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.
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 1-18 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.
Independent claims 1 and 15 contain the limitation “a plurality of fluid-impermeable flexible pieces that are more flexible than the support plate”. It is unclear from the disclosure which specific property of “flexibility” is used for the claimed comparison. The disclosure recites a number of properties (e.g., elasticity, compressibility etc.) that may be used for such a comparison (Specification page 6 lines 9-29). The disclosure also compares the flexibility between a support plate and a substrate as a property of stiffness (Specification page 6 line 30-page 7 line 19). This would suggest that the relative flexibility of support plate and flexible pieces should be performed based on a relative stiffness, but there is no disclosure of such relative properties. Because the relative properties that are disclosed are different than those used in other disclosed comparisons of flexibility, one of ordinary skill would be unclear as to the exact property to use for the claimed comparison. Consequently, claims 1 and 15 are rejected as indefinite. Claims 2-14 and 16-20 depend from claims 1 and 15 and are likewise rejected as indefinite.
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 1-5 and 7-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Komura (JP 2016165792) in view of Maloney et al. (US 6368189, "Maloney").
Regarding claims 1 and 15, Komura teaches a chemical mechanical polishing system (Komura fig. 2), comprising:
a platen (11) with a polishing surface (12);
a carrier head (13) including a housing (131);
a support assembly (combination of 133, 135, and bladders P1 and P2, see Komura fig. 2) connected to the housing so as to be vertically movable relative to the housing (connected to 131 via elastic member 143 and drive pins DP, Komura fig. 2), the support assembly including a support plate (135) and at least one upper barrier (vertical portions 133a of 133, Komura figs. 2 and 6b) that divides a volume between the support plate and the housing into a plurality of individually pressurizable upper chambers (occupied by bladders P1 and P2, Komura figs. 2 and 6b) to apply pressure on a top surface of the support plate in a plurality of first zones (P1 and P2 apply pressure to 135, Komura Translation [0028]), and wherein the support plate is sufficiently flexible to bend under a pressure differential between the upper chambers (135 deforms under pressure from bladders P1 and P2, Komura translation [0038]);
one or more pressure sources connected to the upper chambers (fluid supply mechanism connected to the various pressure chambers, Komura translation [0024]);
an in-situ monitoring system (sensor 150) configured to measure a shape of the substrate (Komura Translation [0023]), and
a controller (20) connected to the in-situ monitoring system and the one or more pressure sources, wherein the controller is configured to control pressure based on the shape of the substrate (control unit 20 monitors substrate thickness distribution using sensor 150 and controls the pressure in different regions based on the measurements, Komura Translation [0035]-[0036]).
Komura further teaches that the element in contact with the wafer should be more flexible than the support plate (support plate 135 is made from stainless steel while elastic body 137 is made from a rubber, Komura Translation [0029] and [0038]).
Komura does not teach the presence of a plurality of fluid-impermeable flexible pieces that are more flexible than the support plate and that are secured to and extend below the support plate to provide a plurality of individually pressurizable lower chambers below the support plate to apply pressure to a substrate, or that the pressure source is connected to the lower chambers.
However, Maloney teaches a carrier head (100) including a plurality of upper pressure chambers (131 and 132, Maloney fig. 2) separated by a deformable support (support including 145, 146, and 162 deforms under pressure differential, see Maloney fig. 3), and further teaches that the carrier head may include a plurality of fluid-impermeable flexible pieces (annular seals defining fluid chambers independently pressurizable to pressures Pf-Pi, see Maloney fig. 13 and 26:32-46) that are secured to and extend below the support (annular seals are located at bottom of carrier head, which is below the support, and are secured to the support by the intervening components of the carrier head, see Maloney figs. 2 and 13) to provide a plurality of individually pressurizable lower chambers below the support to apply pressure to a substrate (Maloney 26:32-46 and 27:6-23).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to integrate the teachings of Maloney regarding the presence of individually pressurizable lower chambers formed by fluid impermeable flexible pieces into the carrier head of Komura such that it included a plurality of fluid-impermeable flexible pieces that are more flexible than the support plate and that are secured to and extend below the support plate to provide a plurality of individually pressurizable lower chambers below the support plate to apply pressure to a substrate, wherein the pressure source is connected to the lower chambers, as doing so would allow for more localized control over polishing pressures (Maloney 25:42-53 and 26:13-19).
2. Komura as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 1, but does not disclose that the support plate has a flexural stiffness of 0.4 to 10 Pa·m3. However, it would nonetheless have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to further modify Komura such that the support plate had a flexural stiffness of 0.4 to 10 Pa·m3, as the sole difference between the claimed invention and Komura as modified is a recitation of the relative dimensions of the claimed device, and it has been held that where the only difference between the prior art and the claims is a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device is not patentably distinct from the prior art device. Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984). Further, the disclosure provides no evidence indicating that the specific flexural stiffness is, in isolation, critical to the invention.
3. Komura as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 1, wherein the support plate is metal (stainless steel, Komura Translation [0038]) or plastic and the plurality of flexible pieces are an elastomer (flexible pieces may be a rubber or a resilient polymer, Maloney 27:6-23, membrane in direct contact with a wafer may be a silicone rubber, Komura Translation [0030]).
4. Komura as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 3, wherein the support plate is stainless steel (Komura translation [0038]), but is silent as to the specific thickness. However, it would nonetheless have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to modify Komura such that the support plate has a thickness between 0.6mm and 1.8mm, as the sole difference between the claimed invention and Komura as modified is a recitation of the relative dimensions of the claimed device, and it has been held that where the only difference between the prior art and the claims is a recitation of relative dimensions of the claimed device and a device having the claimed relative dimensions would not perform differently than the prior art device, the claimed device is not patentably distinct from the prior art device. Gardner v. TEC Syst., Inc., 725 F.2d 1338, 220 USPQ 777 (Fed. Cir. 1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 830, 225 USPQ 232 (1984). Further, the disclosure provides no evidence indicating that the specific thickness of the support plate is, in isolation, critical to the invention.
5. Komura as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 3, wherein the elastomer comprises a rubber or silicone (flexible pieces may be a rubber, Maloney 27:6-23, membrane in direct contact with a wafer may be a silicone rubber, Komura Translation [0030]).
7. Komura as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 1, wherein the plurality of flexible pieces are provided by a single molded part (seals may be formed integral with a plate, Maloney 27:6-15 and fig. 13).
8. Komura as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 1, wherein the lower chambers are narrower than the upper chambers (two broad upper chambers taught by Komura combined with a plurality of narrower lower chambers taught by Maloney, see Komura fig. 2 and Maloney fig. 13).
9. Komura as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 1, wherein there is a greater number of lower chambers zones than upper chambers (two broad upper chambers taught by Komura combined with a larger plurality of narrower lower chambers taught by Maloney, see Komura fig. 2 and Maloney fig. 13).
10. Komura as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 9, wherein the volume between the support plate and the housing is divided into 2 to 10 upper chambers (2 upper chambers, Komura fig. 2).
11. Komura as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 9, wherein one or more flexible pieces provide 4 to 100 individually pressurizable lower chambers (four chambers corresponding to pressures PF-PI, see Maloney fig. 13).
12. Komura as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 1, wherein a region below each upper chamber is divided into a plurality of lower chambers (two upper chambers taught by Komura are positioned over four lower chambers taught by Maloney, in combination, each upper chamber would be over at least two portions of the lower chambers, see Komura fig. 2 and Maloney fig. 13).
13. Komura as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 1, wherein the support plate has a flexural stiffness 1 to 25 times the flexural stiffness of a planar substrate formed of silicon and shaped to fit on the carrier head (as disclosed by applicant, flexural stiffness is a property of plate thickness and as the planar substrate is not positively claimed, the carrier head is inherently capable of use with a substrate of a thickness giving it a flexural stiffness within the claimed range).
14. Komura as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 1, wherein the plurality of flexible pieces project from a bottom of the support plate (flexible pieces extend in a direction jutting out relative to a bottom of the support plate, see Komura fig. 2 and Maloney fig. 13), and wherein the flexible pieces are positioned and configured such that when substrate is loaded into the carrier head the flexible pieces contact the substrate and divide a volume between the support plate and the substrate into the lower chambers (flexible pieces occupy a space between the support plate and the substrate, so the chambers defined between flexible pieces and substrate are located in a volume between the support plate and the substrate, see Maloney fig. 13).
16. Komura as modified teaches the system of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to control pressure to the lower chambers to deform the substrate (Komura teaches that the controller adjusts pressures in chambers, resulting in deformation Komura Translation [0036]-[0038], Maloney teaches local pressure control, Maloney 26:31-46, the combination would result in the controller being controlled to adjust pressures in all chambers to deform the substrate by a controlled amount).
17. Komura as modified teaches the system of claim 15, wherein the in-situ monitoring system comprises an optical monitoring system (sensor 150 is optical, Komura translation [0033]).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Komura and Maloney as applied to claim 3 above, and further in view of in view of Kajiwara et al. (US 6623343, "Kajiwara").
6. Komura as modified teaches the carrier head of claim 3, but does not specify that the plurality of flexible pieces have a hardness of 30-60 Shore A.
However, Kajiwara teaches that a suitable hardness for a contact element (250) in a carrier head molded from a rubber or rubber-like material should be within the range of 30-50 durometer (Kajiwara 24:31-45), which one of ordinary skill in the art would understand to refer to the Shore A scale.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to select a material having a hardness in the range of 30-60 Shore A as taught by Kajiwara for the plurality of flexible pieces for the carrier head of Komura as modified, as doing so represents the combination of known prior art elements (specifically materials having properties suitable for use in that part of a polishing head) according to known methods, and the results of such a combination would have been predictable to one of ordinary skill.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 18 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Claim 18 recites the additional limitation of “the controller is configured to measure a deformation of the substrate relative to a reference shape”. Although the closest identified prior art cited above teaches that the controller is configured to measure a shape of the substrate (via a thickness profile) and compare it to a reference shape (i.e. a flat shape) which is used to perform adjustment (Komura Translation [0004] and [0036]). A thickness profile is distinct from the claimed deformation. No art has been identified that measures a substrate deformation relative to a reference shape. Consequently, claim 18 contains allowable subject matter.
Conclusion
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/J.R.Z./Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/MONICA S CARTER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723