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
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 15 – 20 have been considered, and have found to be persuasive. Please find new ground(s) of rejection below.
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.
Claims 15 – 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Spielmann et al. (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2016/0205726).
Regarding claim 15, in Figure 20, Spielmann discloses a method of fabricating a substrate support, the method comprising: printing a heater material (14, 16, paragraph [0086]) on to a dielectric base layer (44) of the substrate support (46) as thermal traces to form a printed heater (Abstract, paragraph [0001]); and sealing the printed heater within the substrate support by printing a dielectric top layer (56, paragraph [0109]) over the printed heater.
Regarding claim 16, Spielmann discloses printing the dielectric base layer on a metal base plate of the substrate support (Figure 20).
Regarding claim 17, Spielmann discloses printing a dielectric cover layer over the printed heater; printing an electrically conductive material onto the dielectric cover layer as electrical traces to form a printed electrostatic chuck (ESC) circuit; and wherein sealing the printed heater within the substrate support further comprises printing the dielectric top layer over the printed ESC circuit (Figure 20).
Regarding claim 18, Spielmann discloses wherein printing the dielectric base layer, printing the heater material, and sealing the printed heater within the substrate support are all performed in situ within a single processing chamber (Figure 20).
Regarding claim 19, Spielmann discloses printing an electrically conductive material as wiring traces to form a printed wiring layer below the printed heater; forming vias in the dielectric base layer electrically coupled to the wiring traces before printing the heater material; and wherein the printed heater comprises a plurality of independently-controllable heater zones electrically coupled to the vias (Figure 20).
Regarding claim 20, Spielmann discloses wherein sealing the printed heater within the substrate support further comprises forming a dielectric side layer on exterior sidewalls of the substrate support (Figure 20).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 – 14 are allowed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TREMESHA W BURNS whose telephone number is (571)270-3391. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8am - 4:30 pm EST.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Timothy Thompson can be reached at (571) 272-2342. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
TREMESHA W. BURNS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2847
/TREMESHA W BURNS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847
Prosecution Insights