DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Response to Amendment
Applicants’ submission, filed on 05/08/2026, in response to claims 1-6, 9, 12-15, and 17-21 rejection from the non-final office action (02/11/2026), by amending claims 1, 4-7, 11-16, 19, and 21, cancelling claims 2-3 and 20, and adding new claims 22-23 is entered and will be addressed below.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 7-8, 10-11, and 16 remain withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention Group II and Species B-D, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Interpretations
The newly added limitations “a plasma generation space provided in the first vessel to be located above a lower end of the electromagnetic field generation electrode and below an upper end of the electromagnetic field generation electrode“ of claims 1 and 15, this requires plasma is generated between the lower end and the upper end of the electromagnetic field generation electrode. However, it does not exclude the plasma being generated and/or diffused to the space above the upper end of the electromagnetic field generation electrode and below the lower end of the electromagnetic field generation electrode. If Applicants argue that this claim should be an exclusive plasma generation space, please provide evidence for this interpretation.
The limitation “a coating film formed on the outer peripheral surface of the first vessel by a spray coating process” of claim 19 is a product by process claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 4-6, 12-15, 17, 19, and 21-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TERASAKI et al. (US 20140106573, from IDS, hereafter ‘573), in view of Johnsgard et al. (US 6002109, hereafter ‘109), SAKAKIBARA et al. (JP 2000182799, hereafter ‘799) and ISOBE et al. (US 20170029627, hereafter ‘627).
‘573 teaches some limitations of:
Claim 1: Substrate Processing Apparatus And Method Of Manufacturing Semiconductor Device (title, includes the claimed “A substrate processing apparatus comprising”):
The substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a process furnace 202 configured to plasma-process wafers 200. In the process furnace 202, a process container 203 that constitutes a process chamber 201 is installed (Fig. 1, [0021]), A shielding plate 223 ([0047], includes the claimed “a process vessel comprising a first vessel and a second vessel, defining a process chamber”);
At the gas introduction port 234, a downstream side of an oxygen-containing gas supply pipe 232a configured to supply oxygen (O2) gas as an oxygen-containing gas, a downstream side of a hydrogen-containing gas supply pipe 232b configured to supply hydrogen (H2) gas as a hydrogen-containing gas, and an inert gas supply pipe 232c configured to supply argon (Ar) gas as an inert gas are connected to join together ([0032], includes the claimed “a process gas supplier configured to supply a process gas into the process vessel”);
A susceptor 217 serving as a substrate mounting table on which the wafers 200 are placed is disposed on a lower central portion of the process chamber 201 ([0025], includes the claimed “a substrate support provided in the process vessel and configured to be capable of placing a substrate thereon“);
In the susceptor 217, a heater 217b serving as a heating mechanism is integrally embedded ([0026], includes the claimed “a second heater provided in the substrate support, configured to radiate an infrared light to heat the substrate accommodated in the process chamber“, note heat includes infrared light region);
The process chamber 201 includes a plasma generation space 201a around which a coil 212 is installed ([0023]), The high-frequency power source 273 is configured to supply high-frequency power to the resonance coil 212 ([0043], includes the claimed “an electromagnetic field generation electrode extending along an outer peripheral surface of the first vessel while being spaced apart from the outer peripheral surface of the first vessel and configured to generate an electromagnetic field in the first vessel by being supplied with a high frequency power” and as shown in Fig. 1);
The process chamber 201 includes a plasma generation space 201a around which a coil 212 is installed, and a substrate processing space 201b in which the wafers 200 are processed in communication with the plasma generation space 201a as described below. The plasma generation space 201a is a space where plasma is generated, and is located in the process chamber 201 above a lower part of the resonance coil 212 (indicated by a dotted and dashed line). The substrate processing space 201b is a space where a substrate is processed with plasma, and is located below the lower part of the resonance coil 212 (Fig. 2, [0023], includes the claimed “a plasma generation space provided in the first vessel to be located above a lower end of the electromagnetic field generation electrode and below an upper end of the electromagnetic field generation electrode, wherein a plasma is generated by the electromagnetic field generation electrode in the plasma generation space; a substrate processing space located below the lower end of the electromagnetic field generation electrode and above a lower end portion of the first vessel, communicating with a lower portion of the plasma generation space and in which the substrate is processed by using the plasma”).
‘573 does not teach the other limitations of:
Claim 1: (1A) a first heater provided above the first vessel and (a second heater provided in the substrate support), each of which is configured to radiate an infrared light to heat the substrate accommodated in the process chamber;
(1B) a reflector constituted by a first non-metallic material capable of transmitting the electromagnetic field generated by the electromagnetic field generation electrode, and configured to heat the substrate by reflecting the infrared light radiated from each of the first heater and the second heater and an infrared light indirectly radiated from the substrate, wherein the reflector is provided between the outer peripheral surface of the first vessel and the electromagnetic field generation electrode so as to surround a region extending from the upper end of the electromagnetic field generation electrode, which is above the plasma generation space, to a lower end of the first vessel accommodating therein the substrate processing space.
Claim 6: wherein the reflector comprises a reflective film capable of reflecting the infrared light and provided in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the first vessel.
Claim 12: wherein the reflector is provided so as to surround an entirety of the outer peripheral surface of the first vessel.
‘109 is an analogous art in the field of System And Method For Thermal Processing Of A Semiconductor Substrate (title), Most RTP systems use high intensity lamps (usually tungsten-halogen lamps or arc lamps) to selectively heat a wafer within a cold wall clear quartz furnace (col. 1, lines 39-42), Increasingly complex systems have been developed for measuring emissivity and for compensating for reflected radiation (col. 2, lines 41-43). ‘109 teaches that Most RTP systems use high intensity lamps (usually tungsten-halogen lamps or arc lamps) to selectively heat a wafer within a cold wall clear quartz furnace (col. 1, lines 39-42, Fig. 2 shows lamps above and below the processing chamber). ‘109 also teaches that A vacuum region is preferably provided between the heated block and the insulating material as well as between the insulating material and the chamber wall (abstract), the insulating walls may be formed from a transmissive material such as clear quartz coated with a reflective material such as alumina (col. 11, lines 59-61).
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added high intensity lamps of ‘109 above and below the process container 203 of ‘573 (the limitation of 1A), for the purpose of high intensity heating, as taught by ‘109 (col. 2, lines 41-43).
In case Applicants argue that the heater 217b of ‘573 does not necessarily emit infrared, ‘109’s lamp heater clearly includes infrared. Furthermore, ‘109 teaches that insulating walls 530a-d are preferably highly reflective and substantially nontransmissive to thermal radiation (particularly in the visible and infrared regions) (col. 11, lines 26-29).
‘799 is an analogous art in the field of INDUCTIVE COUPLING PLASMA DEVICE AND TREATING FURNACE USING THIS (title). ‘799 teaches that In FIG. 1, the high-frequency induction coil 2 is connected to a high-frequency inverter power supply (not shown) … the conventional apparatus is a metal thin film 11 provided on the inner surface of the discharge tube 1 (middle of page 5), At least one of the inner surface and the outer surface of the discharge tube is coated with a thin film that reflects infrared light (bottom of page 3, outer surface emphasized), to prevent the radiation energy from escaping to the outside of the discharge tube (page 3, 5th complete paragraph). Note a person of ordinary skill would have known that to prevent the radiation energy from escaping to the outside of the discharge tube is most effective to cover the entire outer surface as IR light is diffusing in all directions.
‘627 is an analogous art or solving similar problem in the field of BLACK FINE PARTICULATE NEAR-INFRARED REFLECTIVE MATERIAL, METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SAME, AND USAGE FOR SAME (title), The near-infrared reflective material of the present invention can further include a Group 13 element in the periodic table such as a boron element, an aluminum element ([0035]). ‘627 teaches that the near-infrared reflective material can be used by being applied on, fixed on, or kneaded into a base material and the like. Therefore, the near-infrared reflectivity can be imparted to a coating film ([0023]), to coat the surface of the particles of the near-infrared reflective material with alumina ([0063], therefore, the aluminum is coated with alumina before applied on a base material), for the purpose of improving tinting strength ([0003]).
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added a thin film that reflects infrared light, as taught by ‘799, to the entire outer surface of the process chamber 201 of ‘573, for the purpose of prevent the radiation energy from escaping to the outside of the discharge tube, as taught by ‘799 (page 3, 5th complete paragraph). Furthermore, to have added alumina to the aluminum before applying as the reflector of ‘799, and then combined with ‘573 (the limitation of 1B), for the purpose of improving tinting strength, as taught by ‘627 ([0003]). Furthermore, another motivation is to have added alumina reflective material on quartz, as taught by ‘109, to the quartz process container 203 of ‘573 (the limitation of 1B again), for the purpose of insulating the chamber, as taught by ‘109 (col. 11, lines 59-61).
The combination of ‘573, ‘109, ‘799, and ‘627 further teaches the limitations of:
Claim 4: The process container 203 includes a dome-shaped upper container 210 which is a first container, and a lower container 211 which is a second container. The process chamber 201 is formed by covering an upper surface of the lower container 211 with the upper container 210. For example, the upper container 210 is formed of a non-metal material such as aluminum oxide (Al2O3) or quartz (SiO2) (‘573, [0021], includes the claimed “wherein the first vessel is made of a material capable of transmitting an electromagnetic wave”, this is also taught by ‘799, page 3, before [0012], “An object of the present invention is to provide an inductively coupled plasma apparatus in which plasma energy is efficiently transmitted to an object to be processed”).
Claim 5: it is preferable that a first coating layer of the high-density silica exists on the surface of the particles of the near-infrared reflective material, and a second coating layer of the porous silica or of the aluminum oxide, the aluminum hydrated oxide, or the aluminum hydroxide (which are often referred to as alumina hereinafter) (‘627, [0053], 5th last sentence, includes the claimed “wherein the material of the first vessel capable of transmitting the electromagnetic wave comprises a second non-metallic material”).
Claim 17: The imported alumina coating on clear quartz chamber as taught by ‘109 to ‘573 also reads into the claimed “wherein the first non-metallic material is less capable of transmitting the infrared light than a material of the process vessel”.
Claim 19: In order to apply the coating material onto the base material, an application method, a spraying method and a method of using a trowel are possible (‘627, [0072], 2nd last sentence, includes the claimed “wherein the reflector comprises:
a reflective film configured to reflect the infrared light, wherein the reflective film is formed by a coating film formed on the outer peripheral surface of the first vessel by a spray coating process”, note “by a spray coating process” is a product by process claim).
Claim 21 : Most RTP systems use high intensity lamps (usually tungsten-halogen lamps or arc lamps) to selectively heat a wafer within a cold wall clear quartz furnace (‘109, col. 1, lines 39-42, includes the claimed “wherein the first heater is provided at a position facing the substrate support, and further configured to heat the substrate from above”).
Claim 22: At the susceptor 217, a susceptor elevating mechanism 268 is installed to move the susceptor 217 upward/downward (‘573, [0028], includes the claimed “further comprising an elevator configured to elevate and lower the substrate support”);
A controller 221 serving as a control unit is configured to control the APC 242, the valve 243b, and the vacuum pump 246 via a signal line A; the susceptor elevating mechanism 268 via a signal line B ([0064], includes the claimed “and a controller configured to be capable of controlling a processing of the substrate”, by coating the entire outer surface of the process chamber 201 of ‘573 by the teaching of ‘799 and ‘627 or by the teaching of ‘109, it would have had the claimed “wherein the controller is further configured to be capable of controlling the elevator such that the second heater is arranged above a height of a lower end portion of the reflector”).
Claim 23: Most RTP systems use high intensity lamps (usually tungsten-halogen lamps or arc lamps) to selectively heat a wafer within a cold wall clear quartz furnace (‘109, col. 1, lines 39-42, includes the claimed “wherein the first heater comprises a halogen heater”).
‘573 further teaches the limitations of:
Claim 13: Thus, a high-frequency electric field is formed in the plasma generation space 201a. In the high-frequency electric field, induced plasma having a donut shape is excited at a location having a height corresponding to the electrical central point on the resonance coil 212 in the plasma generation space ([0077], includes the claimed “wherein the electromagnetic field generation electrode is configured to plasma-excite the process gas in the first vessel by the electromagnetic field generated in the first vessel”).
Claim 14: Specifically, the resonance coil 212 is formed having an effective cross-sectional area of 50 mm2 to 300 mm2 and a diameter of 200 mm to 500 mm and is wound around an outer peripheral portion of the plasma generation space 201a ([0052], includes the claimed “wherein the electromagnetic field generation electrode comprises an electrode of a coil shape wound along the outer peripheral surface of the first vessel”).
‘573 also teaches some limitations of:
Claim 15: The substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a process furnace 202 configured to plasma-process wafers 200. In the process furnace 202, a process container 203 that constitutes a process chamber 201 is installed (Fig. 1, [0021]), A shielding plate 223 ([0047], includes the claimed “a process vessel comprising a first vessel and a second vessel, defining a process chamber”);
At the gas introduction port 234, a downstream side of an oxygen-containing gas supply pipe 232a configured to supply oxygen (O2) gas as an oxygen-containing gas, a downstream side of a hydrogen-containing gas supply pipe 232b configured to supply hydrogen (H2) gas as a hydrogen-containing gas, and an inert gas supply pipe 232c configured to supply argon (Ar) gas as an inert gas are connected to join together ([0032], includes the claimed “a process gas supplier configured to supply a process gas into the process vessel”);
A susceptor 217 serving as a substrate mounting table on which the wafers 200 are placed is disposed on a lower central portion of the process chamber 201 ([0025], includes the claimed “a substrate support provided in the process vessel and configured to be capable of placing a substrate thereon“);
In the susceptor 217, a heater 217b serving as a heating mechanism is integrally embedded ([0026], includes the claimed “a second heater provided in the substrate support, configured to radiate an infrared light to heat the substrate accommodated in the process chamber“, note heat includes infrared light region);
The process chamber 201 includes a plasma generation space 201a around which a coil 212 is installed ([0023]), The high-frequency power source 273 is configured to supply high-frequency power to the resonance coil 212 ([0043], includes the claimed “an electromagnetic field generation electrode extending along an outer peripheral surface of the first vessel while being spaced apart from the outer peripheral surface of the first vessel and configured to generate an electromagnetic field in the first vessel by being supplied with a high frequency power” and as shown in Fig. 1);
The process chamber 201 includes a plasma generation space 201a around which a coil 212 is installed, and a substrate processing space 201b in which the wafers 200 are processed in communication with the plasma generation space 201a as described below. The plasma generation space 201a is a space where plasma is generated, and is located in the process chamber 201 above a lower part of the resonance coil 212 (indicated by a dotted and dashed line). The substrate processing space 201b is a space where a substrate is processed with plasma, and is located below the lower part of the resonance coil 212 (Fig. 2, [0023], includes the claimed “a plasma generation space provided in the first vessel to be located above a lower end of the electromagnetic field generation electrode and below an upper end of the electromagnetic field generation electrode, wherein a plasma is generated by the electromagnetic field generation electrode in the plasma generation space; a substrate processing space located below the lower end of the electromagnetic field generation electrode and above a lower end portion of the first vessel, communicating with a lower portion of the plasma generation space and in which the substrate is processed by using the plasma”).
‘573 does not teach the other limitations of:
Claim 15: (15A) A reflector used in a substrate processing apparatus comprising:
(15B) a first heater provided above the first vessel and (a second heater provided in the substrate support), each of which is configured to radiate an infrared light to heat the substrate accommodated in the process chamber;
(15C) wherein the reflector is constituted by a first non-metallic material capable of transmitting the electromagnetic field generated by the electromagnetic field generation electrode, and configured to heat the substrate by reflecting the infrared light radiated from each of the first heater and the second heater, wherein the reflector is provided between the outer peripheral surface of the first vessel and the electromagnetic field generation electrode so as to surround a region extending from the upper end of the electromagnetic field generation electrode, which is above the plasma generation space, to a lower end of the first vessel accommodating therein the substrate processing space.
‘109 is an analogous art as discussed above.
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added high intensity lamps of ‘109 above and below the process container 203 of ‘573 (the limitation of 15B), for the purpose of high intensity heating, as taught by ‘109 (col. 2, lines 41-43).
‘799 and ‘627 are analogous arts as discussed above.
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added a thin film that reflects infrared light, as taught by ‘799, to the entire outer surface of the process chamber 201 of ‘573, for the purpose of prevent the radiation energy from escaping to the outside of the discharge tube, as taught by ‘799 (page 3, 5th complete paragraph). Furthermore, to have added alumina to the aluminum before applying as the reflector of ‘799, and then combined with ‘573 (the limitations of 15A and 15C), for the purpose of improving tinting strength, as taught by ‘627 ([0003]). Furthermore, another motivation is to have added alumina reflective material on quartz, as taught by ‘109, to the quartz process container 203 of ‘573 (the limitations of 15A and 15C again), for the purpose of insulating the chamber, as taught by ‘109 (col. 11, lines 59-61).
Claims 9 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘573, ‘109, ‘799, and ‘627, as being applied to claims 1 and 6 rejection above, further in view of BANNA et al. (US 20150068682, hereafter ‘682).
The combination of ‘573, ‘109, ‘799, and ‘627 does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 9: wherein the reflective film is made of yttrium oxide.
Claim 18: wherein the reflector is made of yttrium oxide.
‘682 is an analogous art in the field of POWER DEPOSITION CONTROL IN INDUCTIVELY COUPLED PLASMA (ICP) REACTORS (title). ‘682 teaches that the dielectric window 104 may be fabricated from ceramic, quartz, or the like. In some embodiments, the dielectric window 104 may be fabricated from aluminum oxide (Al2O3) or Yttria, or could be coated with Yttria (Fig. 1, [0022], 2nd last sentence, i.e. yttria coated on quartz).
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added an yttria coating, as taught by ‘682, to the quartz upper container 210 of ‘573, for its suitability for ICP dielectric window, with predictable results. The selection of something based on its known suitability for its intended use has been held to support a prima facie case of obviousness. MPEP 2144.07. As such, the alumina coatings imported from ‘109, ‘799, ‘627 would have included yttria.
Alternatively, claims 9 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘573, ‘799, and ‘627 (or ‘109), as being applied to claims 1 and 6 rejection above, further in view of PENG et al. (US 20170322076, hereafter ‘076).
In case Applicants argue that yttria of ‘682 is not an IR reflector.
‘076 is an analogous art in the field of a reflecting type infrared filter ([0004]). ‘076 teaches that As shown in FIG. 2A, a reflecting type infrared filter 2 includes a transparent medium 20 such as glass, acrylic (PMMA) and quartz, and a first coating film 22 and a second coating film 24 formed on opposite sides of the transparent medium 20, respectively ([0004]). ‘076 teaches a multi-layered film structure (Fig.1A, [0024]), that the material forming each layers of the film is at least one selected from the group consisting of TiO2, SiO2, Y2O3, MgF2, Al2O3 ([0035]), the optical properties such as spectral transmittance can be adjusted by different designs of refractive indexes, layers and thicknesses ([0033]).
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have adopted a multi-layered film structure including alumina and yttria, as taught by ‘076, as the IR reflector of imported coating of ‘109, ‘799 and ‘627 to ‘573, for the purpose of flexibility of tuning the reflectivity, as taught by ‘076 ([0033]).
Note ‘076 also teaches layers of metal oxides, read into the limitation of claim 5.
Claims 1, 4, 6, 12-15, 17, 19, and 21-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘573, in view of ‘109, and TAKAI et al. (JP 2004263060, hereafter ‘060).
‘573 teaches some limitations of claim 1 and does not teach the other limitations of claim 1 and claims 6 and 12 as discussed above.
‘109 is an analogous art as discussed above.
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added high intensity lamps of ‘109 above and below the process container 203 of ‘573 (the limitation of 1A), for the purpose of high intensity heating, as taught by ‘109 (col. 2, lines 41-43).
‘060 is an analogous art in the field of METHOD FOR PRESERVING FILM FOR VAPOR DEPOSITION AND LAMINATE (title), including plasma generator 7 (Fig. 1, English translation, bottom of P12). ‘060 teaches that the antireflection film is prepared by a vapor deposition method, a substance having a lower refractive index than that of a base film is usually used, such as MgF2, SiO2 A low-refractive-index substance, such as a method of forming a single-layer antireflection layer by depositing a material such as ITO, tantalum oxide, titanium oxide, ATO (antimony-doped tin oxide), tin oxide, and aluminum oxide (last complete paragraph, P8), in order to reduce heat and save energy, there is a method of giving these windows the ability to reflect or absorb heat rays (infrared rays). Is being done. For example, a heat ray reflective film in which a metal thin film of aluminum, silver, gold or the like is provided on the surface of a transparent plastic film by a vapor deposition method, or a metal oxide such as titanium oxide, zinc oxide, indium oxide, tin oxide, ATO, ITO, etc. (bridging paragraph between P9-10).
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added a metal oxide film that reflects infrared light, as taught by ‘060, to the entire outer surface of the process chamber 201 of ‘573 (the limitation of 1B), for the purpose of saving energy, as taught by ‘060 (bottom of P9). Furthermore, another motivation is to have added alumina reflective material on quartz, as taught by ‘109, to the quartz process container 203 of ‘573 (the limitation of 1B again), for the purpose of insulating the chamber, as taught by ‘109 (col. 11, lines 59-61).
Claim 15 is rejection for substantially the same reason as discussed in item 2 above plus ‘060.
Claim 19: in order to reduce heat and save energy, there is a method of giving these windows the ability to reflect or absorb heat rays (infrared rays). Is being done. For example, a heat ray reflective film in which a metal thin film of aluminum, silver, gold or the like is provided on the surface of a transparent plastic film by a vapor deposition method, or a metal oxide such as titanium oxide, zinc oxide, indium oxide, tin oxide, ATO, ITO, etc. (bridging paragraph between P9-10, applied to the entire outer surface of the process chamber 201 of ‘573, includes the claimed “wherein the reflector comprises: a reflective film configured to reflect the infrared light, wherein the reflective film is formed by a coating film formed on the outer peripheral surface of the first vessel”, “by a spray coating process” is a product by process claim, the coated metal oxide has the same structure as spray coated oxide).
Claims 4, 6, 12-15, 17, and 21-23 are similarly rejected as discussed in item 2 above.
Claim 5 and, alternatively claim 19, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘573, ‘109, and ‘060, as being applied to claims 4 and 1 rejection above, further in view of ‘627.
In case Applicant argue that the spray coating process would produce different structure and is not a product by process claim.
The combination of ‘573, ‘109, and ‘060 does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 5: wherein the material of the first vessel capable of transmitting the electromagnetic wave comprises a second non-metallic material.
Claim 19: (a coating film formed on the outer peripheral surface of the first vessel) by a spray coating process.
‘627 is an analogous arts as discussed above. ‘627 teaches the limitations of claims 5 and 19 as discussed in item 2 above.
Claims 9 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘573, ‘109 and ‘060, as being applied to claims 1 and 6 rejection above, further in view of ‘682 or ‘076.
The limitations of claims 9 and 18 are taught by in view of ‘682 as discussed in item 3 above and in view of ‘076 as discussed in item 4 above.
Note ‘076 also teaches layers of metal oxides, read into the limitation of claim 5.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05/08/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In regarding to 35 USC 103 rejection over Terasaki ‘573, Sakakibara ‘799, and Isobe ‘627, Applicants argue that the ‘627 teaches black reflective material, does not teach a semiconductor substrate processing apparatus with inductive coupled plasma, see the middle of page 17 to the top of page 18.
This argument is found not persuasive.
This is attacking reference individually.
In response to applicant's arguments against the references individually, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986).
‘573 teaches semiconductor substrate processing apparatus with inductive coupled plasma. ‘799 teaches preventing the radiation energy from escaping to the outside by using metal. ‘627 teaches that metal oxides, including alumina can improve tinting strength.
It is not clear what Applicants imply by black reflective material. There is no problem with black or white or other hue. ‘627 clearly states that “The hues of the near-infrared reflective materials include white, black, and chromatic colors” ([0002]).
Furthermore, ‘109, a semiconductor substrate processing system, teaches insulating material as clear quartz coated with a reflective alumina (col. 11, lines 59-61).
The examiner further provides a new reference ‘060 that teaches a plasma vapor deposition processing and with various metal oxides or metal on glass for IR reflection.
Applicants further repeatedly argue that the insulating walls 530a-d of Johnsgard ‘109 are not positioned between a processing vessel and an electromagnetic field generation electrode, see the bridging paragraph between pages 20-21.
This argument is found not persuasive.
This is again attacking reference individually.
The examiner maintains that a PHOSTIA would have known that the IR reflection of ‘109 would function the same reflection property in a processing vessel environment. The presence of radio wave does not affect IR reflectivity. The new reference ‘060 clearly teaches metal oxides as IR reflector with a plasma processing chamber.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20120132618 is cited for multilayer metal oxides to reflect IR (Fig. 7C, [0052]).
US 20070223000 is cited for alumina, yttria as cladding material, by adjusting thickness to achieve total internal reflection in infrared ([0073]).
US 20050268567 is cited for white alumina on the window of a plasma chamber ([0046]).
US 20160163591 is cited for ICP ([0043]) and “a transmission plate 76 that is made of dielectric such as alumina and transmissive to high frequency (Fig. 2, [0050]).
US 20100006539 is cited for shielding plate 610 between antenna/coil 510 and top plate/chamber wall 130 (Fig. 5) which is reflective coating ([0081]). US 5720846 is cited for aluminum or silver reflective film 30 between coil 40 and chamber 10 (Fig. 1).
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEATH T CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1870. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am-5:00 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Parviz Hassanzadeh can be reached on 571-272-1435. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/KEATH T CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1716
Prosecution Insights