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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 01/20/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 12/29/2025 has been entered. Applicant’s amendments to the claims have overcome the 112(b) rejection previously set forth in the Final Office Action mailed 10/27/2025.
Claim Status
Claims 1-5 and 7-20 are pending.
Claims 1, 8, 14-15, and 20 are currently amended.
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 1-5, 7-8, 10, and 13-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito (US 20110303362 A1) in view of Maydan (US 5885358 A).
Regarding claim 1, Saito teaches a substrate treating apparatus (Fig. 3, [0034], plasma etching apparatus 100a), comprising:
a housing (Fig. 3, [0036], processing chamber 1a);
a substrate support unit disposed inside the housing and configured to support a substrate (Fig. 3, [0021], high frequency power supply 9 supplies power to susceptor 8, upon which a substrate is mounted);
a process gas supplying unit configured to supply a process gas into the housing (Fig. 3, [0035], non-illustrated gas supply source supplies gas to multiple gas nozzles 20a via common processing gas inlet 28a, and further into processing space 10); and
a plasma generation unit configured to generate plasma in the housing using the process gas ([0032], plasma is generated from gas in process space 10 by supplying power from power supply 6 to antenna 5 and by supplying power from power supply 9 to susceptor 8),
wherein the process gas supplying unit comprises: an injection nozzle installed on an inner sidewall of the housing and configured to inject the process gas (Fig. 3, [0035], inner ends of gas nozzle 20a, installed through sidewall of chamber 1a, injects gas into process space 10 via discharge holes 22 and 22a); and
a rotation controller installed on an outer sidewall of the housing, connected to the injection nozzle via a hole formed to penetrate the inner sidewall of the housing (Fig. 3, [0034]-[0036], revolution device 30 is installed outside chamber 1a, and is connected to gas nozzles 20a which extends through hole in sidewall of chamber 1a, where gas discharge holes 21 and 22 formed within nozzles 20a are located inside chamber 1a),
wherein the rotation controller comprises a body (Fig. 3, whole portion of nozzle 20a), and a process gas inlet to introduce the process gas to the body (Fig. 3, [0035], processing gas communicates from outside chamber 1a to the process space 10 via fixed member 24 and processing gas inlet 28a).
While Saito teaches a process gas inlet extending horizontally (Fig. 3, processing gas inlet 28a extends horizontally, which is perpendicular to the height direction of chamber 1a which extends vertically), Saito fails to teach a process gas inlet protruding vertically in a height direction of the housing perpendicular to a longitudinal direction to introduce the process gas to the body.
However, Maydan teaches a process gas inlet protruding vertically in a height direction of the housing perpendicular to a longitudinal direction to introduce the process gas to the body (Maydan, Fig. 3, C9 L24-49, gas supply 220 is connected through inlet tubes 222 to each of the nozzles 100, penetrating the body of nozzle 100 in a vertical direction).
Maydan is considered analogous art to the claimed invention because they are 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 singular common processing gas inlet of Saito, which supplies a singular processing gas to all nozzles, to incorporate the individual gas inlet tubes into each nozzle as taught by Maydan as doing so would enable the flexibility to allow a different gas to be disbursed from each nozzle, allowing for gases to not react until mixed within the reaction chamber (Maydan, C9 L24-49).
Regarding claim 2, Saito teaches wherein the rotation controller rotates the injection nozzle along the circumference of the inner sidewall of the housing (Fig. 3, [0036], gas nozzles 20a revolve around the inner circumference of the chamber sidewall 1a via connection to revolution device 30, driven by revolution driving unit 31 during the plasma process without need for manual intervention).
Regarding claim 3, Saito teaches wherein the rotation controller comprises: a shaft coupled to the body and interlocked with a drive unit to supply a rotational force to the body (Fig. 3, [0034]-[0036], revolution device 30 is coupled to nozzle 20a, and rotates via coupling to revolution drive unit 31).
Regarding claim 4, Saito teaches wherein the rotation controller further comprises a sealing member configured to maintain airtightness between the body and the shaft (Fig. 3, [0026], sealing members 25b airtightly seal between nozzle 20a and revolution device 30).
Regarding claim 5, Saito teaches wherein the sealing member is a magnetic seal (Fig. 3, [0026], sealing members 25b may be composed of a ferrofluid seal).
Regarding claim 7, Saito teaches wherein the process gas supplying unit further comprises: a process gas supply source configured to supply the process gas (Fig. 1, [0027], non-illustrated gas supply source supplies gas into process spaces 10 within chamber 1); and a process gas supplying line configured to move the process gas to the injection nozzle (Fig. 3, [0035], processing gas communicates from outside chamber 1a to the process space 10 via fixed member 24 and processing gas inlet 28a, and finally through discharge holes 21/22/22a in nozzle 20a).
Regarding claim 8, wherein the process gas supplying line connects the process gas supply source and the rotation controller and moves the process gas to the injection nozzle through the rotation controller (Fig. 3, [0035], processing gas communicates from outside chamber 1a to the process space 10 via fixed member 24 and processing gas inlet 28a, and finally through discharge holes 21/22/22a in nozzle 20a, all of which go through revolution device 30).
Regarding claim 10, Saito teaches wherein a plurality of injection nozzles are installed along the circumference of the inner sidewall of the housing (Figs. 2&3, [0023] multiple gas nozzles 20/20a are provided at a sidewall of the processing chamber 1/1a), and the rotation controller is connected to at least one injection nozzle among the plurality of injection nozzles (Fig. 3, revolution device 30 is connected to both nozzles 20a as shown in the figure).
Regarding claim 13, Saito teaches wherein the substrate treating apparatus comprises a vacuum chamber ([0022], gas exhaust space 11 is connected to a gas exhaust device that maintains the inside of chamber 1 at a preset vacuum level).
Regarding claim 14, Saito teaches a substrate treating apparatus (Fig. 3, [0034], plasma etching apparatus 100a), comprising:
a housing (Fig. 3, [0036], processing chamber 1a);
a substrate support unit disposed inside the housing and configured to support the substrate (Fig. 3, [0021], high frequency power supply 9 supplies power to susceptor 8, upon which a substrate is mounted);
a process gas supplying unit configured to supply a process gas into the housing (Fig. 3, [0035], non-illustrated gas supply source supplies gas to multiple gas nozzles 20a via common processing gas inlet 28a, and further into processing space 10); and
a plasma generation unit configured to generate plasma in the housing using the process gas ([0032], plasma is generated from gas in process space 10 by supplying power from power supply 6 to antenna 5 and by supplying power from power supply 9 to susceptor 8),
wherein the process gas supplying unit comprises: an injection nozzle installed on an inner sidewall of the housing and configured to inject the process gas (Fig. 3, [0035], inner ends of gas nozzle 20a, installed through sidewall of chamber 1a, injects gas into process space 10 via discharge holes 22 and 22a); and
a rotation controller installed on an outer sidewall of the housing, connected to the injection nozzle via a hole formed to penetrate the inner sidewall of the housing (Fig. 3, [0034]-[0036], revolution device 30 is installed outside chamber 1a, and is connected to gas nozzles 20a which extends through hole in sidewall of chamber 1a, where gas discharge holes 21 and 22 formed within nozzles 20a are located inside chamber 1a),
wherein the rotation controller comprises a body (Fig. 3, whole portion of nozzle 20a);
a process gas inlet installed in the body, and configured to introduce the process gas to the body (Fig. 3, [0035], processing gas communicates from outside chamber 1a to the process space 10 via fixed member 24 and processing gas inlet 28a);
a shaft coupled to the body and interlocked with a drive unit to supply a rotational force to the body (Fig. 3, [0034]-[0036], revolution device 30 is coupled to nozzle 20a, and rotates via coupling to revolution drive unit 31);
a sealing member configured to maintain airtightness between the body and the shaft (Fig. 3, [0026], sealing members 25b airtightly seal between nozzle 20a and revolution device 30),
wherein the rotation controller rotates the injection nozzle along the circumference of the inner sidewall of the housing (Fig. 3, [0036], gas nozzles 20a revolve around the inner circumference of the chamber sidewall 1a via connection to revolution device 30, driven by revolution driving unit 31 during the plasma process without need for manual intervention), and the sealing member is a magnetic seal (Fig. 3, [0026], sealing members 25b may be composed of a ferrofluid seal).
While Saito teaches a process gas inlet extending horizontally (Fig. 3, processing gas inlet 28a extends horizontally, which is perpendicular to the height direction of chamber 1a which extends vertically), Saito fails to teach a process gas inlet protruding vertically in a height direction of the housing perpendicular to a longitudinal direction to introduce the process gas to the body.
However, Maydan teaches a process gas inlet protruding vertically in a height direction of the housing perpendicular to a longitudinal direction to introduce the process gas to the body (Maydan, Fig. 3, C9 L24-49, gas supply 220 is connected through inlet tubes 222 to each of the nozzles 100, penetrating the body of nozzle 100 in a vertical direction).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have modified the singular common processing gas inlet of Saito, which supplies a singular processing gas to all nozzles, to incorporate the individual gas inlet tubes into each nozzle as taught by Maydan as doing so would enable the flexibility to allow a different gas to be disbursed from each nozzle, allowing for gases to not react until mixed within the reaction chamber (Maydan, C9 L24-49).
Regarding claim 15, Saito teaches a process gas supplying unit which supplies a process gas into a substrate treating apparatus that comprises a vacuum chamber (Fig. 3, [0035], non-illustrated gas supply source supplies gas to multiple gas nozzles 20a via common processing gas inlet 28a, and further into processing space 10 within chamber 1, where gas exhaust space 11 is connected to a gas exhaust device that maintains the inside of chamber 1 at a preset vacuum level, [0022]) and treats a substrate using plasma (Fig. 3, [0034], plasma etching apparatus 100a), comprising:
a process gas supply source configured to supply the process gas (Fig. 3, [0035], non-illustrated gas supply source supplies gas to multiple gas nozzles 20a via common processing gas inlet 28a, and further into processing space 10);
an injection nozzle installed on an inner sidewall of the substrate treating apparatus and configured to inject the process gas into the substrate treating apparatus (Fig. 3, [0035], processing gas communicates from outside chamber to processing space 10 through discharge holes 21/22/22a in nozzle 20a, where nozzle 20a is installed through chamber sidewall 1a);
a process gas supplying line configured to move the process gas to the injection nozzle (Fig. 3, [0035], processing gas communicates from outside chamber 1a to the process space 10 via fixed member 24 and processing gas inlet 28a, and finally through discharge holes 21/22/22a in nozzle 20a); and
a rotation controller installed on an outer sidewall of the housing, connected to the injection nozzle via a hole formed to penetrate the inner sidewall of the housing (Fig. 3, [0034]-[0036], revolution device 30 is installed outside chamber 1a, and is connected to gas nozzles 20a which extends through hole in sidewall of chamber 1a, where gas discharge holes 21 and 22 formed within nozzles 20a are located inside chamber 1a),
wherein the rotation controller comprises a body (Fig. 3, whole portion of nozzle 20a), and a process gas inlet to introduce the process gas to the body (Fig. 3, [0035], processing gas communicates from outside chamber 1a to the process space 10 via fixed member 24 and processing gas inlet 28a).
While Saito teaches a process gas inlet extending horizontally (Fig. 3, processing gas inlet 28a extends horizontally, which is perpendicular to the height direction of chamber 1a which extends vertically), Saito fails to teach a process gas inlet protruding vertically in a height direction of the housing perpendicular to a longitudinal direction to introduce the process gas to the body.
However, Maydan teaches a process gas inlet protruding vertically in a height direction of the housing perpendicular to a longitudinal direction to introduce the process gas to the body (Maydan, Fig. 3, C9 L24-49, gas supply 220 is connected through inlet tubes 222 to each of the nozzles 100, penetrating the body of nozzle 100 in a vertical direction).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to have modified the singular common processing gas inlet of Saito, which supplies a singular processing gas to all nozzles, to incorporate the individual gas inlet tubes into each nozzle as taught by Maydan as doing so would enable the flexibility to allow a different gas to be disbursed from each nozzle, allowing for gases to not react until mixed within the reaction chamber (Maydan, C9 L24-49).
Regarding claim 16, Saito teaches wherein the rotation controller rotates the injection nozzle along the circumference of the inner sidewall of the housing (Fig. 3, [0036], gas nozzles 20a revolve around the inner circumference of the chamber sidewall 1a via connection to revolution device 30, driven by revolution driving unit 31 during the plasma process without need for manual intervention).
Regarding claim 17, Saito teaches wherein the rotation controller comprises: a shaft coupled to the body and interlocked with a drive unit to supply a rotational force to the body (Fig. 3, [0034]-[0036], revolution device 30 is coupled to nozzle 20a, and rotates via coupling to revolution drive unit 31).
Regarding claim 18, Saito teaches wherein the rotation controller further comprises a sealing member configured to maintain airtightness between the body and the shaft (Fig. 3, [0026], sealing members 25b airtightly seal between nozzle 20a and revolution device 30).
Regarding claim 19, wherein the sealing member is a magnetic seal (Fig. 3, [0026], sealing members 25b may be composed of a ferrofluid seal).
Regarding claim 20, Saito teaches wherein the process gas supplying line connects the process gas supply source and the rotation controller and moves the process gas to the injection nozzle through the rotation controller (Fig. 3, [0035], processing gas communicates from outside chamber 1a to the process space 10 via fixed member 24 and processing gas inlet 28a, and finally through discharge holes 21/22/22a in nozzle 20a, all of which go through revolution device 30).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito (US 20110303362 A1) in view of Maydan (US 5885358 A), as applied in claims 1-5, 7-8, 10, and 13-20, and further in view of Koizumi (US 20080178810 A1).
The limitations of claims 1-5, 7-8, 10, and 13-20 are set forth above.
Regarding claim 9, Saito fails to explicitly teach wherein the rotation controller controls a rotation speed of the injection nozzle.
However, Koizumi teaches wherein the rotation controller controls a rotation (Koizumi, Fig. 1, [0058], revolution speed of rotary base 56 and gas injection ring member 60 are rotated at a predetermined speed, such as 100 rpm by control unit 106).
Koizumi is considered analogous art to the claimed invention because they are 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 apply the concept of controlling the rotational speed of the gas nozzles as taught by Koizumi to the apparatus of Saito as doing so would allow gas to be supplied uniformly into the region of the processing space, thereby enhancing uniformity (Koizumi, [0063]).
Claims 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saito (US 20110303362 A1) in view of Maydan (US 5885358 A), as applied in claims 1-5, 7-8, 10, and 13-20, and further in view of Sriraman (US 20160293431 A1).
The limitations of claims 1-5, 7-8, 10, and 13-20 are set forth above.
Regarding claim 11, Saito fails to teach a shower head unit disposed on an upper part of the substrate in the housing and including a plurality of gas injection holes on a surface thereof, wherein the process gas supplying unit is connected to the shower head unit via a hole formed to penetrate the upper part of the housing.
However, Sriraman teaches a shower head unit disposed on an upper part of the substrate in the housing and including a plurality of gas injection holes on a surface thereof (Sriraman, Fig. 2-3B, [0057], injector 104 is located above substrate 112 in dielectric window 106, where injector 104 has plural holes 304 and 306 and where injector 104 may be a showerhead, [0055]), wherein the process gas supplying unit is connected to the shower head unit via a hole formed to penetrate the upper part of the housing (Fig. 2, gas source 128 connects to injector 104, which is installed through a hole in dielectric window 106).
Sriraman is considered analogous art to the claimed invention because they are 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 incorporate the showerhead of Sriraman with the nozzle apparatus of Saito as doing so would allow for control of the spatial plasma dissociation profile, resulting in uniform byproduct distribution on the wafer (Sriraman, [0055]).
Regarding claim 12, Saito fails to teach wherein the process gas supplying unit supplies the process gas into the housing by using one of the injection nozzle and the shower head unit, or supplies the process gas into the housing by using one of the injection nozzle and the shower head unit and then supplies the process gas into the housing by using the other thereof.
However, Sriraman teaches wherein the process gas supplying unit supplies the process gas into the housing by using one of the injection nozzle and the shower head unit, or supplies the process gas into the housing by using one of the injection nozzle and the shower head unit and then supplies the process gas into the housing by using the other thereof (Sriraman, Fig. 2, gas source 128 supplies process gas to both injector 104 located on the top of the chamber body 114 and second side gas injectors 110 located in the sidewall of chamber body 114, all of which inject gas into the interior of chamber 132).
It would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of filing to incorporate the showerhead of Sriraman with the nozzle apparatus of Saito as doing so would allow for control of the spatial plasma dissociation profile, resulting in uniform byproduct distribution on the wafer (Sriraman, [0055]).
To clarify the record, the limitation “wherein the process gas supplying unit supplies the process gas into the housing by using one of the injection nozzle and the shower head unit, or supplies the process gas into the housing by using one of the injection nozzle and the shower head unit and then supplies the process gas into the housing by using the other thereof “ 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 gas source and manifolds of Sriraman are connected to the respective top and side gas injectors, whereby gas is injected through either or both injectors into the chamber, thereby being capable of meeting the above 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).
Response to Arguments
In the Applicant’s response filed 12/29/2025, the Applicant asserts that none of the cited prior art, particularly Saito and Rozenzon, teach the claim limitations “…a process gas inlet protruding vertically in a height direction of the housing perpendicular to a longitudinal direction to introduce the process gas to the body” of independent claim 1 (and similarly claims 14 and 15) as newly amended. In response to the amendments, the Examiner has newly rejected the claims in the “Claims Rejections” sections above, thereby rendering the arguments moot.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Chandrachood (US 20080102202 A1) teaches vertical introduction of gas into nozzles disposed in sidewall of chamber.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TODD M SEOANE whose telephone number is (703)756-4612. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/TODD M SEOANE/Examiner, Art Unit 1718 /GORDON BALDWIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1718