Abstract: A plating method is capable of mechanically and electrochemically preferentially depositing a plated film in fine interconnect recesses such as trenches and via holes, and depositing the plated film to a flatter surface. The plating method including: disposing a substrate having fine interconnect recesses such that a conductive layer faces an anode; disposing a porous member between the substrate and the anode; filling a plating solution between the substrate and the anode; and repeating a process of holding the conductive layer and the porous member in contact with each other and moving the conductive layer and the porous member relatively to each other, a process of passing an electric current between the conductive layer and the anode while keeping the conductive layer still with respect to the porous member, and a process of stopping the supply of the electric current between the conductive layer and the anode.

Abstract: A substrate processing apparatus has a plating apparatus configured to plate a substrate to deposit a metal on a surface of the substrate and an additional process apparatus configured to perform an additional process on the substrate. The plating apparatus has a substrate placement stage on which the substrate to be transferred to the additional process apparatus is placed. The additional process apparatus has an additional process unit configured to perform the additional process on the substrate and a substrate transfer device operable to transfer the substrate between the substrate placement stage of the plating apparatus and the additional process unit. The substrate processing apparatus can perform an additional process in addition to a plating process without lowering a throughput of the apparatus and can upgrade the additional process at a low cost.

Abstract: A plating method is capable of depositing a plated film having excellent in-plane uniformity with respect to a thin seed layer and excellent embeddability with respect to fine damascene structures. The plating method including: positioning an electric resistor between a conductive layer formed on at least a portion of a surface of the substrate and an anode; introducing respectively a plating solution into a space between the conductive layer and the anode on the conductive layer side, and an anode solution into the space between the conductive layer and the anode on the anode side, thereby filling the space with a plating bath composed of the plating solution and the anode solution, the plating solution containing 25 to 75 g/L of copper ions and 0.4 mole/L or more of an organic acid or an inorganic acid, and the anode solution being of the same composition as said plating solution, or containing 0 to 75 g/L of copper ions and 0.

Abstract: An apparatus and a method for processing substrate are generally used for apparatuses for wet-type process of substrate, such as an electrolytic processing apparatus for use in forming interconnects by embedding a metal such as copper (Cu) or the like in fine interconnect patterns (recesses) that are formed in a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer and for use in forming bumps for electrical connections.

Abstract: A plating method is capable of preferentially precipitating a plated film fully and uniformly in trenches and via holes according to a mechanical and electrochemical process, and of easily forming a plated film having higher flatness surface without being affected by variations in the shape of trenches and via holes. The plating method includes a first plating process and a second plating process. The second plating process is performed by filling a plating solution between an anode and a substrate, with a porous member placed in the plating solution, repeatedly bringing the porous member and the substrate into and out of contact with each other, passing a current between the anode and the substrate while the porous member is being held in contact with the substrate.

Abstract: The present invention provides a plating apparatus for a substrate which can plate a substrate under uniform pressure without increasing a load to be applied while holding the entire surface of a porous member in contact with the surface, to be plated, of the substrate.

Abstract: A plating apparatus is used for filling a fine interconnect pattern formed in a substrate with metal to form interconnects. The plating apparatus includes a cathode unit having a seal member for hermetically sealing a peripheral portion of a surface, to be plated, of the substrate and a cathode electrode which is brought into contact with the substrate to supply current to the substrate; an electrode head disposed so as to be movable toward and away from the surface to be plated and having an anode and a porous member with water retentivity at upper and lower parts of the electrode head; a pressing mechanism for pressing the porous member against the surface, to be plated, of the substrate under a desired pressure; and a driving mechanism for making a relative motion between the porous member and the substrate while the porous member and the surface, to be plated, of the substrate are brought into contact with each other.

Abstract: A plating apparatus is used for filling a fine interconnect pattern formed in the substrate with metal to form interconnects. The plating apparatus includes a substrate holder for holding a substrate, a cathode portion including a sealing member for contacting a peripheral portion of a surface, to be plated, of the substrate held by said substrate holder to seal said peripheral portion water-tightly, and a cathode for contacting the substrate to supply current to the substrate, an anode vertically movably disposed so as to face the surface, to be plated, of the substrate, and a porous member disposed between said anode and the surface, to be plated, of the substrate, said porous member being made of a water-retentive material, wherein said porous member has at least a hydrophilic substrate-facing surface which faces the surface, to be plated, of the substrate.

Abstract: An electrolytic solution control method can control the composition of an electrolytic solution efficiently with high precision, and can remove a partially decomposed product of an organic component from an electrolytic solution. The electrolytic solution control method includes storing an electrolytic solution containing an organic component and an inorganic component in an electrolytic solution storage tank while controlling and keeping the electrolytic solution at a predetermined composition, adjusting an inorganic component of the waste electrolytic solution after use in electrolytic processing in an electrolytic processing apparatus, and then returning the waste electrolytic solution to the electrolytic solution storage tank.

Abstract: The present invention provides a plating apparatus which uses an insoluble anode and which can perform plating of a substrate stably while preventing oxygen gas, generated due to the use of the insoluble anode, from causing defects in the substrate.

Abstract: A method and apparatus are set forth capable of processing a substrate with a high uniformity within the surface area even for a thin feeding layer. The method comprises arranging a counter electrode and the substrate to confront each other; providing a membrane between the counter electrode and the substrate to define a substrate side region and a counter electrode side region. The substrate side region and the counter electrode side region are capable of accommodating respective electrolytes. The substrate side region and the counter electrode side region are supplied with respective electrolytes having different specific resistances. A processing current is also supplied between the substrate and the counter electrode.

Abstract: A plating method according to the present invention is capable of plating a substrate with a plated film of a metal such as copper or the like with high adhesion to a seed layer without producing voids in the plated film at a high throughput, not only in recesses having a large width and a small aspect ratio, but also in recesses having a small width and a large aspect ratio, even when relatively narrow recesses and relatively broad recesses are co-present in the substrate. The plating method is performed by preparing a substrate having a relatively narrow recess and a relatively broad recess defined in a surface thereof, performing first plating under plating conditions for filling a metal in the narrow recess, and then performing second plating under plating conditions for filling a metal in the broad recess.

Abstract: The present invention provides an electrolytic processing apparatus which is capable of increasing the in-plane uniformity of the film thickness of a plated film by making more uniform an electric field distribution over the entire surface to be processed of a substrate even if the substrate has a large area and controlling more uniformly the speed, over the entire surface to be processed of the substrate.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide a plating method which can form defect-free, completely-embedded interconnects of a conductive material in recesses in the surface of a substrate even when the recesses are of a high aspect ratio, and which can improve the flatness of a plated film on the substrate even when narrow trenches and broad trenches are co-present in the surface of the substrate. A plating method according to the present invention includes: providing a high resistance structure between a surface of a substrate, said surface being connected to a cathode electrode, and an anode electrode; filling the space between the substrate and the anode electrode with a plating solution while applying a voltage between the cathode electrode and the anode electrode; and growing a plated film on the surface of the substrate while controlling an electric current flowing between the cathode electrode and the anode electrode at a constant value.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a disk drive that can retract the head to a retract position by using a reserve power supply, when the supply of power from the main power supply is interrupted. The disk drive comprises a CPU, a control capacitor, an unload circuit, a reserve power supply, and a VCM. While the disk drive is operating normally, the CPU performs servo control, calculates a retract distance from the position of the head and determines a control value corresponding to the retract distance, by using the main power supply. The CPU converts the control value to a control voltage, which is held in the control capacitor. When the supply of power from the main power supply is interrupted, the unload circuit supplies a drive current set by the control voltage held in the control capacitor, from the reserve power supply to the VCM. The VCM moves the head to the retract position at an appropriate speed.

Abstract: An arc welding method which suppresses sputtering and which makes it possible to obtain a smooth bead penetration surface shape as in MIG or MAG welding, without producing undercuts or bumping beads. A carbon dioxide gas welding method effecting welding at welding rates of about not less than 1.

Abstract: An impact and a vibration are applied to a portion of a piston ring on which a belt body is wound, and a vibration is also applied to the belt body. A position where a desired tension can be obtained is obtained by using a master gauge having an outer diameter equal to the inner diameter of a cylinder, and the like. When measuring the tension, a measuring mechanism is moved to this position. The frictional force between the piston ring and the belt body can be considerably decreased, and a closed gap need not be measured every time measurement is performed. Accordingly, the tension of the piston ring can be stably measured at high precision within a short period of time.

Abstract: In a disk drive, the CPU uses the cylinder code recorded on the servo area on the disk and thereby senses the present position of the read head. The cylinder codes are the addresses of the tracks formed on the disk and indicate the track position of the read head. In the servo area, the redundant data for identifying the boundary between adjacent tracks is recorded in addition to the cylinder code. When the read head is located near the track boundary, the CPU receives the cylinder code and redundant data and thereby determines which one of the boundaries with adjacent tracks to the track identified by the cylinder code the read head is located nearby. This makes it possible to determine the present position of the read head even when the read head accurately is positioned near the boundary between adjacent tracks.

Abstract: In a hard disk drive of a sector servo type, two low pass filters having different filter characteristics are used. One low pass filter has uniform group delay characteristics to accurately detect the peak positions of data read/written by a user without causing any peak shifts. The other low pass filter has attenuation characteristics representing a high degree of attenuation of signal components having frequencies higher than a predetermined frequency so as to accurately detect the amplitudes of burst data for positioning a magnetic head to the center of a destination cylinder by removing noise.

Abstract: A hard disk drive includes a head for recording/reproducing data on a recording medium, a motor for moving the head on the recording medium, a motor driver for supplying a driving current to the motor, a data processing circuit for processing data reproduced from the head or record data given to the head, and a cable which has a current line connecting between the motor driver and the motor and a data line connecting between the data processing circuit and the head. The motor has been connected with a noise canceler comprising series-connected first and second filters in parallel with the motor. The connecting point of the first and the second filters of the noise canceler is grounded. A noise generated from the motor driver flows to a ground via the connecting point of the first and the second filters and is cancelled.