公开(公告)号：US5096550A

公开(公告)日：1992-03-17

申请号：US597225

申请日：1990-10-15

申请人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Robert J. Contolini ,  Anthony F. Bernhardt

发明人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Robert J. Contolini ,  Anthony F. Bernhardt

IPC分类号： C25F3/02 ,  C25F3/16 ,  C25F7/00

CPC分类号： C25F7/00 ,  C25F3/02 ,  C25F3/16 ,  Y10S204/07

摘要： In an electropolishing or electrolytic etching apparatus the anode is separated from the cathode to prevent bubble transport to the anode and to produce a uniform current distribution at the anode by means of a solid nonconducting anode-cathode barrier. The anode extends into the top of the barrier and the cathode is outside the barrier. A virtual cathode hole formed in the bottom of the barrier below the level of the cathode permits current flow while preventing bubble transport. The anode is rotatable and oriented horizontally facing down. An extended anode is formed by mounting the workpiece in a holder which extends the electropolishing or etching area beyond the edge of the workpiece to reduce edge effects at the workpiece. A reference electrode controls cell voltage. Endpoint detection and current shut-off stop polishing. Spatially uniform polishing or etching can be rapidly performed.

摘要翻译： 在电解抛光或电解蚀刻装置中，阳极与阴极分离，以防止气泡传输到阳极，并通过固体非导电阳极 - 阴极屏障在阳极处产生均匀的电流分布。 阳极延伸到屏障的顶部，阴极在屏障外。 形成在阴极底部的阴极底部的虚拟阴极孔允许电流流动，同时防止气泡输送。 阳极可旋转并水平定向朝下。 扩展阳极通过将工件安装在将电解抛光或蚀刻区域延伸超过工件边缘的保持器中形成，以减少工件的边缘效应。 参考电极控制电池电压。 端点检测和电流切断停止抛光。 可以快速进行空间均匀的抛光或蚀刻。

公开(公告)号：US4451900A

公开(公告)日：1984-05-29

申请号：US335471

申请日：1981-12-29

申请人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Lawrence D. Emmons

发明人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Lawrence D. Emmons

IPC分类号： G06F17/21 ,  G06F9/00

CPC分类号： G06F17/212

摘要： In a word processing system that includes a printer for printing text material and a display screen for viewing portions of the display material, a graphical representation of a page of text is displayed for editing purposes, the graphical representation including a plurality of identically formed display elements each corresponding to one of the characters of the text.

摘要翻译： 在包括用于打印文本材料的打印机和用于观看显示材料的部分的显示屏幕的文字处理系统中，显示文本页面的图形表示用于编辑目的，图形表示包括多个相同形式的显示元素 每个对应于文本的一个字符。

公开(公告)号：US09045841B1

公开(公告)日：2015-06-02

申请号：US13359343

申请日：2012-01-26

申请人： Bryan Buckalew ,  Jonathan Reid ,  John Sukamto ,  Zhian He ,  Seshasayee Varadarajan ,  Steven T. Mayer

发明人： Bryan Buckalew ,  Jonathan Reid ,  John Sukamto ,  Zhian He ,  Seshasayee Varadarajan ,  Steven T. Mayer

IPC分类号： C25D3/02 ,  C25D21/14

CPC分类号： C25D21/14 ,  C25D17/001 ,  C25D17/002

摘要： In a copper electroplating apparatus having separate anolyte and catholyte portions, the concentration of anolyte components (e.g., acid or copper salt) is controlled by providing a diluent to the recirculating anolyte. The dosing of the diluent can be controlled by the user and can follow a pre-determined schedule. For example, the schedule may specify the diluent dosing parameters, so as to prevent precipitation of copper salt in the anolyte. Thus, precipitation-induced anode passivation can be minimized.

摘要翻译： 在具有单独阳极电解液和阴极电解液部分的铜电镀设备中，通过向循环阳极电解液提供稀释剂来控制阳极电解液组分（例如酸或铜盐）的浓度。 稀释剂的剂量可以由用户控制，并且可以遵循预定的时间表。 例如，时间表可以指定稀释剂配量参数，以防止铜盐在阳极电解液中沉淀。 因此，沉淀诱导的阳极钝化可以最小化。

公开(公告)号：US20130256146A1

公开(公告)日：2013-10-03

申请号：US13853935

申请日：2013-03-29

申请人： Lee Peng Chua ,  Steven T. Mayer ,  Thomas A. Ponnuswamy ,  Santosh Kumar

发明人： Lee Peng Chua ,  Steven T. Mayer ,  Thomas A. Ponnuswamy ,  Santosh Kumar

IPC分类号： C25F1/00

CPC分类号： C25F1/00 ,  C25D17/001 ,  C25D17/06 ,  C25D21/00 ,  C25D21/12 ,  C25F7/00 ,  H01L21/67766 ,  H01L21/67769 ,  H01L21/68707 ,  Y10S901/02

摘要： Provided are cleaning methods and systems to remove unintended metallic deposits from electroplating apparatuses using reverse current deplating techniques. Such cleaning involves positioning a cleaning (deplating) disk in an electroplating cup similar to a regular processed substrate. The front surface of the cleaning disk includes a corrosion resistant conductive material to form electrical connections to deposits on the cup's surfaces. The disk is sealed in the cup and submerged into a plating solution. A reverse current is then applied to the front conductive surface of the disk to initiate deplating of the deposits. Sealing compression in the cup may change during cleaning to cause different deformation of the lip seal and to form new electrical connections to the deposits. The proposed cleaning may be applied to remove deposits formed during electroplating of alloys, in particular, tin-silver alloys widely used for semiconductor and wafer level packaging.

摘要翻译： 提供了使用反向电流去除技术从电镀设备中除去非预期的金属沉积物的清洁方法和系统。 这样的清洁包括将清洁（脱落）盘定位在类似于经常处理的基底的电镀杯中。 清洁盘的前表面包括耐腐蚀的导电材料以形成电连接以沉积在杯的表面上。 将盘密封在杯中并浸没在电镀液中。 然后将反向电流施加到盘的前导电表面以开始沉积物的脱落。 杯子内的密封压缩可能在清洁过程中发生变化，导致唇形密封件发生不同的变形，并形成与沉积物的新的电气连接。 所提出的清洁可以用于去除在电镀期间形成的沉积物，特别是广泛用于半导体和晶片级封装的锡 - 银合金。

公开(公告)号：US08450210B1

公开(公告)日：2013-05-28

申请号：US13218283

申请日：2011-08-25

申请人： Evan E. Patton ,  Theodore Cacouris ,  Eliot Broadbent ,  Steven T. Mayer

发明人： Evan E. Patton ,  Theodore Cacouris ,  Eliot Broadbent ,  Steven T. Mayer

IPC分类号： H01L21/445 ,  C25D17/28

CPC分类号： C25D17/001 ,  C25D3/38 ,  C25D5/10 ,  H01L21/2885 ,  H01L21/67161 ,  H01L21/6719 ,  H01L21/6723 ,  H01L21/67751 ,  H01L21/76877 ,  Y10T29/41

摘要： Methods and apparatus are provided for processing semiconductor wafers sequentially. Sequential processes employ multi-station processing modules, where particular encompassing wafer processes are divided into sub-processes, each optimized for increasing wafer to wafer uniformity, result quality, and overall wafer throughput. In one example, a copper electroplating module includes separate stations for wetting, initiation, seed layer repair, fill, overburden, reclaim, and rinse.

摘要翻译： 提供了顺序处理半导体晶片的方法和装置。 顺序过程采用多工位处理模块，其中特别包含的晶片工艺被分为子工艺，每个子工艺被优化用于增加晶圆到晶片的均匀性，结果质量和整个晶片生产量。 在一个示例中，铜电镀模块包括用于润湿，起始，种子层修复，填充，覆盖层，回收和冲洗的分离站。

公开(公告)号：US08158532B2

公开(公告)日：2012-04-17

申请号：US11602128

申请日：2006-11-20

申请人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Mark L. Rea ,  Richard S. Hill ,  Avishai Kepten ,  R. Marshall Stowell ,  Eric G. Webb

发明人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Mark L. Rea ,  Richard S. Hill ,  Avishai Kepten ,  R. Marshall Stowell ,  Eric G. Webb

IPC分类号： H01L21/302

CPC分类号： C25D17/14 ,  B23H5/08 ,  C25D5/02 ,  C25D5/06 ,  C25D5/08 ,  C25D5/34 ,  C25D7/123 ,  C25D17/001 ,  C25D17/06 ,  C25F3/16 ,  C25F3/30 ,  H01L21/02068 ,  H01L21/2885 ,  H01L21/32115 ,  H01L21/3212 ,  H01L21/32134 ,  H01L21/7684 ,  H01L21/76849 ,  H01L21/76877

摘要： Plating accelerator is applied selectively to a substantially-unfilled wide (e.g., low-aspect-ratio feature cavity. Then, plating of metal is conducted to fill the wide feature cavity and to form an embossed structure in which the height of a wide-feature metal protrusion over the metal-filled wide-feature cavity is higher than the height of metal over field regions. Most of the overburden metal is removed using non-contact techniques, such as chemical wet etching. Metal above the wide feature cavity protects the metal-filled wide-feature interconnect against dishing, and improved planarization techniques avoid erosion of the metal interconnect and dielectric insulating layer. In some embodiments, plating of metal onto a substrate is conducted to fill narrow (e.g., high-aspect-ratio feature cavities) in the dielectric layer before selective application of plating accelerator and filling of the wide feature cavity.

摘要翻译： 电镀加速器选择性地施加到基本上未填充的宽（例如，低纵横比特征空腔）上，然后进行金属电镀以填充宽特征空腔并形成压花结构，其中宽特征 在金属填充的宽特征空腔上的金属突起高于金属在场区域的高度，大多数覆盖层金属被使用非接触技术（例如化学湿法蚀刻）去除，在宽特征腔上方的金属保护金属 在一些实施例中，将金属电镀到衬底上以填充狭窄（例如，高纵横比特征腔），并且可以避免金属互连和介电绝缘层的侵蚀。 在介电层中选择性地施加电镀加速器和填充宽特征腔。

公开(公告)号：US08053861B2

公开(公告)日：2011-11-08

申请号：US12359997

申请日：2009-01-26

申请人： Thomas W. Mountsier ,  Roey Shaviv ,  Steven T. Mayer ,  Ronald A. Powell

发明人： Thomas W. Mountsier ,  Roey Shaviv ,  Steven T. Mayer ,  Ronald A. Powell

IPC分类号： H01L21/70

CPC分类号： C23C14/0623 ,  C23C14/06 ,  C23C14/3414 ,  H01L21/2855 ,  H01L21/28556 ,  H01L21/28562 ,  H01L21/76843 ,  H01L21/76846 ,  H01L21/76856 ,  H01L21/76858 ,  H01L21/76864 ,  H01L21/76873 ,  H01L21/76898 ,  H01L23/53238 ,  H01L23/53295 ,  H01L2924/0002 ,  H01L2924/00

摘要： Provided are methods and apparatuses for depositing barrier layers for blocking diffusion of conductive materials from conductive lines into dielectric materials in integrated circuits. The barrier layer may contain copper. In some embodiments, the layers have conductivity sufficient for direct electroplating of conductive materials without needing intermediate seed layers. Such barrier layers may be used with circuits lines that are less than 65 nm wide and, in certain embodiments, less than 40 nm wide. The barrier layer may be passivated to form easily removable layers including sulfides, selenides, and/or tellurides of the materials in the layer.

摘要翻译： 提供了用于沉积阻挡层的方法和装置，用于阻挡导电材料从集成电路中的导电线扩散到电介质材料中。 阻挡层可以含有铜。 在一些实施例中，这些层具有足够的导电性，用于直接电镀导电材料，而不需要中间种子层。 这样的阻挡层可以与小于65nm宽的电路线并且在某些实施例中小于40nm宽使用。 阻挡层可以被钝化以形成容易去除的层，包括层中的材料的硫化物，硒化物和/或碲化物。

公开(公告)号：US20100055924A1

公开(公告)日：2010-03-04

申请号：US12199412

申请日：2008-08-27

申请人： Kousik Ganesan ,  Shanthinath Ghongadi ,  Tariq Majid ,  Aaron Labrie ,  Steven T. Mayer

发明人： Kousik Ganesan ,  Shanthinath Ghongadi ,  Tariq Majid ,  Aaron Labrie ,  Steven T. Mayer

IPC分类号： H01L21/306

CPC分类号： H01L21/6708 ,  H01L21/02068 ,  H01L21/02087 ,  H01L21/0209 ,  H01L21/32134 ,  H01L21/67745 ,  H01L21/68735 ,  H01L21/68785

摘要： Chemical etching methods and associated modules for performing the removal of metal from the edge bevel region of a semiconductor wafer are described. The methods and systems provide the thin layer of pre-rinsing liquid before applying etchant at the edge bevel region of the wafer. The etchant is less diluted and diffuses faster through a thinned layer of rinsing liquid. An edge bevel removal embodiment involving that is particularly effective at reducing process time, narrowing the metal taper and allowing for subsequent chemical mechanical polishing, is disclosed.

摘要翻译： 描述了用于从半导体晶片的边缘斜面区域去除金属的化学蚀刻方法和相关模块。 在晶片的边缘斜面区域上施加蚀刻剂之前，该方法和系统提供了薄层的预漂洗液体。 蚀刻剂较少稀释，并通过稀薄的冲洗液层更快地扩散。 公开了一种边缘斜面去除实施例，其涉及在减少加工时间，使金属锥度变窄并允许随后的化学机械抛光方面特别有效。

公开(公告)号：US07622024B1

公开(公告)日：2009-11-24

申请号：US11040359

申请日：2005-01-20

申请人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Jonathan D. Reid

发明人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Jonathan D. Reid

IPC分类号： C25D17/00 ,  C25D5/00

CPC分类号： C25D17/12 ,  C25D7/123 ,  C25D17/001 ,  C25D17/008 ,  H01L21/2885 ,  Y10S204/07

摘要： A substantially uniform layer of a metal is electroplated onto a work piece having a seed layer thereon. This is accomplished by employing a “high resistance ionic current source,” which solves the terminal problem by placing a highly resistive membrane (e.g., a microporous ceramic or fretted glass element) in close proximity to the wafer, thereby swamping the system's resistance. The membrane thereby approximates a constant current source. By keeping the wafer close to the membrane surface, the ionic resistance from the top of the membrane to the surface is much less than the ionic path resistance to the wafer edge, substantially compensating for the sheet resistance in the thin metal film and directing additional current over the center and middle of the wafer.

摘要翻译： 将基本上均匀的金属层电镀在其上具有种子层的工件上。 这是通过使用“高电阻离子电流源”来实现的，其通过将高电阻膜（例如，微孔陶瓷或微波玻璃元件）放置在靠近晶片来解决端子问题，从而使系统的电阻变化。 因此，膜近似于恒定电流源。 通过保持晶片靠近膜表面，从膜顶部到表面的离子电阻远小于对晶片边缘的离子路径电阻，基本上补偿薄金属膜中的薄层电阻并引导附加电流 在晶片的中心和中间。

公开(公告)号：US20090283499A1

公开(公告)日：2009-11-19

申请号：US11888312

申请日：2007-07-30

申请人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Daniel A. Koos ,  Eric Webb

发明人： Steven T. Mayer ,  Daniel A. Koos ,  Eric Webb

IPC分类号： C23F1/00

CPC分类号： C23F1/02 ,  C23C18/1608 ,  C23C18/1834 ,  C23F1/18 ,  C23F1/34 ,  H01L21/288 ,  H01L21/32134 ,  H01L21/76849 ,  H01L21/76856 ,  H01L21/76858 ,  H01L21/76883 ,  H01L23/53238 ,  H01L2924/0002 ,  H01L2924/00

摘要： An etching process for selectively etching exposed metal surfaces of a substrate and forming a conductive capping layer over the metal surfaces is described. In some embodiments, the etching process involves oxidation of the exposed metal to form a metal oxide that is subsequently removed from the surface of the substrate. The exposed metal may be oxidized by using solutions containing oxidizing agents such as peroxides or by using oxidizing gases such as those containing oxygen or ozone. The metal oxide produced is then removed using suitable metal oxide etching agents such as glycine. The oxidation and etching may occur in the same solution. In other embodiments, the exposed metal is directly etched without forming a metal oxide. Suitable direct metal etching agents include any number of acidic solutions. The process allows for controlled oxidation and/or etching with reduced pitting. After the metal regions are etched and recessed in the substrate surface, a conductive capping layer is formed using electroless deposition over the recessed exposed metal regions.