ELECTROPLATING APPARATUS WITH ELECTROLYTE AGITATION

摘要

Electroplating apparatus agitates electrolyte to provide high velocity fluid flows at the surface of a wafer. The apparatus includes a paddle which provides uniform high mass transfer over the entire wafer, even with a relatively large gap between the paddle and the wafer. Consequently, the processor may have an electric field shield positioned between the paddle and the wafer for effective shielding at the edges of the wafer. The influence of the paddle on the electric field across the wafer is reduced as the paddle is spaced relatively farther from the wafer.

主权项

1. An electroplating processor, comprising:
a vessel; a head having a wafer holder, with the head movable to position the wafer holder in the vessel; a contact ring on the head having a plurality of electrical contacts positioned for making electrical contact with a wafer held by the wafer holder; at least one anode in the vessel; a paddle in the vessel, with the paddle having a plurality of equally spaced 1.0 apart upright ribs, with substantially all of the ribs having a height HH, and with the ribs having a pitch spacing PP greater than 16 mm, and with ratio of HH:PP equal to 0.35 to 0.5; and a paddle actuator attached to the paddle for moving the paddle horizontally within the vessel.