Exemplary methods of electroplating include contacting a patterned substrate with a plating bath in an electroplating chamber, where the pattern substrate includes at least one opening having a bottom surface and one or more sidewall surfaces. The methods may further include forming a nanotwin-containing metal material in the at least one opening. The metal material may be formed by two or more cycles that include delivering a forward current from a power supply through the plating bath of the electroplating chamber for a first period of time, plating a first amount of the metal on the bottom surface of the opening on the patterned substrate and a second amount of the metal on the sidewall surfaces of the opening, and delivering a reverse current from the power supply through the plating bath of the electroplating chamber to remove some of the metal plated in the opening on the patterned substrate.

Exemplary methods of electroplating include contacting a patterned substrate with a plating bath in an electroplating chamber, where the pattern substrate includes at least one opening having a bottom surface and one or more sidewall surfaces. The methods may further include forming a nanotwin-containing metal material in the at least one opening. The metal material may be formed by two or more cycles that include delivering a forward current from a power supply through the plating bath of the electroplating chamber for a first period of time, plating a first amount of the metal on the bottom surface of the opening on the patterned substrate and a second amount of the metal on the sidewall surfaces of the opening, and delivering a reverse current from the power supply through the plating bath of the electroplating chamber to remove some of the metal plated in the opening on the patterned substrate.

Exemplary methods of electroplating may include providing a patterned substrate having at least one opening, where the opening includes one or more sidewalls and a bottom surface. The methods may also include plating a first portion of ruthenium-containing material on the bottom surface of the opening at a first deposition rate and a second portion of ruthenium-containing material on the sidewalls of the opening at a second deposition rate, where the first deposition rate is greater than the second deposition rate. The methods may be used to make integrated circuit devices that include void-free, electrically-conductive lines and columns of ruthenium-containing materials.

Exemplary methods of electroplating may include providing a patterned substrate having at least one opening, where the opening includes one or more sidewalls and a bottom surface. The methods may also include plating a first portion of ruthenium-containing material on the bottom surface of the opening at a first deposition rate and a second portion of ruthenium-containing material on the sidewalls of the opening at a second deposition rate, where the first deposition rate is greater than the second deposition rate. The methods may be used to make integrated circuit devices that include void-free, electrically-conductive lines and columns of ruthenium-containing materials.

The present application provides a method for improving a pit defect formed after a copper electroplating process, comprising: forming a dielectric layer on a wafer; etching the dielectric layer to form a trench; forming a seed barrier layer on the surface of the trench; pre-cleaning the wafer to increase the wetness of the trench on the wafer; filling the trench with copper by means of electroplating; polishing the upper surface of the trench to planarize the upper surface of the trench. The wetness of the wafer surface can be increased by pre-cleaning a via. An excessively dry wafer surface leads to a poor wetness effect when the wafer enters water, a bubble is difficult to be discharged, a void is easy to be generated in electroplating. By the pre-cleaning step, the problem of a poor wetness effect occurring when the wafer enters water can be effectively improved.

The present application provides a method for improving a pit defect formed after a copper electroplating process, comprising: forming a dielectric layer on a wafer; etching the dielectric layer to form a trench; forming a seed barrier layer on the surface of the trench; pre-cleaning the wafer to increase the wetness of the trench on the wafer; filling the trench with copper by means of electroplating; polishing the upper surface of the trench to planarize the upper surface of the trench. The wetness of the wafer surface can be increased by pre-cleaning a via. An excessively dry wafer surface leads to a poor wetness effect when the wafer enters water, a bubble is difficult to be discharged, a void is easy to be generated in electroplating. By the pre-cleaning step, the problem of a poor wetness effect occurring when the wafer enters water can be effectively improved.

A process for producing a highly conducting film of conductor-bonded graphene sheets that are highly oriented, comprising: (a) preparing a graphene dispersion or graphene oxide (GO) gel; (b) depositing the dispersion or gel onto a supporting solid substrate under a shear stress to form a wet layer; (c) drying the wet layer to form a dried layer having oriented graphene sheets or GO molecules with an inter-planar spacing d.sub.002 of 0.4 nm to 1.2 nm; (d) heat treating the dried layer at a temperature from 55° C. to 3,200° C. for a desired length of time to produce a porous graphitic film having pores and constituent graphene sheets or a 3D network of graphene pore walls having an inter-planar spacing d.sub.002 less than 0.4 nm; and (e) impregnating the porous graphitic film with a conductor material that bonds the constituent graphene sheets or graphene pore walls to form the conducting film.

A process for producing a highly conducting film of conductor-bonded graphene sheets that are highly oriented, comprising: (a) preparing a graphene dispersion or graphene oxide (GO) gel; (b) depositing the dispersion or gel onto a supporting solid substrate under a shear stress to form a wet layer; (c) drying the wet layer to form a dried layer having oriented graphene sheets or GO molecules with an inter-planar spacing d.sub.002 of 0.4 nm to 1.2 nm; (d) heat treating the dried layer at a temperature from 55° C. to 3,200° C. for a desired length of time to produce a porous graphitic film having pores and constituent graphene sheets or a 3D network of graphene pore walls having an inter-planar spacing d.sub.002 less than 0.4 nm; and (e) impregnating the porous graphitic film with a conductor material that bonds the constituent graphene sheets or graphene pore walls to form the conducting film.

An electrochemical plating apparatus for performing an edge bevel removal process on a wafer includes a cell chamber. The cell chamber includes two or more nozzles located adjacent to the edge of the wafer. A flow regulator is arranged with each of the two or more nozzles, which is configured to regulate an tap width of a deposited film flowing out through the each of the two or more nozzles. The electrochemical plating apparatus further includes a controller to control the flow regulator such that tap width of the deposited film includes a pre-determined surface profile. The two or more nozzles are located in radially or angularly different dispensing positions above the wafer.

An electrochemical plating apparatus for performing an edge bevel removal process on a wafer includes a cell chamber. The cell chamber includes two or more nozzles located adjacent to the edge of the wafer. A flow regulator is arranged with each of the two or more nozzles, which is configured to regulate an tap width of a deposited film flowing out through the each of the two or more nozzles. The electrochemical plating apparatus further includes a controller to control the flow regulator such that tap width of the deposited film includes a pre-determined surface profile. The two or more nozzles are located in radially or angularly different dispensing positions above the wafer.