Texas Instruments Corporation

Archie N McCauley

Roger J Stierman

Robert C Zart

A method of plating bumps on metallization on the face of a wafer, including the steps of placing the wafer in a transportable fixture wherein cathode needles press against the face of the wafer to make electrical contact and to force the back side of the wafer against a sealing member to prevent the plating bath from contacting the back side. The fixture with the wafer therein is placed in a clean up or presoak bath and is then transported to a plating bath without an operator having to touch the wafer.

Fixture for plating tall contact bumps on integrated circuit

A transportable bump plating fixture and method for holding a semiconductor wafer in a face up orientation in a plating bath while plating bumps on the metallized circuitry on the wafer face. The fixture includes an elastomer pad which contacts the back of the wafer and forms a seal which prevents the plating bath from coming into contact with the back of the wafer. The fixture also includes means for forming a cathodic electrical connection to the metallization on the face of the wafer, and further includes a plating anode disposed above the face of the wafer. The fixture is open to the flow of the plating bath over the face of the wafer and between the face of the wafer and the anode.

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Little Elm, TX, United States of America

Archie N McCauley