A plating system comprising a plating tank for applying plate processing to a substrate, a sensor configured to measure actual plating film thickness of the substrate, and a controller configured to control plating current supplied to the plating tank and plating time for the plate processing of the substrate within the plating tank. The controller is capable of setting target plating film thickness, plating current, and plating time as a plate processing recipe. At least one of the plating current and the plating time is automatically corrected so that the actual plating film thickness and the target plating film thickness become equal to each other, and the result is reflected in the plate processing for the subsequent substrate.

There is provided a method of plating comprising: a process of bringing a sealing portion of a seal provided to prevent a contact of a substrate holder that holds a substrate from coming into contact with a plating solution, into contact with pure water; and a process of detecting a leak of the seal, based on presence or absence of a short circuit of a leak detection electrode placed inside of the substrate holder after the sealing portion is brought into contact with the pure water and before the substrate is brought into contact with a chemical solution.

An apparatus and system for in-situ electropolishing and/or for in-situ electroforming a structural or functional reinforcement layer such as a sleeve of a selected metallic material on the internal surfaces of metallic tubular conduits are described. The apparatus and system can be employed on straight tubes, tube joints to different diameter tubes or face plates, tube elbows and other complex shapes encountered in piping systems. The apparatus includes components which can be independently manipulated and assembled on or near a degraded site and, after secured in place, form an electrolytic cell within the workpiece. The apparatus contains counter-electrodes which can be moved relative to the workpiece surface during the electroplating and/or electropolishing operation to provide flexibility in selecting and employing electropolishing process parameters and electroplating process parameters to design and optimize the surface roughness as well as the size, shape and properties of the electrodeposited reinforcing layer(s).

There is disclosed an improved leak checking method which can accurately test a sealing performance of a substrate holder more than conventional leak check techniques. The leak checking method includes: holding a substrate with a substrate holder, the substrate holder including a first holding member and a second holding member, the second holding member having an opening through which a surface of the substrate is exposed; pressing a sealing projection of the second holding member against the surface of the substrate when holding the substrate with the substrate holder; covering the surface of the substrate, exposed through the opening, and the sealing projection with a sealing cap; forming a hermetic space between the sealing cap and the substrate holder; introducing a pressurized gas into the hermetic space; and detecting a decrease in pressure of the pressurized gas in the hermetic space.

The embodiments herein relate to methods and apparatus for electroplating one or more materials onto a substrate. Typically, the embodiments herein utilize a channeled plate positioned near the substrate, creating a cross flow manifold between the channeled plate and substrate, and on the sides by a flow confinement ring. A seal may be provided between the bottom surface of a substrate holder and the top surface of an element below the substrate holder (e.g., the flow confinement ring). During plating, fluid enters the cross flow manifold through channels in the channeled plate, and through a cross flow inlet, then exits at the cross flow exit, positioned opposite the cross flow inlet. The apparatus may switch between a sealed state and an unsealed state during electroplating, for example by lowering and lifting the substrate and substrate holder as appropriate to engage and disengage the seal.

Provided is a maintenance member or the like capable of easily maintaining an electric contact in a substrate holder. It relates to a maintenance member to maintain a substrate holder including an electric contact configured to supply power to a substrate. The maintenance member includes an abrasive body having a shape corresponding to the substrate that is a holding target of the substrate holder, and disposed to come in contact with the electric contact when held by the substrate holder.

There is provided a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate, the substrate holder comprising: a first holding member; and a second holding member configured to hold the substrate between the first holding member and the second holding member, wherein the first holding member comprises: at least one substrate contact arranged to come into contact with the substrate; at least one seal member provided with a first seal portion configured to cover periphery of a leading end portion of one or a plurality of the substrate contacts; and at least one bus bar electrically connected with the one or plurality of substrate contacts and provided with one or a plurality of first through holes to receive the first seal portion, wherein the leading end portion of the one or plurality of substrate contacts is arranged to pass through the first through hole from a side opposite to the second holding member toward the second holding member and is fixed to the bus bar in a state that the periphery of the leading end portion of the one or plurality of substrate contacts is covered by the first seal portion.

There is provided a substrate holder. The substrate holder comprises a contact assembly; a first plate configured to hold a substrate between the contact assembly and the first plate; at least one first pin fixed to the contact assembly, extended toward a first plate side on outside of the substrate, and provided with a locked portion; a locking member placed on a side opposite to the contact assembly relative to the first plate and configured to be displaceable between a locked state and an unlocked state with respect to the locked portion of the first pin; and at least one first biasing member placed between the locking member and the first plate along an outer circumferential part of the substrate such as to separate the locking member and the first plate from each other and compressed between the locking member and the first plate in the locked state to bias the first plate toward the contact assembly.

To provide a substrate holder and a plating apparatus that can easily position a substrate. A substrate holder includes a substrate holding body for holding a substrate, and a first holding member and a second holding member that interpose and hold the substrate holding body therebetween, and the first holding member includes an opening portion through which the plating target surface of the substrate is exposed, and a power supply member configured to be in contact with a plating target surface of the substrate.

An apparatus for holding a substrate (113) has a chuck cup (101), a seal shell (111), a chuck plate (102) and a vertical driving device (103). The seal shell (111) has a bottom wall (1111), an outer wall (1112) and an inner wall (1114). The inner wall (1114) forms a lip seal portion (1115). The bottom wall (1111) and the outer wall (1112) of the seal shell (111) respectively wrap the bottom surface and the outer surface of the base portion (1011) of the chuck cup (101). The lip seal portion (1115) wraps the supporting portion (1014) of the chuck cup (101) for sealing the edge of the front side of the substrate (113). The apparatus protects the edge of the front side of the substrate, the back side of the substrate and the chuck cup from contacting with the electrolyte solution.