Detailed Correspondence
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 03/27/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
Applicants’ amendment of the claim, filed on 03/27/2026, including the after final amendment 02/25/2026, in response to the rejection of claims 1-7, 15-18, and 20 from the final office action (12/31/2025), by amending claims 1 and 15 is entered and will be addressed below.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 8-14 and 19 remain withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species B-D, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Interpretations
The “a surface of the insulating isolation unit and a surface of the ground plate have hydrophobicity” of claim 15, amended 02/25/2026, can be either a surface of the insulating isolation unit has hydrophobicity, or a surface of the ground plate have hydrophobicity or both. This is considered broad but not indefinite.
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
The “an insulating isolation unit” of claims 1 and 15, this is considered as a disk formed of an insulating material ([0037]).
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1, 15-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mohn et al. (US 20120161405, from IDS, hereafter ‘405), in view of Garcia et al. (US 20200395197, hereafter ‘197).
‘405 teaches some limitations of:
Claim 1: FIG. 14P depicts a detail section view of the wafer support apparatus of FIG. 14A ([0071], includes the claimed “A substrate support unit comprising”):
Wafer 1404 may be supported by a chuck 1422 of wafer support apparatus 1420, which may, in turn, be supported by a dielectric plate 1427 ([0245], 3rd sentence, includes the claimed “an electrostatic chuck configured to fix a wafer; an insulating isolation unit, which is arranged below the electrostatic chuck and is configured to insulate the electrostatic chuck”);
Dielectric plate 1427 may be supported by a housing 1429, which may be supported by a support column 1454 driven by lift mechanism 1402 ([0245], 9th sentence), a grounded aluminum chuck may simply integrate the grounded aluminum chuck into a component in pedestal 424 ([0219]), while the underside of dielectric plate 1427 may be in physical contact with housing 1429 across a first structural support region 1459, the rest of the underside of dielectric plate 1427 ([0257]), support column 1454 is labeled in Fig. 14C, see also Fig. 4A pedestal 424 is the same component as support column 1454 and the first structural support region 1459, therefore, the housing 1429 is also grounded, includes the claimed “and a ground plate arranged below the insulating isolation unit”),
The portion of chuck 1422 extending outward from second structural support region 1460 may be separated from dielectric plate 1427 by an axial thermal break 1452 ([0259], 3rd sentence), while the underside of dielectric plate 1427 may be in physical contact with housing 1429 across a first structural support region 1459, the rest of the underside of dielectric plate 1427, as shown in FIG. 14P, may be offset from housing 1429 by an axial thermal break 1453 ([0257]), The portion of chuck 1422 extending outward from second structural support region 1460 may be separated from dielectric plate 1427 by an axial thermal break 1452 ([0259], 3rd sentence, includes the claimed “wherein the electrostatic chuck, and the insulating isolation unit are spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction such that a first air gap is between the electrostatic chuck and the insulating isolation unit, and the insulating isolation unit and the ground plate are spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction such that a second air gap is between the insulating isolation unit and the ground plate, wherein the electrostatic chuck is mechanically supported at an outer peripheral region thereof, while a central region of the electrostatic chuck is maintained spaced apart from the insulating isolation unit by the first air gap and such that the first air gap is defined by the spacing between the electrostatic chuck and the insulating isolation unit”).
‘405 further teaches that a hydrophobic coating may be applied to some or all of the wetted surfaces of reactor 400 and other components with wetted surfaces, such as pedestal 420, insulating ring 414, or platen 422, to prevent condensation ([0169]), the wetted surface of components handling each reactant of one or more reactants ([0131], therefore, the exposed surface in Fig. 14P are wetted surface, see also US 20080241517 in conclusion below), Wafer support apparatus may provide functionality similar to that provided by pedestal 420 in FIGS. 4A-4E, and may also be regarded as one implementation of a pedestal ([0243], 9th sentence).
‘405 does not expressly teach the other limitations of:
Claim 1: wherein a surface of the insulating isolation unit and a surface of the ground plate have hydrophobicity, and
a lower surface of the electrostatic chuck exposed by the first air gap has hydrophobicity.
‘405 also further teaches that As shown in FIG. 4C, purge gas supply 430 may circulate purge gas 452, such as clean dry air (CDA) or nitrogen, through pedestal drive column 424; purge gas 452 may also be heated to further inhibit the formation of condensation or ice inside pedestal drive column 424 ([0214], 2nd sentence). In certain embodiments the heating jackets are configured to maintain some or substantially all of the wetted interior surfaces of the gas lines at temperatures determined with respect to the dew point ([0132], 2nd last sentence). In short, ‘405 recognized that clean dry air in the gas line may have condensation resulting in wetted surface. Note a person of ordinary skill would have known temperature cycling during operation of the apparatus.
‘197 is analogous art in the field of ADJUSTABLE THERMAL BREAK IN A SUBSTRATE SUPPORT (title), FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional schematic view of an exemplary plasma processing chamber 100 ([0019]). ’197 teaches that The adjustable thermal break 200 has one or more fluid conduits 207 attached thereto. The adjustable thermal break 200 may be filled with a fluid such as helium (He) or other gas supplied. In one example, the fluid conduits 207 is connected to the source of the backside gas routed to or through the ESC 103. The fluid conduits 207 transport fluids, such as the gas, to and from the adjustable thermal break 200 (Fig. 2, [0040]). Note also ‘197 also teaches a ground plate 111 below insulator plate 109 and ESC 103.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added helium conduits 207 of ‘197, to the thermal break 1452 and 1453 of ‘405, for the purpose of adjustable thermal break, as taught by ‘197 (title). Note helium can be considered as a refrigerant, or it would have been obvious to use clean dry air of ‘405 to adjust thermal break. Furthermore, to have added hydrophobic coating to the surfaces of the thermal break, for the purpose of avoiding condensation, as taught by ‘405 ([0214], 2nd sentence and [0132], 2nd last sentence).
‘405 also teaches some limitations of:
Claim 15: In one embodiment of the invention, chuck 412 may be an electrostatic chuck (ESC), which may include a ceramic disk with embedded RF electrodes 416. RF electrodes 416 may be configured as a biased electrode and provide power to generate and maintain a plasma generated inside reactor 400. For example, RF electrodes 416 may be configured to supply 3 kW of power at 13.65 MHz to a plasma generated inside reactor 400. In this embodiment, the showerhead is grounded; in other embodiments, the ground is in pedestal 424 with showerhead 408 powered (Fig. 4A, [0218], includes the claimed “A plasma processing apparatus comprising”):
Chamber housing 402, … Wafer 410 is supported by chuck 412 and insulating ring 414 ([0117], 2nd and 3rd sentences, includes the claimed “a plasma chamber; an electrostatic chuck, which is arranged inside the plasma chamber and is configured to fix a wafer; an edge ring, which surrounds the electrostatic chuck and has a ring shape”);
Wafer 1404 may be supported by a chuck 1422 of wafer support apparatus 1420, which may, in turn, be supported by a dielectric plate 1427 ([0245], 3rd sentence, includes the claimed “an insulating isolation unit, which is arranged below the electrostatic chuck and is configured to insulate the electrostatic chuck”);
Dielectric plate 1427 may be supported by a housing 1429, which may be supported by a support column 1454 driven by lift mechanism 1402 ([0245], 9th sentence), a grounded aluminum chuck may simply integrate the grounded aluminum chuck into a component in pedestal 424 ([0219]), while the underside of dielectric plate 1427 may be in physical contact with housing 1429 across a first structural support region 1459, the rest of the underside of dielectric plate 1427 ([0257], support column 1454 is labeled in Fig. 14C, see also Fig. 4 pedestal 424 is the same component as support column 1454 and the first structural support region 1459, therefore, the housing 1429 is also grounded, includes the claimed “and a ground plate arranged below the insulating isolation unit”),
The portion of chuck 1422 extending outward from second structural support region 1460 may be separated from dielectric plate 1427 by an axial thermal break 1452 ([0259], 3rd sentence), while the underside of dielectric plate 1427 may be in physical contact with housing 1429 across a first structural support region 1459, the rest of the underside of dielectric plate 1427, as shown in FIG. 14P, may be offset from housing 1429 by an axial thermal break 1453 ([0257]), The portion of chuck 1422 extending outward from second structural support region 1460 may be separated from dielectric plate 1427 by an axial thermal break 1452 ([0259], 3rd sentence), while the underside of dielectric plate 1427 may be in physical contact with housing 1429 across a first structural support region 1459, the rest of the underside of dielectric plate 1427, as shown in FIG. 14P, may be offset from housing 1429 by an axial thermal break 1453 ([0257], includes the claimed “wherein the electrostatic chuck, the insulating isolation unit, and the ground plate are spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction to form at least one of a first air gap between the electrostatic chuck and the insulating isolation unit and a second air gap between the insulating isolation unit and the ground plate”, and “wherein the electrostatic chuck is supported at an outer peripheral region thereof such that a central region of the electrostatic chuck remains spaced apart from the insulating isolation unit by the first air gap and such that the first air gap is defined by the spacing between the electrostatic chuck and the insulating isolation unit“),
a hydrophobic coating may be applied to some or all of the wetted surfaces of reactor 400 and other components with wetted surfaces, such as pedestal 420, insulating ring 414, or platen 422, to prevent condensation ([0169]), the wetted surface of components handling each reactant of one or more reactants ([0131], therefore, the exposed surface in Fig. 14P are wetted surface, see also US 20080241517 in conclusion below), Wafer support apparatus may provide functionality similar to that provided by pedestal 420 in FIGS. 4A-4E, and may also be regarded as one implementation of a pedestal ([0243], 9th sentence, therefore, applicable to Fig. 14P, includes the claimed “wherein a surface of the insulating isolation unit and a surface of the ground plate have hydrophobicity”, see claim interpretation above, note narrower interpretation is rejected below in view of ‘197).
‘405 also teaches that a hydrophobic coating may be applied to some or all of the wetted surfaces of reactor 400 and other components with wetted surfaces, such as pedestal 420, insulating ring 414, or platen 422, to prevent condensation ([0169]), Wafer support apparatus may provide functionality similar to that provided by pedestal 420 in FIGS. 4A-4E, and may also be regarded as one implementation of a pedestal ([0243], 9th sentence).
‘405 does not teach the other limitations of:
Claim 15: wherein a refrigerant or clean dry air is circulated in the first air gap and the second air gap,
wherein a lower surface of the electrostatic chuck exposed by the first air gap has hydrophobicity.
‘405 further teaches that As shown in FIG. 4C, purge gas supply 430 may circulate purge gas 452, such as clean dry air (CDA) or nitrogen, through pedestal drive column 424; purge gas 452 may also be heated to further inhibit the formation of condensation or ice inside pedestal drive column 424 ([0214], 2nd sentence). In certain embodiments the heating jackets are configured to maintain some or substantially all of the wetted interior surfaces of the gas lines at temperatures determined with respect to the dew point ([0132], 2nd last sentence). In short, ‘405 recognized that clean dry air in the gas line may have condensation resulting in wetted surface. Note a person of ordinary skill would have known temperature cycling during operation of the apparatus.
‘197 is analogous art in the field of ADJUSTABLE THERMAL BREAK IN A SUBSTRATE SUPPORT (title), FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional schematic view of an exemplary plasma processing chamber 100 ([0019]). ’197 teaches that The adjustable thermal break 200 has one or more fluid conduits 207 attached thereto. The adjustable thermal break 200 may be filled with a fluid such as helium (He) or other gas supplied. In one example, the fluid conduits 207 is connected to the source of the backside gas routed to or through the ESC 103. The fluid conduits 207 transport fluids, such as the gas, to and from the adjustable thermal break 200 (Fig. 2, [0040]). Note also ‘197 also teaches a ground plate 111 below insulator plate 109 and ESC 103.
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added helium conduits 207 of ‘197, to the thermal break 1452 and 1453 of ‘405, for the purpose of adjustable thermal break, as taught by ‘197 (title). Note helium can be considered as a refrigerant, or it would have been obvious to use clean dry air of ‘405 to adjust thermal break. Furthermore, to have added hydrophobic coating to the surfaces of the thermal breaks 1452 and 1453, for the purpose of avoiding condensation, as taught by ‘405 ([0214], 2nd sentence and [0132], 2nd last sentence).
‘405 further teaches the limitations of:
Claim 16: a hydrophobic coating may be applied to some or all of the wetted surfaces of reactor 400 and other components with wetted surfaces, such as pedestal 420, insulating ring 414, or platen 422, to prevent condensation ([0169]), Wafer support apparatus may provide functionality similar to that provided by pedestal 420 in FIGS. 4A-4E, and may also be regarded as one implementation of a pedestal ([0243], 9th sentence, therefore, applicable to Fig. 14P, by definition, hydrophobic means contact angle of 90° or greater, includes the claimed “wherein each of the lower surface of the electrostatic chuck, the surface of the insulating isolation unit, and the surface of the ground plate has a contact angle with respect to water of 90° or greater”, by definition, superhydrophobic is greater than 150 degrees).
Claim 17: One example of a suitable super-hydrophobic coating is Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) ([0169], includes the claimed “wherein the lower surface of the electrostatic chuck, the surface of the insulating isolation unit, or the surface of the ground plate each have superhydrophobicity”).
Claim 18: In FIG. 14H, reactor 1400 has been sectioned along planes intersecting at the center of wafer support apparatus 1420 and passing through the centerlines of coolant lines 1431 ([0249], therefore, the coolant passes through the bottom of the housing 1429 and the dielectric plate before reaching the cooling channel 1430, includes the claimed “wherein a refrigerant flow path configured to circulate the refrigerant is provided inside the insulating isolation unit or inside the ground plate”).
Claim 20: a hydrophobic coating may be applied to some or all of the wetted surfaces of reactor 400 and other components with wetted surfaces, such as pedestal 420, insulating ring 414, or platen 422, to prevent condensation ([0169]), Wafer support apparatus may provide functionality similar to that provided by pedestal 420 in FIGS. 4A-4E, and may also be regarded as one implementation of a pedestal ([0243], 9th sentence, therefore, applicable to Fig. 14P, includes the claimed “wherein a side surface of the electrostatic chuck or a side surface of the edge ring each have hydrophobicity”).
Claims 2-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘405 and ‘197, as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, in view of NAKAMURA et al. (JP 2012082352, from IDS, hereafter ‘352).
The combination of ‘405 and ‘197 does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 2: wherein a surface of each of the electrostatic chuck, the insulating isolation unit, or the ground plate comprises a hydrophobic structure having a roughened structure.
Claim 3: wherein the hydrophobic structure comprises, on the surface of each of the electrostatic chuck, the insulating isolation unit, or the ground plate, sidewalls, which are perpendicular to the surface, and plateaus, which are parallel to the surface.
Claim 4: wherein a length of each of the plateaus in a horizontal direction is about 100 nm to about 5 μm.
‘352 is analogous art in the field of WATER-REPELLENT STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE SAME (title). ’352 teaches that The water-repellent structure 1 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is formed of a silicon substrate 100, and has a plate-like base portion 106 and fine convex portions 104 formed therein (English translation, [0016], Fig. 4 shows sidewalls 104a and plateaus 104c), a part of the convex portion has a rectangular column shape with a maximum cross-sectional width of less than 1 μm (claim 1 of ‘352, see also [0008]), for the purpose of an inexpensive water-repellent structure that can transport a small amount of liquid in a minute space can be realized ([0008], last sentence).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have adopted a water repellent structure of ‘352, to the hydrophobic surfaces imported from ‘197 in the thermal breaks of the support apparatus in Fig. 14P of ‘405, for the purpose of an inexpensive water-repellent structure that can transport a small amount of liquid in a minute space can be realized, as taught by ‘352 ([0008], last sentence).
Claims 2 and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘405 and ‘197, as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, in view of Telford et al. (US 6242111, hereafter ‘111).
The combination of ‘405 and ‘197 does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 2: wherein a surface of each of the electrostatic chuck, the insulating isolation unit, or the ground plate comprises a hydrophobic structure having a roughened structure.
Claim 5: wherein the hydrophobic structure is formed on the surface of each of the electrostatic chuck, the insulating isolation unit, or the ground plate, through anodization.
Claim 6: wherein the hydrophobic structure comprises at least one of aluminum oxide, copper oxide, titanium oxide, tungsten oxide, zinc oxide, and tin oxide.
Claim 7: wherein the hydrophobic structure is formed on the surface of each of the electrostatic chuck, the insulating isolation unit, or the ground plate, by performing coating through deposition.
‘405 further teaches that introducing etchant or cleaning gas, such as NF3 ([0181], 2nd sentence).
‘111 is analogous art in the field of Anodized Aluminum Susceptor For Forming Integrated Circuit Structures And Method Of Making Anodized Aluminum Susceptor (title, same as Applicants’ hydrophobicity by anodization, [0064]), a method of making an anodized aluminum susceptor capable of withstanding an elevated temperature of 590o C., or a temperature as high as 475o C. in the presence of an NF3 plasma, without peeling or cracking (abstract, same as ‘405, [0181], 2nd sentence). ’111 teaches that wherein the anodized coating on the susceptor is capable of withstanding high temperatures and NF3 plasma without peeling and without contaminating a wafer processed thereon with impurities contained in the aluminum susceptor (col. 1, lines 16-20), mechanically roughening the surface of the aluminum susceptor; and then anodizing the surface roughened aluminum susceptor in an organic acid such as oxalic acid to form the desired anodized aluminum oxide coating thereon. Further the invention comprises an aluminum susceptor having an organic acid-anodized anodic coating formed thereon which is highly resistant to spalling or cracking at elevated temperatures (col. 2, lines 44-51).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have adopted roughened and anodized coating aluminum susceptor, as taught by ‘111, as the susceptor 420 in Fig. 4A or wafer support in Fig. 14P of ‘405, for the purpose of highly resistant to spalling or cracking at elevated temperatures (col. 2, lines 49-51).
Alternatively, claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘405 and ‘197, as being applied to claim 15 rejection above, further in view of Park et al. (US 20100326600, hereafter ‘600).
In case Applicants argue that claim 18 should be considered that the coolant flow path only present inside the insulating isolation unit or inside the ground plate and does not reach the electrostatic chuck.
‘600 is analogous art in the field of PLASMA DRY ETCHING APPARATUS HAVING COUPLING RING WITH COOLING AND HEATING UNITS (title). ’600 teaches that As further illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 7-8, an insulator plate 280 may be further installed under the pedestal 120, i.e., between a bottom of the pedestal 120 and a bottom of the processing chamber 110, and an insulator ring 282 may be disposed along an outer circumference of the pedestal 120. For example, the coupling ring 200 may be enclosed by the pedestal 120, the edge ring 140, and the insulator ring 282. The supply and discharge channels 230 for supplying the coolant C may extend to the insulator plate 280 or the insulator ring 282 ([0070]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have re-arranged the cooling channels 1430 to the dielectric plate 1427 in Fig. 14P of ‘405 (or to have added additional cooling), as taught by ‘600, for its suitability with predictable results. The selection of something based on its known suitability for its intended use has been held to support a prima facie case of obviousness. MPEP 2144.07.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 03/27/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In regarding to 35 USC 112(b) rejection of claims 15-18 and 20, see the bottom of page 8, Applicants’ amendment overcomes the rejection.
Applicants argue that the combination of Mohn ‘405 and Garcia ‘197 is based on the interpretation that the claimed air gap is equated with the thermal break, based on [0255] is trapping gasses in the thermal break, yet the amended claim defines that the air gap is established by the spacing between the electrostatic chuck and the insulating isolation unit and that the electrostatic chuck is mechanically supported at an outer peripheral region thereof, see the bottom of page 9 to the middle of page 10.
This argument is found not persuasive.
Trapping air in thermal break 1452 and 1453 is exactly an air gap. Fig. 14P of ‘405 clearly shows “the electrostatic chuck is mechanically supported at an outer peripheral region”.
Furthermore, ‘197 teaches the advantage of circulating helium in the thermal break to adjust thermal break, and to have added hydrophobic coating to the surfaces of the thermal break, exactly the same as Applicants’ air gap.
. Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20200185248 is cited for ground plate 111, insulator plate 109, and a vacuum region/gap 222 (Figs. 1-2).
US 20240379375 is cited for “plasma wetted surfaces” ([0036]).
US 20080241517 is cited for “In semiconductor material processing apparatuses, process-exposed (or "process-wetted") surfaces of components are exposed to one or more of process gases, plasma and reactive species” ([0013]). US 20070283891 is cited for cooling medium passageway in the ceramic plate 2 (Fig. 1). US 20140120312 is cited for anodization and relatively rough and porous surface ([0015]). US 20210207283 is cited for an anodized titanium layer 20 surrounding entire electrostatic chuck 10 (Fig. 7).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEATH T CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1870. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am-5:00 pm.
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/KEATH T CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1716
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