ELECTROPLATING APPARATUS WITH MEMBRANE TUBE SHIELD

摘要

An electroplating apparatus has one or more membrane tube rings which act as electric field shields, to provide advantageous plating characteristics at the perimeter of a work piece. The membrane tube rings may be filled with fluids having different conductivity, to change the shielding effect as desired for electroplating different types of substrates. The membrane tube rings may optionally be provided in or on a diffuser plate in the vessel of the apparatus.

主权项

1. Apparatus comprising:
a vessel for holding a first electrolyte; one or more anodes in the vessel; a substrate holder for holding a substrate in a process position in the vessel; a membrane tube ring in the vessel vertically between the one or more anodes and the process position; and the membrane tube ring containing a gas or a liquid having an electrical conductivity less than the first electrolyte; wherein the membrane tube ring passively shields the substrate holder from an electric field in the first electrolyte created by the one or more anodes.