TWM630869U - Large area electroplating apparatus having ion-exchange-membrane-wrapping type anode - Google Patents

Abstract

An electroplating apparatus includes an outer tank, an inner tank, an anode structure, a plurality of ion-exchange-membranes and a plurality of jet devices. The outer tank is adapted to contain an electroplating liquid. The inner tank is disposed in the outer tank and adapted to contain the electroplating liquid and a cathode. The anode structure is disposed in the inner tank and includes a plurality of anode regions. The ion-exchange-membranes wrap the anode regions respectively. The jet devices are disposed in the inner tank, and the jet devices are connected to the outer tank and adapted to jet the electroplating liquid in the outer tank into the inner tank. The jet devices and the anode regions are arranged alternately.

Description

Large-area electroplating equipment with ion-exchange membrane-coated anodes

The novel creation relates to an electroplating apparatus, and in particular, to a large-area electroplating apparatus including a jet device and an ion-exchange membrane-coated anode.

In large-area electroplating processes, the uniformity of electroplating can be improved by circulating the electroplating solution at a high flow rate. Generally speaking, the plating solution is circulated from the outer tank through the bottom of the inner tank up into the inner tank. In this circulation mode, the electroplating solution will react with the lower half of the anode structure in the inner tank firstly, so that the upper half of the anode structure cannot fully react with the electroplating solution, thus reducing the electroplating efficiency. In addition, in the process of electroplating, the electroplating efficiency of different regions may be different due to the uneven electric field, resulting in uneven plating thickness. In addition, the oxygen generated by the anode of the electroplating equipment during the electroplating process will crack the additives in the electroplating solution, which is not conducive to the electroplating process.

The novel creation provides an electroplating equipment, which can avoid the cracking of additives in the electroplating solution caused by the oxygen generated by the anode during electroplating.

The electroplating equipment of the novel creation includes an outer tank, an inner tank, an anode structure, a plurality of ion exchange membranes and a plurality of jetting devices. The outer tank is adapted to contain an electroplating solution. The inner tank is arranged in the outer tank and is suitable for accommodating the electroplating solution and a cathode material. The anode structure is arranged in the inner tank and includes a plurality of anode blocks. The ion exchange membranes respectively coat the anode blocks. The jetting device is arranged in the inner tank, communicated with the outer tank, and is suitable for spraying the electroplating solution in the outer tank into the inner tank. The jet devices are arranged alternately with the anode blocks.

In an embodiment of the present invention, each of the above-mentioned ion exchange membranes has an opening, and the opening is located above the corresponding anode block.

In an embodiment of the present invention, in the direction of the jet flow of the jet flow device, the jet flow device does not overlap with the anode block.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned electroplating equipment includes a current control unit, wherein the anode structure is a programmable movable anode structure, the anode blocks are electrically independent from each other, and the anode structure can be controlled along the Reciprocating and moving parallel to the direction of the cathode material, the current control unit is coupled to the anode structure and is suitable for independently controlling the current of each anode block.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned electroplating equipment includes a pump and a pipeline, wherein the pipeline is connected to the jetting device and extends into the outer tank, and the pump is connected to the pipeline and is suitable for driving the electroplating in the outer tank The liquid flows along the pipeline to the jet device.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the above-mentioned anode structure is an insoluble anode.

Based on the above, in the electroplating equipment created by the present invention, the anode block is covered with an ion exchange membrane, so that the oxygen generated by the anode block during the electroplating process is blocked by the ion exchange membrane without cracking the additives in the electroplating solution. In addition, the new invention arranges the jet flow device and the anode block alternately instead of arranging the jet flow device on the rear side of the anode block. In this way, it can be avoided that the electroplating solution sprayed from the jetting device is blocked by the ion exchange membrane and cannot flow smoothly to the object to be plated at the cathode material.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electroplating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , the electroplating apparatus 100 of this embodiment includes an outer tank 110 , an inner tank 120 , a plurality of jetting devices 130 and a programmable control movable anode structure 140 . The outer tank 110 is suitable for accommodating an electroplating solution (electroplating liquid) 50 . The inner tank 120 is disposed in the outer tank 110 and is suitable for accommodating the electroplating solution 50 and a cathode material 60 , and the object to be plated is fixed at the cathode material 60 . The anode structure 140 is, for example, a grid-type insoluble anode and is disposed in the inner tank 120 . The jet device 130 is disposed in the inner tank 120 and communicated with the outer tank 110 .

The spray device 130 is adapted to spray the plating solution 50 in the outer tank 110 into the inner tank 120 , so that the plating solution 50 is continuously circulated to the inner tank 120 . The plating solution 50 reacts with the anode structure 140 in the inner tank 120 to electroplate the cathode material 60 . The electroplating solution 50 reacted with the anode structure 140 flows back into the outer tank 110 from the top of the inner tank 120 as the plating solution 50 in the inner tank 120 overflows. A new electroplating solution 50 can be supplied into the outer tank 110 through an appropriate method, so that the electroplating can be carried out smoothly.

As described above, the electroplating solution 50 in the outer tank 110 is sprayed into the inner tank 120 by the spray device 130 , so that the electroplating solution 50 can react with the whole anode structure 140 as uniformly as possible, thereby improving the efficiency of electroplating.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of part of the components of the electroplating apparatus of FIG. 1 from another perspective. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of some components of the electroplating apparatus of FIG. 1 . Please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 , the electroplating apparatus 100 of this embodiment further includes a current control unit 150 . The anode structure 140 includes a plurality of anode blocks 1401 that are electrically independent of each other. The current control unit 150 is coupled to the anode structure 140 and is adapted to independently control the current of each anode block 1401 . Accordingly, the phenomenon of uneven plating thickness caused by uneven electric field can be compensated by controlling the magnitude of the current of each anode block 1401 .

FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of the anode structure of FIG. 1 . Please refer to FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 , the electroplating apparatus 100 of this embodiment further includes a plurality of ion exchange membranes 180 , and the ion exchange membranes 180 respectively cover the anode blocks 1401 . For example, FIG. 2 shows twelve anode blocks 1401 and three ion exchange membranes 180 , the four anode blocks 1401 on the left are covered by one ion exchange membrane 180 , and the four anode blocks 1401 in the middle are One ion exchange membrane 180 is clad, and the four anode blocks 1401 on the right are clad by one ion exchange membrane 180 . In other embodiments, the anode block 1401 and the ion exchange membrane 180 may be other numbers, which are not limited in the present invention. The anode block 1401 is covered with the ion exchange membrane 180 as described above, and the oxygen generated in the anode block 1401 during the electroplating process is blocked by the ion exchange membrane 180 without cracking the additives in the electroplating solution.

In addition, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 , the jetting device 130 and the anode block 1401 are arranged alternately, instead of arranging the jetting device 130 on the rear side of the anode block 1401 . In this way, in the jetting direction (eg, the axial direction Y) of the jetting device 130, the jetting device 130 and the anode block 1401 do not overlap, so that the ion exchange membrane 180 covering the anode block 1401 will not block the jetting device 130 and the cathode material 60. In this way, it can be avoided that the electroplating solution sprayed from the jetting device 130 is blocked by the ion exchange membrane 180 and cannot flow smoothly to the object to be plated at the cathode material 60 .

Referring to FIG. 4 , the ion exchange membrane 180 of this embodiment has an opening 180 a , and the opening 180 a is located above the corresponding anode block 1401 . The oxygen generated in the anode block 1401 during the electroplating process can be discharged upward through the opening 180a. The size and position of the opening 180a shown in FIG. 4 are only for illustration, and the size and position of the opening 180a can be changed according to the requirements of the configuration to change the area of the top of the anode block 1401 exposed by the opening 180a.

Further, the anode structure 140 can be reciprocated along a direction parallel to the cathode material 60 (X direction shown in FIG. 1 ) through program control. With this side-type jet flow method coupled with the reciprocating movement like a printer, the plating solution 50 does not enter the inner tank 120 from the bottom of the inner tank 120, so that the plating solution 50 can be prevented from being flooded by a large amount first. Reacting with the lower half of the anode structure 140 causes the upper half of the anode structure 140 to not sufficiently react with the electroplating solution 50 . Thus, good plating efficiency of the plating apparatus 100 can be ensured. The jetting device 130 can be configured to move back and forth together with the anode structure 140 and has a sufficient moving stroke, so that the jetting range of the jetting device 130 can cover the entire object to be plated.

The specific manner in which the electroplating solution 50 in the outer tank 110 is transported to the inner tank 120 in this embodiment is described below by way of example. Referring to FIG. 1 , in this embodiment, the electroplating apparatus 100 includes a pump 160 and a pipeline 170 . The pipeline 170 is connected to the spray device 130 and extends into the outer tank 110 . The pump 160 is connected to the pipeline 170 and is adapted to drive the plating solution 50 in the outer tank 110 to flow along the pipeline 170 to the spray device 130 . Therefore, the spray device 130 can spray the plating solution 50 into the inner tank 120 . In other embodiments, the electroplating solution 50 in the outer tank 110 may be transported to the jetting device 130 in the inner tank 120 by other suitable methods, which are not limited in the present invention.

To sum up, in the electroplating equipment created by the present invention, the anode block is covered with an ion exchange membrane, so that the oxygen generated in the anode block during the electroplating process is blocked by the ion exchange membrane without cracking the additives in the electroplating solution. . In addition, the new invention arranges the jet flow device and the anode block alternately instead of arranging the jet flow device on the rear side of the anode block. In this way, it can be avoided that the electroplating solution sprayed from the jetting device is blocked by the ion exchange membrane and cannot flow smoothly to the object to be plated at the cathode material.

50: Electroplating solution 60: Cathode material 100: Electroplating equipment 110: Outer slot 120: inner groove 130: Jet device 140: Anode structure 1401: Anode Block 150: Current Control Unit 160: Pump 170: Pipeline 180: ion exchange membrane 180a: Opening

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electroplating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of part of the components of the electroplating apparatus of FIG. 1 from another perspective. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of some components of the electroplating apparatus of FIG. 1 . FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic view of the anode structure of FIG. 1 .

50: Electroplating solution

100: Electroplating equipment

110: Outer slot

120: inner groove

130: Jet device

140: Anode structure

1401: Anode Block

180: ion exchange membrane

Claims (6)

A kind of electroplating equipment, including: an outer tank adapted to accommodate an electroplating solution; an inner tank, disposed in the outer tank, and suitable for accommodating the electroplating solution and a cathode material; an anode structure disposed in the inner tank and comprising a plurality of anode blocks; a plurality of ion exchange membranes, respectively covering the anode blocks; and A plurality of jetting devices are arranged in the inner tank and communicated with the outer tank to be suitable for jetting the electroplating solution in the outer tank into the inner tank, wherein the jetting devices and the anode blocks are staggered configuration. The electroplating apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the ion exchange membranes has an opening, and the opening is located above the corresponding anode block. The electroplating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the jetting devices do not overlap the anode blocks in the jetting direction of the jetting devices. The electroplating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, comprising a current control unit, wherein the anode structure is a programmable movable anode structure, the anode blocks are electrically independent of each other, and the anode structure can be controlled along parallel lines by the program Reciprocating in the direction of the cathode material, the current control unit is coupled to the anode structure and is suitable for independently controlling the current of each anode block. The electroplating equipment of claim 1, comprising a pump and a pipeline, wherein the pipeline is connected to the jetting devices and extends into the outer tank, the pump is connected to the pipeline and is adapted to drive the outer tank The electroplating solution in the pipeline flows to the jetting devices along the pipeline. The electroplating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the anode structure is an insoluble anode.

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