TW201915224A - Electroplating auxiliary plate and electroplating system provided with same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electroplating auxiliary plate adapted for use in an electroplating system. The electroplating auxiliary plate comprises an electrically non-conductive plate body adapted for placement between an anode and a surface to be plated, such that the anode is shielded in part by the electroplating auxiliary plate to define a shielded zone. The electroplating auxiliary plate is formed with least one shield member adapted to face towards the anode and block the electroplating solution from flowing freely between the shielded zone and the rest part of the plating tank. The electroplating auxiliary plate disclosed herein may serve as an active and reliable means for prohibiting metallic material from depositing on the surface opposite to the shielded zone and is useful for adjusting the electric field distribution in the electroplating system.

Description

Plating auxiliary board and plating system using same

The invention relates to a plating auxiliary board and an electroplating system using the same, in particular to a plating auxiliary board which adjusts an electric field distribution during electroplating and a metal ion diffusion path by a more active and reliable means.

Electroplating is an electrolytic reaction in which a metal is plated on the surface of another metal by electrolytic reaction to form a metal casing film. We refer to such a process as electroplating. Electroplating technology is widely used in a variety of different applications and in different fields. From the early aesthetic-oriented decorative use, such as the formation of a glossy film on the surface of the container, it has gradually developed into a high-tech industry, such as semiconductor manufacturing process, is an indispensable technology in today's technology industry. .

In general, the process of electroplating technology includes providing a plating bath, a plating solution, a cathode, an anode, a material to be plated, and a plating metal. The electroplating solution, the cathode, the anode, the object to be plated, and the electroplated metal are all located in the electroplating bath, and the object to be plated is coupled to the cathode, and the electroplated metal is coupled to the anode. In this configuration, when an applied voltage V is applied between the cathode and the anode, the plating metal precipitates the plating metal ion M+, and the surface of the object to be plated collects the electron e-. The positively charged electroplated metal ion M+ is attracted by the negative charge carried by the electron e-, and flows to the surface of the object to be plated using the plating solution as a medium. When the plating metal ion M+ reaches the surface of the object to be plated, it will combine with the electrons e- to form metal atoms, and deposit on the surface of the object to be plated to form a plated metal layer. When the plating metal is completely precipitated or the application of the applied voltage V is stopped, the plating reaction is stopped.

The currently known electroplating systems can be distinguished into a soluble anodizing system and an insoluble anodizing system by means of electroplated metal. In an insoluble anodizing system, when current flows from the top of the anode to the bottom of the anode, the amount of current decreases due to electrical resistance. In other words, at the top of the anode, more metal is present due to the larger current passing there. The ions are decomposed and released, and the current passing through the lower part is less than the current passing through the upper part, so less metal ions are decomposed and released, and the power line distribution in the plating tank is not uniform (that is, the density distribution of the current is not Uniform) phenomenon. This phenomenon will cause the product to be relatively thick at the area where the power line density is high, that is, the current density is large. On the contrary, the product position is relatively thin in the area where the power line density is low, that is, the current density is small, so the film on the surface of the product is coated. Poor thickness uniformity and uneven thickness coatings are likely to affect subsequent processes or product performance, which in turn reduces overall process yield.

Therefore, there is a phenomenon in which a plurality of anodes are separately supplied with power and respectively generate a required current density to achieve uniform plating. For example, Taiwan Patent Publication No. I530593 mainly provides a multi-anode control device with a cathode connecting member. In use, the cathode connecting member is electrically connected to one side of the substrate, and the multi-anode control device comprises: an anode module comprising a plurality of anode nets arranged side by side and spaced apart from each other; and a power supply control module respectively Connected to each of the anode nets, the power supply control module supplies power to each of the anode nets to generate a desired current density in each of the anode nets, so that the current density obtained by each anode net is different from that of the substrate. The cathodes respectively obtained at the positions are complementary to each other, thereby uniformly plating the substrate.

Although the above-mentioned multi-anode technology can achieve the effect of uniform plating and control the electric field distribution; however, the overall multi-anode control device has a relatively complicated structure and a relatively high cost; further, due to the marginal effect of the anode mesh, the anode network The marginal current density will increase, so in fact, it is still necessary to use the power supply control module to adjust the current supplied to each anode network separately, which causes inconvenience in use.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a plating auxiliary plate and an electroplating system using the same, in particular, a plating auxiliary plate for adjusting the electric field distribution during electroplating and the metal ion diffusion path by a more active and reliable means, the main purpose thereof is By.

In the present invention, the electroplating auxiliary plate is applied to the electroplating system and is a non-conducting plate body, and the plate body has at least one side surface, and the at least one side surface is provided with a shielding member protruding from the surface of the plate body. Scheduled height.

In a preferred embodiment, a driving module is further disposed to be coupled to the plating auxiliary plate to drive the plating auxiliary plate to be displaced.

In a preferred embodiment, the shield is secured to the panel by a fastener.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electroplating system adapted to electroplate a material to be plated, the electroplating system comprising: at least: a plating bath for mounting a plating solution; and a cathode disposed in the plating bath And the at least one anode is disposed on the plating tank and coupled to a plating metal facing the plate to be plated; and at least one of the plating auxiliary plates is located at the anode Between the surface to be plated, the shielding member of the plating auxiliary plate faces the anode, and the shielding member is filled in a gap between the plating auxiliary plate and the anode.

In a preferred embodiment, the inner side of the plating tank is provided with at least one guiding groove for inserting the plating auxiliary plate.

In another preferred embodiment, the plating auxiliary plate has a guiding edge for deepening into the guiding groove, and a shielding portion extending from the leading edge portion to the inside of the plating tank, and the shielding member is Located on at least one side of the shielding portion.

In a more preferred embodiment, the shielding portion is further provided with at least one opening for the anode portion to be exposed.

Unless otherwise stated, the following terms used in the specification and claims of the present application have the definitions given below. It is to be understood that the singular <RTI ID=0.0>&quot;&quot;&quot;&quot;&quot; A single item. In addition, the open-ended conjunctions such as "including" and "having" used in the claims are intended to mean that the components or components described in the claims are not excluded. It should also be noted that the term "or" generally includes "and/or" in the sense, unless the content clearly indicates otherwise. The term "about" as used in the specification and claims of this application is intended to modify any error that may vary slightly, but such minor changes do not alter the nature.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the plating auxiliary plate 10 of the present invention is a non-conductive plate body 11. The plating auxiliary plate of the present invention is applied to an electroplating system, and the plate body 11 needs to be resistant to corrosion by the plating solution and not Made of materials that produce electroplating reactions. These materials have dielectric properties or are composite materials containing a dielectric coating to prevent metal induced electroplating on the plating auxiliary plate or to cause chemical reaction with the plating auxiliary plate to contaminate the plating. liquid. The material of the plating auxiliary plate includes, but is not limited to, plastic, such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, fluoropolymer, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or polyvinylidene fluoride. This material can block the passage of power lines. The power line is a track in which the positive and negative ions in the plating solution are moved in an directional manner under the action of an external electric field, which is called a power line.

The board body 11 has at least one side surface 111. In the embodiment shown in the figure, the board body 11 is rectangular and has four side surfaces 111. Although the description shows and the figure shows that the shape of the board body 11 is rectangular, The plate body can have a variety of other shapes known to those of ordinary skill in the art. A shielding member 12 is protruded from the at least one side surface 111, and the shielding member 12 protrudes from the surface of the board body 11 by a predetermined height. In a preferred embodiment, the shield 12 can be integrally formed with the plate 11.

In another preferred embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the shield member 12 is fixed to the plate body 11 by a fixing member 13. Although the present specification illustrates and illustrates the structure in which the fastener 13 is configured as a screw, the fastener 13 can have various other fixed structures known to those skilled in the art. The shield member 12 is similar to the plate body 11 in a non-conductive material, and can be made of the materials mentioned in the above-mentioned plate body embodiment.

The electroplating auxiliary plate of the present invention is suitable for being disposed in an electroplating system for adjusting the electric field distribution during electroplating to prevent metal plating deposition in a specific region by a more active and reliable means. In a specific embodiment of the electroplating system, as shown in FIG. 3, the electroplating system includes at least: a plating tank 21 for mounting a plating solution 22; a cathode 23 disposed in the plating tank 21 and coupled to the electroplating tank 21 The plating material 30 is disposed on the plating tank 21 and coupled to a plating metal 25, the anode 24 faces a surface 31 to be plated 31; the cathode 23 and the at least one anode 24 are disposed in the plating tank. 21, and at least partially immersed in the plating solution 22. A power source (not shown) supplies at least one of the anode 24 and the cathode 23 to be positively and negatively charged to form a power line through the plating solution 22. The anode 24 can comprise a soluble anode and an insoluble anode. In a preferred embodiment, the anode 24 is an insoluble anode for conducting electrical current and the metal ion in the plating solution 22 is supplemented with a metal salt. . The insoluble anode is generally a good electrical conductor and does not chemically interact with the plating solution 22 to contaminate the solution nor be attacked.

In a preferred embodiment, the pair of anodes 24 are respectively placed inside the plating tank 21 opposite to the cathode 23, and the object to be plated 30 to be electroplated is suspended at the cathode 23 so as to be respectively at the anode. In the state where the current is input to the cathode 23, the plating solution 22 in the plating bath 21 is caused to precipitate metal ions deposited on the cathode end due to the electrolytic reaction. After the metal ions are reduced at the cathode 23, deposition is deposited on the surface of the object to be plated 30. Metal plating 40.

The plating auxiliary plate 10 is disposed in the plating tank 21 between the anode 24 and the surface to be plated 31. The plating auxiliary plate 10 partially shields the anode 24 to form a shielding area 24a and a non-shielding area 24b. The plate 11 of the plate 10 is slightly parallel to the surface 31 to be plated, and the shielding member 12 of the plating auxiliary plate 10 faces the anode 24, and the shielding member 12 is filled between the plating auxiliary plate 10 and the anode 24. The gap. In a preferred embodiment, the height of the shielding member 12 may be equal to a size slightly smaller than the gap between the plating auxiliary plate 10 and the anode 24, and the length of the shielding member 12 may be equal to a width slightly smaller than the plating groove 21.

Wherein, the plate body 11 of the plating auxiliary plate 10 can block the formation of part of the power line, change the original electric field distribution, and add the change of the electric field distribution in the plating tank 21 after the plating auxiliary plate 10 is added, especially the power line of the part to be plated 30 has been The improvement is no longer denser than other parts, so that the current distribution on the non-shielding area 24b is uniform, and the thickness of the plated metal layer obtained by electroplating can also be uniform; otherwise, the power line is not formed at the shielding area 24a, and the shielding member 12 is filled in the The gap between the plating auxiliary plate 10 and the anode 24 can block the flow between the plating solution at the shielding region 24a and the plating solution in other regions of the plating bath, causing the plating solution to stagnate at the shielding region 24a, and the shielding region 24a The electrolytic reaction is greatly difficult to be performed, so that the metal plating layer is not deposited on the surface 31 to be plated relative to the shielding region 24a, and the metal plating layer 40 can be locally deposited on the surface 31 to be plated of the object to be plated. The shape of the plating auxiliary plate or the position relative to the surface to be plated is changed to obtain a metal plating having a specific position or a specific shape. In addition to the ability to adjust the electric field distribution during electroplating, the electroplating auxiliary plate 10 can also adjust the diffusion path of metal ions in the plating solution, so that the uniformity of the thickness of the metal plating on the surface of the object to be plated is improved, and uniform plating is achieved. purpose.

In a preferred embodiment, the inner side of the plating tank 21 is provided with at least one guiding groove 211, as shown in FIG. 4, for inserting the plating auxiliary plate 10, and the plate body 11 of the plating auxiliary plate 10 The opposite side has a guiding edge portion 112 for deepening into the guiding groove 211, and a shielding portion 113 extending from the guiding edge portion 112 to the inside of the plating tank, and the shielding member 12 is located at the shielding portion 113. At least one side of the shielding portion 113 is further provided with at least one opening 114. The opening 114 is exposed to the non-shielding region 24b of the anode 24. The position and shape of the opening 114 are formed after plating with respect to the surface to be plated. The location and shape of the metal plating. In the above preferred embodiment, the leading edge portions 112 of the opposite sides of the plate body 11 are inserted into the guide grooves 211, and the bottom side of the shielding portion 113 of the plate body 11 contacts the bottom surface of the plating tank 21, so that only A shielding member 12 is disposed on the top side of the shielding portion 113 of the plate body 11, so as to block the flow between the plating solution 113 and the plating solution at the shielding region 24a and the plating solution in other regions of the plating tank. In another preferred embodiment, when the shielding portion 113 of the panel 11 of the present invention is moved to another position, for example, when moving upward, the bottom side of the shielding portion 113 does not contact the bottom surface of the plating tank 21, and the shielding region is allowed. When the plating solution at the portion 24a and the plating solution in other regions of the plating bath are in communication with each other, the shielding member 12 may be further provided on the bottom side of the shielding portion 113, thereby achieving the function of complete blocking.

In another preferred embodiment, the present invention further includes a driving module (not shown) coupled to the plating auxiliary plate to drive the plating auxiliary plate displacement, thereby automatically changing the plating auxiliary plate relative to the plating plate. The position of the surface to be plated.

The above embodiments are intended to be illustrative of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, and various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

10‧‧‧Electroplating auxiliary board

11‧‧‧ board

111‧‧‧ side

112‧‧‧ Guided edge

113‧‧‧Shading Department

114‧‧‧ openings

12‧‧‧Shields

13‧‧‧Fixed parts

21‧‧‧ plating bath

211‧‧ ‧ guiding groove

22‧‧‧ plating solution

23‧‧‧ cathode

24‧‧‧Anode

24a‧‧‧ shaded area

24b‧‧‧Unshielded area

25‧‧‧Electroplating metal

30‧‧‧The object to be plated

31‧‧‧To be coated

40‧‧‧Metal plating

1 is a perspective view showing the structure of the first embodiment of the plating auxiliary plate of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the second embodiment of the plating auxiliary plate of the present invention; A schematic view of the structure of the electroplating system; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the structure of the second embodiment of the electroplating auxiliary plate of the present invention.

Claims (8)

An electroplating auxiliary plate is disposed in an electroplating system and is a non-conducting plate body, and the plate body has at least one side surface, and the at least one side surface is provided with a shielding member protruding from the surface of the plate body a predetermined height. The electroplating auxiliary board according to claim 1, wherein a driving module is further connected to the plating auxiliary plate to drive the plating auxiliary plate to be displaced. The plating auxiliary board according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the shielding member is fixed to the board body by a fixing member. An electroplating system is suitable for electroplating a material to be plated, the electroplating system comprising at least: a plating bath for mounting a plating solution; a cathode disposed in the plating bath and coupled to the object to be plated; at least one An anode, disposed in the plating tank and coupled to a plating metal, the anode facing a surface to be plated; and at least one plating auxiliary plate according to claim 1 or 2, located at the anode and the anode Between the plating surfaces, the shielding member of the plating auxiliary plate faces the surface to be plated, and the shielding member is filled in a gap between the plating auxiliary plate and the surface to be plated. The electroplating system of claim 4, wherein the shielding member is fixed to the plate body by a fixing member. The plating system of claim 4, wherein the inner side of the plating tank is provided with at least one guiding groove for inserting the plating auxiliary plate. The electroplating system of claim 6, wherein the electroplating auxiliary plate has a guiding edge that is deeper into the guiding groove, and a shielding portion extending from the guiding edge to the inside of the plating groove, and the shielding The piece is located on at least one side of the shielding portion. The electroplating system of claim 7, wherein the shielding portion is further provided with at least one opening for allowing the surface to be plated to be exposed.