Abstract: A composite nanoparticle makes it possible to significantly lower the temperature to separate an organic substance from a core and uniformly sinter the cores, and can be applied to bonding that replaces soldering. The composite nanoparticle includes a metal component as a core, and an organic substance surrounding the metal component and bonded to it by physical adsorption. The composite nanoparticles can be produced by allowing an inorganic metal salt and an organic material to coexist, and heating the inorganic metal salt and the organic material to a predetermined temperature and holding them at the temperature for a predetermined time so that the inorganic metal salt is decomposed to produce metal nanoparticles. Thus, an organic substance is bonded to the metal nanoparticles by physical adsorption without forming an organometallic compound through a reaction between the metal nanoparticles and the organic substance.

Abstract: [Problems] To provide an electrode that is stable in liquid and is capable of processing a large volume of liquid and a small electrode that is capable of processing a large volume of liquid at high speed; provide a liquid processor and method of processing liquid in which the electrode is used; provide and electrode material being hard to be damaged by thermal stress; and provide an electrode, liquid processor and method of processing liquid in which the electrode material is used. [Means for solving problems] An electrode of configuration resulting from coating solid pieces of 5 to 60 mm size with electrically conductive diamond, supporting them on supports and bringing the same into contact with each other so as to realize current passage as a whole is used in various electrochemical process.

Abstract: A method and apparatus plate a substrate to form wiring by efficiently filling a fine recess formed in a semiconductor substrate with plating metal without a void or contamination. The plating of the substrate to fill a wiring recess formed in the semiconductor substrate with plating metal includes performing an electroless plating process of forming an initial layer on the substrate, and performing an electrolytic plating process of filling the wiring recess with the plating metal, while the initial layer serves as a feeding layer.

Abstract: A bonding apparatus can bond contacts of electronic components directly to each other without the need for solder. The bonding apparatus include a hermetically sealed processing chamber, a plurality of bases for holding at least two workpieces having respective bonding regions in the processing chamber, a gas inlet for introducing a processing gas to clean the bonding regions into the processing chamber, a pressure controller for controlling a predetermined pressure to be developed in the processing chamber, a heater for heating the workpieces in the processing chamber, and a bonding unit for pressing and bonding the bonding regions of the workpieces to each other in the processing chamber.

Abstract: A method and apparatus plate a substrate to form wiring by efficiently filling a fine recess formed in a semiconductor substrate with plating metal without a void or contamination. The plating of the substrate to fill a wiring recess formed in the semiconductor substrate with plating metal includes performing an electroless plating process of forming an initial layer on the substrate, and performing an electrolytic plating process of filling the wiring recess with the plating metal, while the initial layer serves as a feeding layer.

Abstract: A joining method, which can perform high quality joining at a practical cost, without applying a high temperature or a great compressive load, and without introducing a joining inhibitor, such as a metal oxide, between members to be joined, is provided. This joining method has a joining step of bonding together a plurality of members W1, W2, which are to be joined, metallurgically in a solid phase state, and comprises a contact step of bringing a liquid organic acid L into contact with surfaces to be joined of the members W1, W2 to be joined. By this measure, a non-metallic substance, such as an oxide, covering the surfaces to be joined of the members W1, W2 to be joined is reduced, and thereby converted into a water-soluble complex for removal, whereby metals as materials are exposed at the surfaces to be joined of the members W1, W2 to be joined.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method of and an apparatus for forming a thin metal film of copper, silver, or the like on a surface of a semiconductor or another substrate. A method of forming a thin metal film, comprises preparing a dispersed liquid having a metal-containing organic compound dispersed in a predetermined solvent, coating the dispersed liquid on a surface of a substrate and evaporating the solvent to form a coating layer, and applying an energy beam to the coating layer to decompose away an organic substance contained in the coating layer in an area irradiated with the energy beam and bond metal contained in the coating layer.According to the present invention, it is possible to form a thin metal film of good quality efficiently and stably. The thin metal film used as metal interconnects in highly integrated semiconductor circuits contributes to the progress of a process of fabricating semiconductor devices.

Abstract: A reactive detection chip having spots formed by immobilizing a plurality of porous particles in a cluster onto a substrate, the porous particles having probe molecules bound to surfaces of the porous particles and surfaces of pores in the particles including pores, wherein the porous particles are transparent to incident light, and have been immobilized in a single-layered state onto the substrate, is provided. A spotter suitable for spotting a liquid containing low dispersibility particles in manufacturing the reactive detection chip is also provided. In the reactive detection chip, the number of probes can be stably controlled, and a three-dimensional array of the probes uniformizes the supply of a sample to the probes. Thus, the magnitude of signal components is stabilized, and signal components are stably increased, so that the S/N ratio is increased, and the detection capability of the DNA chip can be enhanced. The use of the spotter enables the chip to be manufactured more efficiently.

Abstract: A substrate plating apparatus forms an interconnection layer on an interconnection region composed of a fine groove and/or a fine hole defined in a substrate. The substrate plating apparatus includes a plating unit for forming a plated layer on a surface of the substrate including the interconnection region, a chemical mechanical polishing unit for chemically mechanically polishing the substrate to remove the plated layer from the surface of the substrate leaving a portion of the plated layer in the interconnection region, a cleaning unit for cleaning the substrate after the plated layer is formed or the substrate is chemically mechanically polished, a drying unit for drying the substrate after the substrate is cleaned, and a substrate transfer unit for transferring the substrate to and from each of the first plating unit, the first chemical mechanical polishing unit, the cleaning unit, and the drying unit.

Abstract: There is provided a method of performing a surface treatment, such as coating, denaturation, modification and etching, on a surface of a substrate. The method comprises the steps of bringing a surface treatment gas into contact with a surface of a substrate, and irradiating the surface of the substrate with a fast particle beam to enhance an activity of the surface and/or the surface treatment gas, thereby facilitating a reaction between the surface and the gas. The fast particle beam may be selected from a group consisting of an electron beam, a charged particle beam, an atomic beam and molecular beam. For example, during a coating operation, chemical deposition of predetermined component elements of the gas onto the surface is effected and a predetermined portion of the surface of the substrate is irradiated with a particle beam to form a coating layer on the predetermined portion.

Abstract: There is provided a bonding material and a bonding method which enable lead-free bonding that can replace high-temperature soldering. The bonding material of the present invention comprises a dispersion in an organic solvent of composite metallic nano-particles having such a structure that a metal core of a metal particle having an average particle diameter of not more than 100 nm. The bonding material can be advantageously used in a stepwise bonding process containing at least two bonding steps.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a substrate plating apparatus for plating a substrate in a plating bath containing plating solution. An insoluble anode is disposed in the plating bath opposite the substrate. The substrate plating apparatus comprises a circulating vessel or dummy vessel provided separate from the plating bath, with a soluble anode and a cathode disposed in the circulating vessel or dummy vessel. An anion exchange film or selective cation exchange film is disposed between the anode and cathode and isolates the same, wherein metal ions are generated in the circulating vessel or dummy vessel by flowing current between the soluble anode and the cathode therein, and the generated metal ions are supplied to the plating bath.

Abstract: Embedded interconnections of copper are formed by forming an insulating layer, forming embedded interconnections of copper in the insulating layer, making an exposed upper surface of the insulating layer and an exposed surface of the embedded interconnections of copper coplanar according to chemical mechanical polishing, and forming a protective silver film on the exposed surface of the embedded interconnections of copper. These steps are repeated on the existing insulating layer thereby to produce multiple layers of embedded interconnections of copper. The exposed surface of the embedded interconnections of copper is plated with silver according to immersion plating.

Abstract: A substrate plating apparatus forms an interconnection layer on an interconnection region composed of a fine groove and/or a fine hole defined in a substrate. The substrate plating apparatus includes a plating unit for forming a plated layer on a surface of the substrate including the interconnection region, a chemical mechanical polishing unit for chemically mechanically polishing the substrate to remove the plated layer from the surface of the substrate leaving a portion of the plated layer in the interconnection region, a cleaning unit for cleaning the substrate after the plated layer is formed or the substrate is chemically mechanically polished, a drying unit for drying the substrate after the substrate is cleaned, and a substrate transfer unit for transferring the substrate to and from each of the first plating unit, the first chemical mechanical polishing unit, the cleaning unit, and the drying unit.

Abstract: The present invention relates particularly to a method of and an apparatus for forming a fine interconnection in a highly integrated circuit formed on a semiconductor substrate. The method has the steps of preparing a substrate having fine recesses formed in a surface thereof, dispersing ultrafine particles made at least partly of a metal in a predetermined solvent, producing an ultrafine particle dispersed liquid, supplying the ultrafine particle dispersed liquid to the fine recesses of the substrate, heating the substrate to melt and bond the metal, and chemical mechanical polishing the surface of the substrate to remove an excessively attached metal therefrom. According to the present invention, it is possible to stably deposit an interconnection metal of good quality using an inexpensive material.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a plating method for use in forming a liner for plating in a conductor-embedding fine recess that is defined in a surface of a semiconductor substrate, and an interconnection forming method for use in forming an interconnection using such a liner, and characterized by reducing an organic metal compound in a nonaqueous solvent to plate a surface of a base material with metal. The plating method can easily be used similarly to an aqueous electroless plating process and is capable of forming a defect-free sound metal plated layer on the surface of a substrate which has a fine recess or the like for embedding a conductor therein, and the interconnection forming method is capable of forming an embedded interconnection that comprises a defect-free sound electric conductor in a fine recess.

Abstract: A substrate is coated with a conductive layer, which comprises a conductive layer of bonded ultrafine metal particles formed on the top surface thereof. The ultrafine metal particles have a diameter of 1-20 nm, and the substrate is of a flexible high polymer material. Since the conductive layer is formed by bonded layer of the ultrafine metal particles, an extremely thin layer having high conductivity can be formed. This structure enables the formation of a flexible printed circuit board with high-density interconnects or a transparent conductive film provided with both transparency and conductivity. Conventional vacuum equipments and complicated processes are not necessary for forming the conductive layer on the substrate.

Abstract: A method and apparatus can provide surface protection of substrates such as semiconductor wafers while they are being transported from one unit process to another unit process. The method comprises coating at least a part of a surface of the substrate with a coagulated film such as an ice film.

Abstract: A substrate such as a semiconductor wafer is plated to fill a metal such as copper (Cu) or the like in interconnection grooves defined in the substrate. An apparatus for plating such a substrate has a plating chamber for holding a plating solution, the plating chamber housing an anode that is immersible in the plating solution held by the plating chamber. A plating solution ejector pipe produces an upward jet of plating solution from a plating solution supplied to the plating chamber from an external source, and a substrate holder removably holds a substrate and positions the substrate such that a surface to be plated of the substrate is held in contact with the jet of plating solution. The plating chamber has a plating solution outlet defined in a bottom thereof for discharging a portion of the supplied plating solution via through-holes defined in the anode and/or around the anode out of the plating chamber.

Abstract: A substrate is coated with a conductive layer, which comprises a conductive layer of bonded ultrafine metal particles formed on the top surface thereof. The ultrafine metal particles have a diameter of 1-20 nm, and the substrate is of a flexible high polymer material. Since the conductive layer is formed by bonded layer of the ultrafine metal particles, an extremely thin layer having high conductivity can be formed. This structure enables the formation of a flexible printed circuit board with high-density interconnects or a transparent conductive film provided with both transparency and conductivity. Conventional vacuum equipments and complicated processes are not necessary for forming the conductive layer on the substrate.