Applied Materials, Inc.

Muhammad Atif Malik

Srinivas Gandikota

Deenesh Padhi

Girish Anant Dixit

Sivakami Ramanathan

Chris R McGuirk

Yezdi N Dordi

Robin W Cheung

Donald J Olgado

Joe Stevens

Henan Hao

Timothy H Franklin

Embodiments of the invention generally provide an apparatus and method for replenishing organic molecules in an electroplating bath. The replenishment process of the present invention may occur on a real-time basis, and therefore, the concentration of organics minimally varies from desired concentration levels. The replenishment method generally includes conducting pre-processing depletion measurements in order to determine organic depletion rates per current density applied in the electroplating system. Once the organic depletion rates per current density are determined, these depletion rates may be applied to an electroplating processing recipe to calculate the volume of organic depletion per recipe step. The calculated volume of organic depletion per recipe step may then be used to determine the volume of organic molecule replenishment per unit of time that is required per recipe step in order to maintain a desired concentration of organics in the plating solution. The calculated replenishment volume may then be added to the processing recipe so that the replenishment process may occur at real-time during processing periods. The apparatus generally includes a selectively actuated valve in communicaiton with a fluid delivery line, wherein the valve is configured to fluidly isolate a plating cell during a non-processing time period. The valve may be controlled by a system controller, and thus, the fluid level in the cell may be controlled during a non-processing time period.

Method and apparatus for reducing organic depletion during non-processing time periods

An apparatus and a method of depositing a catalytic layer comprising at least one metal selected from the group consisting of noble metals, semi-noble metals, alloys thereof, and combinations thereof in sub-micron features formed on a substrate. Examples of noble metals include palladium and platinum. Examples of semi-noble metals include cobalt, nickel, and tungsten. The catalytic layer may be deposited by electroless deposition, electroplating, or chemical vapor deposition. In one embodiment, the catalytic layer may be deposited in the feature to act as a barrier layer to a subsequently deposited conductive material. In another embodiment, the catalytic layer may be deposited over a barrier layer. In yet another embodiment, the catalytic layer may be deposited over a seed layer deposited over the barrier layer to act as a &ldquo;patch&rdquo; of any discontinuities in the seed layer. Once the catalytic layer has been deposited, a conductive material, such as copper, may be deposited over the catalytic layer. In one embodiment, the conductive material is deposited over the catalytic layer by electroless deposition. In another embodiment, the conductive material is deposited over the catalytic layer by electroless deposition followed by electroplating or followed by chemical vapor deposition. In still another embodiment, the conductive material is deposited over the catalytic layer by electroplating or by chemical vapor deposition.

Electroless deposition method over sub-micron apertures

The present invention provides an electro-chemical deposition system that is designed with a flexible architecture that is expandable to accommodate future designs and gap fill requirements and provides satisfactory throughput to meet the demands of other processing systems. The electro-chemical deposition system generally comprises a mainframe having a mainframe wafer transfer robot, a loading station disposed in connection with the mainframe, one or more processing cells disposed in connection with the mainframe, and an electrolyte supply fluidly connected to the one or more electrical processing cells. Preferably, the electro-chemical deposition system includes an edge bead removal/spin-rinse-dry (EBR/SRD) station disposed on the mainframe adjacent the loading station, a rapid thermal anneal chamber attached to the loading station, a seed layer repair station disposed on the mainframe, and a system controller for controlling the electro-chemical deposition process and the components of the electro-chemical deposition system.

Electro-chemical deposition system

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Santa Clara, CA, United States of America

Muhammad Atif Malik