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 .
In view of the Appeal Brief filed on 11/05/2025, PROSECUTION IS HEREBY REOPENED. A new grounds of rejection is set forth below.
To avoid abandonment of the application, appellant must exercise one of the following two options:
(1) file a reply under 37 CFR 1.111 (if this Office action is non-final) or a reply under 37 CFR 1.113 (if this Office action is final); or,
(2) initiate a new appeal by filing a notice of appeal under 37 CFR 41.31 followed by an appeal brief under 37 CFR 41.37. The previously paid notice of appeal fee and appeal brief fee can be applied to the new appeal. If, however, the appeal fees set forth in 37 CFR 41.20 have been increased since they were previously paid, then appellant must pay the difference between the increased fees and the amount previously paid.
A Supervisory Patent Examiner (SPE) has approved of reopening prosecution by signing below:
/DAVID S POSIGIAN/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Page 12, filed 11/05/2025, with respect to the upper platen defines a recess in a portion of the second upper surface of the upper platen and that Carpenter fails to teach or suggest the claimed pad placement, have been fully considered and are persuasive. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Herb (US 20030045205 A1) in view of Chen2 (US 20120171933 A1) and Duescher (US 20140127976 A1).
In response to applicant's argument that Bhagavat is pointed towards the polishing head, the test for obviousness is not whether the features of a secondary reference may be bodily incorporated into the structure of the primary reference; nor is it that the claimed invention must be expressly suggested in any one or all of the references. Rather, the test is what the combined teachings of the references would have suggested to those of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981). In this case one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention would understand and find obvious in light of the disclosure of Bhagavat that utilizing stops to limit the degree to which a flexible material is allowed to flex in a platen.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding Claim 1, Claim 1 requires “… defining a volume within the recess of the upper platen between the second surface of the upper platen and the plate.” This is unclear, as previously the claim requires “a plate coupled with the upper platen along the second surface of the upper platen”. Thus, it is unclear how the volume within the recess can be between the second surface of the upper platen and the plate if the plate is coupled along said second surface, as such it is unclear what the second surface of the upper platen is meant to be. This seems to be intending to state the volume is defined between the top surface of the recess and the top surface of the plate, while the second surface is the bottom planar surface of the platen and the claim will be interpreted as such for the purposes of examination.
Claims 10 and 17 are rejected for the same reason.
Claims dependent on 1, 10 and 17 are rejected for their dependency to a rejected claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 6-8, 10-12, 14-17 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Herb (US 20030045205 A1) in view of Chen2 (US 20120171933 A1) and Duescher (US 20140127976 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, A polishing assembly comprising:
an upper platen (906 and 908, See Fig. 9A) characterized by a first surface (top surface of 906) and a second surface (bottom surface of 908) opposite the first surface, wherein:
the upper platen defines a recess (919) in a portion of the second surface of the upper platen that forms an area of reduced thickness of the upper platen (See 919 in the bottom portion of 908, wherein the overall thickness of platen 906 908 has a reduced thickness);
a polishing pad seated atop and coupled with the first surface of the upper platen (See Para [0097] “Lower polish head 900 includes a top plate 906, a channel plate 908, and a base plate or bell housing 910, which are coupled together to form polish head 900. Top plate 906 includes a substantially planar top surface to which a polishing surface 904 such as a polishing pad is attached--e.g., using a suitable adhesive”);
and a plate (918) coupled (See Screw shown in Fig. 9A on the left side of plate 918) with the upper platen along the second surface of the upper platen (Plate is coupled to the bottom surface of 908), and defining a volume (919) within the recess of the upper platen between the second surface of the upper platen and the plate (See Fig. 9a and Para [0099] “In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, slurry chamber 919 is formed by securing a slurry manifold cover 918 to a lower surface of channel section 908.”).
But does not explicitly disclose the area of reduced thickness of the upper platen defines forms a flexure between the first surface and the second surface within the recess;
and the flexure comprises a metallic material;
However, Herb does disclose the platen is made of a material with a high thermal conduction coefficient (See Para [0096] “Module 900 is suitably formed of material having a high thermal conduction coefficient to facilitate control of the processing temperature”)
And, Chen2 discloses a similar chemical mechanical polishing apparatus wherein the upper platen (105) with an interior volume (278) that forms a flexure (membrane 275 and fluid bearing 245 form a flexure in the platen, allowing the fluid bearing to discretely apply pressure to the underside of the polishing pad 120 positioned on the first side of the platen, See Para [0038] “Similar to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, the processing station 200 includes a pad pressure applicator 138 housed in the platen 105. In one embodiment, the pad pressure applicator 138 includes one or more pressure sources 240 that deliver a liquid or a gas from a pressure supply 260 that form a fluid bearing 245. The fluid bearing 245 may be utilized to apply pressure independently to discrete regions of the underside of the polishing pad 120. In one example, the pad pressure applicator 138 includes a lid plate 250 coupled to a housing 255 that contains the pressure sources 240. The pressure sources 240 are adapted to provide multiple pressure zones that may be independently controlled to apply a predetermined pressure to each zone defined by the pressure sources 240.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the platen of Herb to include a flexible area in the platen as doing so would allow for the fluid channels and slur channels of Herb to work as a fluid bearing in order to apply pressure to the underside of the pad. Herb is concerned with applying pressure to the back of the substrate during polishing (See Para [0071] “Carrier 708 may also include an air bladder 718 configured to provide a desired, controllable pressure to a backside of the wafer during a polishing process.”) which Chen discloses can sometimes produce undesirable effects, and (See Para [0006]- [0007]
“Stiffness of the substrate plays an important role in providing the contact necessary to successfully and uniformly remove materials from the feature side of the substrate. Sharp transitions in the pressure applied to the backside of the substrate are sometimes desirable to facilitate uniform material removal. However, stiffness of the substrate tends to redistribute the pressure applied to the substrate such that the pressure applied to the substrate may be spread or smoothed. In some cases, this smoothing effect is undesirable and may cause undesirable polishing results on the substrate.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus that facilitates focused, high resolution control of pressure or force applied to a substrate to facilitate removal of materials from the feature side of the substrate.”)
And introduces controllable pressure to the back side of the polishing pad in order to address these undesirable effects. See Fig. 9 of Chen2 and Para [0009] “In another embodiment, a method for polishing a substrate is described. The method includes urging a substrate against a first surface of a polishing pad using a first pressure applied from a first pressure applicator to a backside of the substrate, and applying a second pressure to a feature side of the substrate through a second surface of the polishing pad”.
Finally, Duescher discloses a similar chemical mechanical polishing apparatus utilizing a metal platen, and further suggests that this platen has a high thermal conductivity due to being metallic (See Para [0223] “Heat transfer across the full surface of the pad is quite ineffective in reducing the temperature differential across the radial width of the rotating pad. Due to the characteristics of the pad system, the porous foam resilient pad is relatively thick and acts as an insulator. This prevents heat generated on the pad exposed surface from being transferred to the rotary rigid metal platen that the pad is mounted on.”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the platen to be made of a metallic material as doing so would give it a high thermal conduction coefficient to facilitate control of the processing temperature as indicated as desirable in Herb Para [0096].
Regarding Claim 3, Herb as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 1 wherein the plate is coupled with the upper platen along a recessed ledge within the recess (See Figure 9A where 918 is coupled with upper platen along the recesses ledge which forms 919) and does not explicitly disclose wherein the volume defined within the recess of the upper platen is sealed with an elastomeric element disposed between the plate and the second surface of the upper platen.
However, Chen2 discloses an elastomeric layer (275) in order to seal the interior volume and prevent fluids from entering said volume (See Para [0040] “In some embodiments, the platen 105 may include a flexible backing 275 between the underside 270 of the polishing pad 120. The flexible backing 275 may be a flexible plate or membrane adapted to cover the platen 105 and prevent polishing fluids from entering an interior volume 278 of the platen 105. In one embodiment, the flexible backing 275 is a fabric/plastic composite material with a low coefficient of friction and includes a thickness of about 10 mils to about 20 mils.”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the volume of Herb as modified such that the volume defined within the recess of the upper platen is sealed with an elastomeric element disposed between the plate and the second surface of the upper platen. As doing so would prevent undesirable fluids from entering or exiting the recess during the polishing process, increases the robustness and reliability of the apparatus.
Regarding Claim 6, Herb as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 1 and in addition discloses a pneumatic pump fluidly coupled with the volume within the recess of the upper platen (See Para [0099] “Slurry is distributed to polish head 900 using a flexible slurry delivery tube 922 and a slurry delivery conduit 920 to deliver the slurry to a slurry chamber 919. Slurry is then distributed to a top surface of polish head 900 using conduits 912. In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, slurry chamber 919 is formed by securing a slurry manifold cover 918 to a lower surface of channel section 908.”), wherein a fluid line from the pneumatic pump couples with the plate (See 920 attached to 918 in Fig. 9A).
Regarding Claim 7, Herb as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 6 but does not disclose a compliant wall extending from the plate to the second surface of the upper platen within the recess, wherein the compliant wall divides the volume within the recess of the upper platen into a first zone and a second zone, and wherein the first zone is fluidly isolated from the second zone.
However, in an alternative embodiment, Chen2 discloses an embodiment wherein there are multiple internal volumes (540) formed in the internal volume (525), wherein a pressure supply is adapted to independently provide pressure to each chamber (See Fig. 5b and Para [0055] “In one embodiment, a housing 255 of the pad pressure applicator 500 includes one or more chambers 540 that are coupled to a pressure supply 260 adapted to apply force to flexible membrane 535. Pressure delivered to each of the chambers 540 may be independently controlled to provide a controlled force to the flexible membrane 535 and to the underside 270 of the polishing pad 120. In one embodiment, the pressure of the fluid applied to the chambers 540 is about -10 psi to about 10 psi.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the internal volume of Herb to include a compliant wall that divides the volume within the recess of the upper platen into a first zone and a second zone fluidly isolated from one another, as doing so would allow for the separate control of pressure in each chamber, allowing for a greater degree of control over the polishing process.
Regarding Claim 8, Herb as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 7 and in addition discloses wherein the pneumatic pump comprises a first fluid line extending to the first zone and a second fluid line extending to the second zone, and wherein the pneumatic pump is operable to independently pump or purge each of the first zone and the second zone (Chen Para [0055] “In one embodiment, a housing 255 of the pad pressure applicator 500 includes one or more chambers 540 that are coupled to a pressure supply 260 adapted to apply force to flexible membrane 535. Pressure delivered to each of the chambers 540 may be independently controlled to provide a controlled force to the flexible membrane 535 and to the underside 270 of the polishing pad 120. In one embodiment, the pressure of the fluid applied to the chambers 540 is about -10 psi to about 10 psi.”).
Regarding Claim 10, Herb discloses A polishing assembly comprising:
an upper platen (906 and 908) characterized by a first surface (top surface of 906) and a second surface (bottom surface of 908) opposite the first surface, wherein:
the upper platen defines a recess (919) in a portion of the second surface of the upper platen (See Fig. 9a);
the upper platen is characterized by a first cross-sectional thickness external to the recess (See Figure 9a part of platen 906 and 908 external to the recess 919);
the upper platen is characterized by a second cross- sectional thickness along a portion defining the recess (See Figure 9a showing a thinner portion of the platen above the recess 919);
the second cross-sectional thickness is smaller than the first cross- sectional thickness (See Figure 9A)
a polishing pad (904) seated atop and coupled with the first surface of the upper platen (See Para [0097] “Top plate 906 includes a substantially planar top surface to which a polishing surface 904 such as a polishing pad is attached--e.g., using a suitable adhesive.”);
and a plate (918) coupled with the upper platen along the second surface of the upper platen (See 918 attached to the bottom side of 908), wherein the plate defines a volume (919) within the recess of the upper platen between the second surface of the upper platen and the plate (See Fig. 9a and Para [0099] “In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, slurry chamber 919 is formed by securing a slurry manifold cover 918 to a lower surface of channel section 908.”).
But does not disclose the second cross-sectional thickness forms a flexure between the first surface and the second surface; and
the flexure comprises a metallic material;
However, Herb does disclose the platen is made of a material with a high thermal conduction coefficient (See Para [0096] “Module 900 is suitably formed of material having a high thermal conduction coefficient to facilitate control of the processing temperature”)
And, Chen2 discloses a similar chemical mechanical polishing apparatus wherein the upper platen (105) with an interior volume (278) that forms a flexure (membrane 275 and fluid bearing 245 form a flexure in the platen, allowing the fluid bearing to discretely apply pressure to the underside of the polishing pad 120 positioned on the first side of the platen, See Para [0038] “Similar to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, the processing station 200 includes a pad pressure applicator 138 housed in the platen 105. In one embodiment, the pad pressure applicator 138 includes one or more pressure sources 240 that deliver a liquid or a gas from a pressure supply 260 that form a fluid bearing 245. The fluid bearing 245 may be utilized to apply pressure independently to discrete regions of the underside of the polishing pad 120. In one example, the pad pressure applicator 138 includes a lid plate 250 coupled to a housing 255 that contains the pressure sources 240. The pressure sources 240 are adapted to provide multiple pressure zones that may be independently controlled to apply a predetermined pressure to each zone defined by the pressure sources 240.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the platen of Herb to include a flexible area in the platen as doing so would allow for the fluid channels and slur channels of Herb to work as a fluid bearing in order to apply pressure to the underside of the pad. Herb is concerned with applying pressure to the back of the substrate during polishing (See Para [0071] “Carrier 708 may also include an air bladder 718 configured to provide a desired, controllable pressure to a backside of the wafer during a polishing process.”) which Chen discloses can sometimes produce undesirable effects, and (See Para [0006]- [0007]
“Stiffness of the substrate plays an important role in providing the contact necessary to successfully and uniformly remove materials from the feature side of the substrate. Sharp transitions in the pressure applied to the backside of the substrate are sometimes desirable to facilitate uniform material removal. However, stiffness of the substrate tends to redistribute the pressure applied to the substrate such that the pressure applied to the substrate may be spread or smoothed. In some cases, this smoothing effect is undesirable and may cause undesirable polishing results on the substrate.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus that facilitates focused, high resolution control of pressure or force applied to a substrate to facilitate removal of materials from the feature side of the substrate.”)
And introduces controllable pressure to the back side of the polishing bad in order to address these undesirable effects. See Fig. 9 of Chen2 and Para [0009] “In another embodiment, a method for polishing a substrate is described. The method includes urging a substrate against a first surface of a polishing pad using a first pressure applied from a first pressure applicator to a backside of the substrate, and applying a second pressure to a feature side of the substrate through a second surface of the polishing pad”.
Finally, Duescher discloses a similar chemical mechanical polishing apparatus utilizing a metal platen, and further suggests that this platen has a high thermal conductivity due to being metallic (See Para [0223] “Heat transfer across the full surface of the pad is quite ineffective in reducing the temperature differential across the radial width of the rotating pad. Due to the characteristics of the pad system, the porous foam resilient pad is relatively thick and acts as an insulator. This prevents heat generated on the pad exposed surface from being transferred to the rotary rigid metal platen that the pad is mounted on.”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the platen to be made of a metallic material as doing so would give it a high thermal conduction coefficient to facilitate control of the processing temperature as indicated as desirable in Herb Para [0096].
Regarding Claim 11, Herb as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 10 but does not disclose wherein the second cross- sectional thickness is characterized by a thickness of less than or about 15 mm.
However, it has been held that, where the only difference between the prior art and the claims was a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device was not patentably distinct from the prior art device, See MPEP 2144.04 IV A. Examiner further notes that applicants specification assigns no criticality to the claimed dimension of the second cross-sectional thickness, stating only in Para [0032] “For example, the second cross-sectional thickness, which may be or include a number of thicknesses as discussed further below, may be less than or about 15 mm, and may be less than or about 12 mm, less than or about 10 mm, less than or about 9 mm, less than or about 8 mm, less than or about 7 mm, less than or about 6 mm, less than or about 5 mm, less than or about 4 mm, less than or about 3 mm, less than or about 2 mm, or less. Although an upper platen made of stainless steel may be characterized by reduced thicknesses as compared to aluminum, for example, in some embodiments the second cross-sectional thickness may be greater than or about 0.5 mm, greater than or about 1.0 mm, greater than or about 1.5 mm, or greater, which may ensure the section may maintain sufficient rigidity to withstand a downward force of a carrier head depressing a substrate against the platen as will be described further below.”
Regarding Claim 12, Herb as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 10 and in addition discloses wherein a portion of the upper platen characterized by the second cross-sectional thickness of the upper platen is located across a central axis of the upper platen (See Figure 9a, central axis of the platen (extending through the center of the platen) extends through the thinner portion of the platen).
Regarding Claim 14, Herb as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 10 and in addition discloses further comprising:
a pneumatic pump fluidly coupled with the volume within the recess of the upper platen, wherein a fluid line from the pneumatic pump couples with the plate (See Para [0099] “Slurry is distributed to polish head 900 using a flexible slurry delivery tube 922 and a slurry delivery conduit 920 to deliver the slurry to a slurry chamber 919. Slurry is then distributed to a top surface of polish head 900 using conduits 912. In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, slurry chamber 919 is formed by securing a slurry manifold cover 918 to a lower surface of channel section 908.”).
Regarding Claim 15, Herb as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 10 but does not disclose further comprising:
a bellows extending from the plate to the second surface of the upper platen through the volume, wherein the bellows divides the volume within the recess of the upper platen into a first zone and a second zone, and wherein the first zone is fluidly isolated from the second zone.
However, in an alternative embodiment, Chen2 discloses an embodiment wherein there are multiple internal volumes (540) formed in the internal volume (525), wherein a pressure supply is adapted to independently provide pressure to each chamber (See Fig. 5b and Para [0055] “In one embodiment, a housing 255 of the pad pressure applicator 500 includes one or more chambers 540 that are coupled to a pressure supply 260 adapted to apply force to flexible membrane 535. Pressure delivered to each of the chambers 540 may be independently controlled to provide a controlled force to the flexible membrane 535 and to the underside 270 of the polishing pad 120. In one embodiment, the pressure of the fluid applied to the chambers 540 is about -10 psi to about 10 psi.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the internal volume of Herb to include a bellows extending from the plate to the second surface of the upper platen through the volume, wherein the bellows divides the volume within the recess of the upper platen into a first zone and a second zone fluidly isolated from one another, as doing so would allow for the separate control of pressure in each chamber, allowing for a greater degree of control over the polishing process.
Regarding Claim 16, Herb as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 15 and in addition discloses wherein the pneumatic pump comprises a first fluid line extending to the first zone and a second fluid line extending to the second zone, and wherein the pneumatic pump is operable to independently pump into, or purge from, each of the first zone and the second zone (Chen Para [0055] “In one embodiment, a housing 255 of the pad pressure applicator 500 includes one or more chambers 540 that are coupled to a pressure supply 260 adapted to apply force to flexible membrane 535. Pressure delivered to each of the chambers 540 may be independently controlled to provide a controlled force to the flexible membrane 535 and to the underside 270 of the polishing pad 120. In one embodiment, the pressure of the fluid applied to the chambers 540 is about -10 psi to about 10 psi.”).
Regarding Claim 17, Herb discloses A polishing assembly comprising:
an upper platen (906 and 908 in Fig. 9a) characterized by a first surface (top surface of 906) and a second surface (bottom surface of 908) opposite the first surface (See Fig. 9a), wherein:
the upper platen defines a recess (919) in a portion of the second surface of the upper platen that forms an area of reduced thickness of the upper platen (See recess 919 formed in the bottom portion of 908 which creates an area of reduced thickness in Fig. 9a);
a polishing pad (904) seated atop and coupled with the first surface of the upper platen (See Para [0097] “Top plate 906 includes a substantially planar top surface to which a polishing surface 904 such as a polishing pad is attached--e.g., using a suitable adhesive.”);
a plate (918) coupled with the upper platen along the second surface of the upper platen (See Fig. 9A), and defining a volume (919) within the recess of the upper platen between the second surface of the upper platen and the plate (See Fig. 9a and Para [0099] “In accordance with one aspect of this embodiment, slurry chamber 919 is formed by securing a slurry manifold cover 918 to a lower surface of channel section 908.”); and
a pneumatic pump fluidly coupled with the volume within the recess of the upper platen, wherein a fluid line from the pneumatic pump fluidly accesses the volume (See Para [0099] “Slurry is distributed to polish head 900 using a flexible slurry delivery tube 922 and a slurry delivery conduit 920 to deliver the slurry to a slurry chamber 919.”).
But does not explicitly disclose the area of reduced thickness of the upper platen forms a flexure between the first surface and the second surface within the recess; and
the flexure comprises a metallic material;
However, Herb does disclose the platen is made of a material with a high thermal conduction coefficient (See Para [0096] “Module 900 is suitably formed of material having a high thermal conduction coefficient to facilitate control of the processing temperature”)
And, Chen2 discloses a similar chemical mechanical polishing apparatus wherein the upper platen (105) with an interior volume (278) that forms a flexure (membrane 275 and fluid bearing 245 form a flexure in the platen, allowing the fluid bearing to discretely apply pressure to the underside of the polishing pad 120 positioned on the first side of the platen, See Para [0038] “Similar to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, the processing station 200 includes a pad pressure applicator 138 housed in the platen 105. In one embodiment, the pad pressure applicator 138 includes one or more pressure sources 240 that deliver a liquid or a gas from a pressure supply 260 that form a fluid bearing 245. The fluid bearing 245 may be utilized to apply pressure independently to discrete regions of the underside of the polishing pad 120. In one example, the pad pressure applicator 138 includes a lid plate 250 coupled to a housing 255 that contains the pressure sources 240. The pressure sources 240 are adapted to provide multiple pressure zones that may be independently controlled to apply a predetermined pressure to each zone defined by the pressure sources 240.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the platen of Herb to include a flexible area in the platen as doing so would allow for the fluid channels and slur channels of Herb to work as a fluid bearing in order to apply pressure to the underside of the pad. Herb is concerned with applying pressure to the back of the substrate during polishing (See Para [0071] “Carrier 708 may also include an air bladder 718 configured to provide a desired, controllable pressure to a backside of the wafer during a polishing process.”) which Chen discloses can sometimes produce undesirable effects, and (See Para [0006]- [0007]
“Stiffness of the substrate plays an important role in providing the contact necessary to successfully and uniformly remove materials from the feature side of the substrate. Sharp transitions in the pressure applied to the backside of the substrate are sometimes desirable to facilitate uniform material removal. However, stiffness of the substrate tends to redistribute the pressure applied to the substrate such that the pressure applied to the substrate may be spread or smoothed. In some cases, this smoothing effect is undesirable and may cause undesirable polishing results on the substrate.
Therefore, there is a need for a method and apparatus that facilitates focused, high resolution control of pressure or force applied to a substrate to facilitate removal of materials from the feature side of the substrate.”)
And introduces controllable pressure to the back side of the polishing bad in order to address these undesirable effects. See Fig. 9 of Chen2 and Para [0009] “In another embodiment, a method for polishing a substrate is described. The method includes urging a substrate against a first surface of a polishing pad using a first pressure applied from a first pressure applicator to a backside of the substrate, and applying a second pressure to a feature side of the substrate through a second surface of the polishing pad”.
Finally, Duescher discloses a similar chemical mechanical polishing apparatus utilizing a metal platen, and further suggests that this platen has a high thermal conductivity due to being metallic (See Para [0223] “Heat transfer across the full surface of the pad is quite ineffective in reducing the temperature differential across the radial width of the rotating pad. Due to the characteristics of the pad system, the porous foam resilient pad is relatively thick and acts as an insulator. This prevents heat generated on the pad exposed surface from being transferred to the rotary rigid metal platen that the pad is mounted on.”)
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the platen to be made of a metallic material as doing so would give it a high thermal conduction coefficient to facilitate control of the processing temperature as indicated as desirable in Herb Para [0096].
Regarding Claim 19, Herb as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 17 but does not disclose a compliant wall extending from the plate to the second surface of the upper platen through the volume, wherein the compliant wall divides the volume within the recess of the upper platen into a first zone and a second zone, wherein the first zone is fluidly isolated from the second zone, wherein the pneumatic pump comprises a first fluid line extending to the first zone and a second fluid line extending to the second zone, and wherein the pneumatic pump
However, in an alternative embodiment, Chen2 discloses an embodiment wherein there are multiple internal volumes (540) formed in the internal volume (525), wherein a pressure supply is adapted to independently provide pressure to each chamber (See Fig. 5b and Para [0055] “In one embodiment, a housing 255 of the pad pressure applicator 500 includes one or more chambers 540 that are coupled to a pressure supply 260 adapted to apply force to flexible membrane 535. Pressure delivered to each of the chambers 540 may be independently controlled to provide a controlled force to the flexible membrane 535 and to the underside 270 of the polishing pad 120. In one embodiment, the pressure of the fluid applied to the chambers 540 is about -10 psi to about 10 psi.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to modify the internal volume of Herb to include a compliant wall extending from the plate to the second surface of the upper platen through the volume, wherein the compliant wall divides the volume within the recess of the upper platen into a first zone and a second zone, wherein the first zone is fluidly isolated from the second zone, wherein the pneumatic pump comprises a first fluid line extending to the first zone and a second fluid line extending to the second zone, and wherein the pneumatic pump as doing so would allow for the separate control of pressure in each chamber, allowing for a greater degree of control over the polishing process.
Claim(s) 2, 9 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Herb (US 20030045205 A1) in view of Chen2 (US 20120171933 A1) and Duescher (US 20140127976 A1) as modified in claim 1 and in further view of Chen (US 20050186892 A1)
Regarding Claim 2, Herb as modified discloses all the limitations of claim 1 but does not explicitly disclose wherein the recess defined within the second surface of the upper platen comprises an annular recess defined about the upper platen.
However, Chen does teach a similar polishing assembly with an interior volume, although the interior volume of Chen (seen in figures 4a and 4b where 40 and 44 are), is annular (4a and 4b show a cross section, with 14 defining the inner region of the circle, 16 a middle region and 12 a boundary).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the internal recess or volume of Herb as modified to have an annular shape as doing so would allow the operator of the polishing device to have a first region (14 of Chen) that applies a fixed force to a workpiece and second region (16 of Chen) that applies a force that is controlled by the operator by manipulating the area defines as the internal volume (See abstract of Chen). This allows for the operator to perform a more sophisticated or advanced polishing operation.
Regarding Claim 9, Herb as modified teaches all the limitations of claim 1 but does not explicitly teach wherein the flexure is characterized by a varying cross-sectional thickness across the flexure.
However, Chen does teach a similar polishing apparatus with a flexure that can have varying cross-sectional thickness across the flexure (See Para [0024] “In FIG. 3A, the membrane 34 is shown having a uniform thickness. Alternatively, the membrane 34 can have portions of varying thickness. For example, one portion of the membrane can be thicker than another portion of the membrane, as depicted in FIG. 3B. In such cases, the thicker portion of the membrane rises less than the thinner portions of the membrane.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the flexure of Herb as modified to have varying cross-sectional thickness across the flexure as Chen teaches that the thickness affects the pads flexibility (See Para [0025]), and modifying the thickness would allow the user to control the flexibility of the pad in certain regions, either to have a rigid region or a region with high flexibility on the same polishing pad, increasing the versatility of the polishing apparatus.
Regarding Claim 18, Herb as modified teaches all the limitations of claim 17 but does not explicitly teach wherein the flexure is characterized by a varying cross-sectional area across the flexure.
However, Chen does teach a similar polishing apparatus with a flexure that can have varying cross-sectional thickness across the flexure (See Para [0024] “In FIG. 3A, the membrane 34 is shown having a uniform thickness. Alternatively, the membrane 34 can have portions of varying thickness. For example, one portion of the membrane can be thicker than another portion of the membrane, as depicted in FIG. 3B. In such cases, the thicker portion of the membrane rises less than the thinner portions of the membrane.”).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the flexure of Herb as modified to have varying cross-sectional area across the flexure as Chen teaches that the thickness affects the pads flexibility (See Para [0025]), and modifying the thickness would allow the user to control the flexibility of the pad in certain regions, either to have a rigid region or a region with high flexibility on the same polishing pad, increasing the versatility of the polishing apparatus.
Claim(s) 4, 5, 13 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Herb (US 20030045205 A1) in view of Chen2 (US 20120171933 A1) and Duescher (US 20140127976 A1) as modified in claim 1 and in view of Bhagavat (US 20140357161 A1).
Regarding Claim 4, Herb as modified teaches all the limitations of claim 1 and in but does not explicitly teach wherein one or more stops extend from the plate towards the flexure of the upper platen, and wherein the one or more stops define a maximum deflection distance for the flexure defined by the upper platen.
However, Bhagavat does teach a similar flexible polishing apparatus with an interior volume that does include one or more stops (380 and 382) extend from the plate (As can be seen in figure 15) towards the flexure (372) of the upper platen (330), and wherein the one or more stops define a maximum deflection distance for the flexure defined by the upper platen (See figure 17 where stop prevent further deflection of the flexure).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the recess of the platen of Herb as modified to include stops, as doing so prevents the flexure from over flexing (See Para [0010] “The movable stopper is located between the polishing head and the cap to limit movement of the cap with respect to the polishing head along a direction that is perpendicular to the polishing side of the polishing head.”) preventing issues in the case where too much force is applied to the platen, preventing plastic deformation of the flexure increasing the lifespan of the platen.
Regarding Claim 5, Herb as modified as modified teaches all the limitations of claim 4 and in addition teaches wherein the one or more stops (380 and 382 of Bhagavat) comprise a plurality of stops (outer stop 380, inner stop 382 of Bhagavat), and wherein a first stop of the plurality of stops is characterized by a height different from a second stop of the plurality of stops (See height differences in figures 15 and 17 of Bhagavat).
Regarding Claim 13, Herb as modified teaches all the limitations of claim 10 but does not explicitly teach wherein one or more protrusions extend from the plate towards the upper platen, and wherein each protrusion of the one or more protrusions is characterized by an annular shape about the plate.
However, Bhagavat does teach a similar polishing head that includes one or more protrusions (380 and 382), wherein each protrusion of the one or more protrusions is characterized by an annular shape about the plate (See Para [0059] 380 is a ring about the plate, and 382 is a central piece for the center of the pad).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Herb as modified to include one or more protrusions as doing so would prevent the flexure from over flexing (See Para [0010] “The movable stopper is located between the polishing head and the cap to limit movement of the cap with respect to the polishing head along a direction that is perpendicular to the polishing side of the polishing head.”) preventing issues in the case where too much force is applied to the platen, preventing plastic deformation of the flexure increasing the lifespan of the platen.
Regarding Claim 20, Herb as modified teaches all the limitations of claim 17 but does not explicitly teach wherein one or more protrusions extend from the plate towards the upper platen, and wherein the one or more protrusions define a maximum inward deflection distance of the flexure.
However, Bhagavat does teach a similar polishing head that includes one or more protrusions (380 and 382), wherein each protrusion of the one or more protrusions is characterized by an annular shape about the plate (See Para [0059] 380 is a ring about the plate, and 382 is a central piece for the center of the pad).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify Herb as modified to include one or more protrusions as doing so would prevent the flexure from over flexing (See Para [0010] “The movable stopper is located between the polishing head and the cap to limit movement of the cap with respect to the polishing head along a direction that is perpendicular to the polishing side of the polishing head.”) preventing issues in the case where too much force is applied to the platen, preventing plastic deformation of the flexure increasing the lifespan of the platen.
Conclusion
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/T.J.M./Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/DAVID S POSIGIAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723