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 .
Response to Arguments
Claim(s) 8-15, 19 was/were withdrawn.
Claim(s) 1, 16 is/are amended.
Applicant’s arguments regarding amendments with respect to the pending claims have been considered but are moot because the arguments based on the amendments do not apply to the current rejection. The amendments in the claims are rejected by Soininen in addition to previously relied on references below.
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 RF source (Fig. 1A/1B) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20080066684 to Patalay and further in view of US 20040216665 to Soininen.
Claim 1: Patalay discloses a semiconductor processing tool, comprising: a chamber (100 [processing chamber], Fig. 11); a pedestal (205 [susceptor plate]) in the chamber (100); a first gas feed system (one portion of 1106 [upper injection manifold]) on a first side of the pedestal (a side of 205), wherein the first gas feed system (one portion of 1106) comprises: a first exhaust line (1115 [upper exhaust port]) with a first valve (1110 [control valve] of 1115) to open and close the first exhaust line (1115, para. [0079]); and a first source gas feed line (1111 [center reactant gases injection port/line]) with a second valve (1110 of 1111) to open and close the first source gas feed line (1111, para. [0081]); and a second gas feed system (another portion of 1106) on a second side of the pedestal (another side of 205), wherein the second gas feed system (another portion of 1106) comprises: a second exhaust line (1116 [exhaust ports]) with a third valve (1110 of 1116) to open and close the second exhaust line (1116); and a second source gas feed line (1112 [edge reactant gases injection port/line]) with a fourth valve (1110 of 1112) to open and close the second source gas feed line (1112, para. [0081]).
However Patalay does not disclose the second side laterally opposite the first side.
Soininen discloses tubes with apertures on opposite sides of the substrate holder (para. [0009]) for the purpose of leaving a wide space for controlling exhaust flow (para. para. [0044]). It is noted that Soininen also teaches other arrangement configurations (Fig. 2-16).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the lateral opposite configuration as taught by Soininen with motivation to leave a wide space for controlling exhaust flow.
Claim 2: The apparatus of Patalay in view of Soininen discloses further comprising: lift pins (101/801 [lift arms], Fig. 1a, 8, 13, Patalay) configured to extend out of the pedestal (205) to lift a substrate (202 [substrate], para. [0084]).
Claim 3: The apparatus of Patalay in view of Soininen discloses further comprising: a first showerhead (not shown but disclosed, para. [0082], Patalay) at an entrance of the first gas feed system (end of 1111); and a second showerhead (not shown but disclosed, para. [0082]) at an entrance to the second gas feed system (end of 1112).
Claim 4: The apparatus of Patalay in view of Soininen does not explicitly disclose wherein the first showerhead and the second showerhead are substantially similar to each other.
Soininen discloses wherein the first showerhead (22, Fig. 1) and the second showerhead (24) are substantially similar to each other (para. [0045], [0096]) for the purpose of being optimized so that the whole wafer will be exposed uniformly to the reactant gas (para. [0096]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the teachings of Soininen with motivation to be optimized so that the whole wafer will be exposed uniformly to the reactant gas.
Claim 7: The apparatus of Patalay in view of Soininen discloses further comprising: a heater (106 [upper heat lamps], Fig. 13, Patalay) over the pedestal (205, para. [0005]).
Claim(s) 5-6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patalay in view of Soininen as applied to claims 1-4, 7 above, and further in view of US 20100059478 to Lee.
Claims 5-6: The apparatus of Patalay in view of Soininen does not disclose (claim 5) further comprising: a grounded electrode (over the pedestal; (claim 6) wherein the pedestal is coupled to an RF source
Lee discloses (claim 5) further comprising: a grounded electrode (30 [first electrode], Fig. 3) over the pedestal (280 [substrate supporter], para. [0115]); (claim 6) wherein the pedestal (280/240) is coupled to an RF source (270 [high frequency power supply]) for the purpose of generating a reactive gas plasma for substrate processing (para. [0211-0212]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the grounded electrode and RF source respectively as taught by Lee with motivation to generate a reactive gas plasma for substrate processing.
Claims 8-15: (Withdrawn).
Claim(s) 16, 17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20040216665 to Soininen in view of US 20180151336 to Sakka.
Claim 16: Soininen discloses a semiconductor processing tool, comprising: a chamber (12 [reaction chamber], Fig. 1); a pedestal (18 [substrate support]) in the chamber (12); a plate over the pedestal (top of 12); and a gas distribution assembly (22, 24) between the pedestal (12) and the plate (top of 12), wherein the gas distribution assembly (22, 24) is configured to supply a process gas to a substrate (16 [substrate]), and wherein the gas distribution assembly (22, 24) includes a first gas feed system (22) on a first side of the pedestal (18) and a second gas feed system (24) on a second side of the pedestal (18), the second side laterally opposite the first side (Fig. 1).
However Soininen does not wherein the pedestal is coupled to an RF source; wherein the plate is coupled to an electrical ground.
Sakka discloses wherein the pedestal (420/421, Fig. 2) is coupled to an RF source (450/451 [high-frequency power sources]); a plate (431 [upper lid]) over the pedestal (420/421), wherein the plate (431) is coupled to an electrical ground (para. [0043], [0052]), for the purpose of forming a space for generating plasma inside the chamber (para. [0043]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the RF source and grounding as taught by Sakka with motivation to form a space for generating plasma inside the chamber.
Regarding “supplying a process gas to a backside of a substrate,” the recitations tie the structure of the apparatus to a substrate that may be worked upon by the apparatus, but is notably not part of the apparatus; and therefore cannot be used to define over the prior art apparatus. The courts have held that inclusion of material or article worked upon by a structure being claimed does not impart patentability to the claims. MPEP 2115.
Claim 17: The apparatus of Soininen in view of Sakka discloses wherein the gas distribution assembly (22, 24, Fig. 1, Soininen) is configured to have two or more zones (para. [0040, 0044]), wherein each zone is configured to have independently controllable gas flow rates (para. [0037]).
Claim 19: (Withdrawn).
Claim(s) 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Soininen in view of Sakka as applied to claims 16, 17 above, and further in view of US 20170309500 to Meng.
Claim 18: The apparatus of Soininen in view of Sakka discloses wherein the two or more zones include a center zone (zone under 484, Fig. 2, Sakka or 14, Fig. 1, Soininen).
However the apparatus of Soininen in view of Sakka does not disclose and four peripheral zones outside of the center zone.
Meng discloses and four peripheral zones (108a, 108b, 108b, 108c [zones], Fig. 5) outside for the purpose of being different and configured to compensate for non-uniformities in underlying plasma (para. [0036]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the four peripheral zones as taught by Meng with motivation to be different and configured to compensate for non-uniformities in underlying plasma.
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Soininen in view of Sakka as applied to claims 16, 17 above, and further in view of US 20160148813 to Rogers.
Claim 20: The apparatus of Soininen in view of Sakka does not disclose further comprising: a plurality of valves coupled to the gas distribution assembly, wherein the plurality of valves are independently controllable to modify a gas flow out of the gas distribution assembly
Rogers discloses further comprising: a plurality of valves (501a, 501b [valves], Fig. 1) coupled to the gas distribution assembly (500 [gas delivery arrangement]), wherein the plurality of valves (501a, 501b) are independently controllable to modify a gas flow out of the gas distribution assembly (500) for the purpose of having respective valves be used to control the flow rate through each zone of each discrete sector.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the valves as taught by Rogers with motivation to have respective valves be used to control the flow rate through each zone of each discrete sector.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Charlee J. C. Bennett whose telephone number is (571)270-7972. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 10am-6pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gordon Baldwin can be reached at 5712725166. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Charlee J. C. Bennett/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1718
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