DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Claims 1-9 in the reply filed on 09 January 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 10-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in KR on 24 August 2022. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the KR10-2022-0106344 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 24 August 2023 and 09 February 2026 have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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.
1. Claim 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 8,677,933 to Sato et al. (“Sato”).
With regard to Claims 1-2, Sato teaches a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising providing a coating solution on a wafer, spinning the wafer to distribute the coating solution, and treating the coated wafer with a sound wave (see Abstract; FIG. 1; Col. 3, Lns. 31-52; Col. 4, Lns. 29-37). The coating material is described as comprising a solute and a solvent, and is indicated as having a viscosity which is reduced via application of sound wave energy (see Col. 6, Lns. 22-23; Col. 4, Lns. 34-35; Col. 5, Lns. 21-23). Per Sato, the frequency of the sound wave is selected according to the kind of coating material employed, and further is selected to match the harmonic frequency of the coating material in order to accelerate absorption of sound waves by the material and increase the coating fluidity thereof, thereby yielding a flattened coating film (see Col. 4, Lns. 35-37; Col. 11, Lns. 40-54). Flattening of the coating film is understood as tantamount to removal of any voids residing between the film and substrate. A harmonic frequency is understood herein to constitute a type of natural frequency or eigenfrequency. Sato does not expressly teach matching a harmonic frequency of the wafer with coating material thereon; however it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have employed a sound wave frequency matching the harmonic frequency of the coated wafer in order to accelerate sound wave absorption of the entirety of the coated surface.
With regard to Claims 3-9, Sato teaches adjustment of applied frequencies and portrays multiple resultant nodes of the acoustically-treated film featuring radial and circular symmetry (see FIGs. 1, 4A, 8-13A, 14-16A, 17-18; Col. 11, Lns. 13-17).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Michael P Rodriguez whose telephone number is (571)270-3736. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 - 6:00 Eastern M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Cleveland can be reached at 571-272-1418. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Michael P. Rodriguez/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1712