The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 18, 2020
Filed:
Oct. 16, 2017
Novellus Systems, Inc., Fremont, CA (US);
Kousik Ganesan, Chandler, AZ (US);
Tighe A. Spurlin, Portland, OR (US);
Jonathan David Reid, Sherwood, OR (US);
Shantinath Ghongadi, Tigard, OR (US);
Andrew John McKerrow, Lake Oswego, OR (US);
James E. Duncan, Beaverton, OR (US);
Novellus Systems, Inc., Fremont, CA (US);
Abstract
In one aspect, an apparatus includes a plating cell, a degassing device configured to remove oxygen from the plating solution prior to the plating solution flowing into the plating cell; an oxidation station configured to increase an oxidizing strength of the plating solution after the plating solution flows out of the plating cell; and a controller. The controller includes program instructions for causing a process that includes operations of: reducing an oxygen concentration of the plating solution where the plating solution contains a plating accelerator; then, contacting a wafer substrate with the plating solution having reduced oxygen concentration and electroplating a metal such that the electroplating causes a net conversion of the accelerator to a less-oxidized accelerator species within the plating cell; then increasing the oxidizing strength of the plating solution causing a net re-conversion of the less-oxidized accelerator species back to the accelerator outside the plating cell.