KR20170094504A - Apparatus and method for supplying plating solution to plating tank, plating system, powder container, and plating method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an improved device to add copper oxide powder to a plating liquid, supplying plating liquid to a plating vessel. The device (20) to supply plating liquid to dissolve powder containing at least copper to a plating vessel (2) comprises: a hopper (27) having a charging port (26) connectable to a powder conduit (46) of a powder container (21) containing powder; a feeder (30) communicating with a lower opening of the hopper (27); a motor (31) connected to the feeder (30); and a plating liquid tank (35) connected to the outlet (30b) of the feeder (30), and dissolving powder in the plating liquid.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for supplying a plating solution to a plating tank, a plating system, a powder container, and a plating method.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for supplying a plating liquid to a plating tank. The present invention also relates to a plating system having such an apparatus. The present invention also relates to a powder container for containing a metal powder used for plating. The present invention also relates to a method of plating a substrate using a plating solution to which a metal powder used for plating is added.

Along with progress in miniaturization, high speed and low power consumption of electronic devices, miniaturization of wiring patterns in semiconductor devices is progressing. With the miniaturization of wiring patterns, the materials used for wiring are made of copper and aluminum And copper alloys. The resistivity of copper is 1.67 mu OMEGA cm, which is about 37% lower than aluminum (2.65 mu OMEGA cm). Therefore, the copper wiring can suppress the power consumption as compared with the aluminum wiring, and can be made finer even with the same wiring resistance. Further, the copper wiring can suppress the signal delay by reducing the resistance.

The embedding of copper into the trench is generally performed by electrolytic plating which can be formed at a higher rate than PVD or CVD. In this electrolytic plating, a voltage is applied between the substrate and the anode in the presence of a plating liquid to deposit a copper film on a seed layer (power supply layer) having a low resistance formed in advance on the substrate. The seed layer is generally composed of a copper thin film (copper seed layer) formed by PVD or the like, but a thinner seed layer is required along with miniaturization of the wiring. Therefore, it is expected that the thickness of the seed layer, which was generally about 50 nm, will be 10 to 20 nm or less in the future.

The applicant has proposed a plating apparatus in which a plurality of divided anodes are used as an anode, and a plating power source is connected to each of the divided anodes (see Patent Document 1). According to this plating apparatus, the current density of the divided anode located at the center side is made higher than the outer circumferential side by a predetermined period for forming the initial plating film on the substrate, plating current is prevented from concentrating on the outer peripheral portion of the substrate, By allowing the current to flow, it becomes possible to form a plated film of uniform thickness even when the sheet resistance is high. Further, the applicant proposed a plating technique (see Patent Documents 2 and 3) using an insoluble anode as an anode. The anode holder for inserting and retaining the anode is provided with a plating solution discharge portion for sucking and discharging the plating solution in the anode chamber and a plating solution injection portion connected to the plating solution supply pipe extending from the plating solution supply device.

In addition, recently, in order to meet the demand for miniaturization of a circuit system using a semiconductor, it has been revealed that a semiconductor circuit is mounted in a package close to the chip size. As one of methods for realizing the packaging with such a package, a packaging method called a wafer level package (WLP or WL-CSP) has been proposed. In general, the wafer-level package includes a fan-in technology (also referred to as a WLCSP (Wafer Level Chip Scale Package)) and a fan-out technology. The fan WLP is a technique for providing an external electrode (external terminal) in a region equivalent to the chip size. On the other hand, in the fan-out WLP (FPWLP, Fan Out Wafer-Level-Packaging), for example, on a substrate formed of an insulating resin in which a plurality of chips are embedded, This is a technique of providing an external terminal in a large area. Electrolytic plating techniques are sometimes used to form rewiring lines and insulating layers on the wafer, and electroplating techniques are also applied to the fan-out WLPs. In order to apply the electrolytic plating technology to the fan-out WLP technology which requires a high degree of miniaturization, a higher technique is required in terms of the management of the plating liquid.

The applicant has proposed a method of performing plating on a substrate such as a wafer while preventing generation of an electrolyte component inhibiting bottom-up plating in order to perform so-called bottom-up plating (see Patent Document 4). This method is a technique in which an anode and a substrate are insoluble in a copper sulfate plating solution containing an additive, and a predetermined plating voltage is applied between the substrate and the anode insoluble by a plating power source to plate the substrate.

On the other hand, in the plating apparatus using the insoluble anode as described above, the target metal ion can be replenished by introducing a powdery metal salt into the circulation tank, or by replenishing the metal pieces dissolved in another tank . In view of the fact that when the powdery metal salt is replenished into the plating solution, the amount of the fine particles in the plating solution increases and the increased fine particles cause a defect in the surface of the substrate after the plating treatment. Therefore, In the plating apparatus, a technique of keeping the concentration of each component of the plating liquid constant over a long time has been proposed (Patent Document 5). According to this technique, the amount of the plating solution can be minimized by circulating and reusing the plating solution while recovering the plating solution. Further, by using the insoluble anode, the replacement of the anode is not required, and the maintenance and management of the anode can be facilitated. Furthermore, it is possible to maintain the concentration of the plating liquid component varying with the reuse of the plating liquid by circulating the plating liquid in a certain range by supplying the plating liquid with the concentration of the component contained in the plating liquid at a higher concentration than the plating liquid.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-129383 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-213610 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-150631 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-074975 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-051362

If the substrate is plated with copper using an insoluble anode, copper ions in the plating liquid decrease. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the concentration of copper ions in the plating liquid in the plating liquid supply apparatus. An example of one method of supplying copper to the plating solution is to add the copper oxide powder to the plating solution. However, if the powder is scattered in the semiconductor manufacturing factory, it causes contamination in the clean room. In addition, it is required that the plating liquid supply device add a necessary amount of copper oxide to the plating liquid without lowering the throughput. Furthermore, there is a growing demand for a plating technique for forming a copper film having a higher quality on a substrate by using a plating solution to which such copper oxide is added.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus and method for adding powders containing at least a metal such as copper to a plating liquid and supplying the plating liquid to the plating vessel. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a plating system having such a device. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a powder container for use in the above-described apparatus for containing a powder containing at least a metal such as copper. Another object of the present invention is to provide a plating method capable of forming a metal film having a higher quality on a substrate by using a plating solution to which a powder containing at least a metal such as copper is added.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for supplying a plating solution, in which a powder containing at least a metal used for plating, is dissolved, comprising: a hopper having a charging port connectable to a powder conduit of a powder container containing the powder; A feeder communicating with a lower opening of the hopper; a motor connected to the feeder; and a plating liquid tank connected to an outlet of the feeder, the plating liquid tank dissolving the powder in the plating liquid.

In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a gravimetric measuring unit for measuring the weight of the hopper and the feeder, and an operation control unit for controlling the operation of the motor based on a change in the measurement value of the weight.

In one embodiment, the operation control section calculates an addition amount of the powder to the plating liquid from a change in the measured value of the weight, and operates the motor until the addition amount reaches a target value.

In one embodiment, the inlet of the hopper has a connecting seal whose diameter gradually decreases as the distance from the leading end increases.

In one embodiment, the connection seal is made of an elastic material.

In one embodiment, the apparatus further comprises a hermetically sealed chamber in which the inlet of the hopper is disposed, wherein the hermetically closed chamber includes: a door allowing the powder container to be loaded therein; and a glove constituting a part of the wall of the hermetically closed chamber Respectively.

In one embodiment, the hermetically closed chamber has an exhaust port for communicating the internal space with a negative pressure source.

In one embodiment, a vibration device for vibrating the powder container is disposed in the closed chamber.

In one embodiment, a vacuum clamp for holding the powder container is disposed in the hermetically closed chamber.

In one embodiment, the plating liquid tank has an agitator for stirring the plating liquid.

In one embodiment, the plating liquid tank has a stirring tank in which the stirrer is disposed and an overflow tank connected to a communication hole formed in a lower portion of the stirring tank.

In one embodiment, the plating liquid tank further includes a bypass flow path adjacent to the overflow tank.

In one embodiment, the plating liquid tank further includes a plurality of baffle plates disposed in the overflow tank, and the plurality of baffle plates are arranged in an alternating manner.

In one embodiment, the apparatus further includes a surrounding cover surrounding the connection portion of the feeder and the plating liquid tank, and an inert gas supply line communicating with the inside of the surrounding cover.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plating system comprising: a plurality of plating tanks for plating a substrate; and a plating liquid supply pipe extending from the apparatus to the plurality of plating tanks.

In one embodiment, the plating apparatus further includes a plating liquid return pipe extending from the plurality of plating baths to the apparatus.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of supplying a powder containing at least a metal used for plating to a plating liquid, the powder conduit of a powder container containing the powder is connected to a charging port of a hopper, Operating the feeder while measuring the weight of the hopper in which the powder is stored and the feeder communicating with the lower opening of the hopper, supplying the powder with a hopper, and based on the change in the measured value of the weight, And a powder is added to the plating liquid by the feeder.

In one embodiment, the method further includes a step of stirring the plating liquid to which the powder is added.

In one embodiment, the method further includes the step of calculating the amount of the powder added to the plating liquid from the change in the measured value of the weight, and operating the feeder until the added amount reaches the target value.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a powder container for containing powder containing at least a metal used for plating, comprising: a container body capable of containing the powder therein; a powder conduit connected to the container body; There is provided a powder container characterized by comprising a valve provided in a powder duct.

In one embodiment, the tip of the powder conduit has a truncated cone shape.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a process for producing a plating solution, comprising the steps of transferring a plating solution from a plating bath to a plating solution tank, and supplying a powder containing at least a metal used for plating to the plating solution tank A step of supplying a plating solution containing at least the metal used for the plating to the plating solution contained in the plating solution tank; and a step of dissolving the powder in the plating solution contained in the plating solution tank A step of supplying the plating solution in which the powder is dissolved from the plating solution tank to the plating bath; a step of bringing the substrate into contact with a plating solution contained in the plating bath; And a step of generating an electrochemical reaction in the plating solution contained in the bath A method of plating a substrate is provided.

In one embodiment, the plating vessel is composed of a plurality of plating vessels, and the plating liquid contained in the plating liquid tank is supplied to the plurality of plating vessels while supplying the plating liquid to the plurality of plating vessels while controlling the flow rate of the plating liquid.

In one embodiment, the plating vessel is made of a plurality of plating vessels, and the metal ions in the plating liquid in the plurality of plating vessels are monitored at all times, and when the concentration of the metal ions is lower than a predetermined value, Is supplied from the plating tank to the plating liquid tank and the plating liquid is supplied to the plating bath from the plating liquid tank.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a non-temporary computer readable storage medium storing a computer program for executing a method of electrolytically plating a substrate, the method comprising the steps of: electroplating the substrate with a plating solution from a plating bath to a plating liquid tank A step of feeding a powder containing at least a metal used for plating to a plating solution contained in the plating solution tank; a step of dissolving the powder in a plating solution contained in the plating solution tank; A step of supplying a plating liquid from the plating liquid tank to the plating tank; a step of bringing a substrate into contact with a plating liquid contained in the plating tank; and a step of performing electrochemical reactions in the plating liquid contained in the plating tank, And a step of generating a memory Body is provided.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program for executing a method of electrolytically plating a substrate, the method comprising the steps of: A step of monitoring whether or not the concentration of ions is lower than a set value; and a step of calculating an amount of at least a powder containing a metal to be added to the plating liquid when the concentration of the metal ion is lower than a predetermined value, A step of supplying the powder to the plating liquid contained in the plating liquid tank until the calculated amount is reached; a step of dissolving the powder in the plating liquid contained in the plating liquid tank; , Supplying the plating solution in which the powder is dissolved from the plating liquid tank to the plating bath, A step of bringing the plate into contact with a plating solution contained in the plating bath and a step of generating an electrochemical reaction in the plating solution contained in the plating bath so that the metal is precipitated on the surface of the substrate in the plating solution do.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an apparatus and a method capable of adding and dissolving powder to a plating liquid while preventing scattering of the powder. Further, according to the present invention, a metal film (for example, a copper film) having a higher quality can be formed on a substrate by using a plating solution to which a powder containing at least a metal such as copper is added.

The powder container, the plating system, and the plating method may be used for the case where the metal to be plated on the substrate is not copper but other metals such as indium, nickel, cobalt and ruthenium. Examples of the powder in this case include sulfates such as indium sulfate, nickel sulfate and cobalt sulfate, sulfamates such as nickel sulfamate and cobalt sulfamate, halides such as nickel bromide, nickel chloride and cobalt chloride, The same powder can be mentioned.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the entire plating system according to the first embodiment.
Fig. 2 is a side view showing a powder container capable of holding a copper oxide powder therein. Fig.
Fig. 3 is a view showing a powder container in which the cap is peeled off and the valve is opened. Fig.
4 is a perspective view of the hermetically closed chamber.
5 is a view showing the inside of the hermetically closed chamber.
Fig. 6 is a view showing the tip of the powder conduit of the powder container and the inlet of the hopper. Fig.
7 is a diagram showing a state in which the tip of the powder conduit of the powder container is in close contact with the inlet of the hopper.
8 is a flow chart showing a process of supplying the copper oxide powder from the powder container to the hopper.
9 is a side view showing the hopper and the feeder.
10 is a perspective view of the plating liquid tank.
11 is a plan view of the plating liquid tank.
12 is a longitudinal sectional view of the plating liquid tank seen in the direction indicated by the arrow A in Fig.
13 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the plating liquid tank.
14 is a schematic diagram showing still another embodiment of the plating liquid tank.
Fig. 15 is a diagram showing the results of an experiment for examining the influence of the number of baffle plates on the dissolution of copper oxide powder.
16 is a schematic diagram showing the entire plating system according to the second embodiment.
17 is a flowchart showing a control sequence for adding a copper oxide powder to a plating liquid in the plating system according to the first embodiment.
18 is a flowchart showing a control sequence for adding a copper oxide powder to a plating liquid in the plating system according to the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the entire plating system according to the first embodiment. Fig. The plating system includes a plating apparatus 1 installed in a clean room and a plating solution supply apparatus 20 installed in a lower chamber. In the present embodiment, the plating apparatus 1 is an electrolytic plating unit for electrolytically plating copper on a substrate such as a wafer, and the plating liquid supply apparatus 20 is a plating apparatus for plating Is a plating liquid supply unit for supplying the powder containing the powder. In the present embodiment, an example using copper oxide powder as a powder containing at least copper is described, but a pellet-shaped product containing at least copper can be used. The average particle diameter of the copper oxide powder in this embodiment is in the range of 10 micrometers to 200 micrometers, and more preferably in the range of 15 micrometers to 50 micrometers. If the average particle diameter is excessively small, dust may be formed and scattered easily. On the other hand, if the average particle diameter is excessively large, the solubility in the solution may deteriorate when the plating solution is used.

In the present specification, the term " powder " or " powder " includes solid particles, molded granules, solid form molded into pellets, copper solid balls with small particle sizes, Or a mixture of any one of them.

The plating apparatus (1) has four plating vessels (2). Each plating tank 2 is provided with an inner tank 5 and an outer tank 6. An insoluble anode 8 held in the anode holder 9 is disposed in the inner tank 5. In the plating tank 2, a neutral film (not shown) is disposed around the anode 8 in an insoluble state. The inner tank 5 is filled with a plating liquid, and the plating liquid flows over the inner tank 5 and flows into the outer tank 6. The inner tank 5 is made of a resin such as PVC, PP, or PTFE, or an agitator composed of a rectangular plate member having a constant thickness of 3 to 5 mm and coated with SUS or titanium with a fluororesin or the like A paddle (not shown) is provided. These stirring paddles are reciprocating in parallel with the substrate W to stir the plating liquid, whereby sufficient copper ions and additives can be uniformly supplied to the surface of the substrate W. [

The substrate W such as a wafer is held in the substrate holder 11 and immersed in the plating solution in the inner tank 5 of the plating tank 2 together with the substrate holder 11. [ As the substrate W to be plated, a semiconductor substrate, a printed wiring board, or the like can be used. Here, when a semiconductor substrate is used as the substrate W, for example, the semiconductor substrate is flat or substantially flat (in the present specification, the substrate is substantially flat for a substrate having a groove, a tube, a resist pattern, Considered). In the case of performing plating on such a flat object to be plated, it is necessary to control the plating condition with time while taking into consideration the in-plane uniformity of the plated film to be formed and preventing the film quality to be formed from being lowered.

The anode 8 is electrically connected to the positive electrode of the plating power source 15 through the anode holder 9 and the substrate W held by the substrate holder 11 is electrically connected to the plating electrode And is electrically connected to the negative electrode of the power source 15. When a voltage is applied between the insoluble anode 8 immersed in the plating liquid and the substrate W by the plating power supply 15, an electrochemical reaction occurs in the plating liquid contained in the plating tank 2, Copper precipitates on the surface of the copper foil. Thus, the surface of the substrate W is plated with copper. The plating apparatus 1 may have less than four plating vessels 2 or more than four plating vessels 2.

The plating apparatus 1 is provided with a plating control section 17 for controlling the plating process of the substrate W. The plating control section 17 has a function of calculating the concentration of copper ions contained in the plating liquid in the plating bath 2 from the cumulative value of the current flowing through the substrate W. As the substrate W is plated, copper in the plating liquid is consumed. The amount of copper consumed is proportional to the cumulative value of the current flowing through the substrate W. Therefore, the plating control unit 17 can calculate the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid in each plating tank 2 from the cumulative value of the current.

The plating liquid supply device 20 includes a hermetically closed chamber 24 into which a powder container 21 accommodating copper oxide powder is introduced, a hopper 27 which stores copper oxide powder supplied from the powder container 21, A motor 31 connected to the feeder 30 and a plating liquid tank 35 connected to the outlet of the feeder 30 for dissolving the copper oxide powder in the plating liquid, And an operation control section 32 for controlling the operation of the motor 31. [ The feeder 30 is driven by the motor 31. Examples of the plating liquid include a plating accelerator made of SPS (bis (3-sulfopropyl) disulfide), an inhibitor made of PEG (polyethylene glycol) or the like, and a leveler made of PEI (polyethyleneimine), in addition to sulfuric acid, copper sulfate and halogen ions. An acidic copper sulfate plating solution containing an organic additive of a plating agent (smoothing agent) is used. As the halogen ion, a chloride ion is preferably used.

The plating apparatus 1 and the plating liquid supply apparatus 20 are connected by a plating liquid supply pipe 36 and a plating liquid return pipe 37. More specifically, the plating liquid supply pipe 36 extends from the plating liquid tank 35 to the bottom of the inner tank 5 of the plating tank 2. The plating liquid supply pipe 36 is branched into four branches 36a and four branch pipes 36a are connected to the bottom of the inner tank 5 of the four plating baths 2 respectively. The four branch pipes 36a are provided with a flow meter 38 and a flow control valve 39 respectively and the flow meter 38 and the flow control valve 39 are connected to the plating control section 17. [ The plating control unit 17 is configured to control the opening degree of the flow control valve 39 based on the flow rate of the plating liquid measured by the flow meter 38. [ The flow rates of the plating liquid supplied to the respective plating tanks 2 through the four branches 36a are controlled by the respective flow control valves 39 provided on the upstream side of the respective plating tanks 2, The flow rate of the refrigerant is substantially equalized. The plating liquid return pipe 37 extends from the bottom of the outer tank 6 of the plating tank 2 to the plating liquid tank 35. The plating solution return pipe 37 has four discharge pipes 37a connected to the bottom of the outer tank 6 of the four plating baths 2 respectively.

The plating liquid supply pipe 36 is provided with a pump 40 for transferring the plating liquid and a filter 41 disposed on the downstream side of the pump 40. The plating liquid used in the plating apparatus 1 is sent to the plating liquid supply apparatus 20 through the plating liquid return pipe 37 and the plating liquid to which the copper oxide powder is added in the plating liquid supply apparatus 20 is supplied to the plating liquid supply pipe 36, And is sent to the plating apparatus 1. [ The pump 40 may circulate the plating liquid between the plating apparatus 1 and the plating liquid supply apparatus 20 at all times or may circulate a predetermined amount of plating liquid intermittently from the plating apparatus 1 to the plating liquid supply apparatus 20 And the plating liquid to which the copper oxide powder has been added may be intermittently returned from the plating liquid supply device 20 to the plating device 1. [

Further, a pure water supply line 42 is connected to the plating liquid tank 35 to replenish the DIW with the plating liquid. The pure water supply line 42 is provided with an open / close valve 43 (normally open) for stopping the supply of pure water when the plating apparatus 1 is stopped, a flow meter 44 for measuring the flow rate of pure water, And a flow control valve 47 for controlling the flow rate of pure water. The flow meter 44 and the flow rate regulating valve 47 are connected to the plating controller 17. When the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid exceeds the set value, the plating control unit 17 controls the opening degree of the flow control valve 47 to supply pure water to the plating liquid tank 35 in order to dilute the plating liquid Consists of.

The plating control section 17 is connected to the operation control section 32 of the plating liquid supply device 20. [ When the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid becomes lower than the set value, the plating control section 17 is configured to send a signal indicating the supply demand value to the operation control section 32 of the plating liquid supply device 20. [ In response to this signal, the plating liquid supply device 20 adds the copper oxide powder to the plating liquid until the addition amount of the copper oxide powder reaches the supply required value. In the present embodiment, the plating control unit 17 and the operation control unit 32 are configured as separate devices, but in one embodiment, the plating control unit 17 and the operation control unit 32 may be configured as one control unit. In this case, the control unit may be a computer that operates according to the program. This program may be stored in a storage medium.

The plating apparatus 1 may be provided with a concentration measuring device 18a for measuring the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid. The concentration measuring device 18a is provided in the four discharge pipes 37a of the plating liquid return pipe 37, respectively. The measured value of the copper ion concentration obtained by the concentration meter 18a is sent to the plating control section 17. [ The plating control unit 17 may compare the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid calculated from the cumulative value of the current with the set value or may compare the copper ion concentration measured by the concentration measuring unit 18a with the set value. The plating control unit 17 compares the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid calculated from the cumulative value of the current (that is, the calculated value of the copper ion concentration) with the copper ion concentration measured by the concentration measuring unit 18a ), The calculated value of the copper ion concentration may be calibrated. For example, the plating control unit 17 determines the correction coefficient by dividing the measured value of the copper ion concentration by the estimated value of the copper ion concentration, multiplies the calculated correction coefficient by the calculated value of the copper ion concentration, May be calibrated. The correction coefficient is preferably updated periodically.

The concentration of the copper ions in the plating solution is monitored by providing a branch pipe 36b in the plating solution supply pipe 36 and a concentration meter 18b provided in the branch pipe 36b, (For example, a CVS device or a colorimeter) may be installed to quantitatively analyze and monitor the dissolved concentration of various chemical components as well as copper ions. This configuration makes it possible to analyze the chemical components in the plating liquid in the plating liquid supply pipe 36 before the plating liquid is supplied to each plating tank 2, for example, the concentration of the impurities, The plating process can be prevented more reliably and the plating process with higher precision can be performed more reliably. Only one of the concentration measuring devices 18a and 18b may be provided.

With the above arrangement, in the plating system according to the first embodiment, the copper is supplied to the plating liquid while the copper ion concentration contained in the plating liquid is substantially equal between the plating vessels 2.

2 is a side view showing a powder container 21 capable of holding a copper oxide powder therein. 2, the powder container 21 includes a container body 45 capable of containing copper oxide powder therein, a powder conduit 46 connected to the container body 45, And a valve (48) provided in the cylinder (46). The container body 45 is made of a synthetic resin such as polyethylene. A handle 49 is formed on the container body 45 so that the worker can grip the handle 49 and carry the powder container 21. [ The capacity of the powder container 21 is not particularly limited, but is such a capacity that the operator can carry the powder container 21 filled with the copper oxide powder. In one example, the capacity of the powder container 21 is 4L. The copper oxide to be charged in the powder container 21 may be pellets (granular material) molded from copper oxide powder as well as uncompacted copper oxide powder. In the case of using the copper oxide powder molded into pellets, scattering of dust can be more effectively suppressed.

The powder conduit 46 is bonded to the container body 45 by a bonding means such as, for example, welding. The powder conduit 46 is comprised of a conduit allowing passage of the copper oxide powder. The powder conduit 46 is inclined at an angle of about 30 degrees with respect to the vertical direction. Opening the valve 48 in the powder conduit 46 allows the copper oxide powder to pass through the powder conduit 46 and closes the valve 48 so that the copper oxide powder passes through the powder conduit 46 I can not. Fig. 2 shows a state in which the valve 48 is closed. At the tip 46a of the powder conduit 46, a cap (i.e., lid) 50 is provided.

3 is a view showing the powder container 21 in a state in which the cap 50 is peeled off and the valve 48 is opened. The copper oxide powder is introduced into the powder container 21 in the state shown in Fig. 3 through the powder conduit 46. When the charging of the copper oxide powder is finished, the valve 48 is closed and the cap 50 is installed at the tip of the powder conduit 46 (see Fig. 2). The powder container 21 filled with the copper oxide powder is brought into the hermetically closed chamber 24 shown in Fig. 1 in a state in which the valve 48 is closed.

4 is a perspective view of the hermetically closed chamber 24. Fig. In the present embodiment, the hermetically closed chamber 24 is a rectangular box capable of forming a closed space therein. The hermetically closed chamber 24 has a door 55 for allowing the powder container 21 to be loaded into the inner space and two gloves 56 constituting a part of the wall of the hermetically closed chamber 24 . The door 55 is formed of a member such as rubber having a sealing function so that the hermetically closed chamber 24 is hermetically sealed and the door frame 55 is installed. The glove 56 is constituted by a film made of a flexible material (for example, a synthetic rubber such as vinyl chloride) deformable along the shape of the hand of the worker. In the hermetically closed chamber 24, The body of the glove 56 protrudes in the hermetically closed chamber 24 so that the glove 56 can be opened. These two gloves 56 are disposed on both sides of the door 55. The hermetically closed chamber (24) has an exhaust port (58) for communicating the internal space with a negative pressure source. The negative pressure source is, for example, a vacuum pump. Inside the hermetically closed chamber 24, a negative pressure is formed through the exhaust port 58.

5 is a view showing the inside of the hermetically closed chamber 24. Fig. A vacuum clamp 61 for holding the powder container 21 by vacuum suction, a vibration device (vibrator) 65 for vibrating the powder container 21, a powder container 21 A pedestal 66 for supporting the pedestal 66 is disposed. The powder container 21 is installed in the vacuum clamp 61 and the pedestal 66 with the powder conduit 46 facing downward. The vacuum clamp 61 is fixed to the frame 68 and the vibration device 65 is fixed to the vacuum clamp 61. The vacuum clamp 61 has a vibration-proof rubber 61a in contact with the powder container 21. A communication hole (not shown) in which a vacuum is formed is formed in the vibration proof rubber 61a. The operation of the vibration device 65 and the vacuum clamp 61 is controlled by the operation control section 32 shown in Fig.

The vacuum clamp 61 is connected to an ejector 70 which is a vacuum generator. The ejector 70 and the vibration device 65 are connected to the compressed air supply pipe 72. The compressed air supply pipe 72 is branched into two, one of which is connected to the ejector 70 and the other of which is connected to the vibration device 65. When the compressed air is sent to the ejector 70, the ejector 70 forms a vacuum in the vacuum clamp 61, and the powder container 21 is retained in the vibration proof rubber 61a of the vacuum clamp 61 by vacuum suction . The vibration device 65 has a structure that is operated by compressed air. The vibrating device 65 transmits vibration to the powder container 21 via the vacuum clamp 61 and vibrates the powder container 21 held by the vacuum clamp 61. The vibration frequency of the vibration device 65 is configured to be controlled by a vibration control section (not shown) of the plating liquid supply device 20. [ The vibration control unit may be constituted by the operation control unit 32. [ The vibrating device 65 may be in contact with the side surface of the powder container 21 directly. In one embodiment, the vibration device 65 may be an electric vibration device.

In the hermetically closed chamber 24, a charging port 26 of a hopper 27 connectable to the powder container 21 is disposed. The tip 46a of the powder conduit 46 of the powder container 21 is inserted into the inlet 26 of the hopper 27 The tip end 46a of the powder conduit 46 of the hopper 21 is connected to the inlet port 26 of the hopper 27. [ When the valve 48 is opened with the powder conduit 46 and the inlet port 26 connected to each other (see FIG. 7), the copper oxide powder in the powder container 21 flows through the powder conduit 46 into the inlet port 26 And finally falls into the hopper 27. [

In the vicinity of the powder conduit 46 in the powder container 21, the bridging phenomenon of the copper oxide powder may occur. The bridging phenomenon is a phenomenon in which the density of the powder is increased and the powder container 21 is closed. In order to prevent such a bridging phenomenon, the vibration device 65 vibrates the powder container 21 and fluidizes the copper oxide powder in the powder container 21. The vibration range of the vibration device 65 is preferably 1000 to 10,000 times per minute, more preferably 7000 to 8000 times per minute.

The powder conduit 46 is provided in the powder container 21 at a position where the powder container 21 is tilted as a whole when the powder conduit 46 is connected to the inlet 26 of the hopper 27 . Concretely, when the powder conduit 46 is connected to the inlet 26 of the hopper 27, one side of the powder container 21 is inclined at an angle of 50 to 70 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane, The side surface is inclined at an angle of 20 to 40 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane. As such, when the powder conduit 46 is connected to the inlet 26 of the hopper 27, both sides of the powder container 21 are directed toward the powder conduit 46 at an angle different from the left and right sides of the powder conduit 46 The pressure of the powder concentrated in the vicinity of the powder conduit 46 becomes different from that of the powder conduit 46 on the left side and the right side. Therefore, the occurrence of the bridging phenomenon can be effectively prevented, and consequently, the copper oxide powder is discharged quickly, and the copper oxide powder is hard to remain in the powder container 21. [

6 is a view showing the tip 46a of the powder conduit 46 of the powder container 21 and the inlet 26 of the hopper 27. Fig. The distal end 46a of the powder conduit 46 has a truncated cone shape. The inlet 26 of the hopper 27 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the tip 46a of the powder conduit 46. [ More specifically, the inlet 26 of the hopper 27 has a connecting seal 28 whose diameter gradually decreases as the distance from the front end (upper end) increases. The connection seal 28 is made of an elastic material such as rubber. 7, when the distal end 46a of the powder conduit 46 is inserted into the inlet 26 of the hopper 27, the distal end 46a of the powder conduit 46 is connected to the connection port 26 of the inlet port 26, And the gap between the tip end 46a of the powder conduit 46 and the inlet port 26 of the hopper 27 is sealed by the connection seal 28. Therefore, scattering of the copper oxide powder is prevented.

The operation of supplying the copper oxide powder from the powder container 21 to the hopper 27 will be described with reference to Fig. In step 1, the powder container 21 filled with the copper oxide powder therein is prepared. In step 2, the door 55 of the hermetically closed chamber 24 is opened, and in step 3, the powder container 21 is placed in the hermetically closed chamber 24. In step 4, the door 55 is closed. In step 5, the worker mounts the gloves 56 and peels the cap 50 of the powder container 21 in the hermetically closed chamber 24. In Step 6, the powder conduit 46 of the powder container 21 is connected to the inlet 26 of the hopper 27, the valve 48 of the powder container 21 is opened in Step 7, The powder container 21 is vibrated by the vibrating device 65 while holding the powder container 21 by the vacuum clamp 61. The copper oxide powder in the powder container 21 is fed into the hopper 27 through the inlet 26. When the supply of the copper oxide powder is finished, the vibration of the powder container 21 is stopped in step 9, the valve 48 is closed in step 10, and the vacuum of the powder container 21 by the vacuum clamp 61 Stop suction. The powder container 21 is removed from the vacuum clamp 61 and the pedestal 66 in step 12 and the cap 50 is installed on the powder conduit 46 in step 13. Then, the door 55 is opened in step 14, and the powder container 21 is taken out of the hermetically closed chamber 24 in step 15.

All the steps from step 1 to step 15 described above are performed in a state in which a negative pressure is formed in the hermetically closed chamber 24. The powder container 21 is also in the hermetically closed chamber 24 until the valve 48 is closed and then the valve 48 is closed. Therefore, even if the copper oxide powder overflows from the powder container 21, the copper oxide powder will not leak from the hermetically closed chamber 24. Since the capacity of the hopper 27 is several times the capacity of the powder container 21, the above-described Step 1 to Step 15 are repeated until a sufficient amount of copper oxide powder is stored in the hopper 27.

Next, the hopper 27 and the feeder 30 will be described. Fig. 9 is a side view showing the hopper 27 and the feeder 30. Fig. The hopper 27 is a powder reservoir (or pellet reservoir), in which copper oxide powder supplied from the powder container 21 is stored. The lower half of the hopper 27 has a truncated cone shape, and the copper oxide powder easily flows downward. The upper opening of the hopper 27 is covered with a lid 74. The charging port 26 to which the powder conduit 46 of the powder container 21 described above is connected is fixed to the lid 74. An exhaust pipe 75 is fixed to the lid 74. The exhaust pipe 75 communicates with the inner space of the hopper 27 and communicates with a negative pressure source (not shown). Therefore, a negative pressure is formed in the inner space of the hopper 27 through the exhaust pipe 75.

The feeder 30 is in communication with the lower opening of the hopper 27. In the present embodiment, the feeder 30 is a screw feeder having a screw 30a. The motor 31 is connected to the feeder 30, and the feeder 30 is driven by the motor 31. The hopper 27 and the feeder 30 are fixed to the bracket 73 and the bracket 73 is supported by the weighing machine 80. The weighing machine 80 is configured to measure the total weight of the copper oxide powder present inside the hopper 27, the feeder 30, the motor 31, and the hopper 27 and the feeder 30.

The outlet (30b) of the feeder (30) is connected to the plating liquid tank (35). When the motor 31 drives the feeder 30, the copper oxide powder in the hopper 27 is sent to the plating liquid tank 35 by the feeder 30. A surrounding cover 81 surrounding the connection portion between the feeder 30 and the plating liquid tank 35 is fixed to the plating liquid tank 35. The outlet 30b of the feeder 30 is located in the surrounding cover 81. [ An inert gas supply line 83 is connected to the surrounding cover 81 and the inert gas supply line 83 is communicated with the inside of the surrounding cover 81. The inert gas supply line 83 supplies an inert gas such as nitrogen gas to the inside of the surrounding cover 81 and fills the inside of the surrounding cover 81 with an inert gas.

The reason why the inert gas is supplied to the inside of the surrounding cover 81 is as follows. The plating liquid stored in the plating liquid tank 35 may be kept at a high temperature. In this case, steam is generated from the plating liquid. This vapor rises to reach the connection portion between the feeder 30 and the plating liquid tank 35 and enters the feeder 30 through the outlet 30b of the feeder 30. [ If the steam is adsorbed on the copper oxide powder in the feeder 30, the copper oxide powder may flocculate and block the feeder 30. Therefore, in this case, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas is injected into the surrounding cover 81 to prevent the steam from entering the feeder 30 by pushing down the steam.

The weight measurer 80 is connected to an operation controller 32 for controlling the operation of the motor 31 and the measured value of the weight output from the weight measurer 80 is transmitted to the operation controller 32 . The operation control unit 32 receives a signal indicating the supply demand value sent from the plating apparatus 1 (see FIG. 1) and calculates a supply amount of the plating liquid from the plating liquid tank 35 ), And the motor 31 is operated until the addition amount of the copper oxide powder reaches the supply demand value. The motor 31 drives the feeder 30 and the feeder 30 adds the copper oxide powder to the plating liquid tank 35 in an amount corresponding to the replenishment demand value. The replenishment demand value is a value that can be changed according to the copper ion concentration of the plating solution so that the consumption amount of copper ions in the plating solution contained in the plating tank 2 is reflected and is a value to be added to the plating solution contained in the plating solution tank 35 And the target value of the amount of the copper powder.

When the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid in the plating tank 2 is lower than the set value, the plating control unit 17 is configured to calculate the supply required value from the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid in the plating tank 2. As described above, the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid calculated from the cumulative value of the current, or the copper ion concentration in the copper ion concentration measured by the concentration meter 18a and / or the concentration meter 18b, Ion concentration can be used.

If a large amount of copper oxide powder is added to the plating liquid in a short time, there is a fear that the copper oxide powder will aggregate before being dissolved in the plating liquid, and the copper oxide powder will not be completely dissolved. If the rotation speed of the screw 30a of the feeder 30 is too high, the copper oxide powder may aggregate in the feeder 30, and a lump of copper oxide powder may be formed which is difficult to melt in the plating liquid. Therefore, it is preferable to set the upper limit value of the rotational speed of the screw 30a in order to prevent the formation of agglomerates and lumps of the copper oxide powder. More specifically, the operation control section 32 preferably controls the motor 31 so that the screw 30a rotates at a rotational speed equal to or lower than a preset upper limit value.

When the remaining amount of the copper oxide powder in the hopper 27 is small, the operation control section 32 preferably issues an alarm. More specifically, when the measured value of the weight outputted from the weighing machine 80 is lower than the lower limit value, the operation control unit 32 preferably issues an alarm.

Next, the plating liquid tank 35 will be described. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the plating liquid tank 35, Fig. 11 is a plan view of the plating liquid tank 35, and Fig. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of the plating liquid tank 35 seen in the direction of arrow A in Fig. The plating liquid tank 35 is provided with a stirring tank 91 in which an agitator 85 is disposed and an overflow tank 92 connected to a communication hole 95 formed in a lower portion of the stirring tank 91. The overflow tank 92 is in communication with the stirring tank 91 through the communication hole 95. The plating liquid return pipe 37 connected to the plating tank 2 shown in Fig. 1 is connected to the agitating tank 91. Therefore, the plating liquid used in the plating apparatus 1 of Fig. 1 is returned to the agitating tank 91.

The outlet 30b of the feeder 30 is located above the stirring tank 91 and the copper oxide powder fed from the feeder 30 is fed into the stirring tank 91. [ The stirrer 85 is provided with a stirring wing 86 disposed inside the stirring tank 91 and a motor 87 connected to the stirring wing 86. The motor 87 can dissolve the copper oxide powder in the plating liquid by rotating the stirring vane 86. [ The operation of the agitator 85 is controlled by the operation control unit 32 described above. The overflow tank 92 is adjacent to the stirring tank 91. The plating liquid to which the copper oxide powder is added flows into the overflow tank 92 from the stirring tank 91 through the communication hole 95. A filter may be provided in the communication hole 95 in order to prevent leakage of the undissolved copper oxide powder.

Adjacent to the overflow tank 92, a bypass flow path 93 is formed. The plating liquid flows over the overflow tank 92 and flows into the bypass flow path 93. The bypass flow path 93 of the present embodiment is a meandering flow path formed by a plurality of baffle plates 88. A notch 88a is formed at the end of each baffle plate 88. [ The cutout 88a of the adjacent baffle plate 88 is formed at a different position in the longitudinal direction of the baffle plate 88. [ Therefore, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 11, the plating liquid to which the copper oxide powder is added meanders the bypass flow path 93. In one embodiment, the bypass passage 93 may be formed by alternately arranging a plurality of baffle plates 88 without the cutouts 88a.

The bypass flow path 93 is formed to secure a sufficient time for the copper oxide powder to dissolve in the plating liquid. The time for the plating solution to pass through the bypass passage 93 is preferably 10 seconds or more. By forming the bypass flow path 93, the copper oxide powder can be sufficiently dissolved in the plating liquid.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the plating liquid tank 35. Fig. In the present embodiment, the baffle plate 88 is provided in the overflow tank 92, and these baffle plates 88 are arranged alternately in the vertical direction. The bypass flow path 93 of the plating liquid is formed by these baffle plates 88.

14 is a schematic diagram showing still another embodiment of the plating liquid tank 35. As shown in Fig. In this embodiment, the agitating tank 91 in which the agitator 85 is disposed is provided at the center of the plating liquid tank 35. The overflow tank 92 is provided outside the stirring tank 91 and communicates with the communication hole 95 formed in the lower end of the stirring tank 91. The bypass flow path 93 is adjacent to the overflow tank 92 and the bypass flow path 93 is connected to the plating liquid supply path 36. The bypass passage 93 is disposed outside the stirring tank 91 and the overflow tank 92. The bypass flow path 93 in this embodiment is a spiral flow path extending in a spiral shape. The plating liquid flows into the overflow tank 92 from the stirring tank 91 through the communication hole 95 and overflows overflow tank 92 and flows into the bypass flow path 93. The plating liquid flowing in the bypass flow path 93 flows into the plating liquid supply path 36. Since the plating liquid can be retained without providing the baffle plate 88 and the corner portion is not present in the plating liquid tank 35, the flow of the plating liquid can be prevented It is possible to prevent precipitation of the powder at the corner of the plating liquid tank 35, which is likely to stay frequently, and the plating liquid tank 35 can be made compact.

In any of the embodiments shown in Figs. 11 to 12 and the embodiment shown in Fig. 13, by increasing the number of the baffle plates 88, the time for the plating solution to pass through the bypass passage 93 is increased can do. Although the baffle plate is not provided in the embodiment shown in Fig. 14, by lengthening the bypass passage 93, the time during which the plating liquid passes through the bypass passage 93 can be made longer.

Fig. 15 is a view (SEM diagram) showing the results of an experiment in which the influence of the number of baffle plates on the dissolution of copper oxide powder under room temperature conditions. Specifically, in the case where three baffle plates are provided in each of the bypass channels 93, two pieces of baffle plates are provided, and when one piece of baffle plates is provided, when 0 pieces are provided, the copper oxide powder is dissolved in the bypass channel 93 And the copper oxide powder precipitated on the bottom of the bypass flow path 93 after passing through was collected and photographed by an enlarged photograph. FIG. 15 shows a SEM photograph showing magnifications of 50, 100 and 150, respectively.

In order to increase the copper concentration in the plating liquid in the plating bath 2, it is necessary to adjust the flow rate of the plating liquid flowing in the plating liquid tank 35 To some extent. On the other hand, if the flow rate of the plating liquid is excessively high, there is a possibility that the copper oxide powder is not completely dissolved in the plating liquid.

As can be seen from the experimental results shown in Fig. 15, when the number of the baffle plates was three, the copper oxide powder hardly remained, but when the number of baffle plates was zero, the copper oxide powder remained. That is, as the number of the baffle plates increases, the dissolution of the copper oxide powder progresses. The time required for the plating solution to pass through the bypass passage 93 is about 4 seconds when the number of baffle plates is 0, about 8 seconds when the number of baffle plates is 1, about 12 seconds when two plates are used, and about 16 Seconds.

From the results of the present experiment, the time required for the plating solution to pass through the bypass passage 93 is longer than at least 10 seconds corresponding to 1.5 sheets of baffles. For example, when the number of baffle plates is two It is preferable to make the length longer than about 12 seconds which is equivalent to about 16 seconds corresponding to the case where the number of baffle plates is three.

In the foregoing, examples in which the influence of the number of baffle plates on the dissolution of the copper oxide powder is described, but the means for promoting the dissolution of the copper oxide powder is not limited to the adjustment of the number of baffle plates. As another constitutional example, in order to promote the dissolution of the copper oxide powder in the solution, it is also possible to provide a heater in the inside of the plating liquid tank 35, for example, the stirring tank 91 to accelerate the dissolution of the copper oxide powder have. However, when the plating solution is heated to an excessively high temperature, there is a concern that the coexisting components such as additives in the plating solution are decomposed and deactivated. From this point of view, the upper limit of the temperature of the plating liquid in the stirring tank 91 is preferably set to 50 degrees or less so that the decomposition of the additive does not occur. In the case where a configuration capable of heating the plating liquid is added as described above, one baffle plate may be provided in the bypass passage 93 so that the time required for the plating liquid to pass through the bypass passage 93 is 8 seconds or more , Or the baffle plate may not be provided in the plating liquid tank 35. By providing a heater in the agitating tank 91, the copper oxide powder can be sufficiently dissolved simply by allowing the plating liquid to pass through the plating liquid tank 35.

Next, a plating system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. The plating system according to the second embodiment is different from the plating system according to the first embodiment in that four plating vessels 2 are connected in series. More specifically, the outer tank 6 of each plating tank 2 and the inner tank 5 of the adjacent plating tank 2 are connected by a first connection pipe 110 and a second connection pipe 112 have. Each of the first connection pipe 110 and the second connection pipe 112 is provided with a pump 113 for transferring the plating liquid.

The plating solution supply pipe 36 is connected to one of the four plating baths 2 and the plating solution return pipe 37 is connected to the other one of the four plating baths 2 Respectively. The plating liquid supply pipe 36 is provided with a flow meter 38 and a flow control valve 39. The plating liquid return pipe 37 is provided with a flow meter 115 and a plating liquid discharge valve 116. [ In the outer tank 6 to which the plating liquid return pipe 37 is connected, a concentration measuring device 118 for measuring the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid is connected. The same constituent elements as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof will be omitted.

The plating system according to the second embodiment automatically measures the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid while maintaining the copper ion concentration in any plating liquid substantially equal to the inside of the plating tank 2. [ If the supply of copper to the plating liquid becomes necessary, the plating liquid is supplied from the plating apparatus 1 to the plating liquid supply apparatus 20 and the plating liquid supplied from the plating liquid supply apparatus 20 in the lower- And is configured to supply the plating solution containing copper to the plating apparatus 1.

Next, with reference to a control sequence for adding copper oxide powder to the plating liquid, the plating system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 17 and the plating system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. In the plating system according to the first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 17, in step 1, when the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid is lower than the set value, the plating control unit 17 outputs a signal indicating the supply demand value And sends it to the control unit 32. In step 2, the operation control unit 32 receives the signal, operates the motor 31 until the addition amount of the copper oxide powder to the plating liquid reaches the supply demand value, and the feeder 30 corresponds to the supply demand value Is added to the plating liquid in the plating liquid tank (35).

In step 3, the operation control section 32 starts the stirrer 85 and stirs the plating liquid to which the copper oxide powder is added. The operation control unit 32 stops the stirring operation of the stirrer 85 after a predetermined time has elapsed. In step 4, the plating solution to which the copper oxide powder is added is dissolved in the plating solution while flowing in the overflow tank 92 and the bypass flow path 93. In step 5, the plating liquid in which the copper oxide powder is dissolved is supplied to the plating tank 2 of the plating apparatus 1 through the plating liquid supply pipe 36. In this manner, the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid used in the plating apparatus 1 is maintained at the set value. According to the present embodiment, since the required amount of copper oxide powder is automatically added to the plating liquid, dissolved, and supplied to each of the plating tanks 2 in a predetermined amount, the throughput of the plating apparatus 1 can be increased The copper ion concentration in the plating liquid of each plating bath 2 can be controlled and maintained to be a predetermined value.

Further, in the plating system according to the second embodiment, copper oxide powder is added to the plating liquid as follows. That is, the copper ion concentration in the plating solution contained in the plating tank 2 is continuously measured by the concentration measuring device 118, and the measured value of the copper ion concentration is monitored by the plating control section 17. [ 18, in step 1, when the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid in the plating tank 2 is lower than the set value, the plating control section 17 supplies a signal indicating the supply demand value to the plating liquid supply device And sends a signal to the operation control unit 32 of the control unit 20. In step 2, the plating liquid discharge valve 116 for discharging the plating liquid from the plating tank 2 is opened, and the plating liquid is transferred from the plating tank 2 to the plating liquid tank 35. The plating liquid discharge valve 116 operates so as to be opened only for a predetermined time so that the plating liquid below the maximum capacity of the plating liquid tank 35 is supplied.

In step 3, the operation control unit 32 receives the signal, operates the motor 31 until the addition amount of the copper oxide powder to the plating liquid reaches the supply demand value, and the feeder 30 sets the supply demand value A corresponding amount of copper oxide powder is added to the plating liquid in the plating liquid tank 35. [ Step 2 and step 3 may be performed at the same time, or step 3 may be executed before step 2. In step 4, the operation control section 32 starts the agitator 85 and stirs the plating liquid to which the copper oxide powder is added. The operation control unit 32 stops the stirring operation of the stirrer 85 after a predetermined time has elapsed.

In step 5, the plating solution to which the copper oxide powder is added is dissolved in the plating solution while flowing in the overflow tank 92 and the bypass flow path 93. Then, in Step 6, the plating liquid in which the copper oxide powder is dissolved is supplied to any one of the plating tanks 2 of the plating apparatus 1 through the plating liquid supply pipe 36. The plurality of plating vessels 2 are communicated with each other by the first connection pipe 110 and the second connection pipe 112 and the first connection pipe 110 and the second connection pipe 110 between the plating vessels 2, The plating liquid is widely spread throughout the plurality of plating tanks 2 by driving the pump 113 provided in the plating tank 112. In this manner, the copper ion concentration in the plating liquid used in the plating apparatus 1 is maintained at the set value.

1, in the plating system according to the first embodiment, the plating liquid supply pipe 36 is provided with a plurality of branch pipes 36a connected to a plurality of plating vessels 2, Is supplied to these plating baths (2). In the plating system according to the second embodiment, a plurality of plating tanks 2 are communicated with each other, and the plating liquid supply pipe 36 is connected to one of the plurality of plating tanks 2. Therefore, in any of the embodiments, the concentration of the plating liquid in the plurality of plating tanks 2 is uniformly maintained. According to this embodiment, not only the quality of the copper film formed by plating is improved, but also the fluctuation of the plating result between the plating tanks 2 can be prevented.

The average particle diameter of the copper oxide powder is preferably in the range of 10 micrometers to 200 micrometers (a value measured by a laser diffraction / scattering method). It is more preferable that the average particle diameter is in the range of from 20 micrometers to 100 micrometers. If the average particle size is too small, it is feared that the copper oxide powder will be scattered into the space at the time of powder supply. In addition, if the average particle size is too large, it is also feared that the powder may be difficult to dissolve quickly in the solution.

As another method, it is possible to provide a plating method capable of forming a copper film having a higher quality on a substrate by using a plating solution to which a solid formed by pelletizing metallic copper is added. When the solid material in which the metal copper is formed into pellets is used, the copper powder having a small amount of impurities is mixed with the copper oxide powder, so that the plating film quality can be improved. Since it is in the form of a pellet, scattering of the powder at the time of powder supply can be prevented more effectively.

In general, when the alkali metal is used as the powder, there is a risk of ignition or explosion. However, since the metal copper powder itself has little risk of ignition or explosion, the metal copper powder can be molded into a pellet. It is also possible to supply the plating liquid tank 35 with a solid material obtained by molding the metal copper in the form of pellets, instead of or in addition to the copper oxide powder, as described with reference to Fig. A solid material in which both the metallic copper and the copper oxide powder are molded into pellets may be used.

If the pellet-shaped solid material is too hard as described above, it may cause a problem of the plating liquid supply device 20, and if it is too soft, it may not effectively prevent scattering of the powder. Therefore, the hardness of the pellets is preferably within a suitable range.

In addition, although a description has been given of a solid material in the form of a pellet, a solid copper ball having a small particle size or a belt-like material obtained by forming solid phase copper into a ribbon or a tape may be used for the copper plating treatment. In this case, the shaft of the feeder 30 may have a crushing effect of solid matter.

In the above embodiment, the powder container and the plating liquid supply device for plating copper on the substrate have been described. However, even in the case where the metal to be plated on the substrate is not copper but another metal such as indium, A container, a plating system and a plating method can be used.

The above-described embodiments are described for the purpose of enabling a person having ordinary skill in the art to practice the present invention. Various modifications of the above-described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the technical spirit of the present invention may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but is to be construed as broadest scope according to the technical idea defined by the claims.

1: Plating device
2: Plating tank
5: My tune
6: Outer
8: Insoluble Anode
9: Anode holder
11: substrate holder
15: Plating power source
17:
18a and 18b:
20: Plating solution supply device
21: powder container
24: Closed chamber
26:
27: Hopper
28: Connection seal
30: feeder
31: Motor
32:
35: plating liquid tank
36: Plating solution supply pipe
36a: Branch organization
37: Plating solution return pipe
37a:
38: Flowmeter
39: Flow control valve
40: pump
41: Filter
42: Pure supply line
43: opening / closing valve
44: Flowmeter
45:
46: powder conduit
47: Flow control valve
48: Valve
49: Handle
50: cap
55: Door
56: Gloves
58: Exhaust port
61: Vacuum clamp
65: Vibrating device
66: Stand
68: frame
70: Ejector
72: compressed air supply pipe
73: Bracket
74: Cover
75: Exhaust pipe
80: Weighing machine
81: Surrounding cover
83: Inert gas supply line
85: stirrer
86: stirring blade
87: Motor
88: Baffle plate
88a: Cut
91: stirring tank
92: overflow tank
93: Bypassing Euro
95: communication hole
110: first connector
112: second connector
113: Pump
115: Flowmeter
116: Plating solution discharge valve
118: Concentration meter
W: substrate

Claims (26)

An apparatus for supplying a plating solution in which a powder containing at least a metal used for plating is dissolved,
A hopper having an inlet capable of being connected to the powder conduit of the powder container containing the powder,
A feeder communicating with a lower opening of the hopper,
A motor connected to the feeder,
And a plating liquid tank connected to an outlet of the feeder for dissolving the powder in the plating liquid. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a weight measuring device for measuring a weight of the hopper and the feeder;
And an operation control unit for controlling the operation of the motor based on a change in the measured value of the weight. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the operation control section calculates an addition amount of the powder to the plating liquid from a change in the measurement value of the weight, and operates the motor until the addition amount reaches a target value . The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the inlet of the hopper has a connecting seal whose diameter gradually decreases as the distance from the tip increases. 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the connection seal is comprised of an elastic material. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a hermetically closed chamber in which an inlet of the hopper is disposed,
Wherein the hermetically closed chamber includes a door for allowing the powder container to be loaded therein and a glove constituting a part of the wall of the hermetically closed chamber. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the hermetically closed chamber has an exhaust port for communicating the internal space with a negative pressure source. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a vibration device for vibrating the powder container is disposed in the closed chamber. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a vacuum clamp for holding the powder container is disposed in the hermetically closed chamber. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plating liquid tank includes an agitator for agitating the plating liquid. 11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the plating liquid tank includes a stirring tank in which the stirrer is disposed and an overflow tank connected to a communication hole formed in a lower portion of the stirring tank. 12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the plating liquid tank further comprises a bypass flow path adjacent to the overflow tank. 12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the plating liquid tank further comprises a plurality of baffle plates disposed in the overflow tank, and the plurality of baffle plates are alternately arranged to be shifted. The plating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: a surrounding cover surrounding the connection portion of the feeder and the plating liquid tank;
And an inert gas supply line communicating with the inside of the surrounding cover. A plurality of plating tanks for plating the substrate,
An apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3,
And a plating liquid supply pipe extending from the apparatus to the plurality of plating tanks. 16. The plating system according to claim 15, further comprising a plating liquid return pipe extending from the plurality of plating baths to the apparatus. A method for supplying a powder containing at least a metal used for plating to a plating solution,
The powder conduit of the powder container containing the powder is connected to the inlet of the hopper,
Supplying the powder from the powder container to the hopper,
The feeder is operated while measuring the weight of the hopper in which the powder is stored and the weight of the feeder communicating with the lower opening of the hopper,
And the powder is added to the plating liquid by the feeder based on a change in the measured value of the weight. 18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising the step of stirring the plating liquid to which the powder is added. 19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, further comprising calculating an addition amount of said powder to said plating liquid from a change in said measured value of weight,
Further comprising the step of operating said feeder until said addition amount reaches a target value. A powder container for containing a powder containing at least a metal used for plating,
A container body capable of containing the powder therein,
A powder conduit connected to the container body,
And a valve provided in the powder duct. The powder container according to claim 20, wherein the tip of the powder conduit has a truncated cone shape. A step of transferring the plating liquid from the plating tank to the plating liquid tank,
A step of calculating an amount of powder to be added to the plating liquid contained in the plating liquid tank, the amount of the powder including at least a metal used for plating, based on the concentration of metal ions in the plating liquid in the plating bath;
A step of supplying a powder containing at least a metal used for said plating to a plating liquid contained in said plating liquid tank;
Dissolving the powder in a plating liquid contained in the plating liquid tank;
A step of supplying the plating solution in which the powder is dissolved from the plating liquid tank to the plating bath;
A step of bringing a substrate into contact with a plating solution contained in the plating bath,
A step of generating an electrochemical reaction in the plating solution contained in the plating bath so that the metal is precipitated on the surface of the substrate in the plating solution. The plating apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the plating tank is made of a plurality of plating tanks, and in supplying the plating liquid stored in the plating tank to the plurality of plating tanks, the plating liquid is supplied to each of the plurality of plating tanks while controlling the flow rate of the plating liquid ≪ / RTI > The plating apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the plating vessel is composed of a plurality of plating vessels, and always monitors the metal ions in the plating liquid in the plurality of plating vessels,
The plating liquid in the plurality of plating tanks is transferred from the plating tank to the plating liquid tank and the plating liquid is supplied from the plating liquid tank to any of the plurality of plating tanks when the concentration of the metal ions becomes lower than a predetermined value ≪ / RTI > wherein the substrate is plated. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program for executing a method of electroplating a substrate,
A method for electrolytically plating a substrate,
A step of transferring the plating liquid from the plating tank to the plating liquid tank,
A step of supplying a powder containing at least a metal used for plating to a plating liquid contained in the plating liquid tank;
Dissolving the powder in a plating liquid contained in the plating liquid tank;
A step of supplying the plating solution in which the powder is dissolved from the plating liquid tank to the plating bath;
A step of bringing a substrate into contact with a plating solution contained in the plating bath,
And a step of generating an electrochemical reaction in the plating solution contained in the plating bath so that the metal is precipitated on the surface of the substrate in the plating solution. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program for executing a method of electroplating a substrate,
A method for electrolytically plating a substrate,
Monitoring whether the concentration of metal ions contained in the plating liquid in the plating tank is lower than a set value;
A step of calculating an amount of at least a powder containing a metal to be added to the plating liquid when the concentration of the metal ion is lower than a predetermined value;
A step of transferring the plating liquid from the plating bath to the plating liquid tank;
Supplying the powder to the plating liquid contained in the plating liquid tank until the calculated amount is reached;
Dissolving the powder in a plating liquid contained in the plating liquid tank;
A step of supplying the plating solution in which the powder is dissolved from the plating liquid tank to the plating bath;
A step of bringing a substrate into contact with a plating solution contained in the plating bath,
And a step of generating an electrochemical reaction in the plating solution contained in the plating bath so that the metal is precipitated on the surface of the substrate in the plating solution.

Images