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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-18, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mitrovic (US 20200056284) in view of Okita (JP 2007109771).
Regarding claim 1. Mitrovic teaches in the drawings a wafer carrier (wafer carrier 120 [62]) for use in a system for growing epitaxial layers on one or more wafers by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) ([0001, 58] fig. 1, 120 in a CVD reactor 100), the wafer carrier comprising: a base (base 402 [90]) including a generally planar bottom surface (fig. 29, 33, flat bottom of 402) and a top surface (fig. 29, 30, 33, top of 402) that is generally parallel to the bottom surface (fig. 29, 30, flat top/bottom of 402 parallel), wherein the top surface of the base includes a plurality of first pedestals (spacers 418 [92] protruding from top of 402) and a plurality of platforms (pockets 404 raised from top of 402 [92] fig. 30 32) extending above the top surface (as discussed, raised above top of 402); and a thermal cover (top plate 408 [92] w/ desired thermal transfer character [70]) defining a plurality of pockets (fig. 30, pockets/holes in 408), wherein the thermal cover is configured to be coupled to the base by at least one fastener (fig. 31-33 screw/fasteners hold 418 to 402 in holes 418b [93]), and the plurality of pockets are arranged such that each pocket of the plurality of pockets is aligned with a corresponding platform of the plurality of the platforms (fig. 30-33, when 408 is placed on 402, each of the pockets in 408 align/match with each of the 404s) when the thermal cover is supported by the plurality of first pedestals (when 408 is placed on 402, 408 is spaced/supported by the 418s [92]);
but does not teach wherein a plurality of second pedestals are located along the plurality of platforms for supporting the one or more wafers, wherein each platform includes at least one second pedestal that extends from a top surface of the platform for supporting one wafer. However, Okita teaches in fig. 3-13 a plurality of second pedestals (columnar/cylindrical projections 33 and annular projection 32 [27]) are located along the plurality of platforms (32, 33 are located/formed along the edges and center of placement portions/platforms 29a-d) for supporting the one or more wafers ([27] top of 32, 33 support bottom of wafer), wherein each platform includes at least one second pedestal that extends from a top surface of the platform (each platform 29a-d has multiple 33 and a 32 extending from its top, fig. 3-13) for supporting one wafer (as discussed [27]). It would be obvious to those skilled in the art at the time of the invention to modify Mitrovic to provide uniformly distributed projections to uniformly support the rear of the wafer [27].
Regarding claim 2. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 1, wherein each pocket includes one single continuous second pedestal that has an annular shape for supporting one wafer (as discussed, each pocket in Mitrovic and its corresponding platform has the continuous annular pedestal/projection 32 via the modification from Okita to support a wafer, Okita Fig. 6a, 11, 13a).
Regarding claim 3. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 1, wherein each pocket includes a plurality of second pedestals in the form of discrete tabs that are arranged circumferentially for supporting one wafer (as discussed in claim 1, each pocket and its corresponding platform in Mitrovic has the Okita based projections 33 that are small/short projections/extensions/tabs and arranged at least along the circumference/edge of each pocket/platform).
Regarding claim 4. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first pedestals comprises a plurality of discrete pads on which the thermal cover seats (as disc in claim 1, fig. 30, 32, each of the 418s are small circular flat pads, fig. 32, on which 408 rests, as disc previously).
Regarding claim 5. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first pedestals are located radially outward from the plurality of platforms that include the plurality of second pedestals (fig. 30 the 418s are laterally/radially outside from each of the 404s, that include second pedestals via the Okita modification).
Regarding claim 6. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 5, wherein the plurality of second pedestals are elevated relative to the plurality of first pedestals (since the top of 404 is already higher/elevated than the bottom of 408/cover, fig. 33, the 2nd pedestals which protrude from the top of 404 must also be more elevated than the tops of 1st pedestals 418s which reach/support the bottom of 408, as prev discussed).
Regarding claim 7. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 1, but does not teach wherein the thermal cover partially overlaps the plurality of platforms. However, Okita teaches in fig. 8 the thermal cover (tray 15, which covers the carrier 23, fig. 11) partially overlaps the plurality of platforms (15 is sloped over the inclined sides of the platforms 29a-d [52]). It would be obvious to those skilled in the art at the invention time to modify Mitrovic to improve the insertion smoothness of the platforms into the pockets/holes [52].
Regarding claim 8. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 1, where each platform is defined by an outer wall that extends upwardly from the top surface of the base (fig. 33, showing 404’s outer side surface extends vertically from the top of 402), wherein a height of the outer wall is greater than a height of each first pedestal (as prev discussed, since top of 404 is higher than bottom of 408, which is supported by/delimits the top of 418, the sides of 404 is also higher than 418, as the sides/top of 404 are the same height).
Regarding claim 9. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 1, wherein each platform includes an outer peripheral region located radially outward from the at least one second pedestals of the platform (each platform has at least the outermost peripheral sidewall region which is radially outward of at least the Okita-based 33 protrusions), but does not teach the thermal cover overlapping the outer peripheral region in each pocket. However, Okita teaches in fig. 8 the thermal cover (tray 15, which covers the carrier 23, fig. 11) overlapping the peripheral region in each pocket (15 is sloped over the inclined outer sidewall region of each platform 29a-d [52]). It would be obvious to those skilled in the art at the invention time to modify Mitrovic to improve the insertion smoothness of the platforms into the pockets/holes [52].
Regarding claim 10. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 9, wherein each pocket of the thermal cover is defined by an inner circumferential edge that is located radially outward from the at least one second pedestals for providing lateral mechanical restraint for the wafer within the pocket (the edges/inner circular edge of each of recess/pocket in 408 surrounds the tops of each corresponding platform 404 in 400, while the Okita based 33 are on the flat tops of each 404, hence the pocket edges surround/radially outward of each of the 33; the edges of 408 pockets are slight higher than 404’s tops, providing lateral restraint for the wafer on top of 404 fig. 33).
Regarding claim 11. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 10, wherein the inner circumferential edge is at an angle other than 90 degrees relative to a planar top surface of the platform (fig. 33, 408’s pocket inner circular edge each has a horizontal step which is an angle of 0 or 360 relative to the flat top of 404s).
Regarding claim 12. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 1, but does not teach wherein a top surface of the thermal cover immediately surrounding each pocket is defined by a downwardly angled section that defines and circumferentially surrounds one pocket. However, Okita teaches in fig. 7 8 a top surface of the thermal cover immediately surrounding each pocket (a top ledge surface 21a immediately/closest top surface to each pocket in 15) is defined by a downwardly angled section (downward inclines from 21a) that defines and circumferentially surrounds one pocket (defines/surrounds each pocket 19a-d). It would be obvious to those skilled in the art at the invention time to modify Mitrovic to improve the insertion smoothness of the platforms into the pockets/holes [52].
Regarding claim 13. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 1, wherein the one or more wafers are free of direct contact with the thermal cover (this depends on the dimensions of the wafer, which is a non-apparatus structure and is an intended use of the process, and can be exchanged with different types according to user requirement, MPEP 2114, 2115; eg using a small wafer whose edge does not touch the thermal cover).
Regarding claim 14. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 1, wherein a distance between a top surface of the platform and the thermal cover is between 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm (based on fig. 33, which is enlarged view of fig. 30, in which the height of 404 is about 2 mm [92], one of ordinary skill in the art can observe that the lateral distance of the top full width of 404 is much greater than the height/2mm, hence there is a smaller sub-distance along a radius between the centermost point of top of 404 to top edge of 408 where it bounds 404, and that is 0.2-0.4mm which is already smaller than the 2mm) and wherein a distance between an underside of the thermal cover and the top surface of the base is between 0.2 mm and 2 mm (again, as disc before, we can assume a diagonal radius from the centermost of top of centermost of 404 to the bottom of the edge of 408’s pocket bounding the 404, this radius is slightly greater than the purely horizontal previous one, so at least a distance 0.2 along the radius) and wherein a distance between the thermal cover and the top surface of the platform is between 0.2 mm and 0.5 mm (this is the same as previously mentioned, that the lateral distance of the top full width of 404 is much greater than the height/2mm, hence there is a smaller sub-distance along a radius between the centermost point of top of 404 to top edge of 408 where it bounds 404, and that is 0.2-0.5mm which is already smaller than the 2mm).
Regarding claim 15. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 1, wherein the top surface of the base includes a center recessed area at a center of the base in areas between the platforms (fig. 30, the top of 402 includes/has six triangular recessed areas in a central area of 402 between adjacent 404; it is noted the claim does not require the recess being recessed into/below the top of the base; rather simply including or having the recessed area located at or being part of the top surface), but does not teach the recessed area is sloped, however, Okita teaches in fig. 7, 8, 11 the triangular recessed area between the platforms 29a-d being sloped due to the sidewalls of 29a-d, fig. 7 8 [52], defining the sides of the recess being sloped. It would be obvious to those skilled in the art at the invention time to modify Mitrovic to improve the insertion smoothness of the platforms into the pockets/holes [52].
Regarding claim 16. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 15, wherein a step (the pad like protrusion of 418a, as well circular pad like 418b fig. 30, 32 that form steps/rises) is formed between the sloped center recessed area and surrounding planar sections of the top surface (418a is located between inner portions of the triangular sloped/modified recessed areas and outer peripheral of top of 402 that surround the triangular areas, similarly 418b are located between outermost peripheral areas of top of 402 and closest triangular areas, fig. 30 32).
Regarding claim 17. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 15, wherein the sloped center recessed area slopes downward toward a center point of the base (since the side of the platforms are inclined outward fig. 7 8 Okita, that define the sides of the recessed area, the triangular sloped central recess area has at least their outer/peripheral sides sloping downward towards more centrally of the base).
Regarding claim 18. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 15, wherein an angle of the sloped center recessed area is less than 1 degree (since the sloped sides of the sloped central recessed area are all below the top of the platforms, if considered as 0 deg/reference horizontal line, the angle of the slope is below the horizontal, so negative degrees).
Regarding claim 20. Mitrovic teaches a wafer carrier for use in a system for growing epitaxial layers on one or more wafers by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) (see claim 1), the wafer carrier comprising: a base including a generally planar bottom surface and a top surface that is generally parallel to the bottom surface (claim 1), wherein the top surface includes a plurality of platforms extending above the top surface of the base (claim 1); and a thermal cover defining a plurality of pockets, wherein the thermal cover is configured to be coupled to the base by at least one fastener and the plurality of pockets are arranged such that each pocket of the plurality of pockets is aligned with a corresponding platform of the plurality of the platforms when the thermal cover is supported by a plurality of first pedestals of the base (for all the previous, see claim 1); but does not teach wherein the base includes a plurality of second pedestals that extend from top surfaces of the plurality of platforms for supporting the one or more wafers.
However, Okita teaches in fig. 3-13 the base 23 [39] including a plurality of second pedestals (columnar/cylindrical projections 33 and annular projection 32 [27]) that extend from top surfaces of the platform (each platform 29a-d has multiple 33 and a 32 extending from its top, fig. 3-13) for supporting the one or more wafers (as discussed [27], they support the rear of each wafer per platform). It would be obvious to those skilled in the art at the time of the invention to modify Mitrovic to provide uniformly distributed projections to uniformly support the rear of the wafer [27]. Regarding the supporting in such a way that the one or more wafers are free of direct contact with the thermal cover during operation (this depends on the dimensions of the wafers, which is a non-apparatus structure and is an intended use of the process, and can be exchanged with different types according to user requirement, MPEP 2114, 2115; eg using a small wafer whose edges do not touch the thermal cover during a non-spinning or vacuuming/atmosphere stabilization operation).
Claim(s) 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mitrovic (US 20200056284) in view of Okita (JP 2007109771) and Krishnan (US 20190295880).
Regarding claim 19. Mitrovic in view of Okita teaches the wafer carrier of claim 1, but does not teach wherein the thermal cover comprises a segmented thermal cover comprising a plurality of thermal cover pieces that interlock with one another to form the thermal cover. However, Krishnan teaches in the drawings the thermal cover (thermal circular cover [11] fig. 2-20 comprised of segments 206s 306s 406s 506s 606s [49 50 67-82]) comprises a segmented thermal cover (as discussed) comprising a plurality of thermal cover pieces (as discussed) that interlock with one another to form the thermal cover (fig. 2-20 [49-52], the pieces interlock eg fig. 20, or via mutually locking via locks/staples as in the other drawings). It would be obvious to those skilled in the art at invention time to modify Mitrovic to improve cover structural friction and interlinked mass stability, eliminating or reducing need for fasteners, which can be unwieldy for cleaning and disassembly [83] and facilitate thermal uniformity/enhance throughput [9-11].
Conclusion
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/YUECHUAN YU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1718