ANN-based Microwave Sensor for Real-

Time Monitoring of Cu2+, SO42− and Cl−

Ions in Plating Baths
Kick Off Meeting
August 30, 2022

Dr. Parul Mathur, ECE, Amrita, Bengaluru

Dr. Dhanesh Kurup, ECE, Amrita, Bengaluru
Dr. Murali Rangarajan, CEMS, Amrita, Coimbatore
Dr. Sasangan Ramanathan, Dean – Engineering, Amrita
Problem Statement
To monitor, in real time, concentrations of Cu2+, SO42− and Cl− ions in
electroplating baths in wafer packaging

Closed loop monitoring (i.e., control) of metal ion concentrations in real time

Copper chemistry- For 50 L bath volume

Component Unit Control limit

Copper g/L 36-44
Acid g/L 126-154
Chloride ppm 45-65
Organic additive 1 ml/L 17-24
Organic additive 2 ml/L 10-14

Feedforward system 2

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Proposed Solution
ANN/ML-based microwave sensor for real-time monitoring of Cu2+, SO42− and Cl−
ions in plating baths

Prior work on detection of fluoride ions in water

Working Principle Mathur et al,

J. Electromagn.
Waves Appl. (2020)

Frequency dependence of dielectric

constant of the electrolyte on metal ion
concentrations
• Dielectric constant in turn is related to the
load reflection coefficient at the open-ended
aperture of the sensor
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Sensitivity of the OECP Sensor – Fluoride Ions
▪ How sensitive is the sensor, i.e., load admittance YL or the dielectric constant 𝜖𝑊 ,
to changes in ion concentration?

Fast Artificial Neural Network (FANN) trained with resilient

back propagation algorithm with a learning rate of 0.7 to
predict the real & imaginary parts of the dielectric constant 4

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Sensitivity of the OECP Sensor – Fluoride Ions

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Methodology
Task – 1: Experimental Electromagnetic Characterization of Acidic
Copper Plating Baths
1 to 4 months
▪ Examine frequency response of load reflection coefficient

▪Study the sensitivity of the load reflection coefficient to the concentrations of

Cu2+, SO42− and Cl− ions

▪ Determine where in the frequency response is the information of interest

▪Systematically study the effects of interferences of each of all the (other) bath
species on the response due to Cu2+, SO42− and Cl− ions (individually and
collectively)

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Methodology
Task – 2: Design of Signal Processing Algorithms

2 to 6 months

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Methodology
Task – 3a: Training of ANN 2 to 9 months
▪The electroplating bath will be modeled as a mixture of ions and dielectric. Using
the predicted frequency response of this model, the ANN will be trained.

▪ The ANN will map the measured load reflection coefficients to the (real and
imaginary parts of the) dielectric constant of the electrolyte as a function of
frequency

▪The dependence of the dielectric constants on the concentrations of Cu2+, SO42−

and Cl− ions will be obtained by partial least squares regression/principal
components analysis.

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Methodology
Task – 3b: System Simulation 2 to 9 months
▪System level simulations of the entire product (sensor) will be conducted with
models of signal transmitter, receiver and the signal processing algorithm

▪ The simulations will evaluate the performance of the portable system

▪ Optimum specifications of each of the component will be obtained through these

simulations for the final design of the prototype

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Methodology
Task – 4: Development of the Prototype 3 to 11 months
▪The specifications of the components used in the prototype will be derived from
the studies in Tasks 1-3.

▪ Off-the-shelf RF components with appropriate specifications will be procured

▪Embedded platforms – DSP/FPGA – will be designed and the appropriate signal

processing algorithms will be ported to the platforms

▪ A working prototype of the device will thus be achieved

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Methodology
Task – 5: Validation of the Prototype 10 to 12 months
▪ Validation of the prototype will be in two stages:
✓ Sensitive, reproducible detection of the concentrations of Cu2+, SO42− and Cl−
ions in a set of test electroplating baths under laboratory conditions
✓ Reliable, accurate detection of the concentrations of Cu2+, SO42− and Cl− ions
during real-time electroplating operation under laboratory conditions

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Challenges
▪Concentration ranges are highly different - Cu2+, SO42− ion concentrations are
1000+ times higher than that of Cl− ions

▪ Weak reflections of the liquid medium implies:

▪ Requirement of high-power microwaves at the transmitter
▪ Low-noise receiver front end
▪ Cancellation of microwave coupling from transmitter at the receiver using
advanced signal processing algorithms

▪ Changing concentration with time implies:

▪ Advanced signal processing algorithms
▪ Machine learning
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Challenges
▪ Requirement of a broadband system
▪ Different frequency bands behave differently for different ions and different
concentrations
▪ Use of pulsed microwave covering broadband
▪ Use of multi-channel transceiver architecture

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Deliverables
▪ ANN-based microwave sensor for real-time monitoring of Cu2+, SO42− and Cl−
ions in acidic copper electroplating baths

▪ Detailed analysis of sensitivity and resolution of the sensor for different ions as a
function of concentration

▪ Validation of real-time monitoring during electroplating at deposition rates

relevant to end applications

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 Thank You

L AM R E S E AR C H 15

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