JP6901061B2 - Plating liquid replenishment device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a plating solution replenishing device for replenishing a plating tank performing a copper plating process with a plating solution having a certain concentration.

Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-137298) improves the solubility of copper oxide, prevents the inflow of ultrafine powder that cannot be dissolved instantly into the plating tank, and further prevents the pollution of the working environment of fine powdered copper oxide. This is a method for producing a replenisher for electrolytic copper plating. A copper oxide powder having a specific particle size is mixed with water, an acid, an alkaline solution or an organic solvent, and the copper oxide powder in this mixed solution is mixed with a wet grinder. Further discloses a production method in which a part of the plating solution is added to the fine powder mixed solution after crushing into fine powder to dissolve copper oxide.

Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-166100) aims to provide the same amount having high dissolving power in an electrolytic solution, which is suitable as a copper ion material at the time of electrolytic copper plating treatment. Discloses a method using an insoluble anode as a method for applying a copper plating treatment to a body to be plated. In this method, for example, a titanium surface coated with a catalyst is used as an anode, a plating tank and a copper melting tank are prepared, and a copper plating material such as copper oxide, copper carbonate, metallic copper, etc. is prepared in the melting tank. Is disclosed, and this is supplied to the electrolytic solution in the plating tank, and the plating process is performed by energizing between the insoluble anode and the object to be plated forming the cathode. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses that the melting tank is provided with stirring means and a predetermined amount of copper powder is replenished from the hopper.

Patent Document 3 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-162078) provides plating for the purpose of performing good copper plating by controlling the copper ion concentration of the electrolytic solution with high accuracy when copper plating is performed by the electrolytic plating method. Disclosed is a configuration in which the concentration of copper in a tank is detected by a colorimetric meter and copper oxide is replenished based on the detected value. In Patent Document 3, the dissolution tank for dissolving copper oxide in the plating liquid to replenish the hot air liquid in the plating tank is divided into three liquid storage portions by a partition member, and oxidation is performed in the first liquid storage portion. Copper oxide is added to the electrolytic solution from the plating tank and stirred, and the supernatant liquid in which copper oxide is dissolved is sequentially overflowed from the first liquid storage part to the second liquid storage part and the third liquid storage part. Is to be obtained.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-137298 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-166100 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-162078

As mentioned above, in copper plating equipment using an insoluble anode, efficiency improvement is being considered as the most time-consuming work, in order to supply a plating solution with a certain concentration to the plating tank, copper oxide powder is added to the plating solution. In the plating solution replenishing device for dissolution, the copper oxide powder is efficiently dissolved in the plating solution, and the above-mentioned patent document discloses that copper oxide is crushed into fine powder and stirred by a stirrer. There is. Further, in addition to the physical dissolution of copper oxide by this stirrer, a dissolution method of mechanically stirring such as a dissolution method by bubbling using an air blower and a dissolution method by liquid circulation stirring using a pump is known. is there.

As described above, in the conventional plating solution replenishing device, as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, when copper powder such as copper oxide is added to the mixing tank, the opening / closing provided at the lower part of the hopper is provided. Since the mechanism is manually or automatically opened and closed and dropped into the mixing tank, there is a possibility that copper powder or the like may solidify due to absorption of moisture, so that there is a problem that a solidification prevention measure is required.

Further, in the plating solution replenishing device disclosed in Patent Document 3, the dissolution tank is provided with a plurality of liquid storage portions by partitioning members, so that the electrolytic solution in which copper oxide is dissolved is obtained as the supernatant liquid. There is a problem that foreign matter may be mixed in each liquid storage part, copper may be crystallized, or a precipitate may be generated in each liquid storage part, and it is necessary to remove the crystal or the precipitate. Occurs.

Therefore, the present invention is to provide a plating solution replenishing device capable of efficiently dissolving copper oxide in a plating solution without providing a special melting tank for space saving.

The present invention is a plating solution replenishing device provided with a circulation line that sucks a plating solution from a plating tank for copper plating, adds copper oxide, and returns the plating solution to the plating tank. The plating tank is arranged on the circulation line. A pump means that sucks the plating solution from the plating solution and circulates the plating solution on the circulation line, an ejector that is arranged on the circulation line and mixes the copper oxide powder with the plating solution, and is arranged on the downstream side of the ejector. At least an in-line mixer for accelerating the dissolution of the copper oxide powder in the plating solution is provided.

According to the present invention, the copper oxide powder is mixed with the plating solution by an ejector arranged on a circulation line in which the plating solution sucked by the pump means circulates, and further, the copper oxide powder is added to the plating solution by the in-line mixer. Since it is made to melt, it is not necessary to provide a melting tank, so that space saving can be achieved and the melting efficiency of copper oxide can be improved.

Further, the ejector has a suction space for spraying the plating solution to reduce the pressure, and a suction port for sucking the copper oxide powder into the suction space, and the copper oxide powder sucked into the suction port. It is desirable that the copper oxide powder be sucked together with air and mixed with the plating solution by bubbling in the suction space.

As a result, by spraying the plating solution into the suction space of the ejector, air is sucked from the suction port together with the copper oxide powder and mixed with the plating solution, and the copper oxide powder is efficiently plated by bubbling the sucked air. It can be mixed and dissolved in a liquid.

Further, it is desirable that the pump means is composed of a push pump arranged on the upstream side of the ejector and the in-line mixer and a pull pump arranged on the downstream side of the ejector and the in-line mixer.

As described above, the pump means for circulating the plating solution in the circulation line is composed of a push pump for pushing the plating solution to the ejector and the in-line mixer and a pulling pump for passing the plating solution through the ejector and the in-line mixer. Since the pulling pump can generate a pulling pressure on the ejector, the intake function of the ejector can be improved.

Further, by providing the in-line mixer, 100% liquid stirring can be performed, so that it is possible to promote the dissolution of the copper oxide powder and eliminate the undissolved residue.

With the above configuration, according to the plating solution replenishing device of the present invention, a dissolution tank is provided so that the copper oxide powder and air can be mixed into the plating solution via the ejector and the mixing and dissolution can be promoted by the in-line mixer. Without it, the copper oxide powder can be reliably and quickly dissolved in the plating solution.

It is a schematic block diagram of the plating solution replenishing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which showed an example of the ejector of the plating solution replenishing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which showed an example of the in-line mixer of the plating solution replenishing apparatus which concerns on Example of this invention.

Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, for example, the plating solution replenishing device 1 according to the present invention is connected to a plating tank A in which the plating solution B is housed, and the plating solution B housed therein is a copper powder made of copper oxide powder or the like. Is provided, and a control device (not shown) further detects the concentration of the plating solution B contained in the plating tank A, and sets the concentration of the plating solution B to a predetermined value. The circulation line 2 is operated so as to maintain the value.

The plating solution replenishing device 1 includes a pump means including a push pump 3 arranged on the upstream side of the circulation line 2 and a pulling pump 4 arranged on the downstream side, and the plating tank A is plated by the pump means. The liquid B is sucked, and the plating liquid E in which copper powder is added to the sucked plating liquid C and dissolved is returned to the plating tank A.

Further, on the downstream side of the push pump 3 on the circulation line 2, an ejector 5 for mixing copper powder into the plating solution C extruded by the push pump 3 and pulled by the pull pump 4 is arranged. The ejector 5 is provided with a copper powder quantitative feeder 6. For example, in the copper powder quantitative feeder 6, the amount of copper powder determined based on the detected copper ion concentration of the plating solution B by a control device (not shown) is supplied to the ejector 5.

The ejector 5 is shown in FIG. 2, for example, and includes a housing 50 that defines a suction space 51 inside, a nozzle portion 52 that sprays the plating solution C sucked into the suction space 51, copper powder P, and air G. It is composed of a suction port 53 to which the mixture F of the above is sucked. The internal space 54 of the nozzle portion 52 is pressed by the push pump 3 to become a high pressure, and the suction space 51 is depressurized by the pull pump 4, so that the plating solution C is sprayed into the suction space 51 to suck the suction space 51. Since the space 51 has a negative pressure, the suction port 53 sucks the mixture F of the copper powder P and the air G and mixes it with the plating solution C.

In FIG. 2, for example, the supplied copper powder P whose predetermined amount has been determined by the copper powder quantitative feeder 6 is supplied to the supply line 61 via the supply nozzle 60 by the suction force of the suction space 51. When it is drawn into the line 61, it is mixed with the air G to form a mixture F of the copper powder P and the space G. As a result, in the suction space 51, bubbles due to air G are generated in the plating solution C and the plating solution C is agitated, so that the copper powder P is efficiently and uniformly mixed with the plating solution C, thereby mixing. The plating solution D can be obtained.

In FIG. 1, 7 is a flow meter and 8 is a pressure adjusting regulator. The flow meter 7 is for detecting the flow rate flowing through the circulation line 2 as one of the parameters for controlling the suction / discharge amount by the push pump 3 and the push pump 4, and the pressure adjusting regulator is the circulation line. It is provided to properly maintain the pressure applied to the plating solution flowing through 2.

A plurality of in-line mixers 9 (three in this embodiment) are provided in series on the downstream side of the pressure adjusting regulator 8. As shown in FIG. 3, for example, the in-line mixer 9 includes a housing 90 that defines a passage 91, extends into the passage 91 in a tapered shape, and has a plurality of fine particles through which the mixed plating solution D passes. Effective of the mixed copper powder because the mixing element 93 having the pores 92 is provided, and the mixed plating solution D is compressed and diffused when the mixed plating solution D passes through the pores 92 of the mixing element 93, and further causes turbulence. In this embodiment, the same mixing and dissolving action is performed three times by three in-line mixers 9 connected in series to obtain a plating solution E in which copper powder is dissolved. ..

The plating solution E thus obtained contains a sufficient amount of copper ions, is sucked out by the pulling pump 4, and is supplied to the plating tank A.

As described above, according to the plating solution replenishing device 1 according to the present invention, the circulation line 2 is operated by connecting the pipes at both ends of the circulation line 2 to the plating tank A and operating the push pump 3 and the pull pump 4. Copper powder P can be efficiently added to the plating solution B contained in the plating tank A via the ejector 5, and the bubbling action of the air G sucked together with the copper powder P into the ejector 5 and the in-line mixer. 9 allows the copper powder to be effectively dissolved in the plating solution. Further, since the plating solution E in which the copper powder P thus obtained is dissolved is returned to the plating tank A again, it is not necessary to provide a conventional melting tank, so that space saving can be achieved.

1 Plating liquid replenisher 2 Circulation line 3 Push pump 4 Pull pump 5 Ejector 6 Copper powder metering dispenser 7 Flow meter 8 Pressure adjustment regulator 9 In-line mixer A Plating tank B, C, D, E Plating liquid G Air P Copper powder

Claims (3)

In a plating solution replenishing device equipped with a circulation line that sucks the plating solution from the plating tank for copper plating, adds copper oxide, and returns it to the plating tank.
A pump means that is arranged on the circulation line, sucks the plating solution from the plating tank, and circulates the plating solution on the circulation line.
An ejector arranged on the circulation line and directly mixing the copper oxide powder with the plating solution,
A plating solution replenishing device which is arranged on the downstream side of the ejector and includes at least an in-line mixer for promoting dissolution of copper oxide powder in the plating solution. The ejector has a suction space for spraying the plating solution to reduce the pressure, and a suction port for sucking the copper oxide powder into the suction space, and the copper oxide powder sucked into the suction port together with air. The plating solution replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein the copper oxide powder is sucked and mixed with the plating solution by bubbling in the suction space. Claim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the pump means is composed of a push pump arranged on the upstream side of the ejector and the in-line mixer and a pull pump arranged on the downstream side of the ejector and the in-line mixer. The plating solution replenishment device described.

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