Substrate Holder Liquid Discharge for Uniform Plating Thickness
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Contaminants within the substrate holder of plating apparatuses can cause damage to contact members and nonuniformity in plating thickness due to power supply variations, necessitating a solution to suppress these adverse effects.
Innovation Solution
A plating apparatus and method featuring a substrate holder with a contact member, sealing member, pressing member, liquid holding portion, and spout port to manage and distribute a low-conductivity liquid within the holder, ensuring uniform plating and protecting the contact member.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the substrate holder is sealed to prevent plating solution intrusion, then contact member protection is improved, but contaminant accumulation inside the sealed space causes damage and power supply variation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the harmful plating solution from the sealed space by providing a discharge port that allows the liquid discharge mechanism to remove accumulated liquid. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining the sealing benefit while eliminating the contaminant accumulation problem through active extraction of the harmful substance.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a liquid discharge mechanism as an intermediary system between the sealed space and the external environment. This mediator actively manages the liquid that accumulates inside the sealed space, preventing contaminant damage to the contact member while preserving the protective sealing function.
2Reliability
If liquid is introduced into the sealed space to prevent plating solution intrusion, then sealing effectiveness is improved, but liquid contamination causes metal deposition and seed layer dissolution
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the harmful liquid from the sealed space using the liquid discharge mechanism. By actively removing the liquid that causes metal deposition and seed layer dissolution, the system maintains sealing effectiveness while eliminating the harmful effects of liquid contamination.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention discards the contaminated liquid from the sealed space through the discharge port. This allows the system to maintain the beneficial sealing function while periodically removing and discarding the liquid that would otherwise cause metal deposition and power supply variation.
3Reliability
If the sealed space is filled with non-metal salt liquid to prevent plating solution intrusion, then intrusion prevention is improved, but power supply variation occurs due to liquid contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the contaminant liquid from the sealed space through the liquid discharge mechanism. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining intrusion prevention benefits while removing the liquid that causes power supply variation and nonuniform plating thickness.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid discharge mechanism serves as an intermediary that actively manages the liquid in the sealed space. It prevents the liquid from causing power supply variation by continuously or periodically removing it, thus maintaining both intrusion prevention and plating uniformity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively suppresses the adverse effects of contaminants on the contact member, maintaining uniform plating thickness and efficiency by managing liquid distribution within the substrate holder.
Implementation Method 1
rotating the substrate holder to move the spouted liquid to the liquid holding portion or to distribute the liquid more uniformly in the liquid holding portion
Implementation Method 2
a contact member configured to contact the substrate to be able to supply power to the substrate
Implementation Method 3
a sealing member configured to seal a gap between the substrate holder and the substrate
Data Source
AI summary
A plating apparatus includes a plating tank configured to store a plating solution, a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate as a target on which a plating process is performed, a rotation mechanism that rotates the substrate holder, an elevating/lowering mechanism that elevates and lowers the substrate holder, and a control device, and the substrate holder includes a contact member configured to contact the substrate to be able to supply power to the substrate, a sealing member configured to seal a gap between the substrate holder and the substrate, a liquid holding portion including the contact member inside, and being configured to be able to hold liquid when the gap between the substrate holder and the substrate is sealed with the sealing member, and a spout port that is configured to open into the liquid holding portion or a space communicating with the liquid holding portion inside the substrate holder, or that can be disposed on a side of the substrate holder, to spout the liquid.