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 .
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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of invention I in the reply filed on 9 December, 2025 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the first plurality of protrusions arranged in rows and columns and protruding from the grooves described in claim 19 and the plurality of grooves comprising a vacuum hole described in claim 21 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required:
Claim 19 recites the presence of “a retainer ring positioned in the recess of the housing, wherein the retainer ring includes a plurality of grooves, a plurality of bumps interleaved with the plurality of grooves, and a first plurality of protrusions protrudes from one of the plurality of grooves, wherein the first plurality of protrusions is arranged in rows and columns”. It is unclear which specific feature is regarded as the “plurality of bumps” as the specification does not use that terminology. Additionally, although the specification does recite the presence of engraved regions (131) located in the grooved portions, and consequently implicitly teaches the presence of protruding portions created by the engraving process (Specification, [0034]), it does not teach that those protrusions would be arranged in rows and columns. The recitation of an engraved region including protrusions arranged in rows and columns only applies to engraved regions (128) located on a bottom portion (126) of the retaining ring. (Specification [0036]-[0039]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 21-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. Claim 21 requires the presence of “a retainer ring positioned in the recess of the housing, wherein the retainer ring includes a plurality of grooves...wherein the plurality of grooves has a longitudinal axis extending from a perimeter of the retainer ring toward a center of the retainer ring…and at least one of the plurality of grooves comprises a first vacuum hole.” There is no mention in the original disclosure of a vacuum hole in a groove. The only references to vacuum holes in the disclosure recite their presence in the bottom portion (126) of the retainer ring, not the groove (150). (Specification [0032], [0036]-[0037], and [0049], and figs. 1, 4a-5, and 7).
Additionally, claim 31 recites “the non-flat regions of the grooves include pyramid shapes. Reference in the disclosure regarding specific shapes is only made with respect to protrusions on non-groove surfaces.” As noted in the objection to the specification regarding the subject matter of claim 19 presented above, the disclosure does recite this subject matter.
Because claims 21 and 31 recites subject matter which was not described in the specification, it contains new matter and is therefore rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) for failing to comply with the written description requirement. Claims 22-30 depend from claim 21 and are likewise rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) for failing to comply with the written description requirement.
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.
Claims 1-2, 4-7, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (US 9604340).
1. Lin teaches a carrier head (100) of a chemical mechanical polishing system, comprising:
a housing (132) including a recess (138);
a membrane support (134), wherein the housing encloses the membrane support (Lin fig. 1);
a membrane (150) secured to the membrane support (Lin fig. 1); and
a retainer ring (140) positioned in the recess of the housing (Lin fig. 1),
wherein the retainer ring may include a plurality of grooves (ring 300B, described as an alternative embodiment of retainer ring 140 includes grooves 310, Lin fig. 3b and 4:17-27) and a first plurality of protrusions (ring 500 includes a plurality of abrasive protrusions as part of abrasive structure 520, Lin figs. 5a-5b and 5:3-33),
wherein the plurality of grooves has a longitudinal axis extending from a perimeter of the retainer ring toward a center of the retainer ring (grooves 310 extend in radial directions, Lin fig. 3b), the first plurality of protrusions is arranged in rows and columns (Lin fig. 5b), and the first plurality of protrusions has a dimension different from a dimension of the plurality of grooves (protrusion heights of 15 μm to 300 μm are significantly smaller than groove widths of 3 mm to 10 mm, Lin 4:23-24 and 5:26-28).
Lin does not explicitly disclose a single embodiment wherein the retainer ring includes both grooves and protrusions. However, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the different embodiments taught by Lin in a single embodiment including both the grooves and the protrusions, as doing so represents the combination of known prior art elements according to known methods, and the results of such a combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill.
2. Lin as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 1, wherein the dimension of the first plurality of protrusions is smaller than the dimension of the plurality of grooves (protrusion heights of 15 μm to 300 μm are significantly smaller than groove widths of 3 mm to 10 mm, Lin 4:23-24 and 5:26-28).
4. Lin as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 1, further comprising: a second plurality of protrusions spaced apart from the first plurality of protrusions, wherein the second plurality of protrusions is arranged in rows and columns, and the first plurality of protrusions and the second plurality of protrusions are placed between two neighbors of the plurality of grooves (Any group of protrusions is capable of being subdivided into any number of groups, including groups such that first and second pluralities of protrusions were separated by a distance including at least one additional plurality of protrusions).
5. Lin teaches the carrier head of claim 4, wherein the second plurality of protrusions has a dimension smaller than the dimension of the plurality of grooves (protrusion heights of 15 μm to 300 μm are significantly smaller than groove widths of 3 mm to 10 mm, Lin 4:23-24 and 5:26-28).
6. Lin as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 4, wherein the retainer ring further comprises: a third plurality of protrusions disposed in one of the plurality of grooves, wherein the third plurality of protrusions is arranged in rows and columns (the embodiment of ring 500 teaches the lower surfaces of the body include protrusions, as the grooves are on a lower surface, one of ordinary skill would have included the protrusions in the grooves).
7. Lin as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 6, wherein the third plurality of protrusions has a dimension smaller than the dimension of the plurality of grooves (protrusion heights of 15 μm to 300 μm are significantly smaller than groove widths of 3 mm to 10 mm, Lin 4:23-24 and 5:26-28).
19. Lin teaches a carrier head (100) of a chemical mechanical polishing system, comprising:
a housing (132) including a recess (138);
a membrane support (134), wherein the housing encloses the membrane support (Lin fig. 1);
a membrane (150) secured to the membrane support (Lin fig. 1); and
a retainer ring (140) positioned in the recess of the housing (Lin fig. 1),
wherein the retainer ring may include a plurality of grooves and a plurality of bumps interleaved with the grooves (ring 300B, described as an alternative embodiment of retainer ring 140 includes grooves 310 and bumps between the grooves, Lin fig. 3b and 4:17-27) and a first plurality of protrusions (ring 500 includes a plurality of abrasive protrusions as part of abrasive structure 520, Lin figs. 5a-5b and 5:3-33), wherein the first plurality of protrusions is arranged in rows and columns (Lin fig. 5b).
Lin does not explicitly disclose a single embodiment wherein the retainer ring includes both grooves and protrusions, wherein the protrusions protrude from at least one of the grooves. However, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the different embodiments taught by Lin in a single embodiment including both the grooves and the protrusions such that the protrusions protrude from at least one of the grooves, as doing so represents the combination of known prior art elements according to known methods, and the results of such a combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill.
20. Lin teaches the chemical mechanical polishing system of claim 19, wherein the first plurality of protrusions is made of a non-diamond material (film may be a metal oxide film or metal nitride film, see Lin 5:12-21).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ploessl (US 5885137).
3. Lin as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 1, but does not teach that the retainer ring further comprises: a vacuum hole placed between two neighbors of the plurality of grooves.
However, Ploessl teaches the concept of providing a conditioner (60) having a lower surface including conditioning elements (80) and vacuum holes placed therebetween (Ploessl fig. 3 and 4:35-56).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to integrate the teachings from Ploessl regarding the use of vacuum holes in conditioning surfaces into the carrier head of Lin such that the retainer ring comprised a vacuum hole placed in the conditioning surface between two neighbors of the plurality of grooves, as doing so would result in improved optimization of the conditioning process (Ploessl 3:17-21).
Claims 21-24 and 28-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Ploessl.
21. Lin teaches a carrier head (100) of a chemical mechanical polishing system, comprising:
a housing (132) including a recess (138);
a membrane support (134), wherein the housing encloses the membrane support (Lin fig. 1);
a membrane (150) secured to the membrane support (Lin fig. 1); and
a retainer ring (140) positioned in the recess of the housing (Lin fig. 1),
wherein the retainer ring may include a plurality of grooves (ring 300B, described as an alternative embodiment of retainer ring 140 includes grooves 310, Lin fig. 3b and 4:17-27) and a first plurality of protrusions (ring 500 includes a plurality of abrasive protrusions as part of abrasive structure 520, Lin figs. 5a-5b and 5:3-33),
wherein the plurality of grooves has a longitudinal axis extending from a perimeter of the retainer ring toward a center of the retainer ring (grooves 310 extend in radial directions, Lin fig. 3b) and the first plurality of protrusions is arranged in rows and columns (Lin fig. 5b).
Lin does not explicitly disclose a single embodiment wherein the retainer ring includes both grooves and protrusions. However, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the different embodiments taught by Lin in a single embodiment including both the grooves and the protrusions, as doing so represents the combination of known prior art elements according to known methods, and the results of such a combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill.
Lin does not teach that at least one of the plurality of grooves comprises a first vacuum hole.
However, Ploessl teaches the concept of providing a conditioner (60) having a lower surface including conditioning elements (80) and vacuum holes placed therebetween, including vacuum holes (78) located in grooves between conditioning elements (see Ploessl fig. 3 and 4:35-56).
It would have been obvious for one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to integrate the teachings from Ploessl regarding the use of vacuum holes in conditioning elements into the carrier head of Lin such that the retainer ring comprised a vacuum hole placed in at least one of the plurality of grooves, as doing so would result in improved optimization of the conditioning process (Ploessl 3:17-21).
22. Lin as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 21, wherein the retainer ring further comprises a second vacuum hole laterally beside the first plurality of protrusions (Ploessl teaches additional vacuum holes, see Ploessl fig. 3, modifying Lin according to the teaches of Ploessl would result in at least one vacuum hole per groove).
23. Lin as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 22, wherein the second vacuum hole is laterally spaced apart from the first plurality of protrusions by a non-zero spacing (vacuum holes are located on sides of grooves, the protrusions of Lin are located on the lower surfaces of the retaining ring, therefore the vacuum holes are spaced apart from the protrusions).
24. Lin as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 21, wherein at least one of the first plurality of protrusions comprise a pyramid-shaped protrusion (protrusions are pyramidal, Lin fig. 5b).
28. Lin as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 21, wherein the retainer ring further comprises a second plurality of protrusions spaced apart from the first plurality of protrusions (Any group of protrusions is capable of being subdivided into any number of groups, including groups such that first and second pluralities of protrusions were separated by a distance including at least one additional plurality of protrusions).
29. Lin as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 28, wherein the retainer ring further comprises a flat region adjoining the first plurality of protrusions and the second plurality of protrusions (defining the groups of protrusions such that both the first and second plurality of protrusions were adjacent an inner side of the retainer ring would result in both protrusions adjoining the flat inner side surface, see, e.g. Lin fig. 5a, showing flat inner and outer surfaces).
30. Lin as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 21, wherein the at least one of the plurality of grooves comprises a flat region and a non-flat region (the grooves in Lin as modified by Ploessl include a flat region surrounding a non-flat vacuum hole).
Claims 25-27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Ploessl as applied to claim 21 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (US PGPub 2014/0154956, "Lee").
Regarding claims 25-27 Lin as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 21, but does not specifically teach that at least one of the first plurality of protrusions comprises four sides and a plateau, is cube-shaped, or is cylinder-shaped.
However, Lee teaches a retainer ring (100) comprising a plurality of grooves (120), bumps (110) between the grooves, and protrusions located on the bumps (see Lee fig. 3), wherein the protrusions may have a variety of shapes including cuboid shapes having four sides and a plateau (Lee fig. 5b), or may be cylindrical (Lee [0054]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill before the effective filing date to modify the teachings of Lin as modified such that the protrusions had a different shape, as doing so represents no more than the simple substitution of one protrusion shape for another, and the results of such a substitution would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill.
Claims 30-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Ploessl as applied to claim 21 above, and further in view of Huynh et al. (US 6432823, "Huynh").
31. Lin as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 21, but does not teach that the at least one of the plurality of grooves comprises a flat region and a non-flat region, wherein the non-flat region of the at least one of the plurality of grooves is pyramid-shaped.
However, Huynh teaches that it is known in the polishing art that embossing a surface with small pyramids enhances slurry distribution (Huynh 5:24-35). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the teachings from Huynh in a further modification to the carrier head of Lin as modified such that the grooves included a pyramid-shaped non-flat region, as doing so would improve the flow of slurry and debris through the grooves (Huynh 5:24-35).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Kim (US 8858302) teaches the use of textured grooves in retaining rings, Lai et al. (US 6224472) teaches the use of different materials in retaining ring grooves, and Donohue (US 6821192) teaches modifying the surface texture of grooves in retaining rings to promote fluid flow.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JONATHAN R ZAWORSKI whose telephone number is (571)272-7804. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 8:00-5:00, Fridays 9:00-1:00.
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/J.R.Z./Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/MONICA S CARTER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723