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. 06, 2013
Filed:
May. 24, 2010
Thomas A. Ponnuswamy, Sherwood, OR (US);
Bryan Pennington, Sherwood, OR (US);
Clifford Berry, West Linn, OR (US);
Bryan L. Buckalew, Tualatin, OR (US);
Steven T. Mayer, Lake Oswego, OR (US);
Thomas A. Ponnuswamy, Sherwood, OR (US);
Bryan Pennington, Sherwood, OR (US);
Clifford Berry, West Linn, OR (US);
Bryan L. Buckalew, Tualatin, OR (US);
Steven T. Mayer, Lake Oswego, OR (US);
Novellus Systems, Inc., Fremont, CA (US);
Abstract
A plating protocol is employed to control plating of metal onto a wafer comprising a conductive seed layer. Initially, the protocol employs cathodic protection as the wafer is immersed in the plating solution. In certain embodiments, the current density of the wafer is constant during immersion. In a specific example, potentiostatic control is employed to produce a current density in the range of about 1.5 to 20 mA/cm2. The immersion step is followed by a high current pulse step. During bottom up fill inside the features of the wafer, a constant current or a current with a micropulse may be used. This protocol may protect the seed from corrosion while enhancing nucleation during the initial stages of plating.