Nexx Systems, Inc.

Tel Nexx, Inc.

Zhenqiu Liu

Arthur Keigler

Qunwei Wu

John Harrell

Daniel Goodman

Johannes Chiu

A method and system for coating the interior surfaces of microscale hole features fabricated into the substantially planar surface of a work piece. The method comprises providing a work piece with a barrier metal coating that is substantially continuous and uniform both along the planar surface of the work piece and the inner surfaces of the microscale hole features wherein said barrier metal coating is applied by a substantially surface reaction limited process. The workpiece is provided with a coating, on the planar surface of the work piece, of a thick metal layer anchored to the barrier metal coat and disposed to provide substantially uniform electrical conduction capability to the microscale features located throughout and across the workpiece. An electrical contact path is provided to the electrically conductive coating at the perimeter of the work piece. The workpiece is immersed in a chemical bath, causing said chemical bath to fully contact the interior surfaces of the microscale hole features, said chemical bath containing metal ions suitable for electrodeposition. An electric potential is applied at the perimeter of the work piece to cause electrodeposition of metal ions onto all surfaces of the work piece including the interior surfaces of the microscale hole features to a predetermined finish coating in one step.

Seed layer deposition in microscale features

A method of fluid processing a semiconductor workpiece, including disposing a workpiece holder with a housing capable of containing a fluid, the workpiece holder retaining the workpiece, providing an agitation system connected to the housing and comprising a member disposed within the housing adjacent the workpiece holder, and agitating the fluid by moving the member substantially parallel to a surface of the workpiece with a non-uniform oscillatory motion, the non-uniform oscillatory motion being a series of substantially continuous geometrically asymmetric oscillations wherein each consecutive oscillation of the series is geometrically asymmetric having at least two substantially continuous opposing strokes wherein reversal positions of each substantially continuous stroke of the substantially continuous asymmetric oscillation are disposed asymmetrically with respect to a center point of each immediately preceding substantially continuous stroke of the oscillation.

Apparatus for fluid processing a workpiece

Method for fluid processing a workpiece

A workpiece holder for fluid processing a workpiece including a transportable frame, a flexible member connected to the frame and defining at least one retaining feature, and a ring comprising at least one engagement feature engageable with the at least one retaining feature of the flexible member, wherein the flexible member is flexed to provide a force to the at least one engagement feature to cause the ring to form a barrier to fluid entry with the workpiece.

Method and apparatus for fluid processing a workpiece

A method of fluid sealing a workpiece is provided. The method includes providing a force to cause a ring to form a barrier to fluid entry with the workpiece and preventing fluid from crossing the barrier to fluid entry by forming a pressure differential across the barrier.

Balancing pressure to improve a fluid seal

A method of fluid sealing a workpiece is provided. The method includes placing a workpiece on a ring, engaging at least one engagement feature of the ring with at least one retaining feature defined by the member and flexing the member to provide a force to the at least one engagement feature to cause the ring to form a barrier to fluid entry with the workpiece.

A method and apparatus for fluid sealing a workpiece retained by a workpiece holder are described. A pressure differential can be formed across a fluid seal to counteract fluid attempting to penetrate the fluid seal, which can contaminate the underside of the workpiece. The apparatus can include a ring forming a barrier to fluid entry with the workpiece and a source providing pressure to form the pressure differential. The pressure or the pressure differential can counteract hydroscopic fluid pressure or hydrostatic fluid pressure that is acting to force fluid through the barrier between the ring and the workpiece.

A method and apparatus for retaining a workpiece against a workpiece holder are described. A flexible member can be used to provide a substantially uniform force to securely retain the workpiece, which can allow the workpiece to be consistently positioned in a process module. In one detailed embodiment, a barrier to fluid entry is formed between the workpiece and a ring for retaining the workpiece against a workpiece holder. This provides a reliable seal during fluid processing to prevent fluid from reaching the underside of a workpiece. In various embodiments, the workpiece holder can be used to align a workpiece in a process module or to hold one or more workpieces in a configuration that allows for higher throughput.

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Northboro, MA, United States of America

Zhenqiu Liu