International Business Machines Corporation

Robert M Browne

Lubomyr Taras Romankiw

Panayotis Constantinou Andricacos

Donald Giles Allen

John Owen Dukovic

Matteo Flotta

Robert W Hitzfeld

Moritz Branger

Donald R McKenna

Hank Reinstein

Benjamin W Fu

Todd Thomas

Saeed Sahami

Joseph J Fatula

The present invention overcomes the drawbacks and limitations described above by providing a paddle assembly having a paddle that moves in a bidirectional fashion for agitating solution in a container of a plating cell. A follower is coupled to the paddle. The follower engages a rotatable cam and is propelled along the cam as the cam rotates. A drive mechanism rotates the cam.

Cam driven paddle assembly for a plating cell

An electroplating system circulates solution between an anode and a workpiece mounted to a cathode. A shaped agitation paddle is reciprocated immediately adjacent to the cathode workpiece to improve performance of the system. The paddle is an elongated prism having a generally flat side that is parallel to the workpiece. The flat side has a fluid port connected to a pump. The solution may be pumped with either positive pressure to force the solution against the surface of the workpiece, or negative pressure to draw the solution away from the surface of the workpiece. In an alternate embodiment, the cathode workpiece is rotated in the solution above an anode with a stationary, shaped paddle in between them.

Paddle design for plating bath

A multi-compartment electroplating system for electroplating two or more objects simultaneously such that the electrodeposited material is substantially uniform in thickness and composition. Electroplating solution is circulated between a reservoir and a multi-compartment tank which has one cathode-paddle-anode (CPA) assembly for each compartment. Each CPA assembly has an anode, a cathode adapted for holding a wafer and employing a single thieving electrode which covers all of the floor of the compartment not covered by the wafer, and a paddle. Also included is a cover which houses a single linear motor for driving all of the paddles in synchrony.

Multi-compartment eletroplating system

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Robert M Browne