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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Claim Objections
Claim(s) is/are objected to because of the following informalities:
(1) The “the cooling channels” of Claim 11 should be “the network of cooling channels”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim interpretation
(1) In regards to the ““wherein one of the two different gases is an inert gas and the other of the two different gases is a reactant” of Claim 8,
The “inert gas” and “reactant” indicate merely different identities of the gases used in the processing apparatus, in other words, supplying either A gas or B gas into the processing apparatus is mere different use of the processing apparatus, thus it does not add a patentable weight to the claimed processing apparatus.
Consequently, when a prior art teaches gases, it is sufficient to meet the limitation, see the MPEP citation below.
MPEP citations:
It has been held that claim language that simply specifies an intended use or field of use for the invention generally will not limit the scope of a claim (See MPEP 2106; Walter, 618 F.2d at 769, 205 USPQ at 409). When apparatus is capable of performing such functions, it is considered to meet the claim limitations. Additionally, in apparatus claims, intended use must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim (See MPEP 2111.02, 2115; In re Casey, 152 USPQ 235 (CCPA 1967); In re Otto, 136 USPQ 458,459 (CCPA 1963). When the structure recited in the reference is substantially identical to that of the claims, claimed properties or functions are presumed to be inherent (See MPEP 2112.01; In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430,433 (CCPA 1977). It has further been held that expressions relating the apparatus to contents thereof during an intended operation are of no significance in determining patentability of the apparatus claim. Ex parte Thibault, 164 USPQ 666, 667 (Bd. App. 1969); and the inclusion of material or article worked upon by a structure being claimed does not impart patentability to the claims. In re Young, 75 F.2d 966, 25 USPQ 69 (CCPA 1935) (as restated in In re Otto, 312 F.2d 937, 136 USPQ 458, 459 (CCPA 1963)). While features of an apparatus may be described either structurally or functionally, claims directed to an apparatus MUST be distinguished from prior art in terms of structure rather than function (See MPEP §2114).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 11 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
(1) The “vertically interposed” in “a thermally insulating film vertically interposed therebetween” of Claims 11 and 16 is a new matter, because according to the applicants’ disclosures, the insulation layer 318 is horizontally disposed therebetween.
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.
Claim 15 is 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
(1) Claim 15 recites “a susceptor”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The limitation will be examined inclusive of “the susceptor”.
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 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.
Claims 1-5 and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Meinhold et al. (US 20090095219, hereafter ‘219).
Regarding to Claim 1, ‘219 teaches:
A temperature controlled showerhead (title), and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) apparatus for injecting gases into a reaction chamber ([0001], note the “continuous batch processing” of [0004] is a cyclic deposition, the claimed “A temperature-controlled showerhead assembly configured to deliver a plurality of gases into a cyclic deposition chamber”);
The showerhead 300 includes, a back plate 306, and a face plate 310, and A baffle 312 distributes the gases evenly throughout the manifold area 308 (Fig. 3A, [0034], the claimed “the showerhead assembly comprising: a showerhead body comprising a cavity formed therethrough and at a central region thereof, wherein the cavity is configured to diffuse or mix the gases prior to introducing the gases into the deposition chamber”);
The embodiment in FIG. 3B includes a cooling fluid inlet 322, into which cooling fluids, e.g., clean dry air (CDA), argon, helium, nitrogen, hydrogen, or a mixture of these, may be flowed. The fluid may follow a helical path down the stem. The helical path is shown in FIG. 3B through openings 324 of the convective cooling fluid passageway. The cooling fluid may exit the stem through one or more cooling fluid exit channels 326 ([0037], the claimed “a network of cooling channels configured to conduct heat away from the showerhead body”);
A heater 314 may be thermally attached to the back plate 306. The heater 314 may be an electrical heater and may be embedded in the back plate 306. The heater may be attached by a vacuum brazing process. The heater coil 314 is controlled by heater wires 316 that are connected to the coil through the stem ([0035], note Fig. 3B shows the heater is attached on the body, the claimed “and a network of heating elements configured to supply heat to the showerhead body, wherein the network of heating elements is disposed closer to an upper surface of the showerhead body relative to the cooling channels”).
Regarding to Claim 2,
Fig. 3B of ‘219 shows different vertical levels of the heater and the cooling channel (the claimed “wherein the cooling channels and the network of heating elements are disposed at different vertical levels”).
Regarding to Claim 3,
Fig. 3A of ‘219 shows due to a material portion of the showerhead, the heater and the cooling channel are not directly contacted each other, in other words, direct thermal conduction is prevented between them, therefore, the material portion can be interpreted as a thermal insulator, a thermal breaking region is commonly well-known feature (the claimed “wherein the cooling channels and the network of heating elements are thermally insulated from each other by an insulation layer interposed therebetween”).
Regarding to Claim 4,
Note the “laterally” means “by, to, or from the side”, see the Merriam Webster.
Fig. 3A of ‘219 shows the heaters and the cooling channels surround the manifold area by or from a side (the claimed “wherein the cooling channels and the network of heating elements laterally surround the cavity”).
Regarding to Claim 5,
It is commonly well-known that a substate is disposed on a pedestal and the pedestal is below the showerhead. Further, Figs. 3A, 3B and 5 clearly show a connected portion of the manifold area 308 with the gas inlet channel 302 has a shape, which has an increased width in a direction towards a substrate below the showerhead (the claimed “wherein the cavity has a truncated cone shape that is elongated in a vertical direction and has a width that increases in a direction towards a susceptor disposed below the showerhead assembly”).
Regarding to Claim 16, ‘219 teaches:
A temperature controlled showerhead (title), and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) apparatus for injecting gases into a reaction chamber ([0001], note the “continuous batch processing” of [0004] is a cyclic deposition, the claimed “A temperature-controlled showerhead assembly configured to deliver a plurality of gases into a cyclic deposition chamber”);
The showerhead 300 includes, a back plate 306, and a face plate 310, and A baffle 312 distributes the gases evenly throughout the manifold area 308 (Fig. 3A, [0034], the claimed “the showerhead assembly comprising: a showerhead body comprising a cavity formed therethrough and at a central region thereof, wherein the cavity is configured to diffuse or mix the gases prior to introducing the gases into the deposition chamber”);
The embodiment in FIG. 3B includes a cooling fluid inlet 322, into which cooling fluids, e.g., clean dry air (CDA), argon, helium, nitrogen, hydrogen, or a mixture of these, may be flowed. The fluid may follow a helical path down the stem. The helical path is shown in FIG. 3B through openings 324 of the convective cooling fluid passageway. The cooling fluid may exit the stem through one or more cooling fluid exit channels 326 ([0037], the claimed “a network of cooling channels formed over the showerhead body and configured to conduct heat away from the showerhead”);
A heater 314 may be thermally attached to the back plate 306. The heater 314 may be an electrical heater and may be embedded in the back plate 306. The heater may be attached by a vacuum brazing process. The heater coil 314 is controlled by heater wires 316 that are connected to the coil through the stem ([0035], note Fig. 3B shows the heater is attached on the body, the claimed “a network of heating elements configured to supply heat to the showerhead”).
Fig. 3A of ‘219 shows due to a material portion of the showerhead, the heater and the cooling channel are not directly contacted each other, in other words, direct thermal conduction is prevented between them, therefore, the material portion can be interpreted as a vertically disposed thermal insulator, a thermal breaking region is commonly well-known feature (the claimed “and a thermally insulating film vertically interposed between the cooling channels and the network of heating elements”).
Regarding to Claim 17,
Fig. 3A of ‘219 shows the heater 314 encloses the cooling channel (the claimed “wherein a lateral footprint occupied by the network of cooling channels is enclosed within a lateral footprint occupied by the network of heating elements”).
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 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 of this title, 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.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘219 in view of Chen et al. (US 20100247767, hereafter ‘767).
Regarding to Claim 6, ‘219 teaches:
Fig. 3A shows un upper portion of the gas inlet channel 302 is protruded from the stem 304, therefore, the protruded portion can be interpreted as an injector block (the claimed “wherein the showerhead assembly further comprises an injector block disposed over the showerhead body”);
Reactant gases are introduced through gas inlet channel 302 in the showerhead stem 304 ([0034], the claimed “flowing different gases into the cavity”).
Due to single channel, ‘219 does not explicitly teach the other limitations (BOLD and ITALIC letter) of:
Claim 6: wherein the injector block comprises a plurality of channels formed therein for flowing different gases to direct the different gases in different directions into the cavity.
‘767 is analogous art in the field of substrate processing apparatus (abstract). ‘767 teaches flow of various process gases and purge gases from gas sources 238, 239, 240 ([0056]), and the expanding channel 234 has gas inlets 236A, 236B (Fig. 3, [0031], note the source 238 is coupled to the inlet 236A and the source 239 is coupled to the inlet 236B) and it is believed that the circular flow 310 (FIG. 2, arrows 310A and 310B) may travel as a "vortex," "helix," or "spiral" flow through the expanding channel 234 as shown by arrows 402A, 402B (hereinafter "vortex" flow 402) ([0042]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added plural inlets, to the gas inlet channel 302 of ‘219, for the purpose of providing a sweeping action across the inner surface of the channel through a pattern of vortex flow, which reduce the velocity of the gas flow, thus reducing the variation of the velocity of the gas flow across the surface of the substrate.
Regarding to Claim 7,
‘219 teaches Reactant gases are introduced through gas inlet channel 302 in the showerhead stem 304 ([0034], note when the gases are provided through the inlet channel, the gas are intrinsically mixed in the manifold area, and further, Fig. 3 of ‘767 clearly shows mixing by vortex flow, the claimed “wherein the cavity is configured to mix two different gases prior to being introduced into the deposition chamber”).
Regarding to Claim 8,
‘767 teaches flow of various process gases and purge gases from gas sources 238, 239, 240 ([0056]), and an argon gas used as a carrier gas and a purge gas ([0032], the claimed “wherein one of the two different gases is an inert gas and the other of the two different gases is a reactant”).
Claims 9 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘219 in view of Hirose et al. (US 20160047039, hereafter ‘039).
Regarding to Claim 9, ‘219 teaches:
A temperature controlled showerhead (title), and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) apparatus for injecting gases into a reaction chamber ([0001], note the “continuous batch processing” of [0004] is a cyclic deposition, the claimed “A temperature-controlled showerhead assembly configured to deliver a plurality of gases into a cyclic deposition chamber”);
Fig. 3A shows the upper surface of the back plate 306 is substantially flat and inner surface facing the susceptor (the claimed “the showerhead assembly comprising: a showerhead body having a substantially flat outer surface facing away from a susceptor while having an inner surface facing the susceptor”);
the manifold area 308 ([0034], the claimed “a cavity formed through the showerhead body at the central region and configured to diffuse or mix the gases prior to introducing the gases into the deposition chamber”);
a cooling fluid inlet 322, and one or more cooling fluid exit channels 326 ([0037]), and a heater 314 ([0035], note Fig. 3B shows the heater is attached on the body, the claimed “and a network of cooling channels and a network of heating elements formed at different vertical levels”).
‘219 does not explicitly teach the other limitations (BOLD and ITALIC letter) of:
Claim 9: a showerhead body having a substantially flat outer surface facing away from a susceptor while having an inner surface facing the susceptor that is tapered such that a thickness of the showerhead body increases from a central region towards an edge portion thereof.
‘039 is analogous art in the field of processing apparatus (title). ‘039 teaches the ceiling member 5 includes a concave portion 5a formed at a side facing the susceptor 15 (Fig. 2, [0035], note the concave portion is a tapered surface).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have modified an inner surface of the showerhead, which is the flat surface above the baffle 312, so to be tapered, for the purpose of uniformly dispersing the gas from the center to edge, without the baffle.
Regarding to Claim 11,
Fig. 3A of ‘219 shows due to a material portion of the showerhead, the heater and the cooling channel are not directly contacted each other, in other words, direct thermal conduction is prevented between them, therefore, the material portion can be interpreted as a vertically disposed thermal insulator, a thermal breaking region is commonly well-known feature (the claimed “wherein the cooling channels and the network of heating elements are thermally insulated from each other by a thermally insulating film vertically interposed therebetween”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10, 12-15 and 18-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AIDEN Y LEE whose telephone number is (571)270-1440. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 9am-5pm PT.
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/AIDEN LEE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1718