TWI838038B - Coating equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a coating device that can detect the film thickness of a coating film formed on a substrate during a coating process. The coating device comprises: a coating tank; a substrate holder for holding a substrate; an anode arranged in the coating tank to face the substrate held in the substrate holder; a resistor arranged between the substrate and the anode for adjusting an electric field; a first detection electrode arranged in a region between a plated surface of the substrate and the anode, wherein the front end is arranged at a first position inside the resistor; a second detection electrode arranged at a second position having no potential change compared to the first position in the coating tank; and a control module for measuring the potential difference between the first detection electrode and the second detection electrode and estimating the coating film thickness of the substrate based on the potential difference.

Description

Coating equipment

This application relates to a coating device.

As an example of a coating apparatus, a cup-type electrolytic coating apparatus is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). The cup-type electrolytic coating apparatus immerses a substrate (for example, a semiconductor wafer) held in a substrate holder in a coating liquid with the surface to be coated facing downward, applies a voltage between the substrate and an anode, and deposits a conductive film on the surface of the substrate.

In a plating device, generally speaking, the user pre-sets parameters such as the plating current value and the plating time as a plating process recipe according to the target coating film thickness of the substrate to be plated and the actual coating area, and performs the plating process according to the set process recipe (for example, refer to Patent Document 2). Then, the same process recipe is used to plate multiple wafers on the same carrier. In addition, when measuring the coating film thickness after the plating process, usually after the plating process of all wafers in the carrier is completed, each carrier loaded with wafers is transported from the plating device to other film thickness measuring devices to measure the individual film thickness and the profile within the wafer surface.

[Prior technical literature] [Patent literature] [Patent literature 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-19496 [Patent literature 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2002-105695

[Problem to be solved by the invention] In a plating device, even if the same substrate is plated under the same process conditions, the thickness of the coating film formed on each substrate may vary due to the dimensional tolerance of the substrate or the change in the state of the coating liquid in the plating tank. In addition, even if the average film thickness of multiple substrates is adjusted, the coating film thickness may vary due to the position within the same substrate.

In view of the above practical situation, the purpose of this application is to provide a plating device that can detect the film thickness of a coating film formed on a substrate during a plating process.

[Means for solving the problem] According to one embodiment, a coating device is provided, which comprises: a coating groove; a substrate holder for holding a substrate; an anode arranged in the coating groove to face the substrate held in the substrate holder; a resistor arranged between the substrate and the anode for adjusting the electric field; a first detection electrode arranged in a region between the plated surface of the substrate and the anode, wherein the front end is arranged at a first position inside the resistor; a second detection electrode arranged at a second position having no potential change compared with the first position in the coating groove; and a control module for measuring the potential difference between the first detection electrode and the second detection electrode, and estimating the coating film thickness of the substrate based on the potential difference.

Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings described below, the same or corresponding components are given the same symbols and repeated descriptions are omitted.

<Overall structure of coating device> Figure 1 shows an oblique view of the overall structure of the coating device of this embodiment. Figure 2 shows a plan view of the overall structure of the coating device of this embodiment. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the coating device 1000 includes: an unloading port 100, a transfer robot 110, an aligner 120, a pre-wetting module 200, a pre-preg module 300, a coating module 400, a cleaning module 500, a spin dryer 600, a transfer device 700, and a control module 800.

The unloading port 100 is a module for loading substrates stored in a cassette such as a FOUP (not shown) of the coating apparatus 1000, and unloading substrates from the coating apparatus 1000 to the cassette. In the present embodiment, although four unloading ports 100 are arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction, the number and arrangement of the unloading ports 100 are arbitrary. The transport robot 110 is a robot for transporting substrates, and is configured to transfer substrates between the unloading port 100, the aligner 120, the pre-wetting module 200, and the spin dryer 600. When the transport robot 110 and the transport device 700 transfer substrates between the transport robot 110 and the transport device 700, the substrate transfer can be performed via a temporary placement table (not shown).

The aligner 120 is a module used to align the position of the orientation plane or notch of the substrate in a predetermined direction. In the present embodiment, although two aligners 120 are arranged, the number and arrangement of the aligners 120 are arbitrary. The prewet module 200 wets the coated surface of the substrate before the coating process with a treatment liquid such as pure water or degassed water, and replaces the air inside the pattern formed on the surface of the substrate with the treatment liquid. The prewet module 200 is configured to replace the treatment liquid inside the pattern with the coating liquid during coating, so as to apply a prewet treatment that makes it easier to supply the coating liquid to the inside of the pattern. In the present embodiment, although two prewet modules 200 are arranged side by side in the up and down direction, the number and arrangement of the prewet modules 200 are arbitrary.

The prepreg module 300 is configured to perform a prepreg treatment for cleaning or activating the bottom surface of the coating by etching away a high-resistance oxide film existing on the surface of the seed layer formed on the coated surface of the substrate before the coating treatment, for example, using a treatment solution such as sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid. In the present embodiment, although two prepreg modules 300 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction, the number and arrangement of the prepreg modules 300 are arbitrary. The coating module 400 performs a coating treatment on the substrate. In the present embodiment, there are two groups of twelve coating modules 400, three of which are arranged side by side in the vertical direction and four of which are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction, for a total of twenty-four coating modules 400, but the number and arrangement of the coating modules 400 are arbitrary.

The cleaning module 500 is configured to perform a cleaning process on the substrate in order to remove residual coating liquid and the like remaining on the substrate after the coating process. In the present embodiment, although two cleaning modules 500 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction, the number and arrangement of the cleaning modules 500 are arbitrary. The spin dryer 600 is a module used to rotate and dry the substrate after the cleaning process at high speed. In the present embodiment, although two spin dryers are arranged side by side in the vertical direction, the number and arrangement of the spin dryers are arbitrary. The control module 800 is configured as a plurality of modules for controlling the coating device 1000, and can be composed of, for example, a general electronic computer or a dedicated electronic computer having an input/output interface with an operator.

An example of a series of coating processes in the coating device 1000 is described. First, the substrate stored in the cassette is loaded into the unloading port 100. Then, the transport robot 110 takes out the substrate from the cassette of the unloading port 100 and transports the substrate to the aligner 120. The aligner 120 aligns the position of the orientation plane or notch of the substrate in a predetermined direction. The transport robot 110 transfers the substrate aligned in the direction of the aligner 120 to the pre-wetting module 200.

The prewetting module 200 performs a prewetting process on the substrate. The transport device 700 transports the substrate subjected to the prewetting process to the prepreg module 300. The prepreg module 300 performs a prepreg process on the substrate. The transport device 700 transports the substrate subjected to the prepreg process to the coating module 400. The coating module 400 performs a coating process on the substrate.

The transport device 700 transports the substrate to which the coating process has been applied to the cleaning module 500. The cleaning module 500 performs a cleaning process on the substrate. The transport device 700 transports the substrate to which the cleaning process has been applied to the spin dryer 600. The spin dryer 600 performs a drying process on the substrate. The transport robot 110 receives the substrate from the spin dryer 600 and transports the substrate to which the drying process has been applied to the cassette of the unloading port 100. Finally, the substrate is unloaded from the unloading port 100 from the stored cassette.

<Structure of coating module> Next, the structure of the coating module 400 will be described. Since the two coating modules 400 in this embodiment have the same structure, only one coating module 400 will be described.

FIG3 schematically shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the structure of the coating module 400 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG3, the coating module 400 has a coating tank 412 for containing the coating liquid. The coating tank 412 includes: a cylindrical inner tank with an opening on the upper surface; and an outer tank (not shown) provided around the inner tank to store the coating liquid overflowing from the upper edge of the inner tank.

The coating module 400 has a substrate holder 440 for holding the substrate Wf with the coated surface Wf-a facing downward. The substrate holder 440 also has a power supply contact for supplying power to the substrate Wf from a power source not shown in the figure. The coating module 400 has a lifting mechanism 442 for lifting and lowering the substrate holder 440. In one embodiment, the coating module 400 has a rotating mechanism 448 for rotating the substrate holder 440 around a lead straight axis. The lifting mechanism 442 and the rotating mechanism 448 can be implemented by a known mechanism such as a motor.

The plating module 400 includes a film 420 that partitions a plating groove 412 in the vertical direction. The interior of the plating groove 412 is partitioned into a cathode region 422 and an anode region 424 by the film 420. The cathode region 422 and the anode region 424 are filled with plating liquid, respectively. In addition, in this embodiment, the film 420 is provided as an example, but the film 420 may not be provided.

An anode 430 is provided on the bottom surface of the anode region 424 of the coating groove 412. The anode 430 is, for example, a circular component having a size substantially equal to that of the plate surface of the substrate Wf. In addition, the anode region 424 is provided with an anode cover 426 for adjusting electrolysis between the anode 430 and the substrate Wf. The anode cover 426 is, for example, a roughly plate-shaped component made of a dielectric material, and is provided in front of (above) the anode 430. The anode cover 426 has an opening through which the current flowing between the anode 430 and the substrate Wf passes. In the present embodiment, the anode cover 426 is configured to have a variable opening size, and the opening size is adjusted by the control module 800. Here, the opening size refers to the diameter when the opening is circular, and refers to the length of one side or the longest opening width when the opening is polygonal. In addition, the opening size of the anode cover 426 can be changed, and a known mechanism can be adopted. Again, in this embodiment, an example of an anode cover 426 is shown, but the anode cover 426 may not be provided. Furthermore, the above-mentioned film 420 may also be provided at the opening of the anode cover 426.

The plating module 400 includes: a resistor 450, which is arranged between the anode cover 426 and the anode 430. The resistor 450 is arranged in the cathode region 422 facing the film 420. The resistor 450 is a component made of a dielectric material (such as polyvinyl chloride), and is a component that makes the plating treatment of the plating surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf uniform by adjusting the electric field. In the present embodiment, the resistor 450 is configured to be movable in the up and down directions in the plating groove 412 by the driving mechanism 458, and the position of the resistor 450 is adjusted by the control module 800. However, it is not limited to this example. As an example, the resistor 450 can also be fixed to the plating groove 412 so as not to move in the plating groove 412.

The resistor 450 affects the distribution of the coating film thickness at the outer edge of the coated surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf. Because the resistor 450 increases the resistance value between the anode 430 and the substrate Wf, it is difficult for the electric field to expand. Therefore, when the distance between the substrate Wf and the resistor 450 increases, the space in which the electric field between the substrate Wf and the resistor 450 can expand becomes larger. Here, because the power supply contact of the substrate holder 440 contacts the outer edge of the substrate Wf, the electric field is relatively easy to concentrate on the outer edge of the substrate Wf, and the coating film thickness of the outer edge becomes thicker. Therefore, it is better to arrange the resistor 450 near the coated surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf.

In addition, the coating module 400 includes: a blade 480 disposed between the substrate Wf held by the substrate holder 440 and the resistor 450; and a blade stirring mechanism 482 for moving the blade 480 in the coating liquid and stirring the coating liquid. The blade 480 may be, for example, composed of a plate member having a plurality of rod-shaped members arranged in a grid shape, but is not limited thereto, and may also be composed of a plate member having a plurality of honeycomb-shaped holes. The blade stirring mechanism may be realized by, for example, a known mechanism such as a motor. The blade stirring mechanism 482 is configured to stir the coating liquid near the coating surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf by moving the blade 480 back and forth along the coating surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and the blade stirring mechanism 482 may be configured to move the blade 480 back and forth perpendicularly to the coated surface Wf-a. In addition, in the present embodiment, the blade 480 and the blade stirring mechanism 482 are illustrated, but the blade 480 and the blade stirring mechanism 482 may not be provided.

In addition, the plating module 400 has a first detection electrode 460 for detecting the potential in the plating groove 412. The potential detected by the first detection electrode 460 can be used to estimate the thickness of the plating film formed on the plated surface Wf-a. The front end of the first detection electrode 460 is arranged at a first position inside the resistor 450. In the present embodiment, the resistor 450 is configured in a plate shape and has: a substrate side facing surface 450-a facing the plated surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf; and an anode side facing surface 450-b facing the anode 430. Then, in the present embodiment, "the inside of the resistor 450" refers to the area between the substrate side facing surface 450-a and the anode side facing surface 450-b. In other words, the first detection electrode 460 is arranged on the same plane as the substrate-side facing surface 450-a of the resistor 450, or is arranged at a position farther from the plated surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf than the substrate-side facing surface 450-a. In addition, when the resistor 450 is composed of a porous material, etc., the substrate-side facing surface 450-a and the anode-side facing surface 450-b can be imaginary planes. In addition, in the present embodiment, the front end of the first detection electrode 460 is configured to face the plated surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf without covering the resistor 450, and the substrate-side facing surface 450-a refers to the surface of the area other than the area where the first detection electrode 460 is provided.

FIG. 4 is a view IV-IV as viewed from the IV-IV direction in FIG. 3 . FIG. 5 is a view in which the blades in FIG. 4 are omitted. In addition, as shown in the examples shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , the resistor 450 is fixed to the support frame member 414 fixed to the plating groove 412, and when viewed in the direction perpendicular to the plate surface of the substrate Wf, the resistor 450 has a circular shape slightly larger than the substrate Wf. As shown in FIG. 3 to FIG. 5 , the first detection electrode 460 is arranged in the area between the substrate Wf and the anode 430. That is, the first detection electrode 460 is located between the substrate Wf and the anode 430 in the direction perpendicular to the plate surface of the substrate Wf, and is arranged in a position overlapping with the substrate Wf (plated surface Wf-a) when viewed in the direction perpendicular to the plate surface of the substrate Wf. As described above, the resistor 450 is preferably disposed near the coated surface Wf-a, and the first detection electrode 460 is also preferably disposed near the coated surface Wf-a. Therefore, in the past, because the first detection electrode 460 is provided, the resistor 450 is disposed away from the coated surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf so that the resistor 450 and the first detection electrode 460 do not interfere with each other. As a result, it becomes difficult to improve the distribution uniformity of the coating film thickness.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the coating film thickness 400 has a blade 480, and the blade 480 is arranged between the resistor 450 and the substrate Wf. The blade 480 is configured to move back and forth along the direction of the coated surface Wf-a due to the blade stirring mechanism 482. Moreover, as shown in the example of FIG. 4, the blade 480 is composed of a plate member formed with many honeycomb holes. When viewed perpendicularly to the direction of the coated surface Wf-a, it is preferable to move the blade 480 so that the blade 480 overlaps the entire area of the coated surface Wf-a due to the back and forth movement. Such a blade 480 is arranged in the limited space between the resistor 450 and the substrate Wf (refer to FIG. 3). In order to prevent the blade 480 and the first detection electrode 460 from interfering with each other, as an example, it is conceivable to narrow the area where the blade 480 moves back and forth, and to arrange the first detection electrode 460 outside the moving area of the blade 480. However, the movement restriction of the blade 480 may become a cause of damaging the stirring of the coating liquid and damaging the distribution uniformity of the coating film thickness. In addition, in order to prevent the blade 480 and the first detection electrode 460 from interfering with each other, when the resistor 450 is arranged away from the coating surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf, the resistor 450 damages the electric field adjustment, resulting in the damage of the distribution uniformity of the coating film thickness.

In this regard, the first detection electrode 460 of the present embodiment is arranged inside the resistor 450 as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. In the present embodiment, the resistor 450 forms a groove 452 on the substrate side facing surface 450-a, and the first detection electrode 460 is arranged in the groove 452. The depth of the groove 452 of the resistor 450 is determined so that the first detection electrode 460 does not protrude from the substrate side facing surface 450-a. It is preferred that the first detection electrode 460 and the groove 452 of the resistor 450 are set to an area of less than 1.7% and more than 1.4% or less than 1% in the circumferential direction. That is, it is preferred that the first detection electrode 460 is set to an area of less than 1.7% of the circumference of the circle through which the first detection electrode 460 passes with the substrate Wf rotation axis of the rotating mechanism 448 as the center. Alternatively, the groove of the first detection electrode 460 and the resistor 450 may also be set to an area of less than 6 degrees, 5 degrees or 3.3 degrees of the central angle of the substrate side facing surface 450-a. This is based on the fact that if the width of the groove of the resistor 450 and the first detection electrode 460 in the circumferential direction is less than 1.7% of the circumference, and more preferably less than 1%, the influence on the electric field adjustment of the resistor 450 is very small, and the influence on the distribution of the coating film thickness formed on the coated surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf is small. Furthermore, a screw hole 454 for fixing the first detection electrode 460 is formed in the groove of the resistor 450, and the first detection electrode 460 can also be connected to the groove 452 of the resistor 450 by a bolt 460a. As an example, the screw hole 454 is formed to a depth that does not reach the anode side facing surface 450-b of the resistor 450. However, the first detection electrode 460 is not limited to being screwed to the groove 452 of the resistor 450. As an example, the first detection electrode 460 can also be configured to change the detection position by moving in the groove 452 of the resistor 450 by a driving mechanism not shown in the figure. In addition, the first detection electrode 460 and the resistor 450 can also be formed as one piece. In addition, the coating assembly 400 may also include a plurality of first detection electrodes 460 .

Thus, by disposing the first detection electrode 460 inside the resistor 450, the distance between the resistor 450 and the plated surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf can be reduced, and the distribution uniformity of the coating film thickness can be improved. In addition, by disposing the first detection electrode 460 inside the resistor 450, since the first detection electrode 460 and the blade 480 do not interfere with each other, the blade 480 can be used to properly stir the coating liquid. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG4 , the first detection electrode 460 is arranged in an area overlapping with the blade 480 that moves back and forth by the blade stirring mechanism 482 when viewed from the plate surface perpendicular to the substrate Wf (the area where the blade 480 moves back and forth when viewed from the anode 430 that is coated with the surface Wf-a: refer to the dotted line in FIG4 ).

In addition, the coating group 400 has: a second detection electrode 462, which is used to detect the potential in the coating groove 412 together with the first detection electrode 460. The second detection electrode 462 is arranged at a position in the coating groove 412 where there is no relative potential change. Specifically, the second detection electrode 462 is arranged at a second position outside the area between the substrate Wf and the anode 430. That is, as shown in Figures 3 to 5, the second detection electrode 462 is arranged at a position that does not overlap with the substrate Wf when viewed from a plate surface direction perpendicular to the substrate Wf. The second detection electrode 462 detects the potential at the arrangement location (second position) far away from the substrate Wf and the anode 430. In addition, the coating group 400 may also have a plurality of second detection electrodes 462.

As an example, the first detection electrode 460 and the second detection electrode 462 can be made of the same material and/or the same shape of electrode. As the electrode material, at least one of platinum (Pt), gold (Au), carbon (C) and copper (Cu) can be used.

The detection signals of the first detection electrode 460 and the second detection electrode 462 are input to the control module 800. In the present embodiment, the control module 800 measures the potential difference between the first detection electrode 460 and the second detection electrode 462, and estimates the film thickness of the coating formed on the coated surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf based on the potential difference. This is based on the correlation between the plating current and the potential in the plating process. The current coating film thickness can be estimated based on the time change of the coating formation speed calculated at the beginning of plating. The coating film thickness can be estimated based on the potential difference between the first detection electrode 460 and the second detection electrode 462 by known means. For example, the control module 800 estimates the distribution of the coating current in the substrate during the coating process based on the detection signal, and can estimate the distribution of the coating film thickness in the substrate based on the estimated coating current distribution. The details of estimating the coating film thickness of the substrate Wf by the control module 800 during the coating process will be described later.

<Shielding body> Now let's go back to the structure of the coating module 400. In one embodiment, a shielding body 470 (see FIG. 3 ) is provided in the cathode region 422, and the shielding body 470 is used to shield the current flowing from the anode 430 to the substrate Wf. In this embodiment, although the shielding body 470 is provided at the same height as the blade 480, it is not limited to this example. The shielding body 470 is, for example, a roughly plate-shaped member made of a dielectric material. The shielding body 470 is configured to be movable between a shielding position between the coating surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf and the anode 430, and a retreat position away from the coating surface Wf-a and the anode 430. In other words, the shielding body 470 is configured to be movable between a shielding position below the coated surface Wf-a and a retreat position away from below the coated surface Wf-a. The position of the shielding body 470 is controlled by a driving mechanism 472 that receives instructions from the control module 800. The movement of the shielding body 470 is achieved by a known mechanism such as a motor or a solenoid.

<Plating treatment> Next, the plating treatment of the plating module 400 of this embodiment is described in detail. By using the lifting mechanism 442 to immerse the substrate Wf in the plating liquid in the cathode area 422, the substrate Wf is exposed to the plating liquid. In this state, the plating module 400 applies a voltage between the anode 430 and the substrate Wf, and can apply a plating treatment to the plating surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf. In addition, in one embodiment, the substrate holder 440 is rotated using the rotating mechanism 448 and the plating treatment is performed. Through the plating treatment, a conductive film (plating film) is deposited on the plating surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf. In this embodiment, during the plating process, the potential difference between the first detection electrode 460 and the second detection electrode 462 is detected in real time. Then, the control module 800 estimates the film thickness of the coating film based on the potential difference between the first detection electrode 460 and the second detection electrode 462. In this way, during the plating process, the film thickness change of the coating film formed on the coated surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf can be measured in real time.

FIG6 shows an example of the measurement results of the potential difference of the embodiment and the comparative example. The comparative example shows an example in which the blade 480 is not provided in the coating module 400. In the example shown in FIG6, power is not supplied to a specific power supply contact of the substrate holder 440 that contacts the substrate Wf at 12 positions, and the substrate holder 440 is rotated by the rotating mechanism 448 to measure the potential difference between the first detection electrode 460 and the second detection electrode 462. As a result, in the measurement results of the comparative example, the peak of the potential difference corresponding to the power supply contact that is not supplied with power can be seen (refer to the area AP). Furthermore, as described above, in the coating module 400 of the present embodiment, the first detection electrode 460 is arranged in the reciprocating movement area of the blade 480 when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the plate surface of the substrate Wf. Therefore, the measurement result of the present embodiment includes the noise corresponding to the reciprocating movement cycle of the blade 480 (refer to the area AN). On the other hand, even in the measurement result of the present embodiment, as in the measurement result of the comparative example, the potential difference peak corresponding to the power supply contact to which no power is supplied can be seen. Therefore, it is understood that in the coating module 400 of the present embodiment, the potential change near the coated surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf can be appropriately measured, and the coating film formed on the coated surface Wf-a can be appropriately estimated.

As shown in FIG6 , in the coating module 400 of the present embodiment, the measurement result of the potential difference between the first detection electrode 460 and the second detection electrode 462 includes noise corresponding to the reciprocating movement cycle of the blade 480. In order to reduce the influence of such noise, the control module 800 can be configured to estimate the film thickness of the coating film formed on the substrate Wf by removing the vibration component having a frequency equivalent to the reciprocating movement cycle (first cycle) of the blade 480 from the measurement result of the potential difference between the first detection electrode 460 and the second detection electrode 462. The frequency equivalent to the reciprocating movement cycle of the blade 480 can be calculated using the well-known formula f[Hz]=1/T[s]. In addition, the control module 800 may be configured to remove noise equivalent to the reciprocating movement cycle of the blade 480 by digital signal processing, or may include an analog circuit such as a band rejection filter circuit configured to remove noise equivalent to the reciprocating movement cycle of the blade 480.

Furthermore, in the coating process, the control module 800 preferably adjusts the reciprocating cycle (first cycle) of the blade 480 and the rotation cycle (second cycle) of the substrate holder 440 to be not an integer multiple of each other. In other words, it is preferred that the reciprocating cycle of the blade 480 is not an integer multiple of the rotation cycle of the substrate holder 440, and the rotation cycle of the substrate holder 440 is not an integer multiple of the reciprocating cycle of the blade 480. This is to prevent the reciprocating cycle of the blade 480 and the rotation cycle of the substrate holder 440 from overlapping, and to prevent the specific position of the coated surface Wf-a from being frequently affected by the same influence of the blade 480 when detecting it. Therefore, by such control, the coating film formed on the coated surface Wf-a can be properly estimated.

Thus, according to the coating device 1000 of this embodiment, the potential in the coating groove 412 can be detected during the coating process by using the first detection electrode 460 disposed inside the resistor 450, and the thickness change of the coating film can be estimated and detected. In this way, the estimated (detected) thickness change of the coating film can be referred to to adjust at least one of the coating conditions including the coating current value, the coating time, the position of the resistor 450, the opening size of the anode cover 426, and the position of the shielding body 470 in the coating process and/or the next coating process. In addition, the coating conditions can also be adjusted by the user of the coating device 1000 or by the control module 800. As an example, the coating conditions may be adjusted by the control module 800 using a conditional formula or program predetermined by experiments or the like.

<Variation> In the above-mentioned embodiment, the coating module 400 is configured such that the coating surface Wf-a of the substrate Wf faces downward during the coating process. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and the substrate Wf may be maintained to extend in the vertical direction in the coating groove, that is, the plate surface faces the horizontal direction. In addition, in such a case, the substrate Wf may be an angular substrate or a circular substrate as in the above-mentioned embodiment.

The present invention can also be described as the following forms. [Form 1] According to Form 1, a coating device is proposed, the coating device comprising: a coating groove; a substrate holder for holding a substrate; an anode arranged in the coating groove to face the substrate held in the substrate holder; a resistor arranged between the substrate and the anode for adjusting the electric field; a first detection electrode arranged in a region between the plated surface of the substrate and the anode, wherein the front end is arranged at a first position inside the resistor; a second detection electrode arranged at a second position where there is no potential change compared to the first position in the coating groove; and a control module for measuring the potential difference between the first detection electrode and the second detection electrode, and estimating the coating film thickness of the substrate based on the potential difference. According to Form 1, the distance between the resistor and the substrate can be reduced, and the film thickness of the coating can be evaluated and detected during the coating process. At the same time, the film thickness of the coating can be evaluated and detected during the coating process.

[Form 2] According to Form 2, in Form 1, the resistor body has a facing surface facing the plated surface of the substrate; and the first detection electrode is arranged in a groove formed in the facing surface.

[Form 3] According to Form 3, in Form 1 or 2, it is further equipped with: a rotating mechanism to rotate the aforementioned substrate holder; the aforementioned first detection electrode is set to a region below 1.7% of the circumference of a circle passed by the aforementioned first detection electrode with the rotation axis of the aforementioned rotating mechanism as the center; and the aforementioned control module is configured to estimate the film thickness of the aforementioned coating film as the aforementioned substrate is rotated by the aforementioned rotating mechanism.

[Form 4] According to Form 4, in Forms 1 to 3, there are: a blade, arranged between the aforementioned resistor and the aforementioned substrate; and a blade stirring mechanism, configured to cause the aforementioned blade to move back and forth along the direction of the aforementioned coated surface of the aforementioned substrate; the aforementioned first detection electrode is arranged in the area where the aforementioned blade moves back and forth when the aforementioned coated surface is viewed from the aforementioned anode.

[Form 5] According to Form 5, in Forms 1 to 3, the blade stirring mechanism is configured to cause the blade to move back and forth in a first cycle; and the control module removes a vibration component having a frequency equivalent to the first cycle from the potential difference to estimate the coating thickness of the substrate.

[Form 6] According to Form 6, in Form 4 or 5, the coating device is further equipped with: a rotating mechanism to rotate the substrate holder; the blade stirring mechanism is configured to move the blade back and forth in a first cycle; the control module is configured to estimate the film thickness of the coating film as the substrate rotates in a second cycle caused by the rotating mechanism; the first cycle and the second cycle are adjusted to not have an integer multiple relationship with each other.

[Form 7] According to Form 7, in Forms 1 to 6, the substrate holder is configured to hold the substrate in the coating groove with the coating surface facing downward.

The following describes the embodiments of the present invention. The embodiments of the present invention are used to facilitate understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention can be modified and improved without departing from its gist, and the present invention naturally includes its equivalents. In addition, within the scope of solving at least part of the above-mentioned problems or achieving part of the effects, the embodiments and variations can be arbitrarily combined, and the constituent elements described in the scope of the patent application and the specification can be combined or omitted.

100: Unloading port 110: Transfer robot 120: Alignment device 200: Pre-wetting module 300: Pre-preg module 400: Plating module 412: Plating groove 414: Support frame component 420: Film 422: Cathode area 424: Anode area 426: Anode cover 430: Anode 440: Substrate holder 442: Lifting mechanism 448: Rotating mechanism 450: Resistor 450-a: Substrate side facing surface 450-b: Anode side facing surface 452: Groove 454: Screw hole 458: Driving mechanism 460: First detection electrode 460a: Bolt 462: Second detection electrode 470: Shielding body 472: Driving mechanism 480: Blade 482: Blade stirring mechanism 500: Cleaning module 600: Spin dryer 700: Transport device 800: Control module 1000: Coating device Wf: Substrate Wf-a: Coated surface

[Fig. 1] An oblique view showing the overall structure of the coating device of the first embodiment. [Fig. 2] A plan view showing the overall structure of the coating device of the first embodiment. [Fig. 3] A longitudinal cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of the coating module of the first embodiment. [Fig. 4] A view from IV-IV direction in Fig. 3. [Fig. 5] A view showing the blades in Fig. 4 by omitting them. [Fig. 6] A diagram showing an example of the measurement results of the potential difference between the embodiment and the comparative example.

400: Coating module

412: Plated groove

420: Membrane

422:Cathode region

424: Anode area

426: Anode Shield

430: Yang pole

440: Substrate holder

442: Lifting mechanism

448: Rotating mechanism

450: Resistor

452: Groove

460: First detection electrode

462: Second detection electrode

470: Shielding Body

472: Driving mechanism

480:Leaves

482: Blade stirring mechanism

800: Control module

Wf: Substrate

Wf-a: coated

Claims (7)

A coating device comprises: a coating groove; a substrate holder for holding a substrate; an anode arranged in the coating groove to face the substrate held in the substrate holder; a resistor arranged between the substrate and the anode for adjusting the electric field; a first detection electrode arranged in the region between the coated surface of the substrate and the anode, wherein the front end is arranged at a first position inside the resistor; a second detection electrode arranged at a second position having no potential change compared with the first position in the coating groove; and a control module for measuring the potential difference between the first detection electrode and the second detection electrode, and estimating the coating film thickness of the substrate based on the potential difference. The coating device as described in claim 1, wherein the resistor has a facing surface facing the coated surface of the substrate; The first detection electrode is arranged in a groove formed in the facing surface. The coating device as described in claim 1 is further provided with: a rotating mechanism for rotating the substrate holder; The first detection electrode is set to a region of less than 1.7% of the circumference of a circle passed by the first detection electrode with the rotation axis of the rotating mechanism as the center; The control module is configured to estimate the coating film thickness of the substrate as the substrate rotates by the rotating mechanism. The coating device as described in claim 1 comprises: a blade disposed between the resistor and the substrate; and a blade stirring mechanism configured to cause the blade to move back and forth in the direction of the coated surface of the substrate; when the coated surface is viewed from the anode, the first detection electrode is disposed in the region where the blade moves back and forth. The coating device as described in claim 4, wherein the blade stirring mechanism is configured to cause the blade to move back and forth in a first cycle; The control module removes the vibration component having a frequency equivalent to the first cycle from the potential difference to estimate the coating film thickness of the substrate. The coating device as described in claim 4, wherein the coating device is further equipped with: a rotating mechanism to rotate the substrate holder; the blade stirring mechanism is configured to move the blade back and forth in a first cycle; the control module is configured to estimate the coating film thickness of the substrate as the substrate rotates in a second cycle caused by the rotating mechanism; the first cycle and the second cycle are adjusted to have no integer multiple relationship with each other. The coating apparatus as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the substrate holder is configured to hold the substrate in the coating tank with the coated surface facing downward.