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:
May. 01, 1984
Filed:
Aug. 25, 1983
Craig G Smith, North Plainfield, NJ (US);
Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated, Murray Hill, NJ (US);
Abstract
In traditional copper electroplating processes, soluble copper anodes are used as the source of copper. There are certain potential advantages to using nonconsumable anodes and adding a source of copper such as copper oxide to replenish the electroplating bath. Periodic reverse current plating is used by some manufacturers to obtain smoother deposits without the use of additives. This periodic reversal of current drastically reduces the service life of the nonconsumable anodes because of dissolution of the metal oxide on the insoluble anode. The invention is a copper electroplating process with a dual-element anode assembly. This assembly consists of electrically isolated copper and metal-oxide electrodes. The metal-oxide electrode is active only during the anodic part of the cycle while the copper electrode is active only during the cathodic part of the cycle. Electrical isolation is achieved by the use of diodes or relays.