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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation "the polishing material". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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) 1-3, 6, 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wiswell US 20230011626 A1.
Re claim 1, Wiswell discloses a polishing pad 110 [fig. 2B] for chemical mechanical polishing comprising
a porous polishing layer 112 having a top polishing surface 119,
a sub-pad 114 located opposite from the top polishing surface, the sub-pad having a bottom sub-pad surface, and
a window 118 for transmitting a signal wave through the polishing pad to a substrate 10 to be polished and back through the polishing pad for endpoint detection, the window having a top window surface, a bottom window surface, and side edges, wherein the top window surface is recessed from the top polishing surface [see fig. 2B], the bottom window surface is substantially coplanar with the bottom sub-pad surface [bottom of 114], the window extending from the bottom sub-pad surface to the top window surface and the side edges are in contact with the polishing material and the sub-pad material 114 and wherein the window is non-porous ¶7.
Re claim 2, Wiswell further discloses wherein the window 118 comprises, a top window portion defining the top window surface; and an encapsulating layer portion defining the bottom window surface [where the encapsulating layer is the precursors materials intermingled with the bottom portion, ¶ 11, “[t]he backing material portion and the acoustic window portion are deposited by ejecting a plurality of precursor materials from one or more nozzles and solidifying the plurality of precursor materials to form a solidified backing material and a solidified acoustic window. Ejecting the plurality of precursor materials from the one or more nozzles forms an interface with intermingled polymer that directly bonds the solidified acoustic window and the solidified backing material”].
Re claim 3, Wiswell further discloses an encapsulating layer [precursor materials] in contact with the bottom window surface and the bottom sub-pad surface.
Re claim 6, Wiswell further discloses wherein the top polishing surface comprises grooves 116.
Re claim 9, Wiswell further discloses wherein there are no chemical bonds between the window 118 and the polishing layer 112.
Re claim 10, Wiswell teaches a method of polishing comprising providing a substrate to be polished providing the polishing pad as in claim 1,
providing a slurry on the polishing pad,
moving the substrate relative to the polishing pad,
transmitting a signal wave through the window material and slurry and detecting the signal wave reflected from the substrate back through the window and slurry to determine when polishing is complete ¶5.
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) 4-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wiswell US 3
Re claims 4-5, Wiswell discloses the invention as claimed above but fail to disclose wherein a portion of the polishing layer in contact with the side edges of the window forms a peripheral region that is recessed from the top polishing surface coplanar with the top surface of the window.
String teaches a recessed polishing peripheral region [fig. 2]. String does not teach the recessed top polishing surface is coplanar with the top surface of the window, however, Applicant did not provide or disclose any advantage or significance for the coplanar recessed top polishing surface and top window surface.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the recessed top polishing surface and the top surface of the window and make them coplanar as it has been held that changes in shape is a matter of choice which a person of ordinary skill in the art would have found obvious absent persuasive evidence that the particular configuration of the claimed container was significant. MPEP 2144.04 IV B.
Claim(s) 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wiswell US 20230011626 A1 in view of String US 8,083,570 B2 and Turner 2005/0060943 A1.
Re claims 7-8, Wiswell further discloses wherein the top surface of the window is recessed below the polishing surface to a depth of 0.1 to 1.1 mm and wherein the recessed peripheral portion of polishing layer has a top surface that is recessed 0.1 to 1.1 mm from the top surface of the top polishing surface and the top recessed surface has a width of 0.1 to 1.1 mm.
Turner teaches the width of the window’s gap is between 0.1-1 mm ¶19. String teaches the grooves of 15 mils. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the recessed and width above since it has been held that [W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, i.e, the dimensions of the window hole in Wiswell, String, and Turner, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation. MPEP 2144.05 II A.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Carlos A. Rivera whose telephone number is (571)270-5697. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM -4PM.
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C. A. R.
Primary Patent Examiner
Art Unit 3723
/C. A. RIVERA/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723