield system for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of a substrate with a process fluid. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a schematic and exemplary top view of a mold having multiple circular and linear openings. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0044] FIG. 1 is a schematic, exemplary illustration of one embodiment of a process fluid shield system 10 for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of a substrate 1.

[0045] The shield system 10 includes a shield 2 and an agitation unit (not shown). The shield 2 has a plurality of openings 2a that direct the flow of process fluid and / or the current density distribution toward the substrate 1 to be processed. The agitation unit is configured to move the shield 2 together with the substrate 1 vertically and / or horizontally relative to the PQDc body 3. Alternatively or additionally, the agitation unit is configured to move the shield 2 together with the substrate 1 vertically and / or horizontally relative to a deposition chamber (not shown) for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment.

[0046] The shield body 2 is positioned and / or dimensioned such that the openings 2a of the shield body 2 correspond to the surface elements 1a of the substrate 1 to be processed. The number, position, size, shape, etc. of the shield body 2 are designed to correspond to the number, position, size, shape, etc. of the surface elements 1a of the substrate 1. The dimensioning and positioning of the openings 2a corresponding to the surface elements 1a ensures accurate processing on the targeted surface elements 1a and uniform electroplating of the substrate 1. Furthermore, the shield body 2 is approximately the same size as the substrate 1 to be plated. More specifically, the shield body 2 has the size of the surface of the substrate 1 to be plated in order to achieve more uniform electroplating of the substrate 1.

[0047] The shield system 10 also includes a rotation unit (not shown) configured to rotate the shield 2 together with the substrate 1 about a parallel axis relative to the PQDc body 3 and / or deposition chamber (not shown) for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment. The rotation unit rotates the shield 2 at the same speed, acceleration, etc. as the substrate 1. By rotating the substrate 1 relative to the PQDc body 3 and / or deposition chamber, the rotation unit enables uniform surface treatment (uniform and complete deposition on the surface element 1a). By simultaneously rotating the shield 2 and the substrate 1, the opening 2a and the surface element 1a can be maintained engaged and aligned throughout the process.

[0048] The shield system 10 further includes a PQDc body 3 having multiple openings 3a that direct the flow of process fluid and / or current density distribution toward the shield body 2. The shield body 2 is positioned adjacent to the PQDc body 3 at a distance of 50 μm to 12 mm. The PQDc body 3 is a plate with a series of openings 3a for distributing the process fluid. As shown in FIG. 1 , the PQDc body 3 is positioned between the anode 4 and the shield body 2, on the side of the shield facing the anode 4, at a distance of 50 μm to 12 mm from the shield body 2. Thus, the process fluid is first directed by the PQDc body 3 toward the shield body 2, then through the openings 2a in the shield body 2 and onto the substrate 1. By directing the process fluid toward the substrate 1 in two levels, more precise surface treatment of the targeted surface element 1a is achieved.

[0049] The PQDc body 3 is essentially the same size as the substrate 1, more specifically, the same size as the surface of the substrate 1 facing the PQDc body 3. Therefore, the flow of the process fluid and / or the current density distribution is applied to all parts of the substrate 1.

[0050] 1 shows a shield body 2 in the form of a flat plate. The flat shape of the shield body 2 corresponds to the shape of the substrate 1.

[0051] The shield body 2 is approximately the same size as the substrate 1 to be plated. More specifically, the size of the shield body 2 is the size of the surface of the substrate 1 to be plated.

[0052] Figure 2 is a schematic and exemplary top view of a mold having a plurality of circular and linear openings. Figure 2 can also be considered a top view of a shield having a plurality of circular and linear openings. Figure 2 can also be considered a top view of a substrate having a plurality of circular and linear openings. The mold, shield, and / or substrate are positioned and / or dimensioned such that the openings in the mold, shield, and / or substrate correspond to one another.

[0053] It should be noted that embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to various subject matters. In particular, some embodiments are described with reference to method claims, while other embodiments are described with reference to apparatus claims. However, those skilled in the art will understand from the above and following description that, unless otherwise specified, any combination of features belonging to a certain type of subject matter is disclosed, as well as any combination of features related to different subject matters. However, combining all features may achieve synergistic effects beyond the mere combination of features.

[0054] While the present disclosure has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, it is to be understood that such illustration and description are exemplary or explanatory and not restrictive. The present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed disclosure, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the dependent claims.

[0055] In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage. Reference signs in the claims are not to be interpreted as limiting the scope.

Claims

1. A process fluid shield system (10) for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of a substrate (1), comprising: The shield system (10) comprises a shield (2) and an agitation unit; The shield body (2) comprises a plurality of openings (2a) for directing the flow of process fluid and / or current density distribution onto the substrate (1) to be processed; the stirring unit is configured to move the shield body (2) in a direction vertical and / or horizontal to the longitudinal axis of the PQDc body (3), The stirring unit is configured to move the substrate (1) in a direction vertical and / or horizontal to the longitudinal axis of the PQDc body (3) for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of the substrate (1), The agitation unit is configured to move the shield (2) together with the substrate (1).

2. 2. The shield system (10) of claim 1, wherein the shield (2) is positioned and / or sized so that the opening (2a) of the shield (2) corresponds to a surface element (1a) of the substrate (1) to be deposited.

3. The shield system (10) of claim 1 or 2 further comprises a rotation unit configured to rotate the shield (2) together with the substrate (1) about an axis relative to the distributed body (3) for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment.

4. A shield system (10) as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the PQDc body (3) has a plurality of openings (3a) that direct the flow of the process fluid and / or the current density distribution toward the shield body (2), and the shield body (2) is positioned next to the PQDc body (3) at a distance of 50 μm to 12 mm.

5. 5. The shield system (10) of claim 1, wherein the shield (2) comprises at least one return opening configured to direct a return flow of the process fluid in a direction opposite to the direction toward the substrate (1).

6. 6. The shield system (10) of claim 5, wherein the at least one return opening has an opening surface that is smaller than the combined opening surface of the plurality of openings (2a) of the shield (2).

7. The shield system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising an attachment unit configured to attach the shield (2) to the substrate (1) or a substrate holder that holds the substrate (1).

8. The shield system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising an alignment unit configured to align the shield (2) with respect to the substrate (1).

9. Use of a shield system (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 8 for depositing on a surface element (1a) of a substrate (1).

10. The use according to claim 9, wherein the thickness of at least some of the surface elements (1a) of the substrate (1) is between 0.1 μm and 12 μm.

11. The use according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the surface elements (1a) are linear and the distance between adjacent surface elements (1a) is between 0.1 μm and 12 μm.

12. The use according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the surface elements (1a) are columnar and the distance between adjacent surface elements (1a) is between 5 μm and 80 μm.

13. The use according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the shield (2) of the shield system is the same size as the substrate (1).

14. A method for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of a substrate (1) in a process fluid, comprising: - providing a shield body (2), said shield body (2) comprising a plurality of openings (2a); - providing an agitation unit, wherein the agitation unit is configured to move the shield (2) vertically and / or horizontally relative to the longitudinal axis of the PQDc body (3), and the agitation unit is configured to move the substrate (1) vertically and / or horizontally relative to the longitudinal axis of the PQDc body (3) for chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of the substrate (1); - moving the shield (2) together with the substrate (1) by the stirring unit; - directing the flow of process fluid and / or current density distribution from the shield body (2) to the substrate (1); and a method comprising chemical and / or electrolytic surface treatment of the surface elements (1a) of said substrate (1).

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