DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to Applicant’s reply filed 4/3/2026 and the preliminary amendment filed 8/9/2024.
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 .
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.
Response to Amendment
The Preliminary Amendment filed 8/9/2024 has been entered and does not appear to introduce any new matter.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Species B (Figs. 4-10C) in the reply filed on 4/3/2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that no search burden exists due to overlapping features of Species A and B. This is not found persuasive because despite the overlap in features between Species A and B (e.g. first/second delivery networks), the structural differences between how those features are arranged (i.e. within a unitary structure versus a multi-plate structure) creates the serious search burden.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Status
Claims 1-20 are pending, and have been examined herein on the merits.
Information Disclosure Statement
The Examiner notes no IDS has been filed in this application as of the writing date of this Office Action.
Roughly 12% of the most pertinent references discovered by the Examiner have a common assignee with this application and, of those, several have common inventors (US 11,264,213 to Liang, US 2007/0289534 and 2018/0096821 to Lubomirsky). These three references are made of record on the attached PTO-892 form as pertinent prior art not relied upon in a rejection.
The Applicant and their representatives are reminded of their duty of disclosure as defined in 37 CFR 1.56, and are strongly encouraged to file at least one IDS as provided by 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98 if they are aware of any information relevant to patentability of the disclosed invention.
Claim Objections
Claim 18 is objected to because of the following informalities: the claim reads strangely since the preamble recites “a deposition chamber”, which further comprises “a chamber”. The Examiner suggests amending the preamble to recite: “a deposition apparatus”. Appropriate correction is required. Applicant is advised to amend the preambles of claims 19 and 20 if claim 18 is amended as suggested above.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-2, 7-10, and 12-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Fujikawa (US Patent 5,595,606).
Regarding claims 1 and 18, Fujikawa teaches a deposition chamber (Fig. 1, entirety) comprising: a chamber operable to receive a first precursor and a second precursor (Fig. 1, chamber #28 with two separate gas sources); and a showerhead (Fig. 1, head assembly #56), the showerhead comprising: a first delivery network for a first precursor that comprises a first manifold connected with a first distribution system comprising a plurality of first distribution channels concentrically disposed around an axis (Figs. 1-3, from inlet #64 to corresponding outlets #78 with all intermediate channels); and a second delivery network for a second precursor that comprises a second manifold connected with a second distribution system comprising a plurality of second distribution channels concentrically disposed around the axis (Figs. 1-3, from inlet #72 to corresponding outlets #78 with all intermediate channels), wherein the first delivery network and the second delivery network are isolated from each other within the showerhead (col. 5, lines 23-28).
Regarding claims 2 and 19, Fujikawa teaches wherein the first manifold comprises a first feeding main connected with a plurality of first primary channels, the plurality of first primary channels are disposed in a first plane that is parallel with a second plane formed by the plurality of first distribution channels (Figs. 2-3, channel from #64 to portions #52a).
Regarding claim 7, Fujikawa teaches wherein the plurality of the first primary channels are interconnected via a joint disposed at a center of the showerhead (Figs. 2-3, central area below #64 connecting each portion #52a).
Regarding claim 8, Fujikawa teaches wherein the plurality of first primary channels are separated by a wall disposed at a center of the showerhead (Figs. 2-3, walls separating #52a in a circumferential direction near the center).
Regarding claims 9 and 20, Fujikawa teaches wherein the plurality of first distribution channels comprise a plurality of first branch ports (Fig. 2, recesses #80 with portions #52b) connected with a plurality of first dispensing outlets disposed at a bottom surface of the showerhead (Fig. 2, corresponding subset of outlets #78 on lower surface of #62).
Regarding claim 10, Fujikawa teaches wherein the plurality of first dispensing outlets are concentrically arranged at the bottom surface of the showerhead (Fig. 13, #52c arranged such that concentric circles connecting said outlets can be drawn).
Regarding claim 12, Fujikawa teaches wherein a plurality of the first distribution channels of the first delivery network and a plurality of the second distribution channels of the second delivery network are alternately arranged within the showerhead (see Figs. 1-6, arranged in an alternating, symmetrical pattern).
Regarding claim 13, Fujikawa teaches a plurality of clusters of dispensing outlets concentrically arranged at a bottom surface of the showerhead, wherein each cluster of the dispensing outlets comprises at least one first dispensing outlet of the first delivery network and at least one second dispensing outlet of the second delivery network (see Fig. 13, each outlet #52c has an adjacent outlet #54c that can be considered a “cluster”).
Regarding claim 14, Fujikawa teaches a top plate coupled with a bottom plate (Figs. 1-2, block #60 coupled to block #62).
Regarding claim 15, Fujikawa teaches wherein the first manifold is disposed within the top plate (see Fig. 2).
Regarding claim 16, Fujikawa teaches wherein the top plate comprises a first half of the plurality of first distribution channels, and the bottom plate comprises a second half of the plurality of first distribution channels (Fig. 2- plates #60 and #62 share portions #52b and #52c).
Regarding claim 17, Fujikawa teaches an adaptor coupled with a top surface of the top plate (Fig. 2, block #58 coupled to top surface of #60) and comprising a first inlet for the first precursor and a second inlet for the second precursor (Fig. 2, inlets #64 and #72).
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.
Claims 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujikawa (US Patent 5,595,606), as applied to claims 1-2, 7-10, and 12-20 above, and further in view of Dunham (US Patent 6,206,972).
The limitations of claims 1-2, 7-10, and 12-20 are set forth above.
Regarding claim 3, Fujikawa teaches wherein the plurality of first primary channels comprise a plurality of first feeding ports connected with the plurality of first distribution channels (Fig. 2 – parts of #52a/b/c that “begin” that portion of the channel).
Fujikawa does not teach wherein the sizes of the plurality of first feeding ports increase from the axis to an edge of the showerhead.
However, Dunham teaches this limitation (C7, L36-45: increasing passage size towards outer diameter of diffuser).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to modify the Fujikawa apparatus to comprise increasing sized first feeding ports towards an edge since Dunham teaches this feature allows for adjustment of graduated transition of gases for optimized gas flow dynamics (Dunham – C7, L32-45).
Regarding claim 4, Fujikawa does not teach wherein the sizes of the plurality of first distribution channels increase from the axis to the edge of the showerhead.
However, Dunham teaches this limitation (C7, L36-45: increasing passage size towards outer diameter of diffuser).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to modify the Fujikawa apparatus to comprise increasing sized first feeding ports towards an edge since Dunham teaches this feature allows for adjustment of graduated transition of gases for optimized gas flow dynamics (Dunham – C7, L32-45).
Regarding claim 5, Fujikawa teaches wherein the plurality of first feeding ports are disposed along a side wall of the plurality of the first primary channels (Fig. 2 – parts of #52a/b/c that “begin” that portion of the channel are directly adjacent/connected to their respective primary channel).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujikawa (US Patent 5,595,606) and Dunham (US Patent 6,206,972), as applied to claims 3-5 above, and further in view of Kao (US Pub. 2014/0174362).
The limitations of claims 3-5 are set forth above.
Regarding claim 6, Fujikawa does not teach a plurality of slanted upper passages connecting the plurality of first feeding ports to the plurality of first distribution channels (Fujikawa appears to teach all straight lower passages connecting each part of the distribution channels).
However, Kao teaches this limitation (Fig. 16A, angled portions #162).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to modify the straight lower passages of Fujikawa to be slanted similar to Kao in order to offset adjacent passageways while maintaining uniform apertures/flow (Kao – [0073]).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Fujikawa (US Patent 5,595,606) as applied to claims 1-2, 7-10, and 12-20 above, and further in view of Kao (US Pub. 2014/0174362).
The limitations of claims 1-2, 7-10, and 12-20 are set forth above.
Regarding claim 11, Fujikawa does not teach a plurality of slanted lower passages connecting the plurality of first branching ports with the plurality of first dispensing outlets (Fujikawa appears to teach all straight lower passages connecting each part of the distribution channels).
However, Kao teaches this limitation (Fig. 16A, angled portions #162).
It would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the instant application, to modify the straight lower passages of Fujikawa to be slanted similar to Kao in order to offset adjacent passageways while maintaining uniform apertures/flow (Kao – [0073]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kopacz (US Patent 6,161,500) teaches a diffuser nozzle inside a plenum similar to the disclosed “joint” (Fig. 6, #94). Sandhu (US Patent 6,499,425) teaches a first/second gas distribution system of similar design (Fig. 4). Cho (US Pub. 2004/0149212) discloses a similar “branched” passage design (Fig. 6), as do Park (US Pub. 2004/0191413, Figs. 3, 6, 9, 12, 17) and Mardian (US Patent 7,581,511, Fig. 6A). Stadel (US Patent 7,168,447) teaches a similar channel structure to instant Fig. 7B (Fig. 5).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kurt Sweely whose telephone number is (571)272-8482. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Gordon Baldwin can be reached at (571)-272-5166. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Kurt Sweely/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1718
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