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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Korematsu et al. (US 2022/0009039; hereinafter Korematsu).
Regarding claim 1, Korematsu (Fig. 1-54) discloses a manufacturing method of a substrate (wafer) by which the substrate is manufactured from a workpiece (100) having a first surface (100b) and a second surface (100a) on an opposite side of the first surface (100b), the manufacturing method comprising: a separation layer (M1) forming step of forming a separation layer (M1) including modified parts (Paragraph 0181, lines 12-13: Modified Parts) and cracks (Paragraph 0181, lines 9-12) that extend from the modified parts, inside the workpiece (100), by irradiating the workpiece (100) with a laser beam (L1) with such a wavelength as to be transmitted through a material that configures the workpiece (100) from a side of the first surface (100b); and a splitting-off step (Paragraph 0181: Peeling Process) of splitting off the substrate from the workpiece (100) with use of the separation layer (M1) as a point of origin, after the separation layer forming step is executed, wherein the separation layer forming step includes a preliminary processing step of forming the modified parts (Paragraph 0181, lines 12-13: Modified Parts) in an outer circumferential region (Fig. 9-10: M3) of the workpiece by moving focal points on which the laser beam (L1) is focused and the workpiece (100) relative to each other in a state in which the focal points are positioned to the outer circumferential region (formed along 43), and a main processing step of, after the preliminary processing step is executed, forming the modified parts (Paragraph 0181, lines 12-13: Modified Parts) and the cracks (Paragraph 0181, lines 9-12) in each of multiple linear regions that each extend along a first direction (along height of 100) and are included in the workpiece (100), by repeating a laser beam irradiation step (Paragraph 0180: L1 is emitted repeatedly while moving focusing point in Z direction) of moving the focal points and the workpiece (100) relative to each other along the first direction in a state in which the focal points are positioned to any of the multiple linear regions and an indexing feed step (Fig. 12(a)) of moving a position at which the focal points are formed and the workpiece (100) relative to each other along a second direction (direction in which 100 rotates as shown in Fig. 12(a)) that is orthogonal to the first direction and is parallel to the first surface (100a).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-7 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:
Regarding claim 2:
Closest prior art: Korematsu et al. (US 2022/0009039; hereinafter Korematsu)
Korematsu discloses the focal points are positioned to a first depth from the first surface in the preliminary processing step.
The closest prior art fails to disclose or suggest that the focal points are positioned to a second depth different from the first depth from the first surface in the laser beam irradiation step.
Claims 5-6 depend upon claim 2 and so are objected to.
Regarding claim 3:
Closest prior art: Korematsu et al. (US 2022/0009039; hereinafter Korematsu)
Korematsu discloses the manufacturing method of a substrate according to claim 1.
The closest prior art fails to disclose or suggest that the power of the laser beam focused on the focal points in the preliminary processing step is lower than power of the laser beam focused on the focal points in the laser beam irradiation step.
Claim 7 depends upon claim 3 and so is objected to.
Regarding claim 4:
Closest prior art: Korematsu et al. (US 2022/0009039; hereinafter Korematsu)
Korematsu discloses the workpiece is composed of single-crystal silicon.
The closest prior art fails to disclose or suggest that the single-crystal silicon is manufactured in such a manner that a specific crystal plane included in crystal planes {100} is exposed in each of the first surface and the second surface, and the first direction is parallel to the specific crystal plane, and an angle formed by the first direction and a specific crystal orientation included in crystal orientations <100> is equal to or smaller than 5°.
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Qiu (US 11,890,783) discloses a production method for a wafer which includes forming a cleavage layer by applying a laser beam within a single crystal SiC ingot.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIELLE M CHRISTENSEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3275. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5 PM.
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/Danielle M. Christensen/ Examiner, Art Unit 3745