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 of group I in the reply filed on 11/28/25 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claim 12 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/28/25.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TW I522176B in view of Ito (US 2009/0031948A1).
As to claim 1, TW’176 discloses (see Fig 1) a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a processing chamber (12); a substrate holder (14) configured to hold a substrate in the processing chamber and provided rotatably about an axis of rotation extending in a vertical direction; a rotation driver (rotating mechanism 15) configured to rotate the substrate holder; a nozzle (181) processing configured to supply a processing liquid to the substrate held by the substrate holder so that the substrate is processed; a cup (163) scattering configured to collect and discharge the processing liquid scattered from the substrate according to rotation of the substrate holder (14) while surrounding an outer periphery of the rotating substrate; an upper sealing member (portion 122) fixed near a ceiling wall (see Fig 1) of the processing chamber (12); and a lower sealing member (123) provided movably in the vertical direction below the upper sealing member (122) configured to form a sealed space by surrounding a space extending from a space surrounded by the cup the ceiling wall (see Fig 2) of the processing chamber together with the upper sealing members (122) in the processing chamber; and an elevation driver (mechanism 131) configured to move up and down the lower sealing member (see English Translation on page 6); and a controller (control unit 10, see English Translation on page 7) configured to control to control the elevation driver (mechanism 131) such that the sealed space is capable of moving down the lower sealing member to a lower limit position where an upper end part of the lower sealing member and a lower end part of the upper sealing member are aligned or partially overlapped in the vertical direction (see English Translation on pages 6-7), whereas a conveyance space (see Fig 1) for carrying the substrate (9) to and from the substrate holder (14) is formed by moving up the lower sealing member (122) to a retracted position above the lower limit position (see English Translation on pages 4 and 8 for the chamber opening and closing mechanism 131 raising and lowering the cover and substrate carried in/ when the cover is raised). TW’176 teaches a stationary cup but lacks teaching a rotating cup. However, in treating semiconductor wafer substrates, the use of a stationary cup or a rotating cup is known in the art; for instance – such as taught by Ito (see para [0056] for the rotary cup 4). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a rotating cup in TW’176 to discharged the process liquid through the drain port in a shorter time as taught by Ito (see para [0056]).
As to claim 2, TW’176 teaches an air volume adjuster (air flowing out a plurality of holes, see English Translation on page 5) configured to adjust an air volume of a downflow of clean air supplied into the processing chamber from the ceiling wall of the processing chamber.
Regarding claim 3, in TW’176 the air volume adjuster (air flowing out a plurality of holes, see English Translation on page 5) makes an air volume of the downflow supplied into the sealed space sealed by the upper sealing member and the lower sealing member larger than an air volume of the downflow supplied into an outer space located outside the sealed space (see Fig 1 for porous portion provided on the cover 17), out of the processing chamber (see Fig 1).
As to claim 4, in TW’176 the air volume adjuster includes an air volume adjusting plate arranged to cover the sealed space and the outer space (see Fig 1 for porous portion provided on the cover 17), a plurality of through holes (porous portion 171) are provided to have a first opening area per unit area for a region of the air volume adjusting plate facing the sealed space, whereas a plurality of through
holes (on both sides of the chamber 12) are provided to have a second opening area per unit area for a region of the air volume adjusting plate facing the outer space, and the first opening area is wider than the second opening area.
Regarding claim 7, TW’176 teaches (see Figs 2 and 27) nozzle 181, 182 fixed the center of the cover portion capable of moving integrally with the lower sealing member. Furthermore TW’176 teaches nozzles 181, 182 are not necessarily limited to the central portion, and may be, for example, a position opposed to the peripheral edge portion of the substrate 9 (see English Translation on page 5).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-6 and 8-11 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Tateyama (US 6,207,231) discloses (see Fig 2) a substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a processing chamber (41); a substrate holder (40), a rotation driver (motor 51); a nozzle (70,80); a rotating cup (42); an upper sealing member (lid member 46) of the processing chamber; a lower sealing member (42a) and an elevation driver (robot arm 50). Tateyama lacks teaching an upper ceiling member fixed near a ceiling wall and a controller controlling the elevation driver such that the sealed space is formed by moving down the lower sealing member to a lower limit position whereas a conveyance space for carrying the substrate to and from the substrate holder is formed by moving up the lower sealing member to a retracted position above the lower limit position. As to claims 5-6, TW’176 teaches air volume adjuster (air flowing out a plurality of holes, see English Translation on page 5) capable of adjusting downflow air flowing occurring in the cover 17, but lacks teaching air flow volume adjuster including fan filter units or dampers. Tateyama teaches the air flowing from the air supply holes 64 to the processing chamber 42 flow through the exhaust holes 65 (see Fig 2) and a vapor separating mechanism having a filter and pump 87. However, these separating means are not provided to adjust the air volume of down flow of clean air. JP 5369538 B2 also teaches (see Fig 2) a fitter unit attached to the ceiling and a damper 72 with the exhaust mechanism. However, JP’538 does not disclose or suggest air volume adjusting unit including a first fan unit configured the downflow of a first air volume to the sealed space and a second fan unit configured to supply the downfall of a second air volume. Prior art of record does not disclose or suggest, a substrate processing unit comprising among others, a process chamber, a nozzle, a rotating cup, a lower sealing member, an elevation driver, wherein: the air volume adjuster includes a first fan filter unit configured to supply the downflow of a first air volume to the sealed space and a second fan filter unit configured to supply the downflow of a second air volume to the outer space, and the controller control unit-controls the first and second fan filter units such that the first air volume is larger than the second air volume (as to claim 5); wherein: the air volume adjuster includes: a common fan filter unit configured to supply the downflow; a first pipe configured to guide the downflow from the common fan filter unit to the sealed space; a second pipe configured to guide the downflow from the common fan filter unit to the outer space, a first damper provided in the first pipe, the first damper being capable of adjusting the first air volume of the downflow supplied to the sealed space via the first pipe; a second damper provided in the second pipe, the second damper being capable of adjusting the second air volume of the downflow supplied to the outer space via the second pipe; and a damper controller configured to control a degree of opening of the first damper and a degree of opening of the second damper such that the first air volume is larger than the second air volume (regarding claim 6). As to claim 8, TW’176 teaches a heater to dry the substrate during drying (see English Translation on pages 7-8). However, a heating mechanism configured to heat a central part excluding the peripheral edge part out is not taught in TW’176. Prior art of record does not disclose or suggest, a substrate processing unit comprising among others, a process chamber, a nozzle, a rotating cup, a lower sealing member, an elevation driver, wherein the nozzle includes an upper surface nozzle configured to discharge the processing liquid to a peripheral edge part of an upper surface of the substrate; a heating mechanism configured to heat a central part excluding the peripheral edge part out of the upper surface of the substrate having the processing liquid supplied thereto, and wherein the heating mechanism is attached to the lower sealing member and moved down integrally with the lower sealing member and positioned in proximity to the upper surface of the substrate if the lower sealing member is moved down to the lower limit position. As to claims 9-10, Ito teaches a drain cup 51 surrounding the rotating cup 4. However, Ito does not teach the second fixed-cup has an upper end part capable of being in close contact with a lower end part of the lower sealing member and the upper end part of the second fixed-cup is provided to be in close contact with the lower end part of the lower sealing member. Prior art of record does not disclose or suggest, a substrate processing unit comprising among others, a process chamber, a nozzle, a rotating cup, a lower sealing member, an elevation driver, wherein the rotating cup includes a first rotating-cup surrounding an outer periphery of the rotating substrate, and a second fixed-cup fixedly provided to surrounding the rotating cup, and the second fixed-cup has an upper end part capable of being in close contact with a lower end part of the lower sealing member and the upper end part of the second fixed-cup is provided to be in close contact with the lower end part of the lower sealing member when the lower sealing member is positioned to the lower limit position.
Regarding claim 11, in TW’176 the elevation driver (mechanism 131) includes: a first elevation driver coupled to the lower sealing member to mover the sealing member in the vertical direction (raising up and down) relative to the chamber. However, TW’176 does not specifically teach a first elevation driver coupled to the lower sealing member on the other side in the horizontal direction, a second elevation driver configured to move the lower sealing member in the vertical direction in synchronization with a movement of the lower sealing member by the first elevation drive. Prior art of record does not disclose or suggest, a substrate processing unit comprising, among others, a process chamber, a nozzle, a rotating cup, a lower sealing member, an elevation driver, the elevation driver including a first elevation driver coupled to the lower sealing member on the other side in the horizontal direction, and a second elevation driver coupled to the lower sealing member on the other side in the horizontal direction, the second elevation driver configured to move the lower sealing member in the vertical direction in synchronization with a movement of the lower sealing member by the first elevation driver.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YEWEBDAR T TADESSE whose telephone number is (571)272-1238. The examiner can normally be reached 7.00-3:30 PM.
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YEWEBDAR T. TADESSE
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1717
/YEWEBDAR T TADESSE/