A single-substrate electroless (EL) plating apparatus including a workpiece chuck that is rotatable about rotation axis and inclinable about an axis of inclination. The chuck inclination may be controlled to a non-zero inclination angle during a dispense of plating solution to improve uniformity in the surface wetting and/or plating solution residence time across the a surface of a workpiece supported by the chuck. The angle of inclination may be only a few degrees off-level with the plating solution dispensed from a nozzle that scans over a high-side of the chuck along a radius of the workpiece while the chuck rotates. The angle of inclination may be actively controlled during dispense of the plating solution. The inclination angle may be larger at commencement of the plating solution dispense than at cessation of the dispense.

Provided is a method for forming a metal film capable of forming a homogeneous metal film having a uniform film thickness by stably ensuring a fluid pressure of an electrolytic solution during film formation. The method places a substrate on a mount base. While sucking a gas between the substrate and a porous film through which the electrolytic solution can pass from a suction port of a suction passage formed on the mount base, the method brings the porous film into contact with the surface of the substrate. The method interrupts the suction passage while the porous film contacts the surface of the substrate. While interrupting the suction passage, the method allows the electrolytic solution to pass through the porous film while pressing the porous film against the surface of the substrate with a fluid pressure of the electrolytic solution and deposits metal from metal ions in the passed electrolytic solution on the surface of the substrate, thereby forming the metal film.

A film forming method and a film forming apparatus of a metal plating film allowing suppressing damage of a porous film. A metal plating film on a surface of a metal substrate by solid substitution-type electroless plating method. The film forming method includes preparing the film forming apparatus that includes at least a bottom wall and a sidewall surrounding the bottom wall and that is provided with a housing space, the metal substrate disposed on the bottom surface inside the housing, the porous film disposed on the surface of the metal substrate, and an electroless plating solution housed in the housing space; and using the film forming apparatus, reducing metal ions derived from the electroless plating solution contained in the porous film, and depositing the metal ions on the surface of the metal substrate to form the metal plating film on the surface of the metal substrate.

A single-substrate electroless (EL) plating apparatus including a workpiece chuck that is rotatable about rotation axis and inclinable about an axis of inclination. The chuck inclination may be controlled to a non-zero inclination angle during a dispense of plating solution to improve uniformity in the surface wetting and/or plating solution residence time across the a surface of a workpiece supported by the chuck. The angle of inclination may be only a few degrees off-level with the plating solution dispensed from a nozzle that scans over a high-side of the chuck along a radius of the workpiece while the chuck rotates. The angle of inclination may be actively controlled during dispense of the plating solution. The inclination angle may be larger at commencement of the plating solution dispense than at cessation of the dispense.

A method and apparatus for electroless plating of a conductive composite created using fused filament fabrication. The method comprises fused filament fabricating a three-dimensional object with conductive filament and non-conductive filament. The object is then plated with electroless plating, with the metal in the conductive filament forming nucleation sites.

A substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holder configured to horizontally hold and rotate a substrate which has a recess and a base metal layer exposed from a bottom surface of the recess; and a pre-cleaning liquid supply configured to supply a pre-cleaning liquid such as dicarboxylic acid or tricarboxylic acid onto the substrate being held and rotated by the substrate holder, to thereby pre-clean the base metal layer. A temperature of the pre-cleaning liquid on the substrate is equal to or higher than 40° C.

A film-forming apparatus is connected to a carbon steel cleanup system pipe of a BWR plant. Formic acid and hydrogen peroxide are injected into the circulation pipe of the film-forming apparatus. An iron elution accelerator aqueous solution containing 3000 ppm of formic acid and 1500 ppm of hydrogen peroxide is brought into contact with the inner surface of the cleanup system pipe, and Fe2+ is eluted from the cleanup system pipe by formic acid, and hydroxyl radicals generated from hydrogen peroxide. The film-forming aqueous solution produced from the iron elution accelerator aqueous solution by injecting the nickel formate aqueous solution is brought into contact with the inner surface of the cleanup system pipe, and the Ni ions incorporated into the inner surface by the substitution reaction are reduced by the electrons generated at the time of elution of Fe2+ to form a Ni metal film on the inner surface thereof.

A substrate processing method includes activating, accumulating, forming a plating film, performing a post-processing and drying. In the activating, a plating liquid L1 is activated by heating and maintaining the plating liquid at a preset temperature. In the accumulating, the activated plating liquid is accumulated on a substrate W. In the forming of the plating film, the plating film is formed on the substrate by electroless plating while heating the substrate on which the plating liquid is accumulated. In the performing of the post-processing, the post-processing is performed on the substrate on which the plating film is formed. In the drying, the substrate after being subjected to the post-processing is dried. Activating the plating liquid for the substrate to be processed next is performed in parallel with the forming of the plating film, the performing of the post-processing, and the drying upon the substrate being processed currently.

A substrate W having a non-plateable material portion 31 and a plateable material portion 32 formed on a surface thereof is prepared, and then, a catalyst is selectively imparted to the plateable material portion 32 by performing a catalyst imparting processing on the substrate W. Thereafter, a plating layer 35 is selectively formed on the plateable material portion 32 by performing a plating processing on the substrate W. Before the imparting of the catalyst, an organic film 36 is formed on the substrate W by supplying an organic liquid L1 onto the substrate W.

A plating method includes preparing a substrate having a surface including an adhesive material portion made of a material to which a catalyst easily adheres and a non-adhesive material portion to which the catalyst is difficult to attach; imparting the catalyst to the substrate by supplying a catalyst solution onto the substrate; removing, by supplying a catalyst removing liquid containing a reducing agent onto the substrate, the catalyst from the non-adhesive material portion while allowing the catalyst to be left on a surface of the adhesive material portion; and forming a plating layer selectively on the adhesive material portion by supplying a plating liquid onto the substrate.