Patent ID: 8133376

Claim:
A method of electroplating a substrate, the method comprising: preparing a plating unit having (i) a substrate holder comprising a base and a cover for detachably holding the substrate therebetween, (ii) a plating tank and a cleaning tank which are positioned adjacent to each other, (iii) a vertically displacing mechanism for vertically moving the substrate holder, and (iv) a lateral displacing mechanism or a back-and-forth displacing mechanism for moving the substrate holder between the plating tank and the cleaning tank; placing a cassette, which accommodates the substrate therein, on a cassette table; transferring the substrate from the cassette to an aligner to align the substrate with a predetermined direction; receiving the substrate from the aligner and transferring the substrate to the substrate holder of the plating unit after turning the substrate from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation; holding the substrate by the substrate holder in the vertical orientation such that a surface of the substrate to be plated is exposed while an outer circumferential edge and a reverse side thereof are sealed by a first seal ring disposed between the outer circumferential edge of the substrate and the cover and by a second seal ring disposed between the base and the cover; lowering the substrate holder by the vertically displacing mechanism so that the substrate held by the substrate holder in the vertical orientation is dipped in a plating solution in the plating tank and faces an anode; electroplating the surface of the substrate to be plated by supplying electric power between the surface of the substrate to be plated and the anode; lifting the substrate holder by the vertically displacing mechanism to bring the plated substrate out of the plating solution; moving the substrate holder holding the substrate in the vertical orientation from the plating tank to the cleaning tank by the lateral displacing mechanism or the back-and-forth displacing mechanism; cleaning the substrate holder and the substrate held by the substrate holder together in the cleaning tank; receiving the substrate from the substrate holder of the plating unit and transferring the substrate to a rinser drier after turning the substrate from the vertical orientation to the horizontal orientation to rinse and dry the substrate; and returning the substrate from the rinser drier to the cassette.