TWI826956B - Electroplating apparatus and electroplating method - Google Patents

Abstract

An electroplating apparatus includes an anode and a cathode, a power supply, a regulating plate, and a controller. The power supply is electrically connected to the anode and the cathode. The regulating plate is arranged between the anode and the cathode. The regulating plate includes insulation grid plate and a plurality of wires. The controller is electrically connected to the plurality of wires to control the state of the electromagnetic field around the plurality of wires. An electroplating method is also provided.

Description

Electroplating equipment and electroplating methods

The present invention relates to an equipment and a method, and in particular, to an electroplating equipment and an electroplating method.

Electroplating has been widely used in various fields. In addition to being traditionally used as a surface treatment method, it is also used in the production of circuit boards, semiconductor wafers, LED conductive substrates, and semiconductor packages. Electroplating often has a uniform thickness of the metal coating. Sexual issues.

For example, in the manufacturing process of circuit boards, the electric power line between the anode and the cathode is often affected by the characteristics of the upper film layer (such as insulation characteristics or other characteristics that affect power distribution) when close to the substrate to be plated. Turning, the electric power line density is unevenly distributed. As a result, the metal plating layer formed on the substrate to be plated will have a problem of poor plating thickness uniformity.

The invention provides an electroplating equipment and an electroplating method, which can improve the problem of poor uniformity of the electroplating thickness of the metal plating layer on the substrate to be plated and have better operating freedom.

An electroplating equipment of the present invention includes an anode and a cathode, a power supply, a control board and a controller. The power supply is electrically connected to the anode and the cathode. The control board is arranged between the anode and the cathode. The control board includes an insulated grid board and multiple wires. The controller is electrically connected to the plurality of wires to control the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of wires.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned insulating grid plate has a first surface and a second surface opposite to each other, the first surface is close to the anode, and a plurality of wires are disposed on the first surface.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of conductors mentioned above are regularly arranged on the insulating grid plate.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned plurality of conductors are arranged at the intersection of line segments of the insulating grid plate.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of conductors mentioned above are bonded to the insulating grid plate through adhesive.

In an embodiment of the present invention, each of the above-mentioned conductive wires extends in the same direction.

In one embodiment of the present invention, each of the above-mentioned conductive wires extends between the insulating grid plate and the anode.

In an embodiment of the present invention, there is a distance between the adjacent conductors.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned control board does not contain magnetic substances.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned magnetic substance includes a magnet, a magnetic material, or a combination thereof.

An electroplating method of the present invention at least includes the following steps. Provide electroplating equipment, which includes anodes and cathodes, power supplies, control boards and controllers. The power supply is electrically connected to the anode and the cathode. The control board is arranged between the anode and the cathode. The control board includes an insulated grid board and multiple wires. The controller is electrically connected to multiple wires. The substrate to be plated is fixed on the cathode, wherein the substrate to be plated includes a dry film, and the dry film has at least a first opening and a second opening, and the first opening is smaller than the second opening. After the power supply supplies power, a plurality of power lines are formed moving from the anode toward the cathode. The controller controls the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of wires to change the incident angle of the plurality of power lines passing through the control plate relative to the substrate to be plated, so that the number of power lines entering the first opening is less than the number of power lines entering the second opening. Form a metal plating layer on the substrate to be plated.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of power lines move linearly before passing through the control panel, and the plurality of power lines move spirally after passing the control panel.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned first opening has a first opening angle, the second opening has a second opening angle, the first opening angle is smaller than the second opening angle, and the incident power line entering the first opening The angles are all less than or equal to the first opening angle, and the incident angles of the electric power lines entering the second opening are all less than or equal to the second opening angle.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned controller is used to control the current intensity of the plurality of wires to control the electromagnetic field state.

In an embodiment of the present invention, during the above-mentioned formation of the metal plating layer, the controller controls the current intensity of the plurality of wires multiple times.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the current intensity of each of the above-mentioned conductors is different.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the current direction of the above-mentioned plurality of conductors is the same as the moving direction of the plurality of power lines in front of the control board.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the current direction of the plurality of conductors is toward the cathode.

In an embodiment of the present invention, there is no magnetic field generated by magnetic substances around the control plate.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned magnetic substance includes a magnet, a magnetic material, or a combination thereof.

Based on the above, the electroplating equipment of the present invention is designed with a control plate between the anode and the cathode. The controller can control the electromagnetic field state around the multiple wires on the control plate to change the incidence of the power lines passing through the control plate relative to the substrate to be plated. The angle (through the Lorentz force generated between the power lines and the control panel) causes the number of power lines entering the smaller opening to be less than the number of power lines entering the larger opening. Due to the number of power lines (The concentration of driveable metal ions) will be positively related to the thickness of the formed metal plating, so the number of power lines entering the opening can be effectively controlled, thereby allowing the portion of the substrate to be plated to have lines to be formed to have a consistent power line density, improving the It solves the problem of poor plating thickness uniformity of the metal plating layer on the plated substrate and has better operating freedom.

In order to make the above-mentioned features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, embodiments are given below and described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be fully described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, although the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In the drawings, the sizes and thicknesses of various regions, locations and layers are not drawn to actual scale for clarity. To facilitate understanding, the same components in the following description will be labeled with the same symbols.

The present invention will be described more fully with reference to the drawings of this embodiment. However, the present invention may also be embodied in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments described herein. The thickness, size, or dimensions of layers or regions in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity. The same or similar reference numbers indicate the same or similar components, and will not be repeated one by one in the following paragraphs.

Directional terms used herein (eg, up, down, right, left, front, back, top, bottom) are used only with reference to the drawings and are not intended to imply absolute orientation.

It will be understood that, although the terms "first," "second," "third," etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, and/or sections or parts thereof shall not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

FIG. 1A is a flow chart of an electroplating method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a schematic side view of electroplating equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1C is a schematic top view of the control plate of the electroplating equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, and FIG. 1C. The following uses drawings to illustrate the main flow of the electroplating method according to an embodiment of the present invention. First, an electroplating equipment 100 is provided (step S100), where the electroplating equipment 100 includes an anode 110 and a cathode 120, a power supply 130, a control board 140 and a controller 150. Furthermore, the power supply 130 is electrically connected to the anode 110 and the cathode 120, and the control board 140 is disposed between the anode 110 and the cathode 120 (FIG. 1B schematically shows a control board sandwiched between the anode 110 and the cathode 120). 140), wherein the control board 140 includes an insulating grid plate 142 and a plurality of wires 144, and the controller 150 is electrically connected to the plurality of wires 144.

In addition, the electroplating equipment 100 may also include an electroplating tank (not shown) containing an electrolyte (including metal ions Y to be plated), and the anode 110 and the cathode 120 are both disposed in the electroplating tank. Here, the materials and types of the electrolytic tank, electrolyte, anode 110, and cathode 120 can be adjusted according to the actual type of metal to be plated (such as copper plating), and are not limited by the present invention. It should be noted that other specific details of the electroplating equipment 100 will be further described below.

Next, the substrate S to be plated is fixed on the cathode 120, wherein the substrate S to be plated includes a dry film 40, and the dry film 40 has at least a first opening 42A and a second opening 42B, and the first opening 42A is smaller than the second opening 42B (step S200). Here, the material of the dry film 40 is, for example, an insulating material, and its thickness may be determined according to actual design requirements. Then, the power supply 130 supplies power to form a plurality of electric power lines L moving from the anode 110 toward the cathode 120 (which may be the moving direction of electrons released after the anode 110 is energized) (step S300). In addition, the controller 150 controls the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of wires 144 to change the incident angle of the plurality of power lines L passing through the control plate 140 relative to the substrate S to be plated, so that the number of power lines L entering the first opening 42A is less than that entering the first opening 42A. The number of power lines L of the two openings 42B (step S400). Then, the metal plating layer 10 is formed on the substrate S to be plated (step S500). Here, "surroundings" can be defined by the current magnetic effect phenomenon (electromagnetic field) in which the energized wire 144 generates a magnetic field around it, and the direction of the magnetic field generated by the wire 144 can be determined based on Ampere's right-hand rule, as shown in Figure 1B The direction of rotation around the wire is shown.

Accordingly, the electroplating equipment 100 of this embodiment is designed with a control plate 140 between the anode 110 and the cathode 120, and its controller 150 can control the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of wires 144 on the control plate 140 to change the state of the electromagnetic field passing through the control plate 140. The incident angle of the electric power line L relative to the substrate S to be plated (by the action of the Lorentz force generated between the electric power line L and the control plate 140) makes it enter a smaller-sized opening (the first opening 42A in Figure 1B) The number of power lines L is less than the number of power lines L entering a larger-sized opening (such as the first opening 42B in FIG. 1B ), because the number of power lines L (which can drive the concentration of metal ions Y) will be directly proportional to the thickness of the formed metal plating layer 10 Related, therefore the number of power lines L entering the opening can be effectively controlled, so that the portion of the substrate S to be plated to be formed with lines has a consistent density of power lines, and the poor uniformity of the plating thickness of the metal plating layer on the substrate S to be plated is improved. problems and has better operational freedom. It should be noted that the spiral power line L after passing through the control plate 140 in FIG. 1B has the same spiral power line L. This is only a schematic illustration and does not represent the actual spiral angle of the spiral power line L, that is, the spiral power line L after passing through the control plate 140. It should be possible to have power lines L with different helix angles.

Here, the Lorentz force can be expressed as F=q(E+v×B), where F is the Lorentz force, q is the charge of the charged particle, E is the electric field strength, v is the speed of the charged particle, B is the magnetic induction intensity. In addition, the moving direction of the electric force lines in the present invention can be regarded as the moving direction of the metal ions Y in the electrolyte. On the other hand, the size of the opening can be defined by the line width of the opening. For example, the line width of the first opening 42A can be 20 micrometers, and the line width of the second opening 42B can be 40 micrometers. However, the present invention does not Limited to this.

In some embodiments, the multiple power lines L move in a straight line before passing through the control panel 140, and the multiple power lines L move in a spiral manner after passing through the control panel 140. That is to say, the multiple power lines L can be parallel and uniform. It is emitted from the anode 120 and then passes through the control plate 140 to drive the metal ions Y in the electrolyte to move in a spiral manner and reach the opening on the substrate S to be plated to form the metal plating layer 10, but the invention is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the controller 150 controls the current intensity of the plurality of wires 144 to control the electromagnetic field state. Since the current intensity on the wires 144 will directly affect its corresponding magnetic field intensity, it will also affect the Lorenz force. Therefore, the incident angle of the electric power line L passing through the control plate 140 relative to the substrate S to be plated can be controlled through the aforementioned design. Here, each wire 144 on the insulating grid plate 142 represents an angle that can control a corresponding number of positions.

In some embodiments, during the formation of the metal plating layer 10, the controller 150 may control the current intensity of the multiple wires 144 multiple times. For example, the multiple controls may include changing the frequency of the current intensity changes of the wires 144 multiple times. That is to say, during the formation of the metal plating layer 10, the current intensity can be changed 1000 times per second, for example, and the current intensity can be different each time (similar to the concept of frequency modulation of alternating current), and the above settings can be based on the actual design. Depends on demand. In addition, different current intensities can also be set in different areas, and the current intensity of each conductor 144 can be different (some conductors 144 are different and some conductors 144 are the same or all conductors 144 are completely different). In this way, each conductor 144 can The frequency of changes in current intensity is flexibly operated, so the degree of operating freedom can be better improved through the controller 150. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The controller 150 can also only control the current intensity of each conductor 144 once, and No frequency modulation action is performed.

In this embodiment, the first opening 42A has a first opening angle θ, the second opening 42B has a second opening angle δ, the first opening angle θ is smaller than the second opening angle δ, and the electric power line L entering the first opening 42A has The incident angles are all less than or equal to the first opening angle θ, and the incident angles of the electric power lines L entering the second opening 42B are all less than or equal to the second opening angle δ. That is to say, the second opening angle δ is greater than the first opening angle θ, so the range can be received. The electric power line L has a larger incident angle, but the invention is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the substrate S to be plated further includes a third opening 42C. The third opening 42C is larger than the first opening 42A and the second opening 42B, and the controller 150 can also control the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of wires 144 to change the through The incident angle of the plurality of power lines L of the plate 140 relative to the substrate to be plated is controlled so that the number of power lines L entering the third opening 42C is greater than the number of power lines L entering the first opening 42A and the number of power lines L entering the second opening 42B, for example Specifically, the third opening 42C has a third opening angle φ, the third opening angle φ is greater than the first opening angle θ and the second opening angle δ, and the incident angles of the electric power lines L entering the third opening 42C are both less than or equal to the third opening. The angle φ, that is, the third opening angle φ, can receive the electric power line L with a larger range of incident angles, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Here, the line width of the third opening 42C may be 120 microns, but the invention is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the portion of the substrate S to be plated where circuits are to be formed may include a circuit-dense area and a circuit-empty area (not shown). However, the problem of poor uniformity of the plating thickness of the metal plating layer in the circuit-dense area may occur. It is more obvious that the electroplating equipment 100 of this embodiment can more significantly improve the problem of poor uniformity of the electroplating thickness of the metal plating layer in the line-intensive area of the substrate S to be plated. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be used in the line-empty area. It has an improvement effect.

In some embodiments, the current direction of the plurality of wires 144 is the same as the moving direction of the plurality of power lines L before passing through the control board 140. For example, the current direction of the plurality of wires 144 is toward the cathode 120, but the invention is not limited thereto.

Specific details of electroplating apparatus 100 are further described below. The insulating grid plate 142 has an opposite first surface 142a and a second surface 142b. The first surface 142a is close to the anode 110, and a plurality of wires 144 are disposed on the first surface 142a. Furthermore, the plurality of conductors 144 may be regularly arranged on the insulating grid plate 142. For example, as shown in FIG. , 142B). In addition, the plurality of wires 144 can be connected to the insulating grid plate 142 through the adhesive 20, where the adhesive 20 can be any suitable bonding material, which is not limited by the present invention.

In some embodiments, the extension direction of each wire 144 may be the same. For example, each wire 144 extends between the insulating grid plate 142 and the anode 110 , but the invention is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, there is a distance d between adjacent conductors 144. In other words, the adjacent conductors 144 do not contact each other, but the invention is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, there is no magnetic substance on the control plate 140 , where the magnetic substance includes magnets, magnetic materials, or combinations thereof. Therefore, there is no magnetic field generated by the magnetic substance around the control plate 140 , but the invention is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the distance between the control plate 140 and the substrate S to be plated may be between 2 millimeters (mm) and 8 centimeters (cm), but the invention is not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the substrate S to be plated may further include a seed layer 30, so the metal plating layer 10 may be plated on the seed layer 30, but the invention is not limited thereto.

To sum up, the electroplating equipment of the present invention is designed with a control plate between the anode and the cathode, and its controller can control the electromagnetic field state around multiple wires on the control plate to change the electric power line passing through the control plate relative to the substrate to be plated The incident angle (through the action of the Lorentz force generated between the power lines and the control panel) makes the number of power lines entering the smaller-sized opening less than the number of power lines entering the larger-sized opening. Due to the number of power lines (can The driving metal ion concentration) will be positively related to the thickness of the formed metal coating, so the number of power lines entering the opening can be effectively controlled, so that the part of the substrate to be plated where the line is to be formed has a consistent power line density, improving the substrate to be plated The problem of poor uniformity of the plating thickness of the metal plating layer on the surface is eliminated and it has better operating freedom.

Although the present invention has been disclosed above through embodiments, they are not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the technical field may make some modifications and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, The protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the appended patent application scope.

10:Metal plating 20: Adhesive 30:Seed layer 40:Dry film 42A, 42B, 42C: opening 100:Electroplating equipment 110:Anode 120:Cathode 130:Power supply 140:Control board 142:Insulated grid panel 142a: first surface 142b: Second surface 142A, 142B: line segment 144:Wire 150:Controller d: distance S: Substrate to be plated S100, S200, S300, S400, S500: steps L: Power line Y: metal ion θ, δ, φ: opening angle

FIG. 1A is a flow chart of an electroplating method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a schematic side view of electroplating equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1C is a schematic top view of the control plate of the electroplating equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10:Metal plating

20: Adhesive

30:Seed layer

40:Dry film

42A, 42B, 42C: opening

100:Electroplating equipment

110:Anode

120:Cathode

130:Power supply

140:Control board

142:Insulated grid panel

142a: first surface

142b: Second surface

144:Wire

150:Controller

S: Substrate to be plated

L: Power line

Y: metal ion

θ, δ, φ: opening angle

Claims (20)

An electroplating equipment including: anode and cathode; A power supply, electrically connected to the anode and the cathode; A control board disposed between the anode and the cathode, wherein the control board includes an insulating grid plate and a plurality of wires; and A controller is electrically connected to the plurality of conductors to control the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of conductors. The electroplating equipment according to claim 1, wherein the insulating grid plate has an opposite first surface and a second surface, the first surface is close to the anode, and the plurality of wires are disposed on the first surface. On the surface. The electroplating equipment according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of wires are regularly arranged on the insulating grid plate. The electroplating equipment according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of conductors are arranged at line segment junctions of the insulating grid plate. The electroplating equipment of claim 1, wherein the plurality of wires are bonded to the insulating grid plate through adhesive. The electroplating equipment according to claim 1, wherein each of the conductors extends in the same direction. The electroplating equipment of claim 1, wherein each of the wires extends between the insulating grid plate and the anode. The electroplating equipment according to claim 1, wherein there is a distance between adjacent conductors. The electroplating equipment according to claim 1, wherein the control plate does not contain magnetic substances. The electroplating equipment of claim 9, wherein the magnetic substance includes a magnet, a magnetic material or a combination thereof. An electroplating method comprising: Electroplating equipment is provided, wherein the electroplating equipment includes: anode and cathode; A power supply, electrically connected to the anode and the cathode; A control board disposed between the anode and the cathode, wherein the control board includes an insulating grid plate and a plurality of wires; and A controller, electrically connected to the plurality of wires; Fixing a substrate to be plated on the cathode, wherein the substrate to be plated includes a dry film, and the dry film has at least a first opening and a second opening, the first opening being smaller than the second opening; After the power supply supplies power, a plurality of power lines are formed moving from the anode toward the cathode; The controller controls the electromagnetic field state around the plurality of wires to change the incident angle of the plurality of power lines passing through the control plate relative to the substrate to be plated, so that the power lines entering the first opening A number less than the number of power lines entering the second opening; and Form a metal plating layer on the substrate to be plated. The electroplating method according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of power lines move linearly before passing the control plate, and the plurality of power lines move spirally after passing the control plate. The electroplating method according to claim 11, wherein the first opening has a first opening angle, the second opening has a second opening angle, the first opening angle is smaller than the second opening angle, and the entrance angle is The incident angles of the electric power lines entering the first opening are both less than or equal to the first opening angle, and the incident angles of the electric power lines entering the second opening are both less than or equal to the second opening angle. The electroplating method according to claim 11, wherein the electromagnetic field state is controlled by setting the current intensity of the plurality of wires. The electroplating method according to claim 14, wherein during the formation of the metal plating layer, the controller controls the current intensity of the plurality of conductors multiple times. The electroplating method according to claim 14, wherein the current intensity of each of the conductors is different. The electroplating method according to claim 11, wherein the current direction of the plurality of conductors is the same as the moving direction of the plurality of power lines before passing through the control plate. The electroplating method according to claim 11, wherein the current direction of the plurality of wires is toward the cathode. The electroplating method according to claim 11, wherein there is no magnetic field generated by magnetic substances around the control plate. The electroplating method according to claim 19, wherein the magnetic substance includes a magnet, a magnetic material or a combination thereof.