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
The amendment filed 04/06/2026 has been entered.
Claim Status
Claims 1-8 and 13-20 are pending.
Claims 1, 3, 7, and 15-17 are currently amended.
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 16 recites the limitation "the transfer module" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Claims 17-20 are rejected by virtue of dependency upon claim 16.
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.
Claims 1-4, 7-8, and 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iizuka (US 20110076117 A1), in view of Ishikawa (US 20110064545 A1), Thakur (US 20060156979 A1), and Trussell (US 20170110351 A1), with Kawamura (US 6077027 A) as a teaching reference.
Regarding claim 1, Iizuka teaches a facility for manufacturing a semiconductor (Fig. 1, substrate processing apparatus 10) comprising:
an index module including a first transfer robot (Fig. 1, [0033], transfer chamber 12 houses robot R) and configured to carry out and transfer a substrate mounted on a container using the first transfer robot (Fig. 1, [0032], robot R transfers wafer W from cassette CS);
a process chamber configured to treat the substrate heated by the buffer chamber (Fig. 1, [0037], process chamber 15b); and
a buffer chamber directly connected to the process chamber (Fig. 1, [0037], process chamber 15b is connected to buffer chamber 15a via gate valve GV2), wherein the buffer chamber comprises a housing and an opening/closing door that isolates and separates an internal space of the buffer chamber defined by the housing from an internal space of the transfer module (Fig. 1, [0035]-[0037], buffer chamber 15a is isolated from transfer chamber 14 via gate valve GV1), and the internal space of the transfer module is an atmospheric pressure environment (Fig. 1, [0034], transport chamber 14 can be evacuated to a reduced pressure) while the internal space of the buffer chamber is maintained under vacuum pressure (Fig. 1, [0037], buffer chamber 15a can be evacuated to and maintained at a reduced pressure).
Iizuka fails to teach a transfer module including a second transfer robot and configured to relay the substrate transferred by the index module using the second transfer robot; a buffer chamber configured to heat the substrate relayed by the transfer module; and a controller programmed to control the buffer chamber, directly connected to the process chamber, to heat the substrate while the substrate waits before being directly loaded from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected, control to directly transfer the heated substrate from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected, and wherein the buffer chamber is installed inside the transfer module.
However, Ishikawa teaches a transfer module (Ishikawa, Fig. 1, [0030], transfer region 107) including a second transfer robot (Ishikawa, Fig. 1, [0030], robot assembly 117) and configured to relay the substrate transferred by the index module using the second transfer robot (Ishikawa, Fig. 1, [0030], robot assembly 117 transfers substrates to and from process chambers 102,104).
Ishikawa is considered analogous art to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of semiconductor processing. It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have modified the apparatus of Iizuka to incorporate the heated robot assembly of Ishikawa as doing so would allow for retrieving substrates at a high temperature without thermal shock by maintaining the substrates at a high temperature using the heated end effector (Ishikawa, [0027]). As well, the transfer apparatus and pivot shaft of Iizuka (Iizuka, [0036]-[0037]) could be replaced by the robot assembly of Ishikawa, potentially reducing cost and/or complexity by having a singular transfer robot instead of two separate transfer assemblies.
Modified Iizuka fails to teach a buffer chamber configured to heat the substrate relayed by the transfer module; a controller programmed to control the buffer chamber, directly connected to the process chamber, to heat the substrate while the substrate waits before being directly loaded from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected, control to directly transfer the heated substrate from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected, and wherein the buffer chamber is installed inside the transfer module.
However, Thakur teaches a buffer chamber configured to heat the substrate relayed by the transfer module (Thakur, Figs. 2C, 2G & 13E, [0146], plate 153 in buffer chamber 150 preheats substrates after transfer from pods 105); a controller programmed to control the buffer chamber (Thakur, [0059], system controller 102 carries out the various processing methods and sequences of cluster tool 100), directly connected to the process chamber (Thakur, Figs. 2C & 13E, [0067], buffer chamber 150 is connected to chamber 201), to heat the substrate while the substrate waits before being directly loaded from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected (Thakur, Figs. 2C, 2G & 13E, [0146], plate 153 in buffer chamber 150 preheats substrates prior to placement in processing chamber 201), and control to directly transfer the heated substrate from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected (Thakur, Figs. 2C, 2G, & 13E, [0149], in step E1, substrate is transferred from buffer position 152A in buffer chamber 150A to processing chamber 201, where plate 153 at buffer position 152 in buffer chamber 150 preheats substrates prior to placement in processing chamber 201, [0146]).
Thakur is considered analogous art to the claim invention because it is in the same field of semiconductor processing. It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have incorporated the substrate heating mechanisms, purging gas, and associated controller programming as taught by Thakur into the existing buffer station of modified Iizuka as doing so would help minimize the temperature stabilization time needed by the processing chamber, thereby enhancing throughput (Thakur, [0143]), while also helping maintain the buffer chamber free from contaminants (Thakur, [0068]).
Modified Iizuka fails to teach wherein the buffer chamber is installed inside the transfer module.
However, Trussell wherein the buffer chamber is installed inside the transfer module (Trussell, Fig. 2, [0098], buffer stacks 240, 242 are installed in wafer transport assembly 209).
Trussell is considered analogous art to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of semiconductor processing. It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have modified the transfer module of Iizuka to incorporate the buffer stations of modified Iizuka within the transfer module as taught by Trussell as doing so achieves a compact footprint by leveraging space that already exists between the process modules (Trussell, [0100]).
While Trussell does not explicitly teach wherein the entire buffer chamber is located inside the transfer module, Kawamura teaches wherein a buffer chamber 580 having an evacuation means 590 and an inert gas feed 501 is located within transfer chamber 71, with the benefit that the inside of the buffer chamber can be cleaned at any desired time in such a way that, gas is jetted at a high pressure into a chamber having a small capacity, to thereby move the foreign substances with the gas flow, such that no foreign matter is accumulated on the transfer arms or the inside of the buffer chamber (Kawamura, Figs. 14(a), 14(c), C21 L43- C22 L31). Therefore, one would be motivated to import the entirety of the buffer chamber as taught by Iizuka modified by Thakur to maintain said benefit.
To clarify the record, the claim limitations “the internal space of the transfer module is an atmospheric pressure environment while the internal space of the buffer chamber is maintained under vacuum pressure” is merely an intended use and is given patentable weight to the extent that the prior art is capable of performing the intended use. The apparatus of Iizuka teaches a buffer chamber in communication with an evacuation means, a transfer module in communication with evacuation means, and gate valves located between the modules, thereby being capable of meeting the claim limitations. A claim containing a “recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus” if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. See MPEP 2114(II).
Regarding claim 2, modified Iizuka fails to teach wherein the controller is programmed to control the buffer chamber to heat the substrate while the substrate treated by the process chamber waits before being carried out.
However, Thakur teaches wherein the controller is programmed to control the buffer chamber to heat the substrate while the substrate treated by the process chamber waits before being carried out (Thakur, Figs. 2C and 2G, [0074]-[0076], plural substrates are individually heated on shelves 185 while in buffer chamber prior to transfer to processing chamber 201, where one or plural wafers can be transferred to/from processing chamber 201).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have incorporated the substrate heating mechanisms, purging gas, and associated controller programming as taught by Thakur into the existing buffer station of modified Iizuka as doing so would help minimize the temperature stabilization time needed by the processing chamber, thereby enhancing throughput (Thakur, [0143]), while also helping maintain the buffer chamber free from contaminants (Thakur, [0068]).
Regarding claim 3, Iizuka teaches wherein the semiconductor manufacturing facility comprises multiple ones of the buffer chamber and multiple ones of the process chamber, and a respective one of the multiple ones of the buffer chamber is provided separately for each of the multiple ones of the process chamber (Fig. 1, [0037], each process module 15 includes a buffer chamber 15A and process chamber 15B).
Regarding claim 4, Iizuka teaches wherein the buffer chamber is coupled to a front surface of the process chamber, into which the substrate is loaded (Fig. 1, [0037], a wafer W is loaded into buffer chamber 15A via gate valve GV1, and then subsequently transferred into process chamber 15B via gate valve GV2).
Regarding claim 7, Iizuka fails to teach wherein the second transfer robot is configured to transfer the substrate heated by the buffer chamber to the process chamber.
However, Ishikawa teaches wherein the second transfer robot is configured to transfer the substrate heated by the buffer chamber to the process chamber (Ishikawa, Fig. 1, [0036], robot assembly 117 transfers substrates to processing chambers 102 and 104)
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have modified the apparatus of Iizuka to incorporate the heated robot assembly of Ishikawa as doing so would allow for retrieving substrates at a high temperature without thermal shock by maintaining the substrates at a high temperature using the heated end effector (Ishikawa, [0027]). As well, the transfer apparatus and pivot shaft of Iizuka (Iizuka, [0036]-[0037]) could be replaced by the robot assembly of Ishikawa, potentially reducing cost and/or complexity by having a singular transfer robot instead of two separate transfer assemblies.
Regarding claim 8, Iizuka fails to teach wherein a heating wire is installed in an end effector of the second transfer robot.
However, Ishikawa teaches wherein a heating wire is installed in an end effector of the second transfer robot (Ishikawa, Fig. 4a, [0054], spiral coils 255 used for heating are installed in blade 204).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have modified the apparatus of Iizuka to incorporate the heated robot assembly of Ishikawa as doing so would allow for retrieving substrates at a high temperature without thermal shock by maintaining the substrates at a high temperature using the heated end effector (Ishikawa, [0027]).
Regarding claim 13, modified Iizuka fails to teach wherein the controller is programmed to control the buffer chamber to heat the substrate above a reference temperature, wherein the reference temperature is a temperature, at which the substrate can be immediately treated in the process chamber.
However, Thakur teaches wherein the controller is programmed to control the buffer chamber to heat the substrate above a reference temperature, wherein the reference temperature is a temperature, at which the substrate can be immediately treated in the process chamber (Thakur, [0144], [0146], substrate is preheated to a desired temperature before placement into the processing chamber 201).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have incorporated the substrate heating mechanisms, purging gas, and associated controller programming as taught by Thakur into the existing buffer station of modified Iizuka as doing so would help minimize the temperature stabilization time needed by the processing chamber, thereby enhancing throughput (Thakur, [0143]), while also helping maintain the buffer chamber free from contaminants (Thakur, [0068]).
Regarding claim 14, Iizuka teaches wherein the process chamber is configured to clean the substrate using radicals ([0039], process chamber 15b is configured with gas supplying nozzles, a wafer chuck, a wafer heating mechanism, and plasma generation for processes such as etching).
To clarify the record, the claim limitation “to clean the substrate using radicals” is merely an intended use and is given patentable weight to the extent that the prior art is capable of performing the intended use. The process chamber of Iizuka as described is capable of running a dry clean process via plasma generation. A claim containing a “recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus” if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. See MPEP 2114(II).
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iizuka (US 20110076117 A1) in view of Ishikawa (US 20110064545 A1), Thakur (US 20060156979 A1), Trussell (US 20170110351 A1), and Kawamura (US 6077027 A), as applied in claims 1-4, 7-8, and 13-14, and further in view of Yamada (US 20110117492 A1).
The limitations of claims 1-4, 7-8, and 13-14 are set forth above.
Regarding claim 5, Iizuka fails to teach wherein the buffer chamber is configured to provide a purge gas to the substrate, and the controller is programmed to control the buffer chamber to provide the purge gas to the substrate while the substrate is heated.
However, Thakur teaches wherein the buffer chamber is configured to provide a purge gas to the substrate (Thakur, [0068], the buffer chamber is in communication with an inert gas source to purge and minimize the partial pressure of certain contaminants found in the buffer chamber).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have incorporated the substrate heating mechanisms, purging gas, and associated controller programming as taught by Thakur into the existing buffer station of modified Iizuka as doing so would help minimize the temperature stabilization time needed by the processing chamber, thereby enhancing throughput (Thakur, [0143]), while also helping maintain the buffer chamber free from contaminants (Thakur, [0068]).
Modified Iizuka fails to teach wherein the controller is programmed to control the buffer chamber to provide the purge gas to the substrate while the substrate is heated.
However, Yamada teaches wherein the buffer chamber is configured to provide a purge gas to the substrate (Yamada, Fig. 2, [0038], temperature control unit supplies temperature-controlled air into buffer room 63 to control the temperature), and the controller is programmed to control the buffer chamber to provide the purge gas to the substrate while the substrate is heated (Yamada, Fig. 2, [0038], temperature control unit supplies temperature-controlled air into buffer room 63 to control the temperature, where hot plate 61H heats the substrate).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have modified the buffer chamber of modified Iizuka to incorporate the temperature control unit of Yamada as doing so helps prevent a decrease in temperature of the wafer during transfer actions (Yamada, [0038]).
Regarding claim 6, modified Iizuka fails to teach wherein the purge gas is a gas having a high temperature higher than room temperature.
However, Yamada teaches wherein the purge gas is a gas having a high temperature higher than room temperature (Yamada, Fig. 2, [0038], temperature control unit supplies temperature-controlled air into buffer room 63 to control the temperature to equal temperature of hot plate 61H, which can range from 26 to 100°C, [0035]).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have modified the buffer chamber of modified Iizuka to incorporate the temperature control unit of Yamada as doing so helps prevent a decrease in temperature of the wafer during transfer actions (Yamada, [0038]).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iizuka (US 20110076117 A1), in view of Ishikawa (US 20110064545 A1), Yamada (US 20110117492 A1), Thakur (US 20060156979 A1), and Trussell (US 20170110351 A1), with Kawamura (US 6077027 A) as a teaching reference.
Regarding claim 15, Iizuka teaches a facility for manufacturing a semiconductor (Fig. 1, substrate processing apparatus 10) comprising:
an index module including a first transfer robot (Fig. 1, [0033], transfer chamber 12 houses robot R) and configured to carry out and transfer a substrate mounted on a container using the first transfer robot (Fig. 1, [0032], robot R transfers wafer W from cassette CS);
a buffer chamber (Fig. 1, buffer chamber 15A), wherein the buffer chamber comprises a housing and an opening/closing door that isolates and separates an internal space of the buffer chamber defined by the housing from an internal space of the transfer module (Fig. 1, [0035]-[0037], buffer chamber 15a is isolated from transfer chamber 14 via gate valve GV1), and the internal space of the transfer module is an atmospheric pressure environment (Fig. 1, [0034], transport chamber 14 can be evacuated to a reduced pressure) while the internal space of the buffer chamber is maintained under vacuum pressure (Fig. 1, [0037], buffer chamber 15a can be evacuated to and maintained at a reduced pressure);
a plurality of process chambers configured to treat the substrate heated by the buffer chamber (Fig. 1, [0037], each process module 15 includes a buffer chamber 15A and process chamber 15B); and
wherein the semiconductor manufacturing facility comprises multiple ones of the buffer chamber where a respective one of the multiple ones of the buffer chamber is provided separately for each of the plurality of process chambers (Fig. 1, [0037], each process module 15 includes a buffer chamber 15A and process chamber 15B), and is coupled to a front surface of the plurality of the process chambers, into which the substrate is loaded (Fig. 1, [0037], a wafer W is loaded into buffer chamber 15A via gate valve GV1, and then subsequently transferred into process chamber 15B via gate valve GV2).
Iizuka fails to teach a transfer module including a second transfer robot and configured to relay the substrate transferred by the index module using the second transfer robot;
wherein the buffer chamber is installed inside the transfer module;
a buffer chamber configured to heat the substrate relayed by the transfer module; and
a controller programmed to control the buffer chamber, directly connected to the process chamber, to heat the substrate while the substrate waits before being directly loaded from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected, control to directly transfer the heated substrate from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected, and heat the substrate while the substrate treated by the process chamber waits before being carried out,
wherein the buffer chamber is configured to provide a purge gas to the substrate; and
wherein the controller is programmed to control the buffer chamber to provide the purge to the substrate while the substrate is heated, and the purge gas is a gas having a high temperature higher than room temperature.
However, Ishikawa teaches a transfer module (Ishikawa, Fig. 1, [0030], transfer region 107) including a second transfer robot (Ishikawa, Fig. 1, [0030], robot assembly 117) and configured to relay the substrate transferred by the index module using the second transfer robot (Ishikawa, Fig. 1, [0030], robot assembly 117 transfers substrates to and from process chambers 102,104).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have modified the apparatus of Iizuka to incorporate the heated robot assembly of Ishikawa as doing so would allow for retrieving substrates at a high temperature without thermal shock by maintaining the substrates at a high temperature using the heated end effector (Ishikawa, [0027]). As well, the transfer apparatus and pivot shaft of Iizuka (Iizuka, [0036]-[0037]) could be replaced by the robot assembly of Ishikawa, potentially reducing cost and/or complexity by having a singular transfer robot instead of two separate transfer assemblies.
Iizuka modified by Ishikawa fails to teach wherein the buffer chamber is installed inside the transfer module;
a buffer chamber configured to heat the substrate relayed by the transfer module;
wherein the buffer chamber is configured to provide a purge gas to the substrate; and
wherein the controller is programmed to control the buffer chamber to provide the purge to the substrate while the substrate is heated, and the purge gas is a gas having a high temperature higher than room temperature; and
a controller programmed to control the buffer chamber, directly connected to the process chamber, to heat the substrate while the substrate waits before being directly loaded from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected, control to directly transfer the heated substrate from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected, and heat the substrate while the substrate treated by the process chamber waits before being carried out.
However, Yamada teaches a buffer chamber configured to heat the substrate relayed by the transfer module (Yamada, Fig. 1, heating room 61 of buffer room 63 heats wafer W by hot plate 61H); wherein the buffer chamber is configured to provide a purge gas to the substrate (Yamada, Fig. 2, [0038], temperature control unit supplies temperature-controlled air into buffer room 63 to control the temperature); and wherein the controller is programmed to control the buffer chamber to provide the purge to the substrate while the substrate is heated (Yamada, Fig. 2, [0038], temperature control unit supplies temperature-controlled air into buffer room 63 to control the temperature, where hot plate 61H heats the substrate), and the purge gas is a gas having a high temperature higher than room temperature (Yamada, Fig. 2, [0038], temperature control unit supplies temperature-controlled air into buffer room 63 to control the temperature to equal temperature of hot plate 61H, which can range from 26 to 100C, [0035]).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have modified the buffer chamber of Iizuka to incorporate the hot plate and temperature control unit of Yamada as doing so helps prevent a decrease in temperature of the wafer during transfer actions (Yamada, [0038]).
Modified Iizuka fails to teach wherein the buffer chamber is installed inside the transfer module; a controller programmed to control the buffer chamber, directly connected to the process chamber, to heat the substrate while the substrate waits before being directly loaded from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected, control to directly transfer the heated substrate from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected, and heat the substrate while the substrate treated by the process chamber waits before being carried out.
However, Thakur teaches a controller programmed to control the buffer chamber (Thakur, [0059], system controller 102 carries out the various processing methods and sequences of cluster tool 100), directly connected to the process chamber (Thakur, Figs. 2C & 13E, [0067], buffer chamber 150 is connected to chamber 201), to heat the substrate while the substrate waits before being directly loaded from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected (Thakur, Figs. 2C, 2G & 13E, [0146], plate 153 in buffer chamber 150 preheats substrates prior to placement in processing chamber 201), and control to directly transfer the heated substrate from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected (Thakur, Figs. 2C, 2G, & 13E, [0149], in step E1, substrate is transferred from buffer position 152A in buffer chamber 150A to processing chamber 201, where plate 153 at buffer position 152 in buffer chamber 150 preheats substrates prior to placement in processing chamber 201, [0146]), and heat the substrate while the substrate treated by the process chamber waits before being carried out (Thakur, Figs. 2C and 2G, [0074]-[0076], plural substrates are individually heated on shelves 185 while in buffer chamber prior to transfer to processing chamber 201, where one or plural wafers can be transferred to/from processing chamber 201).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have incorporated the substrate heating mechanisms, purging gas, and associated controller programming as taught by Thakur into the existing buffer station of modified Iizuka as doing so would help minimize the temperature stabilization time needed by the processing chamber, thereby enhancing throughput (Thakur, [0143]), while also helping maintain the buffer chamber free from contaminants (Thakur, [0068]).
Modified Iizuka fails to teach wherein the buffer chamber is installed inside the transfer module.
However, Trussell wherein the buffer chamber is installed inside the transfer module (Trussell, Fig. 2, [0098], buffer stacks 240, 242 are installed in wafer transport assembly 209).
Trussell is considered analogous art to the claimed invention because it is in the same field of semiconductor processing. It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have modified the transfer module of Iizuka to incorporate the buffer stations of modified Iizuka within the transfer module as taught by Trussell as doing so achieves a compact footprint by leveraging space that already exists between the process modules (Trussell, [0100]).
While Trussell does not explicitly teach wherein the entire buffer chamber is located inside the transfer module, Kawamura teaches wherein a buffer chamber 580 having an evacuation means 590 and an inert gas feed 501 is located within transfer chamber 71, with the benefit that the inside of the buffer chamber can be cleaned at any desired time in such a way that, gas is jetted at a high pressure into a chamber having a small capacity, to thereby move the foreign substances with the gas flow, such that no foreign matter is accumulated on the transfer arms or the inside of the buffer chamber (Kawamura, Figs. 14(a), 14(c), C21 L43- C22 L31). Therefore, one would be motivated to import the entirety of the buffer chamber as taught by modified Iizuka to maintain said benefit.
To clarify the record, the claim limitations “the internal space of the transfer module is an atmospheric pressure environment while the internal space of the buffer chamber is maintained under vacuum pressure” is merely an intended use and is given patentable weight to the extent that the prior art is capable of performing the intended use. The apparatus of Iizuka teaches a buffer chamber in communication with an evacuation means, a transfer module in communication with evacuation means, and gate valves located between the modules, thereby being capable of meeting the claim limitations. A claim containing a “recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus” if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. See MPEP 2114(II).
Claims 16-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iizuka (US 20110076117 A1), in view of Thakur (US 20060156979 A1), and Trussell (US 20170110351 A1), with Kawamura (US 6077027 A) as a teaching reference.
Regarding claim 16, Iizuka teaches an apparatus for treating a substrate (Fig. 1, substrate processing apparatus 10) comprising:
a process chamber configured to treat a substrate (Fig. 1, [0037], process chamber 15b); and
a buffer chamber providing a space, in which the substrate waits (Fig. 6, [0049], unprocessed wafer WU1 sits on substrate holding member 15D), the buffer chamber comprises a housing and an opening/closing door that isolates and separates an internal space of the buffer chamber defined by the housing from an internal space of the transfer module (Fig. 1, [0035]-[0037], buffer chamber 15a is isolated from transfer chamber 14 via gate valve GV1), and the internal space of the transfer module is an atmospheric pressure environment (Fig. 1, [0034], transport chamber 14 can be evacuated to a reduced pressure) while the internal space of the buffer chamber is maintained under vacuum pressure (Fig. 1, [0037], buffer chamber 15a can be evacuated to and maintained at a reduced pressure);
Iizuka fails to teach wherein the buffer chamber is installed inside the transfer module, a controller programmed to control the buffer chamber such that the substrate waits in the buffer chamber before being loaded into the process chamber, and waits in the buffer chamber before being carried out after being treated by the process chamber,
wherein the controller is programmed to control the buffer chamber, directly connected to the process chamber, to heat the substrate while the substrate waits before being directly loaded from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected, and control to directly transfer the heated substrate from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected.
However, Thakur teaches a controller programmed to control the buffer chamber such that the substrate waits in the buffer chamber before being loaded into the process chamber, and waits in the buffer chamber before being carried out after being treated by the process chamber (Thakur, Figs. 2C and 2G, [0074]-[0076], substrates are transferred to shelves 185 in buffer chamber 150 before and after processing in process chamber 201),
wherein the controller is programmed to control the buffer chamber (Thakur, [0059], system controller 102 carries out the various processing methods and sequences of cluster tool 100), directly connected to the process chamber (Thakur, Figs. 2C & 13E, [0067], buffer chamber 150 is connected to chamber 201), to heat the substrate while the substrate waits before being directly loaded from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected (Thakur, Figs. 2C, 2G & 13E, [0146], plate 153 in buffer chamber 150 preheats substrates prior to placement in processing chamber 201), and control to directly transfer the heated substrate from the buffer chamber into the process chamber to which the buffer chamber is directly connected (Thakur, Figs. 2C, 2G, & 13E, [0149], in step E1, substrate is transferred from buffer position 152A in buffer chamber 150A to processing chamber 201, where plate 153 at buffer position 152 in buffer chamber 150 preheats substrates prior to placement in processing chamber 201, [0146]).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have incorporated the substrate heating mechanisms, purging gas, and associated controller programming as taught by Thakur into the existing buffer station of modified Iizuka as doing so would help minimize the temperature stabilization time needed by the processing chamber, thereby enhancing throughput (Thakur, [0143]), while also helping maintain the buffer chamber free from contaminants (Thakur, [0068]).
Modified Iizuka fails to teach wherein the buffer chamber is installed inside the transfer module.
However, Trussell wherein the buffer chamber is installed inside the transfer module (Trussell, Fig. 2, [0098], buffer stacks 240, 242 are installed in wafer transport assembly 209).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have modified the transfer module of Iizuka to incorporate the buffer stations of modified Iizuka within the transfer module as taught by Trussell as doing so achieves a compact footprint by leveraging space that already exists between the process modules (Trussell, [0100]).
While Trussell does not explicitly teach wherein the entire buffer chamber is located inside the transfer module, Kawamura teaches wherein a buffer chamber 580 having an evacuation means 590 and an inert gas feed 501 is located within transfer chamber 71, with the benefit that the inside of the buffer chamber can be cleaned at any desired time in such a way that, gas is jetted at a high pressure into a chamber having a small capacity, to thereby move the foreign substances with the gas flow, such that no foreign matter is accumulated on the transfer arms or the inside of the buffer chamber (Kawamura, Figs. 14(a), 14(c), C21 L43- C22 L31). Therefore, one would be motivated to import the entirety of the buffer chamber as taught by modified Iizuka to maintain said benefit.
To clarify the record, the claim limitations “the internal space of the transfer module is an atmospheric pressure environment while the internal space of the buffer chamber is maintained under vacuum pressure” is merely an intended use and is given patentable weight to the extent that the prior art is capable of performing the intended use. The apparatus of Iizuka teaches a buffer chamber in communication with an evacuation means, a transfer module in communication with evacuation means, and gate valves located between the modules, thereby being capable of meeting the claim limitations. A claim containing a “recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus” if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. See MPEP 2114(II).
Regarding claim 17, Iizuka teaches the apparatus comprises multiple ones of the buffer chamber and multiple ones of the process chamber, and a respective one of the multiple ones of the buffer chamber is provided separately for each of the multiple ones of the process chamber (Fig. 1, [0037], each process module 15 includes a buffer chamber 15A and process chamber 15B).
Regarding claim 18, Iizuka teaches wherein the buffer chamber is coupled to a front surface of the process chamber, into which the substrate is loaded (Fig. 1, [0037], a wafer W is loaded into buffer chamber 15A via gate valve GV1, and then subsequently transferred into process chamber 15B via gate valve GV2).
Regarding claim 20, Iizuka teaches wherein the process chamber is configured to clean the substrate using radicals ([0039], process chamber 15b is configured with gas supplying nozzles, a wafer chuck, a wafer heating mechanism, and plasma generation for processes such as etching).
To clarify the record, the claim limitation “to clean the substrate using radicals” is merely an intended use and is given patentable weight to the extent that the prior art is capable of performing the intended use. The process chamber of Iizuka as described is capable of running a dry clean process via plasma generation. A claim containing a “recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus” if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. See MPEP 2114(II).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iizuka (US 20110076117 A1), in view of Thakur (US 20060156979 A1), Trussell (US 20170110351 A1), Kawamura (US 6077027 A) as applied in claims 16-18 and 20, and further in view of Yamada (US 20110117492 A1).
The limitations of claims 16-18 and 20 are set forth above.
Regarding claim 19, modified Iizuka fails to teach wherein the buffer chamber is configured to provide a purge gas to the substrate while the substrate is heated, wherein the purge gas is a gas having a high temperature higher than room temperature.
However, Yamada teaches wherein the buffer chamber is configured to provide a purge gas to the substrate while the substrate is heated (Yamada, Fig. 2, [0038], temperature control unit supplies temperature-controlled air into buffer room 63 to control the temperature while the substrate is heated by hot plate 61H), wherein the purge gas is a gas having a high temperature higher than room temperature (Yamada, Fig. 2, [0038], temperature control unit supplies temperature-controlled air into buffer room 63 to control the temperature to equal temperature of hot plate 61H, which can range from 26 to 100C, [0035]).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have modified the buffer chamber of Iizuka to incorporate the hot plate and temperature control unit of Yamada as doing so helps prevent a decrease in temperature of the wafer during transfer actions (Yamada, [0038]).
Response to Arguments
In the Applicant’s response filed 04/06/2026, the Applicant asserts that none of the cited prior art, particularly Trussell, teach the claim limitations of the buffer stations "comprise a housing and an opening/closing door that isolates and separates an internal space of the buffer chamber defined by the housing from an internal space of the transfer module" of independent claim 1 as newly amended, and similarly claims 15 and 16. In response to the amendments, the Examiner has newly rejected the claims in the “Claims Rejections” sections above, wherein the rejections utilize references Thakur and Trussell, using new reference Kawamura as a teaching reference as to why one would be motivated to import the entirety of the buffer chamber as taught by Iizuka modified by Thakur, thereby being capable of meeting the new claim limitations.
Conclusion
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.
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/TODD M SEOANE/Examiner, Art Unit 1718 /GORDON BALDWIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1718
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