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 .
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 measurement instrument (e.g. Claim 18) 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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 20 recites “a rotation of the polishing pad and the light irradiation part”, which renders the claim indefinite because the capability of the light irradiation part to rotate has not been established.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-4, 6-12, & 14-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Merchant et al (6364744) in view of Wiswesser et al (6159073).
Merchant et al disclose a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus (e.g. 29, 31, Figs. 3-4) comprising: a polishing platen (e.g. 25’); a polishing pad (e.g. 24’) positioned on the polishing platen and including a light transmissive part (e.g. Col. 3, Ln. 48-51) overlapping the opening; a slurry supply (e.g. 30) having a slurry including a photocatalyst (e.g. Col. 4, Ln. 42 - Col. 5, Ln. 2), the slurry supply disposed so as to supply the slurry with the photocatalyst to the polishing pad; a head part (e.g. 21) positioned on the polishing pad and capable of mounting a substrate (e.g. 20) to be polished; and a light irradiation part (e.g. 34, Col. 3, Ln. 48-52) positioned within the opening of the polishing platen so as to direct light to the light transmissive part of the polishing pad. Wherein the head part and the light irradiation part are rotatable, a rotation direction of the head part is the same as a rotation direction of the light irradiation part, and a rotation speed of the head part is the same as a rotation speed of the light irradiation part (e.g. as indicated by arrows associated with 23 & 26 in Fig. 3, Col. 3, Ln. 38-42); the light irradiation part includes a plurality of regions (e.g. , Col. 3, Ln. 43-44, “fiber optics”), and a light amount is controlled for one or more regions of the plurality of regions (e.g. Col. 3, Ln. 52-55, “intermittent ...” ); the plurality of regions are divided in a form of at least one of straight, circular, and radial (e.g. according to the positioning of the fiber optics); the entire polishing pad is transparent (e.g. 24’, Figs. 3-4); the photocatalyst includes at least one among Au/TiO.sub.2, TiO.sub.2/SeO.sub.2, TiO.sub.2/SiO.sub.2, TiO.sub.2, ZnO, ZrO.sub.2, CdSe, WO.sub.3/TiO.sub.2, and Al.sub.2O.sub.3/ZrO.sub.2. (e.g. Col. 4, Ln. 3-7); the light irradiated from the light irradiation part passes through the transmissive part and reaches the wafer mounted on the head part (e.g. Figs. 3-4).
Merchant et al do not explicitly teach the polishing platen including an opening (e.g. Col. 3, Ln. 51-52, “carried”).
Wiswesser et al teach a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus (e.g. Fig. 2) having a polishing platen (e.g. 24) including an opening (e.g. 26) for allowing light (e.g. 42) to pass through the polishing platen.
Merchant et al and Wiswesser et al all seek to provide a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus including a platen and polishing pad, thus it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus of Merchant et al such that the polishing platen includes an opening, as taught by Wiswesser et al, for the purpose of carrying the light irradiation part.
Further regarding Claims 3-4, 11-12, & 14, Merchant et al, as modified, disclose a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, as described above, but do not explicitly teach a protection member positioned between the polishing platen and the polishing pad; wherein the protection member is transparent.
Wiswesser et al teach a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus (e.g. Fig. 2) including a protection member (e.g. 32) positioned between a polishing platen (e.g. 24) and a polishing pad (e.g. 34); wherein the protection member is transparent (e.g. at 36).
Merchant et al and Wiswesser et al all seek to provide a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus including a platen and polishing pad, thus it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to further modify the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus of Merchant et al, as modified, such that a protection member is positioned between the polishing platen and the polishing pad; wherein the protection member is transparent, as taught by Wiswesser et al, for the purpose of supporting the polishing pad while allowing light to pass there-through.
Further regarding Claim 18, Merchant et al, as modified, disclose a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, as described above, further including a light source of the light irradiation part is composed of at least one unit, but do not explicitly teach that the light irradiation part includes a measuring instrument controlling the amount of light, and the unit receives power independently from the measuring instrument and controls the amount of light, however these features are considered to be encompassed by the knowledge of the ordinarily skilled artisan (e.g. Col. 3, Ln. 52-55).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 & 13 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Additional references listed on form PTO-892 are cited for their relevance to the disclosed invention and demonstration of the state of the art.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL LESLIE whose telephone number is (571)272-4819. The examiner can normally be reached M - F 8 am - 4-30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Nathaniel Wiehe can be reached at (571)272-8648. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL LESLIE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3745
February 12, 2026