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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I in the reply filed on 09/16/2025 is acknowledged. Claims 1 – 18 read on the elected invention.
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.
Claims 1 – 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yamamoto et al. (WO 2018/179507, English translation), in view of Yasuda et al. (US 2019/0017172).
Regarding claim 1, Yamamoto teaches (FIG. 1):
A gas supply system comprising:
a container in which a gas is generated;
a first pipe (232a) connected between the container and a reaction chamber, and including a straight pipe portion;
and
a controller configured to be capable of calculating a flow rate of the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion based on a pressure loss of the straight pipe portion, which is calculated from a measurement signal from the first pressure measurer and a measurement signal from the second pressure measurer, and controlling the flow rate of the gas based on a calculation result (MFC 241a, valve 243a, [0009] – [0022]).
Yamamoto teaches controlling flow based on measured pressures of the raw materials ([0048] – [0058]), but fails to expressly disclose a first pressure measurer installed at a first position of the straight pipe portion, and configured to measure a pressure of the gas; and a second pressure measurer installed at a second position on a further downstream side of a flow of the gas than the first position of the straight pipe portion, and configured to measure a pressure of the gas.
However, Yasuda teaches a gas flow control system including a fluid control device 100, sensors P0, P1, and P2, wherein the sensors are used together to calculate the measured flow and to control the operation of valve V1 through feedback control unit 13 ([0045] – [0056]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the differential pressure control system of Yasuda in the system of Yamamoto for the predictable advantage of improving the control of the flow of raw materials into the processing chamber using partial pressure measures to prevent condensation.
Regarding claim 2, Yamamoto teaches:
The gas supply system of Claim 1, further comprising:
a second pipe (232f) connected to the container, and configured to supply a first inert gas to the container; and a first inert gas supplier installed in the second pipe, and configured to be capable of measuring a flow rate of the first inert gas flowing through the second pipe, wherein the controller calculates a flow rate of a precursor in the gas generated in the container based on the calculated flow rate of the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion and the flow rate of the first inert gas (241f).
Regarding claim 3, Yamamoto teaches:
The gas supply system of Claim 2, wherein the controller calculates a concentration of the precursor in the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion based on the calculated flow rate of the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion, the flow rate of the first inert gas, a characteristic of the gas, and a characteristic of the first inert gas ([0036] – [0041]).
Regarding claim 4, Yamamoto teaches:
The gas supply system of Claim 2, further comprising: a third pipe (232b) connected to the first pipe, and configured to supply a second inert gas to the first pipe; and a second inert gas supplier installed in the third pipe, and configured to be capable of measuring a flow rate of the second inert gas flowing through the third pipe (241b), wherein the controller calculates the flow rate of the precursor in the gas generated in the container based on the calculated flow rate of the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion, the flow rate of the first inert gas, and the flow rate of the second inert gas ([0036] – [0041]).
Regarding claim 5, Yamamoto teaches:
The gas supply system of Claim 3, further comprising: a third pipe (232b) connected to the first pipe, and configured to supply a second inert gas to the first pipe; and a second inert gas supplier installed in the third pipe to be capable of measuring a flow rate of the second inert gas flowing through the third pipe (241b), wherein the controller calculates the flow rate of the precursor in the gas generated in the container based on the calculated flow rate of the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion, the flow rate of the first inert gas, and the flow rate of the second inert gas ([0036] – [0041]).
Regarding claim 6, Yamamoto teaches:
The gas supply system of Claim 4, wherein the controller calculates a concentration of the precursor in the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion based on the calculated flow rate of the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion, the flow rate of the first inert gas, the flow rate of the second inert gas, a characteristic of the gas, a characteristic of the first inert gas, and a characteristic of the second inert gas ([0036] – [0041]).
Regarding claim 7, Yasuda teaches:
The gas supply system of Claim 1, wherein the controller calculates a flow rate of a precursor in the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion based on a difference between a pressure value as the measurement signal of the first pressure measurer and a pressure value as the measurement signal of the second pressure measurer.
Yasuda teaches a gas flow control system including a fluid control device 100, sensors P0, P1, and P2, wherein the sensors are used together to calculate the measured flow and to control the operation of valve V1 through feedback control unit 13.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the differential pressure control system of Yasuda in the system of Yamamoto for the predictable advantage of improving the control of the flow of raw materials into the processing chamber using partial pressure measures to prevent condensation.
Regarding claim 8, Yasuda teaches differential pressure arrangements:
The gas supply system of Claim 1, further comprising: one or more third pressure measurers installed between the first position and the second position, wherein the controller calculates a flow rate of a precursor in the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion by using the first pressure measurer, the second pressure measurer, and the one or more third pressure measurers.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the differential pressure arrangement of Yasuda to include additional sensors to improve measurement accuracy and minimize measurement error, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Regarding claim 9, Yasuda teaches differential pressure arrangements:
The gas supply system of Claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to be capable of switching between a process of calculating the flow rate of the gas by using two of the first pressure measurer, the second pressure measurer, and the one or more third pressure measurers and a process of calculating the flow rate of the precursor in the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion by using the first pressure measurer, the second pressure measurer, and the one or more third pressure measurers.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the differential pressure arrangement of Yasuda to include additional sensors to improve measurement accuracy and minimize measurement error, since it has been held that mere duplication of the essential working parts of a device involves only routine skill in the art. St. Regis Paper Co. v. Bemis Co., 193 USPQ 8.
Regarding claim 10, Yamamoto teaches adjusting flowrates using partial pressures ([0048] – [0058]):
The gas supply system of Claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to be capable of adjusting the flow rate of the first inert gas to be supplied to the container by controlling the first inert gas supplier based on the calculated flow rate of the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion.
Regarding claim 11, Yamamoto teaches adjusting flowrates using partial pressures ([0048] – [0058]):
The gas supply system of Claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to be capable of controlling the first inert gas supplier so as to increase the flow rate of the first inert gas when a decrease in the flow rate of the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion is detected by the calculation, and to decrease the flow rate of the first inert gas when an increase in the flow rate of the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion is detected by the calculation.
Regarding claim 12, Yamamoto teaches adjusting flowrates using partial pressures ([0048] – [0058]):
The gas supply system of Claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to be capable of adjusting the flow rate of the second inert gas to be supplied to the container by controlling the second inert gas supplier based on the calculated flow rate of the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion.
Regarding claim 13, Yamamoto teaches adjusting flowrates using partial pressures ([0048] – [0058]):
The gas supply system of Claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to be capable of controlling the second inert gas supplier so as to decrease the flow rate of the second inert gas when the flow rate of the first inert gas is increased, and to increase the flow rate of the second inert gas when the flow rate of the first inert gas is decreased.
Regarding claim 14, Yasuda teaches ([0045] – [0056]):
The gas supply system of Claim 1, wherein both the first pressure measurer and the second pressure measurer are configured by an absolute pressure gauge.
Regarding claim 15, Yamamoto teaches (FIG. 1):
A substrate processing apparatus, comprising:
a reaction chamber (201) in which a substrate (200) is processed;
a container in which a gas is generated;
a first pipe (232a) connected between the container and the reaction chamber, and including a straight pipe portion;
and
a controller configured to be capable of calculating a flow rate of the gas flowing through the straight pipe portion based on a pressure loss of the straight pipe portion, which is calculated from a measurement signal from the first pressure measurer and a measurement signal from the second pressure measurer, and controlling the flow rate of the gas based on a calculation result (MFC 241a, valve 243a, [0009] – [0022]).
Yamamoto teaches controlling flow based on measured pressures of the raw materials ([0048] – [0058]), but fails to expressly disclose a first pressure measurer installed at a first position of the straight pipe portion, and configured to measure a pressure of the gas; and a second pressure measurer installed at a second position on a further downstream side of a flow of the gas than the first position of the straight pipe portion, and configured to measure a pressure of the gas.
However, Yasuda teaches a gas flow control system including a fluid control device 100, sensors P0, P1, and P2, wherein the sensors are used together to calculate the measured flow and to control the operation of valve V1 through feedback control unit 13 ([0045] – [0056]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the differential pressure control system of Yasuda in the system of Yamamoto for the predictable advantage of improving the control of the flow of raw materials into the processing chamber using partial pressure measures to prevent condensation.
Regarding claim 16, Yamamoto teaches (FIG. 1):
A method of processing a substrate by using the gas supply system of Claim 1, comprising: supplying the gas with the flow rate controlled to the substrate (200) in the reaction chamber (201).
Regarding claim 17, Yamamoto teaches:
A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device (200), comprising the method of Claim 16.
Regarding claim 18, Yamamoto teaches ([0026]):
A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program that causes, by a computer, the gas supply system of Claim 1 to perform a process comprising:
generating the gas in the container;
Yamamoto teaches controlling flow based on measured pressures of the raw materials ([0048] – [0058]), but fails to expressly disclose a first pressure measurer installed at a first position of the straight pipe portion, and configured to measure a pressure of the gas; and a second pressure measurer installed at a second position on a further downstream side of a flow of the gas than the first position of the straight pipe portion, and configured to measure a pressure of the gas.
However, Yasuda teaches a gas flow control system including a fluid control device 100, sensors P0, P1, and P2, wherein the sensors are used together to calculate the measured flow and to control the operation of valve V1 through feedback control unit 13 ([0045] – [0056]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the differential pressure control system of Yasuda in the system of Yamamoto for the predictable advantage of improving the control of the flow of raw materials into the processing chamber using partial pressure measures to prevent condensation.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CORY W ESKRIDGE whose telephone number is (571)272-0543. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 9 - 5.
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/CORY W ESKRIDGE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3624