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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the following feature(s) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Claim 14 recites “one or more thick regions and one or more thin regions on a film thickness profile of a substrate … wherein drilling the diffuser portion in each of the plurality of apertures comprises adjusting a diameter of each diffuser portion based on the determined layout”, which is not shown in the drawings that have labeled “thick regions” or “thin regions” along “thickness profile of a substrate”.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
The following claim(s) is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 1 lines 4 and 5, “each first portion” should be changed to “each of the first portions”, similar changes for claim 4 line 3, claim 9 line 3, claim 10 lines 4 and 6, and claim 17 line 3.
Claim 1 line 7, “each diffuser portion” should be changed to “each of the diffuser portions”, similar changes for claim 3 line 3, claim 10 line 9, claim 17 line 4, and claim 20 lines 8 and 10.
Claim 2 line 4, “of an aperture” should be changed to “of another aperture”
Claim 5 line 4, “each second portion” should be changed to “each of the second portions”, similar changes for claim 10 lines 6-7.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 19-20 is/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.
The term “about” in claims 19 and 20is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “about” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. It is unclear if in claim 19, “about 20 mils” includes a diameter of 18 mils, 17 mils, or even 21 mils. Similarly, it is unclear if in claim 20, “about 10 microns” includes a tolerance of 11 microns or 8 microns.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 1-13 and 17-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lindfors (US 20040216668 A1) in view of Starkweather (US 20170261208 A1).
Regarding claim 1
Lindfors discloses aa method of fabricating a faceplate (gas exchange plate 116, Fig. 1) for a processing chamber (vacuum chamber 101), comprising:
drilling a first portion (distributor passages 150, Fig 1 where apertures can be made by laser drilling, [0042 bottom]) of each of a plurality of apertures (150, 154, and 157) in a first surface (top surface) of the faceplate (gas exchange plate 116), each first portion (distributor passages 150) extending at least partially through a thickness of the faceplate (first portion150 extend partially through faceplate 116);
each first portion (150) formed using a laser drilling apparatus (apertures can be made by laser drilling, [0042 bottom], indicating that there is a laser drilling apparatus); and
drilling a diffuser portion (see annotated Fig. 1 portion between 150 and152, construed as the diffuser portion) in each of the plurality of apertures using the laser drilling apparatus (laser drilling, [0042 bottom]), wherein each diffuser portion (near 152) is centered with respect to a respective one of the first portions (diffuser portion near 152 extends through a center opening of first portion 150).
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Lindfors is silent on detecting a center of an opening with the laser drilling apparatus.
However, Starkweather teaches a laser drilling method (drilling a center bore with a laser, [0017]) including a step of detecting a center of an opening with the laser drilling apparatus (laser shots 55 begins at the center longitudinal axis 35, or bore 53, Fig 9, [0078 top]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to add to the method of fabricating a faceplate a step of detecting a center of an opening with the laser drilling apparatus, as suggested and taught by Starkweather, in order to center the diffuser portions with the first portions in Lindfors, because this creates uniform flow paths for the faceplate in Lindfors to distribute the reactants onto the substrate.
Regarding claim 2
Lindfors in view of Starkweather discloses the method of claim 1.
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Lindfors further discloses wherein: at least one diffuser portion (near 152 Fig 1) of an aperture (150) of the plurality of apertures (150, 154, and 157) has a different diameter (wider diameter) than at least one other diffusion portion of an aperture of the plurality of apertures (diffuser portion of aperture 157 is wider than diffuser portion 152 of aperture 150 as seen in Fig 1 annotated below).
Regarding claim 3
Lindfors in view of Starkweather discloses the method of claim 1.
Lindfors further discloses wherein: each diffuser portion is characterized by a cylindrical profile (Fig 4 shows the diffuser portion near 152 having a cylindrical profile).
Regarding claim 4
Lindfors in view of Starkweather discloses the method of claim 1.
Lindfors further discloses wherein: each first portion (distributor passages 150, Fig. 1) is characterized by a cylindrical profile (first portion 150 having cylindrical shape in Fig 1).
Regarding claim 5
Lindfors in view of Starkweather discloses the method of claim 4.
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Lindfors further discloses drilling a second portion (apertures 152 having second portions annotated in Fig 1) of each of the plurality of apertures (apertures 152, 156, and 157,) in a second surface (bottom surface) of the faceplate (gas exchange plate 116) that is opposite the first surface (top surface), each second portion (apertures 152) extending from the second surface (bottom surface) to the diffuser portion (see annotated snippet of Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 6
Lindfors in view of Starkweather discloses the method of claim 5.
Lindfors further discloses the second portion (apertures 152, Fig. 1) is characterized by a generally frustoconical profile (152 being cone shaped).
Regarding claim 7
Lindfors in view of Starkweather discloses the method of claim 5.
Lindfors further discloses drilling the first portion (distributor passages 150, Fig. 1) and the second portion (apertures 152) is performed using a mechanical drill (passages 150 and 152 can be drilled with a laser, [0047] and a laser drilling machine is a mechanical device, note that there is no other requirement for the claim term “mechanical”).
Regarding claim 8
Lindfors in view of Starkweather discloses the method of claim 1.
Lindfors is silent on wherein: the first portion extends through at least 50% of the thickness of the faceplate.
However, Starkweather teaches a faceplate (plate 20 with thickness 52 in Fig 1) having plurality of apertures (cooling holes 10) having a first portion (cylindrical portion annotated in Fig 1) and a diffuser portion (outlet 11),
wherein: the first portion extends through at least 50% of the thickness of the faceplate (shaped cooling hole 10 expand the outlet 11 only in one dimension and stay generally cylindrical for about half their length, thereby maintaining high bore cooling velocity, [0065 top]).
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Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to machine the first portion in Lindfors through at least 50% of the thickness of the faceplate, as suggested and taught by Starkweather, in order to maintain the velocity of the fluid traveling through the aperture at high speed (0065 top).
Regarding claim 9
Lindfors in view of Starkweather discloses the method of claim 1.
Lindfors further discloses wherein:
a diameter of each first portion (distributor passages 150 Fig 1) is greater than a diameter of each respective diffuser portion (near 152, annotated in Fig 1, where diffuser portion is narrower than the first portion 150, thus the diameter of the first portion 150 is greater than the diameter of the diffuser portion).
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Regarding claim 10
Lindfors discloses a method of fabricating a faceplate (gas exchange plate 116, Fig 1 by using a laser drill, [0047]) for a processing chamber (vacuum chamber 101), comprising:
drilling a first portion (distributor passages 150, Fig. 1) of each of a plurality of apertures (apertures 150, 154, and 157) in a first surface (top surface) of a faceplate (gas exchange plate 116), each first portion (distributor passages 150) extending at partially through a thickness of the faceplate (first portion 150 extends partially through faceplate 116);
drilling a second portion (apertures 152, annotated in Fig 1) of each of the plurality of apertures (apertures 152, 156, and 157) in a second surface (bottom surface) of the faceplate (116) that is opposite the first surface (top surface), wherein each of the first portion and each second portion are drilled using a mechanical drill (402 in Fig 4, drill 402 is interpreted to be a mechanical device that drills all the openings on faceplate 116, [0047], note that the claim does not define any other additional requirement for the claim term “mechanical”, thus a drill 402 in Fig 4 is interpreted to be a mechanical drill); and
drilling a diffuser portion (diffuser portion in the middle of 150 and near 152, annotated in Fig 1) in each of the plurality of apertures (150, 156, 157) using a laser drilling apparatus (apertures can be made by laser drilling, [0042 bottom], indicating that there is a laser drilling apparatus), wherein each diffuser portion (near 152) extends between a respective the first portions (150) and a respective second portion (apertures 152).
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Regarding claim 11
Lindfors in view of Starkweather discloses the method of claim 10.
Lindfors further discloses wherein: the plurality of apertures comprises a first plurality of apertures (first apertures having the narrower diffuser portions annotated in Fig 1 below) and a second plurality of apertures (second apertures with the wider diffuser portions annotated in Fig 1); and
the diffuser portions of each of the first plurality of apertures have different diameters than the diffuser portions of each of the second plurality of apertures (Fig 1).
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Regarding claim 12
Lindfors disclose the method of claim 11.
Lindfors further discloses wherein:
the first plurality of apertures are disposed within a central region of the faceplate (the first apertures are interpreted to be closer to the middle, thus in the central region of the faceplate 116, annotated in Fig 1); and
the second plurality of apertures are disposed within an outer region that is radially outward of the central region (second apertures are interpreted to be on the outer edge of faceplate 116, Fig 1, the radial direction is interpreted to be outward).
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Regarding claim 13
Lindfors disclose the method of claim 12.
Lindfors further discloses wherein:
the central region is circular or polygonal in shape (central region is broadly defined as an area in the middle of the faceplate 116, annotated in Fig 4, including the first apertures 154); and
the outer region is annular in shape (outer region is broadly defined as a circular region on the outside, including second apertures 157).
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Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Matsubara (US 20060086318 A1) in view of Starkweather.
Regarding claim 20
Matsubara discloses a semiconductor (semiconductor substrate, paragraph [0044] and Fig. 3) processing chamber (reaction chamber 1, Fig. 1) faceplate (gas diffusion plate 9) comprising:
a first surface (top surface of gas diffusion plate 9) and a second surface (bottom surface of gas diffusion plate 9) opposite the first surface (top surface of gas diffusion plate 9), wherein:
the faceplate defines a plurality of apertures of each a plurality of apertures (through holes 10, 11, and 11’) through the faceplate (gas diffusion plate 9),
each of the plurality of apertures (through holes 10, 11, and 11’) comprises a first portion (cylindrical portion “a”, Fig. 2B) that extends from the first surface (top surface) partially through a thickness (depth D, Fig. 2B) of the faceplate (9);
each of the plurality of apertures (through holes 10, 11, and 11’, Fig. 2B) comprises a diffuser portion (cylindrical portion “b”, Fig. 2B) that is fluidly coupled with a distal end of a respective first portion (bottom/distal end of cylindrical portion “a”, Fig. 2B);
each diffuser portion has a diameter that is smaller than a diameter of the respective first portion (diffuser portion “b” is conical with a diameter 22 which is smaller than the diameter 21 of the first portion “a” in Fig. 2B); and
each diffuser portion is formed by a drilling apparatus (“[h]oles are formed in the gas diffusion plate using a normal drill”, paragraph [0049]) to a tolerance of within about 10 microns (“about” is interpreted as the diameter has to be processed with precision to 0.1 mm or less, paragraph [0049]).
Matsubara is silent on using a laser drilling apparatus.
However, Starkweather teaches to drill through a substrate using a laser drilling apparatus (drilling a center bore with a laser, [0017], where laser shots 55 begins at the center longitudinal axis 35, or bore 53, Fig 9, [0078 top]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to drill the apertures in Matsubara using a laser drilling apparatus, as suggested and taught by Starkweather, because by using rapid laser processes, many different shapes can be formed with simpler manipulations of laser focus, laser head motions, or part motions (paragraph 0068 bottom).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 14 is/are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
i. In claim 14, the cited prior art of record fails to anticipate and/or render obvious, either solely or in combination, a method of fabricating a faceplate for a processing chamber comprising, among other features,
identifying one or more thick regions and one or more thin regions on a film thickness profile of a substrate; and
determining a layout of diameters of the diffuser portions for each the plurality of apertures based on locations of the one or more thick regions and one or more thin regions, wherein drilling the diffuser portion in each of the plurality of apertures comprises adjusting a diameter of each diffuser portion based on the determined layout.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1 and 7 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Srikantaiah (US 20190051499 A1) teaches a faceplate with aperatures
Lavers (US 7411150 B2) teaches a laser machining step
Appleby (US 10189184 B2) teaches a laser machining method with tolerance
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Thuyhang Nguyen whose telephone number is (571) 272-5317. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am-5pm EST.
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/Thuyhang N Nguyen/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
