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 Amendment
Claims 1-7, 9-13, and 15-22 are pending in the Amendment filed 11/03/2025.
The prior art rejections of record are withdrawn in view of Applicant’s amendments to independent claims 1, 9, and 15 (removing target value of “temperature”).
However, claims 1-7, 9-13, and 15-22 are rejected over newly cited references to Mayer et al. (US 20140061158 A1) and Kiyose et al. (US 20080066863 A1), as set forth below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 9, and 15 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claims 1-7, 9-13, and 15-22 are rejected over newly cited references to Mayer et al. (US 20140061158 A1) and Kiyose et al. (US 20080066863 A1), as set forth below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claims 1-6, 9-12 and 15-22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mayer et al. (US 20140061158 A1).
As to claim 1, Mayer discloses a wet processing system [Abstract, Fig. 6], comprising:
a wet processing tank 605 configured to contain a liquid chemical and one or more substrates, wherein the liquid chemical is configured to subject the one or more substrates to a process [para. 0038];
a dosing unit 615 (including feed valve 645) configured to receive the liquid chemical from the wet processing tank and discharge a modified supply of the received liquid chemical into the wet processing tank [para. 0047-48, 615 discharges to buffering tank 620, which in turn, discharges to 605]; and
a controller configured to, receive real-time signals (via 630) indicative of one or more parameters of the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank [para. 0036, para. 0047],
based on the real-time signals (via 630), determine target values of at least a composition or a flow rate of the modified supply of the received liquid chemical [para. 0036, 0046]; and
control the dosing 615/645 unit to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target values of the at least one of composition or the flow rate [para. 0036, 0046],
As to claim 2, Mayer discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the dosing unit is configured to generate the modified supply of the liquid chemical by mixing at least a fresh supply of the liquid chemical with the liquid chemical received from the wet processing tank [para. 0036, 0046].
As to claim 3, Mayer discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the received real-time signals include signals indicative of at least one of pH, or electrical conductivity of the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank [para. 0047].
As to claim 4, Mayer discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the liquid chemical is configured to subject the one or more substrates in the wet processing tank to an etching process [Abstract; para. 0038].
As to claim 5, Mayer discloses the system of claim 1, including a pH sensor configured to measure a pH of the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank and a conductivity sensor configured to measure an electrical conductivity of the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank [para. 0047].
As to claim 6, Mayer discloses the system of claim 1, further including a filter (electrowinning in 615) configured to filter the liquid chemical discharged from the wet processing tank [para. 0045-47].
As to claim 9, Mayer discloses a wet processing system [Abstract, Fig. 6], comprising:
a wet processing tank 605 configured to contain a liquid chemical and one or more substrates, wherein the liquid chemical is configured to etch the one or more substrates [para. 0038];
a dosing unit 615 (including feed valve 645) configured to receive the liquid chemical from the wet processing tank and discharge a modified supply of the received liquid chemical into the wet processing tank [para. 0047-48, 615 discharges to buffering tank 620, which in turn, discharges to 605]; and
a controller [para. 0036, para. 0047] configured to continuously,
receive real-time signals (via 630) indicative of one or more of a pH or electrical conductivity of the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank [para. 0036, 0046];
based on the real-time signals, determine target values of at least one of a composition or a flow rate of the modified supply of the received liquid chemical [para. 0036, 0046]; and
control the dosing unit 615/645 to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target values of the at least one of adjust one of the composition or the flow rate [para. 0036, 0046].
As to claim 10, Mayer discloses the system of claim 9, wherein the liquid chemical is one of a sodium hydroxide solution or a potassium hydroxide solution [para. 0018, See Mayer et al. (US 20100015805 A1, ), incorporated by reference as Ser. No. 12/535,594, at para. 0097, “KOH”].
As to claim 11, Mayer discloses the system of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to:
determine the target value for the composition [para. 0036, 0046]; and
control the dosing unit 615/645 to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target value for the composition [para. 0036, 0046].
As to claim 12, Mayer discloses the system of claim 9, including a pH sensor configured to measure the pH of the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank and a conductivity sensor configured to measure the electrical conductivity of the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank [para. 0047].
As to claim 15, Mayer discloses a method of wet processing one or more substrates in a wet processing tank [Abstract, Fig. 6], comprising:
positioning the one or more substrates in a liquid chemical in the wet processing tank 605 [para. 0038, Fig. 6];
receiving, at a dosing unit 615/645, the liquid chemical from the wet processing tank [para. 0047-48, 615 discharges to buffering tank 620, which in turn, discharges to 605];
receiving, at a controller, real-time signals indicative of at least one of a pH or electrical conductivity of the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank [para. 0036, 0046];
based on the real-time signals, determining, using the controller, target values of at least one of a composition or a flow rate of a modified supply of the received liquid chemical from the wet processing tank [para. 0036, 0046]; and
controlling the dosing unit to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target values of the at least one of the composition or the flow rat [para. 0036, 0046]; and
discharging the modified supply of the received liquid chemical into the wet processing tank 605 [para. 0047-48, 615 discharges to buffering tank 620, which in turn, discharges to 605].
As to claim 16, Mayer discloses the method of claim 15, wherein positioning the one or more substrates in the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank includes positioning one or more glass panels in one of a sodium hydroxide solution or potassium hydroxide solution in the wet processing tank.
As to claim 17, Mayer discloses the method of claim 15, wherein receiving the real-time signals includes continuously receiving the real-time signals indicative of the at least one of the pH or the electrical conductivity of the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank [para. 0036, 0046].
As to claim 18, Mayer discloses the method of claim 17, wherein controlling the dosing unit to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target values of the at least one of the composition or the flow rate includes continuously controlling the dosing unit to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target values of the at least one of one or more of the composition or the flow rate [para. 0036, 0046].
As to claim 19, Mayer discloses the system of claim 1, comprising one or more sensors configured to:
measure the liquid chemical on a flow path from the wet processing tank to the dosing unit [para. 0036, 0046]; and
based on the measurement of the liquid chemical on the flow path, provide the real-time signals indicative of the one or more parameters of the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank [para. 0036, 0046].
As to claim 20, Mayer discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:
determine the target value for the composition [para. 0036, 0046]; and
control the dosing unit to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target value for the composition [para. 0036, 0046].
As to claim 21, Mayer discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the dosing unit to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target values of the at least one of the composition or the flow rate by [para. 0034, para. 0036, 0046]:
excluding a determined amount of the received liquid chemical from the modified supply of the received liquid chemical [para. 0034, para. 0036, 0046].
As to claim 22, Mayer discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the dosing unit to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target values of the at least one of the composition or the flow rate by:
combining the received liquid chemical with a determined amount of a second chemical, to obtain the modified supply of the received liquid chemical [para. 0036, 0046].
Claims 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, and 19-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kiyose et al. (US 20080066863 A1).
As to claim 1, Kiyose discloses a wet processing system [Abstract, claim 1], comprising:
a wet processing tank 11 configured to contain a liquid chemical and one or more substrates, wherein the liquid chemical is configured to subject the one or more substrates to a process [para. 0021; claim 1];
a dosing unit 30/33 configured to receive the liquid chemical from the wet processing tank and discharge a modified supply of the received liquid chemical into the wet processing tank [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33; claim 1]; and
a controller configured to, receive real-time signals indicative of one or more parameters of the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33; claim 1],
based on the real-time signals, determine target values of at least a composition or a flow rate of the modified supply of the received liquid chemical [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33, para. 0051-52; claim 1]; and
control the dosing unit to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target values of the at least one of composition or the flow rate [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33; claim 1].
As to claim 4, Kiyose discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the liquid chemical is configured to subject the one or more substrates in the wet processing tank to an etching process [Abstract; claim 1].
As to claim 6, Kiyose discloses the system of claim 1, further including a filter 22 configured to filter the liquid chemical discharged from the wet processing tank [para. 0036].
As to claim 9, Kiyose discloses a wet processing system [Abstract, claim 1], comprising:
a wet processing tank 11 configured to contain a liquid chemical and one or more substrates, wherein the liquid chemical is configured to etch the one or more substrates [para. 0021; claim 1];
a dosing unit 30/33 configured to receive the liquid chemical from the wet processing tank and discharge a modified supply of the received liquid chemical into the wet processing tank [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33; claim 1]; and
a controller configured to continuously [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33; claim 1],
receive real-time signals indicative of one or more of a pH or electrical conductivity of the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33; claim 1],
based on the real-time signals, determine target values of at least one of a composition or a flow rate of the modified supply of the received liquid chemical [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33; claim 1]; and
control the dosing unit to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target values of the at least one of adjust one of the composition or the flow rate [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33; claim 1].
As to claim 11, Kiyose discloses the system of claim 9, wherein the controller is configured to:
determine the target value for the composition [para. 0051-52; claim 1]; and
control the dosing unit to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target value for the composition [para. 0051-52; claim 1].
As to claim 19, Kiyose discloses the system of claim 1, comprising one or more sensors configured to:
measure the liquid chemical on a flow path from the wet processing tank to the dosing unit [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33; claim 1]; and
based on the measurement of the liquid chemical on the flow path, provide the real-time signals indicative of the one or more parameters of the liquid chemical in the wet processing tank [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33; claim 1].
As to claim 20, Kiyose discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:
determine the target value for the composition [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33, para. 0051-52; claim 1]; and
control the dosing unit to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target value for the composition [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33, para. 0051-52; claim 1].
As to claim 21, Kiyose discloses the system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the dosing unit to cause the modified supply of the received liquid chemical to have the target values of the at least one of the composition or the flow rate by: excluding a determined amount of the received liquid chemical from the modified supply of the received liquid chemical [para. 0027-28, para. 0032-33, para. 0051-52; claim 1].
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.
Claims 7 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mayer et al. (US 20140061158 A1), as applied to claims 1-6, 9-12 and 15-22 above, and further in view of Iwasaki et al. (US 20160293447 A1).
As to claim 7, Mayer discloses the system of claim 6, but fails to explicitly disclose the system:
further including one or more pressure sensors configured to measure a difference in pressure of the liquid chemical across the filter.
However, Iwasaki discloses a substrate processing apparatus [Abstract], comprising:
[0003] For example, in the chemical solution circulating/filtering system of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-77207, which is used in a semiconductor element manufacturing process, clogging of a filter provided in a circulation passage is detected by a pressure gauge and a flowmeter. A causative agent of the clogging is removed by filling the filter with a solvent, and the filter is recycled. [para. 0003].
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the chemical solution circulating system, of Mayer, to include a filter, pressure gauge, and flowmeter within the circulation passage, of Iwasaki, in order to detect clogging of the filter, as taught by Iwasaki [para. 0003].
As to claim 13, Mayer discloses the system of claim 9, but fails to explicitly disclose the system:
including a filter configured to filter the liquid chemical discharged from the wet processing tank and one or more pressure sensors configured to measure a difference in pressure of the liquid chemical across the filter.
However, Iwasaki discloses a substrate processing apparatus [Abstract], comprising:
[0003] For example, in the chemical solution circulating/filtering system of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-77207, which is used in a semiconductor element manufacturing process, clogging of a filter provided in a circulation passage is detected by a pressure gauge and a flowmeter. A causative agent of the clogging is removed by filling the filter with a solvent, and the filter is recycled. [para. 0003].
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the chemical solution circulating system, of Mayer, to include a filter, pressure gauge, and flowmeter within the circulation passage, of Iwasaki, in order to detect clogging of the filter, as taught by Iwasaki [para. 0003].
Claims 7 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kiyose et al. (US 20080066863 A1)., as applied to claims 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, and 19-21 above, and further in view of Iwasaki et al. (US 20160293447 A1).
As to claim 7, Kiyose discloses the system of claim 6, but fails to explicitly disclose the system:
further including one or more pressure sensors configured to measure a difference in pressure of the liquid chemical across the filter.
However, Iwasaki discloses a substrate processing apparatus [Abstract], comprising:
[0003] For example, in the chemical solution circulating/filtering system of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-77207, which is used in a semiconductor element manufacturing process, clogging of a filter provided in a circulation passage is detected by a pressure gauge and a flowmeter. A causative agent of the clogging is removed by filling the filter with a solvent, and the filter is recycled. [para. 0003].
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the chemical solution circulating system and filter thereof, of Kiyose, to include a pressure gauge within the circulation passage, of Iwasaki, in order to detect clogging of the filter, as taught by Iwasaki [para. 0003].
As to claim 13, Kiyose discloses the system of claim 9, but fails to explicitly disclose the system:
including a filter configured to filter the liquid chemical discharged from the wet processing tank and one or more pressure sensors configured to measure a difference in pressure of the liquid chemical across the filter.
However, Iwasaki discloses a substrate processing apparatus [Abstract], comprising:
[0003] For example, in the chemical solution circulating/filtering system of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-77207, which is used in a semiconductor element manufacturing process, clogging of a filter provided in a circulation passage is detected by a pressure gauge and a flowmeter. A causative agent of the clogging is removed by filling the filter with a solvent, and the filter is recycled. [para. 0003].
Therefore, it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the chemical solution circulating system and filter thereof, of Kiyose, to include a pressure gauge within the circulation passage, of Iwasaki, in order to detect clogging of the filter, as taught by Iwasaki [para. 0003].
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: The additionally cited references are cited to show wet processing systems comprising controllers that adjust the flowrate and/or composition of etchant in response to detected etchant conditions [Abstracts].
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 CHRISTOPHER M REMAVEGE whose telephone number is (571)270-5511. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM.
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/CHRISTOPHER REMAVEGE/Examiner, Art Unit 1713
/BINH X TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1713