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 .
Response to Arguments
Claim(s) 1, 2, 8 is/are amended.
Applicant’s arguments regarding amendments with respect to the pending claims have been considered but are moot because the arguments based on the amendments do not apply to the current rejection. The amendments in the claims are rejected by JP2017027869A to Tamura in addition to previously relied on references below.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by JP 2017027869 A to Tamura.
Tamura discloses a heating apparatus, comprising: a heating chamber (30 [processing chamber], Fig. 2) configured to heat a sample (32 [substrate], para. [0034]); a microwave power supply (101 [microwave source]) configured to supply, via a first circular waveguide (inner portion of 11 [waveguide]), microwave power of a microwave to the heating chamber (30); and a circularly polarized wave generator (10 [circular polarization propagation unit]) disposed inside the first circular waveguide (11) and configured to generate a circularly polarized wave (para. [0053]); and second and third circular waveguides (inner portion of upper 12 [distribution tuner] and inner portion of lower 12, Fig. 3-4) between which is interposed a fourth circular waveguide (inner portion of 13 [moveable part]) having a length that is shorter than a length of the second and third circular waveguides (Fig. 3) in a direction of a central axis of the first circular waveguide (inner portion of 11) to form a reflected wave generator (Fig. 3) disposed between the circularly polarized wave generator (10) and the heating chamber (30) and inside the first circular waveguide (inside inner portion of 11), wherein the reflected wave generator is considered capable to generate a reflected wave that cancels, without inhibiting the circularly polarized wave, a reflected wave propagating from the heating chamber (30, para. [0061-0077]).
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.
Claim(s) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2017027869 A to Tamura in view of US 20160336154 to Watanabe.
Claim 1: Tamura discloses a plasma processing apparatus, comprising: a processing chamber (30 [processing chamber], Fig. 2) configured to plasma-process a sample (32 [substrate], para. [0034]); a microwave power supply (101 [microwave source]) configured to supply, via a first circular waveguide (inner portion of 11 [waveguide]), microwave power of a microwave to the processing chamber (30); a circularly polarized wave generator (10 [circular polarization propagation unit]) disposed inside the first circular waveguide (11) and configured to generate a circularly polarized wave (para. [0053]); a sample stage (31 [mounting electrode], Fig. 2) allowing the sample to be placed thereon;
and, second and third circular waveguides (inner portion of upper 12 [distribution tuner] and inner portion of lower 12, Fig. 3-4) between which is interposed a fourth circular waveguide (inner portion of 13 [moveable part]) having a length that is shorter than a length of the second and third circular waveguides (Fig. 3) in a direction of a central axis of the first circular waveguide (inner portion of 11) to form a reflected wave generator (Fig. 3) disposed between the circularly polarized wave generator (10) and the heating chamber (30) and inside the first circular waveguide (inside inner portion of 11), wherein the reflected wave generator is considered capable to generate a reflected wave that cancels, without inhibiting the circularly polarized wave, a reflected wave propagating from the heating chamber (30, para. [0061-0077]).
However Tamura does not disclose a network analyzer configured to optically monitor a plasma state via the circular waveguide; and an optical path for optically monitoring the plasma state is formed in the reflected wave generator.
Watanabe discloses a network analyzer (32/31, Fig. 5) configured to optically monitor a plasma state via the circular waveguide (24 [circular waveguide], para. [0094]); and an optical path (path from 31 down through 24 to the chamber) for optically monitoring the plasma state is formed in the wave generator (24/25) for the purpose of monitoring light intensity of light emission resulting from the plasma (para. [0096]).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the network analyzer and configuration as taught by Watanabe with motivation to monitor light intensity of light emission resulting from the plasma.
Claim 2: The apparatus of Tamura in view of Watanabe discloses wherein a central axis of the reflected wave generator (central axis of 10 can move as necessary to match central axis of 11) is the same as the central axis of the circular waveguide (11, para. [0053]).
Claim 3: The apparatus of Tamura in view of Watanabe does not disclose wherein an inner diameter of the reflected wave generator is defined based on a reflection coefficient of a load.
However Tamura teaches that the changes in axial ratio of the polarized wave and the changes of the reflection coefficient changes with to the change of the phase of the reflection coefficient of the load with the insertion length of the reflected wave generator (para. [0104-0107]) as a parameter in the plasma processing apparatus (para. [0103-0105]), for the purpose of maintaining high uniformity even when there is a reflection wave from the plasma load side, by optimally adjusting the axial ratio of the circularly polarized wave by the adjusting the insertion amount of the adjuster (para. [0105-0208]).
It is noted that Tamura is solving the same problem of defining a property based on the reflection coefficient of a load, with motivation to maintain high uniformity even when there is a reflection wave from the plasma load side, by optimally adjusting the axial ratio of the circularly polarized wave by the adjusting the insertion amount of the adjuster.
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate the optimization of changing the load as taught by Tamura with motivation to
Claim 4: The apparatus of Tamura in view of Watanabe discloses wherein a position of the reflected wave generator (position of 13 of 10, Fig. 3-4, Tamura) in a direction of a central axis of the reflected wave generator is defined based on a reflection coefficient of a load (para. [0103-0110]).
Claim 5: The apparatus of Tamura in view of Watanabe discloses wherein a position of the reflected wave generator (position of 13 of 10, Fig. 3-4, Tamura) in a direction of a central axis of the reflected wave generator is defined based on a reflection coefficient of a load (para. [0103-0110]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 6-7 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten into the independent claim including all of the limitations of the independent claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20040261717 discloses detectors (18, Fig. 2) projecting from an inner wall surface of a cylindrical waveguide (14, para. [0073]) which extracts the portion of the microwave power and outputs the reactance from the reflection coefficient of the load (para. [0091]). US 20230352274 discloses phase adjusting units (109, Fig. 2) to a reduce a mismatch of a microwave electromagnetic field distribution (para. [0048-0049]).
US 20220359162 discloses a circularly polarized wave generator (208, Fig. 2) is built in a circular waveguide (2011), a waveguide path (210) is formed by a waveguide path forming portion (2044) in a space surrounded by the cavity portion (212) and the flange portion (2041, para. [0080]). US 20200286715 discloses a camera (119, Fig. 1) for ECR height measurement is attached where the plasma light emission (111) is generated above the sample stage (113) in the processing chamber (101, para. [0050]).
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Charlee J. C. Bennett whose telephone number is (571)270-7972. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 10am-6pm.
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/Charlee J. C. Bennett/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1718
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