DETAILED ACTION
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 .
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1, 4, 7-9, 14, 17, and 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (KR 20100004691 A1, hereinafter Kim) in view of Jang (KR 100945441 B1).
Regarding claim 1, Kim discloses a substrate support for a substrate processing system, the substrate support (Abstract, “A heater block is provided to save maintenance and repair time and costs by mounting a base block on a heater to support or heat a substrate.”) comprising:
a monobloc pedestal plate (Page 3, Para. 4 from end, “heater block includes a base block 110”, where the “base block 110” is construed to be a monobloc as the entire structure is made from one block of material) comprising a first surface configured to support a substrate (Page 3, Para. 4 from end, “The substrate is placed on one surface of the base block 110 (the lower surface of the base block 110 with reference to FIG. 2)”) and a second surface configured to interface with a pedestal stem (Page 3, Para. 4 from end, “The inner rod 130 is coupled to the opposite side of the base block 110 (the upper surface of the base block 110 with reference to FIG. 2) to elevate the base block 110”);
a groove formed in the second surface of the monobloc pedestal plate (Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “the heater mounting groove 116 are recessed on the opposite surface of the base block 110”, and Fig. 2, where the groove 116 is shown to be on the second surface that engages with the pedestal stem or 130), wherein the groove has a serpentine shape (Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “That is, the heater mounting groove 116 is formed to correspond to the desired hot wire shape, the shape of the hot wire 150 is determined according to the shape of the heater mounting groove 116.”, where Fig. 3 shows the heating element and groove shape is serpentine as it has bends and turns like a snake) and a depth of the groove extends upward from the second surface of the monobloc pedestal plate (Fig. 2, where the groove 116 starts from the second surface that engages with the pedestal stem or 130 and then extends upwards towards the first surface to create a depth); and
a heater coil arranged within the groove (Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “The hot wire 150 is inserted along the heater mounting groove 116.”), wherein (i) a gap is defined between the heater coil and the second surface of the monobloc pedestal plate (Page 4, Para. 2, “The heater cover 116a is fixedly installed at the inlet of the heater mounting groove 116 through welding.”, where the heater cover 116a is installed in the gap present at the inlet of the groove, where the heater coil and second surface are separated by a gap) and (ii) a gap material is arranged within the gap to close off the heater coil within the groove (Page 4, Para. 2, “The heater cover 116a and the heat insulator 116b are coupled to the heater mounting groove 116, the heater cover 116a blocks the heater mounting groove 116 from the outside”).
Kim does not disclose:
explicitly stating that the heater coil within the groove is sealed by the gap material.
However, Jang discloses, in the similar field of heaters embedded within grooves (Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “When the heater 200 is inserted into the embedding groove 222”), where the gap of the groove contains a heater that is sealed by the cover (Page 5, Para. 1, “heater is accommodated and the bottom surface thereof. In order to completely enclose the buried groove 222 in which the cover 224 made of aluminum is completely sealed with the external space”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the welded cover in Kim to seal the groove from the outside as taught by Jang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to create a vacuum within the groove, where a vacuum has the ability to be an efficient insulator and prevent heat from escaping towards the second surface, as stated by Jang, Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “the cover 224 made of aluminum is embedded in the bottom surface of the embedding groove 222 from a lower end thereof. In particular, in the present invention, in order to maintain the empty space of the buried groove 222 in a vacuum”.
Regarding claim 4, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
wherein the gap material comprises aluminum.
However, Jang discloses where the gap material is aluminum (Page 2, Para. 3 from end, “After the heater is accommodated in the buried groove 68, the cover 66 made of aluminum
closes the buried groove 68 to the bottom thereof, and finally, the internal space of the buried groove 68 is opened to the outside through the welding process 67. Isolate completely to maintain vacuum.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the gap material in modified Kim to be made from aluminum as taught by Jang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage using material that can be welded from the background art, where the same material can be used to cover the heating element without welding as stated by Jang, Page 2, Para. 3 from end, “cover 66 made of aluminum closes the buried groove 68 to the bottom thereof, and finally, the internal space of the buried groove 68 is opened to the outside through the welding process 67.”, and Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “it is not necessary to separately weld to the bottom side of the cover 224 of the aluminum material”.
Regarding claim 7, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
wherein the depth of the groove is 40-60% of a thickness of the monobloc pedestal plate.
However, Jang discloses where the depth of the groove is 40-60% of the thickness of the monobloc pedestal plate (Modified Fig. 4, where the groove depth is shown to be about 50% the thickness of the monobloc pedestal plate). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedestal plate and gap in modified Kim to have the dimensions as taught by Jang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of following the dimensions of the structure of Jang so that a vacuum can be maintained within the gap, as stated by Jang, Page 5, Para. 6, “buried groove 222 formed in the inner region of the susceptor shaft 210 and the susceptor body 200 communicated with the susceptor shaft 210 according to the present invention can be completely blocked from the outer region to maintain a vacuum state.”.
It has also been held that mere changes in size are obvious modifications to make. In re Rose, 220 F.2d 459, 105 USPQ 237 (CCPA 1955). It is the Examiner’s position that altering the gap dimensions within Kim would still allow the heater element to transfer heat through the pedestal. Since Jang shows that the specific 40-60% thickness of the gap compared to the pedestal plate is known, it would be a mere matter of user design choice to alter the gap dimensions to fit their specific design needs.
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Modified Figure 4, Jang
Regarding claim 8, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses further comprising a recess formed in the second surface of the monobloc pedestal plate, wherein the pedestal stem is arranged within the recess (Kim, modified Fig. 2, where the recess within the second surface of the pedestal plate is shown, where the pedestal stem is within that recess to engage with the pedestal plate).
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Modified Figure 2, Kim
Regarding claim 9, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein a shape of the groove is at least one of annular, helical, and oscillating (Kim, modified Fig. 2, where the groove that the heating element 116 is placed is shown to be annular or ring shaped).
Regarding claim 14, Kim discloses a method for assembling a substrate support for a substrate processing system (Claim 2, “The method of claim 1”, where claim 1 has an assembling procedure, and Abstract, “A heater block is provided to save maintenance and repair time and costs by mounting a base block on a heater to support or heat a substrate.”), the method comprising:
providing a monobloc pedestal plate (Page 3, Para. 4 from end, “heater block includes a base block 110”, where the “base block 110” is construed to be a monobloc as the entire structure is made from one block of material) comprising a first surface configured to support a substrate (Claim 1, “A base block having a surface on which the substrate is seated and having a heater mounting groove recessed from an opposite surface of the surface”; and Page 3, Para. 4 from end, “The substrate is placed on one surface of the base block 110 (the lower surface of the base block 110 with reference to FIG. 2)”) and a second surface configured to interface with a pedestal stem (Page 3, Para. 4 from end, “The inner rod 130 is coupled to the opposite side of the base block 110 (the upper surface of the base block 110 with reference to FIG. 2) to elevate the base block 110”);
forming a groove in the second surface of the monobloc pedestal plate (Claim 1, “A base block having a surface on which the substrate is seated and having a heater mounting groove recessed from an opposite surface of the surface”, where the base block must be made first before a heater mounting groove can be made; and Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “the heater mounting groove 116 are recessed on the opposite surface of the base block 110”, and Fig. 2, where the groove 116 is shown to be on the second surface that engages with the pedestal stem or 130), wherein the groove has a serpentine shape (Page 3, Para. 2 from end, “That is, the heater mounting groove 116 is formed to correspond to the desired hot wire shape, the shape of the hot wire 150 is determined according to the shape of the heater mounting groove 116.”, where Fig. 3 shows the heating element and groove shape is serpentine as it has bends and turns like a snake) and a depth of the groove extends upward from the second surface of the monobloc pedestal plate (Fig. 2, where the groove 116 starts from the second surface that engages with the pedestal stem or 130 and then extends upwards towards the first surface to create a depth);
arranging a heater coil within the groove (Claim 1, “A heater mounted on the heater mounting groove and both ends of which are led out to the outside through the inner passage”), wherein a gap is defined between the heater coil and the second surface of the monobloc pedestal plate (Page 4, Para. 2, “The heater cover 116a is fixedly installed at the inlet of the heater mounting groove 116 through welding.”, where the heater cover 116a is installed in the gap present at the inlet of the groove, where the heater coil and second surface are separated by a gap); and filling the gap with a gap material to close off the heater coil within the groove (Claim 1, “And a heater cover installed on the heater mounting groove to block the heater mounting groove from the outside.”; and Page 4, Para. 2, “The heater cover 116a and the heat insulator 116b are coupled to the heater mounting groove 116, the heater cover 116a blocks the heater mounting groove 116 from the outside”).
Modified Kim does not disclose:
explicitly stating that the heater coil within the groove is sealed by the gap material.
However, Jang discloses, in the similar field of heaters embedded within grooves (Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “When the heater 200 is inserted into the embedding groove 222”), where the gap of the groove contains a heater that is sealed by the cover (Page 5, Para. 1, “heater is accommodated and the bottom surface thereof. In order to completely enclose the buried groove 222 in which the cover 224 made of aluminum is completely sealed with the external space”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the welded cover in Kim to seal the groove from the outside as taught by Jang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to create a vacuum within the groove, where a vacuum has the ability to be an efficient insulator and prevent heat from escaping towards the second surface, as stated by Jang, Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “the cover 224 made of aluminum is embedded in the bottom surface of the embedding groove 222 from a lower end thereof. In particular, in the present invention, in order to maintain the empty space of the buried groove 222 in a vacuum”.
Regarding claim 17, modified Kim teaches the method according to claim 14, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
wherein the gap material comprises aluminum.
However, Jang discloses where the gap material is aluminum (Page 2, Para. 3 from end, “After the heater is accommodated in the buried groove 68, the cover 66 made of aluminum
closes the buried groove 68 to the bottom thereof, and finally, the internal space of the buried groove 68 is opened to the outside through the welding process 67. Isolate completely to maintain vacuum.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the gap material in modified Kim to be made from aluminum as taught by Jang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage using material that can be welded from the background art, where the same material can be used to cover the heating element without welding as stated by Jang, Page 2, Para. 3 from end, “cover 66 made of aluminum closes the buried groove 68 to the bottom thereof, and finally, the internal space of the buried groove 68 is opened to the outside through the welding process 67.”, and Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “it is not necessary to separately weld to the bottom side of the cover 224 of the aluminum material”.
Regarding claim 19, modified Kim teaches the method according to claim 14, as set forth above, discloses further comprising forming a recess in the second surface of the monobloc pedestal plate and arranging the pedestal stem within the recess (Kim, modified Fig. 2, where the recess within the second surface of the pedestal plate is shown, where the pedestal stem is within that recess to engage with the pedestal plate).
Claims 2, 5-6, 10, 15, 18, and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (KR 20100004691 A1, hereinafter Kim) in view of Jang (KR 100945441 B1) in further view of Desai et al. (JP 2008177572 A, hereinafter Desai).
Regarding claim 2, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
wherein the monobloc pedestal plate is comprised of a material that includes aluminum.
However, Desai discloses, in the similar field of substrate supports (Abstract, “substrate support”), where the monobloc pedestal plate is made from aluminum (Page 3, Para. 2, “In some other embodiments, the heated aluminum substrate support can include a cast aluminum body having an embedded heating element.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedestal plate in modified Kim to be made from aluminum as taught by Desai.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage using the specific aluminum material particle size to reduce the amount of defects within the substrate support, where the life of the support can be increased, as stated by Desai, Page 3, last Para., “Therefore, the main body 102 has fewer point defects and is more dispersed, and therefore has fewer origins and more dispersed leading to defects in the aluminum fluoride AlFx film compared to the conventional support, and as a result, The amount of particles produced is reduced and the useful life of the support is increased. As an unexpected benefit of this small particle size, the uniformity, reproducibility, and quality of the anodized coating covering some embodiments of the body 102 are improved. By improving the uniformity and quality of the anodized film, the operating performance of the heater is improved.”.
Regarding claim 5, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
wherein the monobloc pedestal plate and the gap material are comprised of a same material.
However, Jang discloses where the gap material is aluminum (Page 2, Para. 3 from end, “After the heater is accommodated in the buried groove 68, the cover 66 made of aluminum
closes the buried groove 68 to the bottom thereof, and finally, the internal space of the buried groove 68 is opened to the outside through the welding process 67. Isolate completely to maintain vacuum.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the gap material in modified Kim to be made from aluminum as taught by Jang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage using material that can be welded from the background art, where the same material can be used to cover the heating element without welding as stated by Jang, Page 2, Para. 3 from end, “cover 66 made of aluminum closes the buried groove 68 to the bottom thereof, and finally, the internal space of the buried groove 68 is opened to the outside through the welding process 67.”, and Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “it is not necessary to separately weld to the bottom side of the cover 224 of the aluminum material”.
Further, Desai discloses, in the similar field of substrate supports (Abstract, “substrate support”), where the monobloc pedestal plate is made from aluminum (Page 3, Para. 2, “In some other embodiments, the heated aluminum substrate support can include a cast aluminum body having an embedded heating element.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedestal plate in modified Kim to be made from aluminum as taught by Desai.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage using the specific aluminum material particle size to reduce the amount of defects within the substrate support, where the life of the support can be increased, as stated by Desai, Page 3, last Para., “Therefore, the main body 102 has fewer point defects and is more dispersed, and therefore has fewer origins and more dispersed leading to defects in the aluminum fluoride AlFx film compared to the conventional support, and as a result, The amount of particles produced is reduced and the useful life of the support is increased. As an unexpected benefit of this small particle size, the uniformity, reproducibility, and quality of the anodized coating covering some embodiments of the body 102 are improved. By improving the uniformity and quality of the anodized film, the operating performance of the heater is improved.”.
Regarding claim 6, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
wherein a thermal conductivity of the gap material is within 5% of a thermal conductivity of the monobloc pedestal plate.
However, Jang discloses where the gap material is aluminum (Page 2, Para. 3 from end, “After the heater is accommodated in the buried groove 68, the cover 66 made of aluminum
closes the buried groove 68 to the bottom thereof, and finally, the internal space of the buried groove 68 is opened to the outside through the welding process 67. Isolate completely to maintain vacuum.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the gap material in modified Kim to be made from aluminum as taught by Jang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage using material that can be welded from the background art, where the same material can be used to cover the heating element without welding as stated by Jang, Page 2, Para. 3 from end, “cover 66 made of aluminum closes the buried groove 68 to the bottom thereof, and finally, the internal space of the buried groove 68 is opened to the outside through the welding process 67.”, and Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “it is not necessary to separately weld to the bottom side of the cover 224 of the aluminum material”.
Further, Desai discloses, in the similar field of substrate supports (Abstract, “substrate support”), where the monobloc pedestal plate is made from aluminum (Page 3, Para. 2, “In some other embodiments, the heated aluminum substrate support can include a cast aluminum body having an embedded heating element.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedestal plate in modified Kim to be made from aluminum as taught by Desai; where the gap and pedestal plate materials are both aluminum, meaning that their thermal conductivities would be within 5% of each other as their conductivities are the same.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage using the specific aluminum material particle size to reduce the amount of defects within the substrate support, where the life of the support can be increased, as stated by Desai, Page 3, last Para., “Therefore, the main body 102 has fewer point defects and is more dispersed, and therefore has fewer origins and more dispersed leading to defects in the aluminum fluoride AlFx film compared to the conventional support, and as a result, The amount of particles produced is reduced and the useful life of the support is increased. As an unexpected benefit of this small particle size, the uniformity, reproducibility, and quality of the anodized coating covering some embodiments of the body 102 are improved. By improving the uniformity and quality of the anodized film, the operating performance of the heater is improved.”.
Regarding claim 10, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
wherein the groove is at least one of machined, milled, and etched into the second surface of the monobloc pedestal plate.
However, Desai discloses where the groove can be machined (Page 4, Para. 2 from end, “Regarding claim 10, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the groove is at least one of machined, milled, and etched into the second surface of the monobloc pedestal plate.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the groove in modified Kim to be machined as taught by Desai.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to shape the groove so that a press fit with the heating element is achieved, where machining allows for the shape to be altered, as stated by Desai, Page 4, Para. 2 from end, “groove 304 is machined. The groove 304 can be sized to accommodate the heating element 106 therein, and in one embodiment, the groove 304 is sized such that the heating element 106 is press fit or fits snugly into the groove 304. be able to.”.
Regarding claim 15, modified Kim teaches the method according to claim 14, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
wherein the monobloc pedestal plate is comprised of a material that includes aluminum.
However, Desai discloses, in the similar field of substrate supports (Abstract, “substrate support”), where the monobloc pedestal plate is made from aluminum (Page 3, Para. 2, “In some other embodiments, the heated aluminum substrate support can include a cast aluminum body having an embedded heating element.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedestal plate in modified Kim to be made from aluminum as taught by Desai.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage using the specific aluminum material particle size to reduce the amount of defects within the substrate support, where the life of the support can be increased, as stated by Desai, Page 3, last Para., “Therefore, the main body 102 has fewer point defects and is more dispersed, and therefore has fewer origins and more dispersed leading to defects in the aluminum fluoride AlFx film compared to the conventional support, and as a result, The amount of particles produced is reduced and the useful life of the support is increased. As an unexpected benefit of this small particle size, the uniformity, reproducibility, and quality of the anodized coating covering some embodiments of the body 102 are improved. By improving the uniformity and quality of the anodized film, the operating performance of the heater is improved.”.
Regarding claim 18, modified Kim teaches the method according to claim 14, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
wherein a thermal conductivity of the gap material is within 5% of a thermal conductivity of the monobloc pedestal plate.
However, Jang discloses where the gap material is aluminum (Page 2, Para. 3 from end, “After the heater is accommodated in the buried groove 68, the cover 66 made of aluminum
closes the buried groove 68 to the bottom thereof, and finally, the internal space of the buried groove 68 is opened to the outside through the welding process 67. Isolate completely to maintain vacuum.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the gap material in modified Kim to be made from aluminum as taught by Jang.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage using material that can be welded from the background art, where the same material can be used to cover the heating element without welding as stated by Jang, Page 2, Para. 3 from end, “cover 66 made of aluminum closes the buried groove 68 to the bottom thereof, and finally, the internal space of the buried groove 68 is opened to the outside through the welding process 67.”, and Page 4, Para. 3 from end, “it is not necessary to separately weld to the bottom side of the cover 224 of the aluminum material”.
Further, Desai discloses, in the similar field of substrate supports (Abstract, “substrate support”), where the monobloc pedestal plate is made from aluminum (Page 3, Para. 2, “In some other embodiments, the heated aluminum substrate support can include a cast aluminum body having an embedded heating element.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the pedestal plate in modified Kim to be made from aluminum as taught by Desai; where the gap and pedestal plate materials are both aluminum, meaning that their thermal conductivities would be within 5% of each other as their conductivities are the same.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage using the specific aluminum material particle size to reduce the amount of defects within the substrate support, where the life of the support can be increased, as stated by Desai, Page 3, last Para., “Therefore, the main body 102 has fewer point defects and is more dispersed, and therefore has fewer origins and more dispersed leading to defects in the aluminum fluoride AlFx film compared to the conventional support, and as a result, The amount of particles produced is reduced and the useful life of the support is increased. As an unexpected benefit of this small particle size, the uniformity, reproducibility, and quality of the anodized coating covering some embodiments of the body 102 are improved. By improving the uniformity and quality of the anodized film, the operating performance of the heater is improved.”.
Regarding claim 20, modified Kim teaches the method according to claim 14, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
further comprising at least one of machining, milling, and etching the groove into the second surface of the monobloc pedestal plate.
However, Desai discloses where the groove can be machined (Page 4, Para. 2 from end, “Regarding claim 10, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above, discloses wherein the groove is at least one of machined, milled, and etched into the second surface of the monobloc pedestal plate.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the groove in modified Kim to be machined as taught by Desai.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to shape the groove so that a press fit with the heating element is achieved, where machining allows for the shape to be altered, as stated by Desai, Page 4, Para. 2 from end, “groove 304 is machined. The groove 304 can be sized to accommodate the heating element 106 therein, and in one embodiment, the groove 304 is sized such that the heating element 106 is press fit or fits snugly into the groove 304. be able to.”.
Claims 3 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (KR 20100004691 A1, hereinafter Kim) in view of Jang (KR 100945441 B1) in further view of Maehata et al. (JP 2016136611 A, hereinafter Maehata).
Regarding claim 3, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
wherein the heater coil comprises aluminum.
However, Maehata discloses, in the similar field of substrate supports (Abstract, “a ceramic dielectric substrate which has a first main face where a processing object is placed thereon”), where the heater coil can be made from aluminum among other materials (Page 6, Para. 2 from end, “Examples of the material of the heater element 230 include metals including at least one of stainless steel, titanium, chromium, nickel, copper, and aluminum.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the heating coil in modified Kim to be made from aluminum as taught by Maehata.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to choose between a variety of metals that could all be used as heater coils, where a user would be able to make a design choice that fits their needs through selecting a suitable metal as Maehata presents a list of options, Page 6, Para. 2 from end, “Examples of the material of the heater element 230 include metals including at least one of stainless steel, titanium, chromium, nickel, copper, and aluminum.”.
Regarding claim 16, modified Kim teaches the method according to claim 14, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
wherein the heater coil comprises aluminum.
However, Maehata discloses, in the similar field of substrate supports (Abstract, “a ceramic dielectric substrate which has a first main face where a processing object is placed thereon”), where the heater coil can be made from aluminum among other materials (Page 6, Para. 2 from end, “Examples of the material of the heater element 230 include metals including at least one of stainless steel, titanium, chromium, nickel, copper, and aluminum.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the heating coil in modified Kim to be made from aluminum as taught by Maehata.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to choose between a variety of metals that could all be used as heater coils, where a user would be able to make a design choice that fits their needs through selecting a suitable metal as Maehata presents a list of options, Page 6, Para. 2 from end, “Examples of the material of the heater element 230 include metals including at least one of stainless steel, titanium, chromium, nickel, copper, and aluminum.”.
Claims 11-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (KR 20100004691 A1, hereinafter Kim) in view of Jang (KR 100945441 B1) in further view of Harayama et al. (KR 20180016946 A, hereinafter Harayama).
Regarding claim 11, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
wherein the heater coil has a coating that is electrically insulative and thermally conductive.
However, Harayama discloses, in the similar field of substrate supports (Abstract, “a substrate fixing device improving thermal crack generated by a heating element.”), where the heater coil can include a cover layer or coating that is both electrically insulative and thermally conductive (Page 3, Para. 3, “The insulating layer 31 covers the periphery of the heating element 32, the wiring 33, and the power supply terminal 34. The insulating layer 31 is provided between the base plate 10 and the electrostatic chuck 40. As the insulating layer 31, for example, an epoxy resin or BT (bismaleimide triazine) resin having high thermal conductivity and high heat resistance can be used.”, where epoxy resin and bismaleimide triazine resin are electrically insulative; where the insulating layer here refers to electrical insulation as the material has high thermal conductivity, this means it cannot also be a thermal insulator). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the heater coil in modified Kim to include the epoxy resin coating as taught by Harayama.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of being able to use known coating materials that can include filler material to improve the thermal conductivity while maintaining electrical insulation, where these known materials in the prior art can be used by a user depending on their design needs, as stated by Harayama, Page 3, Para. 3, “As the insulating layer 31, for example, an epoxy resin or BT (bismaleimide triazine) resin having high thermal conductivity and high heat resistance can be used. The thermal conductivity of the insulating layer 31 is preferably 3 W / mK or more. By including a filler such as alumina or aluminum nitride in the insulating layer 31, the thermal conductivity of the insulating layer 31 can be improved.”.
Regarding claim 12, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 11, as set forth above, discloses wherein the coating is a thermally conductive epoxy (Teaching from Harayama, Page 3, Para. 3, “The insulating layer 31 covers the periphery of the heating element 32, the wiring 33, and the power supply terminal 34. The insulating layer 31 is provided between the base plate 10 and the electrostatic chuck 40. As the insulating layer 31, for example, an epoxy resin or BT (bismaleimide triazine) resin having high thermal conductivity and high heat resistance can be used.”).
Claims 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim et al. (KR 20100004691 A1, hereinafter Kim) in view of Jang (KR 100945441 B1) in further view of White et al. (US 20080035306 A1, hereinafter White) and Madsen et al. (JP 2017199898 A, hereinafter Madsen).
Regarding claim 13, modified Kim teaches the apparatus according to claim 1, as set forth above.
Modified Kim does not disclose:
wherein the heater coil is friction stir welded within the groove.
However, White discloses, in the similar field of substrate supports (Abstract, “a substrate support assembly”), where a heating element can be formed through using a variety of techniques that include friction stir welding (Para. 0067, “Other techniques for forming the heating elements, cooling channels and cooling passages, such as welding, forge welding, friction stir welding, explosive bounding, e-beam welding, and abrasion can also be used.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the heater coil and groove connection modified Kim to use one of the techniques as taught by White.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage being able to a known a technique to complete the structure within Kim, as stated by White, Para. 0067, “Other techniques for forming the heating elements, cooling channels and cooling passages, such as welding, forge welding, friction stir welding, explosive bounding, e-beam welding, and abrasion can also be used.”.
Further, Madsen discloses, in the similar field of substrates interacting devices (Page 2, Para. 2, “a substrate processing system”), where friction sir welded has a benefit of providing a permanent fusion between two pieces of a device (Page 5, Para. 3 from end, “Friction stir welding provides a permanent fusion of two or more components using a single welding operation.”). It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to have modified the heater coil and groove connection in modified Kim to use friction stir welding as taught by Madsen.
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification in order to gain the advantage of allowing a user to create a permanent fusion between the heater coil and groove, as stated by Madsen, Page 5, Para. 3 from end, “Friction stir welding provides a permanent fusion of two or more components using a single welding operation.”.
Conclusion
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/KEVIN GUANHUA WEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3761
09/05/2025