Detailed Correspondence
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 Interpretation
The “wherein a gas supplied from the gas supplier and a gas supplied from the additional gas supplier are different from each other” of claim 17 and the “wherein the gas supplier is configured to supply a source gas, and the additional gas supplier is configured to supply a reactant gas” of claim 18, these are considered an intended use of the apparatus. An apparatus that is capable of using different gas is considered read into these limitations.
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 (Walter, 618 F.2d at 769, 205 USPQ at 409; MPEP 2106). 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 (In re Casey, 152 USPQ 235 (CCPA 1967); In re Otto, 136 USPQ 458, 459 (CCPA 1963); MPEP2111.02). When the structure recited in the reference is substantially identical to that of the claims, claimed properties or functions are presumed to be inherent (In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977); MPEP 2112.01).
The ”wherein the coupler includes at least one coupler provided at a position lower than the opening formed in the second pipe”, of claim 7, Applicants’ Fig. 2 shows multiple slits (and also claimed in claim 11), any of the slit reads into “an opening” of claim 1 and “the opening” of clam 7 and will be examined inclusive this interpretation.
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.
Claim 6 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 6 recites “wherein the coupler includes at least one coupler provided near a lower end of the opening formed in the second pipe”, near is a relative term. It is not clear how close a coupler has to be considered as “near a lower end of the opening formed in the second pipe”.
Claim 6 will be examined inclusive any degree of closeness.
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.
The factual inquiries 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 1-4 and 10-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over SAIDO et al. (WO 2018008088, from IDS, hereafter ‘088), in view of HIRANO (US 20120076936, from IDS, hereafter ‘936).
‘088 teaches some limitations of:
Claim 1: a treatment chamber for treating a plurality of substrates; and a nozzle for supplying the inside of the treatment chamber with a gas (examiner provided English translation, abstract, includes the claimed “A gas supplier”), As shown in FIG. 9, the nozzle 44a is installed obliquely in the supply buffer chamber 10A so that the slit 45a faces the center of the wafer W. That is, the nozzle 44a is installed so that the center of the upstream portion 74 and the center of the downstream portion 72 are positioned on a virtual circle R having a radius r as a line connecting the center of the adjacent nozzle 44b and the center of the wafer W (P8, 1st complete paragraph), As shown in FIG. 8, the nozzle 44 a is formed in an inverted U-shape that rises upward and is folded downward by the folding portion 70. A slit 45 a as a gas supply port is formed in the downstream portion 72 on the downstream side of the folded portion 70 (P7, 2nd last complete paragraph), A base 78 connected to the gas supply pipe is formed below the upstream portion 74 (Fig. 8, P7, last complete paragraph, includes the claimed “comprising a first pipe into which a gas is introduced, and a second pipe including an opening from which the gas is released”),
Slit 45a in plan view, is preferably formed in a region of the wafer W side than the line L1. In other words, the slits 45a in plan view, relative to the line L1, are preferably formed in a range of 0 degrees to 180 degrees counterclockwise (semicircle). That is, not on the center line C3 of the downstream portion 72 in the front view it may be formed by offset upstream portion 74 side (inside) or outside the center line C3 (P8, 2nd complete paragraph, the claimed “a direction in which the gas is released from the opening is inclined with respect to a direction from a center of the first pipe toward a center of the second pipe in a plan view” and as shown in Fig. 9).
Claim 12: a treatment chamber for treating a plurality of substrates; and a nozzle for supplying the inside of the treatment chamber with a gas (abstract, includes the claimed “A processing apparatus, comprising a gas supplier”), As shown in FIG. 9, the nozzle 44a is installed obliquely in the supply buffer chamber 10A so that the slit 45a faces the center of the wafer W. That is, the nozzle 44a is installed so that the center of the upstream portion 74 and the center of the downstream portion 72 are positioned on a virtual circle R having a radius r as a line connecting the center of the adjacent nozzle 44b and the center of the wafer W (P8, 1st complete paragraph), As shown in FIG. 8, the nozzle 44 a is formed in an inverted U-shape that rises upward and is folded downward by the folding portion 70. A slit 45 a as a gas supply port is formed in the downstream portion 72 on the downstream side of the folded portion 70 (P7, 2nd last complete paragraph), A base 78 connected to the gas supply pipe is formed below the upstream portion 74 (Fig. 8, P7, last complete paragraph, includes the claimed “that includes a first pipe into which a gas is introduced and a second pipe including an opening from which the gas is released”),
Slit 45a in plan view, is preferably formed in a region of the wafer W side than the line L1. In other words, the slits 45a in plan view, relative to the line L1, are preferably formed in a range of 0 degrees to 180 degrees counterclockwise (semicircle). That is, not on the center line C3 of the downstream portion 72 in the front view it may be formed by offset upstream portion 74 side (inside) or outside the center line C3 (P8, 2nd complete paragraph, the claimed “and a direction in which the gas is released from the opening is inclined with respect to a direction from a center of the first pipe toward a center of the second pipe in a plan view” and as shown in Fig. 9).
Claim 20: SUBSTRATE TREATMENT APPARATUS, GAS NOZZLE, AND SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE MANUFACTURING METHOD (title), a treatment chamber for treating a plurality of substrates; and a nozzle for supplying the inside of the treatment chamber with a gas (abstract, includes the claimed “A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising supplying a gas to process an object to be processed by using a gas supplier”), As shown in FIG. 9, the nozzle 44a is installed obliquely in the supply buffer chamber 10A so that the slit 45a faces the center of the wafer W. That is, the nozzle 44a is installed so that the center of the upstream portion 74 and the center of the downstream portion 72 are positioned on a virtual circle R having a radius r as a line connecting the center of the adjacent nozzle 44b and the center of the wafer W (P8, 1st complete paragraph), As shown in FIG. 8, the nozzle 44 a is formed in an inverted U-shape that rises upward and is folded downward by the folding portion 70. A slit 45 a as a gas supply port is formed in the downstream portion 72 on the downstream side of the folded portion 70 (P7, 2nd last complete paragraph), A base 78 connected to the gas supply pipe is formed below the upstream portion 74 (Fig. 8, P7, last complete paragraph, includes the claimed “that includes: a first pipe into which the gas is introduced and a second pipe including an opening from which the gas is released”),
Slit 45a in plan view, is preferably formed in a region of the wafer W side than the line L1. In other words, the slits 45a in plan view, relative to the line L1, are preferably formed in a range of 0 degrees to 180 degrees counterclockwise (semicircle). That is, not on the center line C3 of the downstream portion 72 in the front view it may be formed by offset upstream portion 74 side (inside) or outside the center line C3 (P8, 2nd complete paragraph, the claimed “and a direction in which the gas is released from the opening is inclined with respect to a direction from a center of the first pipe toward a center of the second pipe in a plan view” and as shown in Fig. 9).
‘088 does not teach the other limitations of:
Claims 1, 12, and 20: wherein a flow path cross-sectional area of the second pipe is larger than a flow path cross-sectional area of the first pipe.
‘936 is analogous art in the field of SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS, GAS NOZZLE AND METHOD OF PROCESSING SUBSTRATE (title), a vertical substrate processing apparatus ([0045]). ‘936 teaches that As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the coiled pipe unit 320 includes a first extension part (or a sixth pipe) 321, a second extension part (or a fifth pipe) 322, a third extension part (or a fourth pipe) 323, a fourth extension part (or a third pipe) 324, a fifth extension part (or a first pipe) 325, and a sixth extension part (or a second pipe) 326 from the base end 312 of an L-shaped pipe unit 310 ([0115], Fig. 12 shows the cross-sectional area of the sixth extension pipe 326 is much larger than corresponding vertical extension pipes 322 and 324, Fig. 19 shows many more vertical extension pipes), As can be seen from the crossed line part of FIG. 12, the second channel area adjusting unit 327 increases the channel area of the sixth extension part 326 from S2 to S3 … Thus, a gas pressure in the sixth extension part 326 may be easily uniformized, thus uniformizing a flow velocity of a gas supplied (emitted) from a plurality of gas supply holes 328 installed in the sixth extension part 326 toward the wafer 200 ([0123], 3rd-4th sentence), when the number (including count, figure, amount, and range) of components is mentioned, the number of the components is not limited to a specific number and may be greater than, less than or equal to the specific number, unless clearly specified otherwise and definitely limited to the specific number in principle ([0041]), for the purpose of heating efficiency of a gas in a nozzle without increasing the size of a reaction container ([0013]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have adopted a larger cross-sectional area of the downstream portion 72 than the upstream portion 74 in ‘088, as taught by ‘936, for the purpose of heating efficiency of a gas in a nozzle without increasing the size of a reaction container, as taught by ‘936 ([0013]).
The combination of ‘088 and ‘936 further teaches the limitations of:
Claim 2: As shown in FIG. 8, the nozzle 44 a is formed in an inverted U-shape that rises upward and is folded downward by the folding portion 70. A slit 45 a as a gas supply port is formed in the downstream portion 72 on the downstream side of the folded portion 70 (‘088, P7, 2nd last complete paragraph, includes the claimed “further comprising a bend that connects the first pipe and the second pipe, wherein the bend is divided into an extension with a same flow path cross-sectional area as the flow path cross-sectional area of the first pipe”, ‘936 also teaches this limitation),
As shown in FIG. 12, a second channel area adjusting unit 327 for slowly increasing the channel area of a pipe is installed at one end (or a lower end of FIG. 12) of the sixth extension part 326 from a lower end of the sixth extension part 326 toward an upper end thereof … the first extension part 321, the second extension part 322, the third extension part 323, the fourth extension part 324, and the fifth extension part 325 are set to have substantially the same channel area S2 (‘936, [0123], 1st and last sentence, includes the claimed “and a transition where the flow path cross-sectional area changes, with a vertex as a boundary between the extension and the transition, and the flow path cross-sectional area changes from the vertex in the transition”).
Claim 3: the first extension part 321, the second extension part 322, the third extension part 323, the fourth extension part 324, and the fifth extension part 325 are set to have substantially the same channel area S2 (‘936, [0123], last sentence, includes the claimed “wherein the vertex of the bend includes the same flow path cross-sectional area as the flow path cross-sectional area of the first pipe”).
Claims 4 and 10: Fig. 8 of ‘088 shows the claimed “wherein the transition is provided at a position higher than the opening formed in the second pipe” of claim 4 and “wherein the opening is formed at an intermediate portion of a flow path formed inside the second pipe, in a direction intersecting a direction in which the gas flows inside the second pipe” of claim 10.
Claim 11: Fig. 7(D) of ‘088 shows the claimed “wherein the opening is a slit or a hole, and the slit or the hole includes a plurality of slits or a plurality of holes formed along a longitudinal direction of the second pipe” (obvious to combined with Fig. 8, note Fig. 12 of ‘936 teaches a plurality of holes).
Claim 13-15: Fig. 17 of ‘936 shows two gas supply nozzles with identical nozzle 300 of Fig. 12, reads into the claimed “further comprising a second gas supplier with a same configuration as a configuration of the gas supplier, wherein the gas supplier and the second gas supplier are disposed adjacent to each other, and the gas is supplied from both the gas supplier and the second gas supplier” of claim 13, “wherein in a plan view, at least one of a distance between the center of the first pipe and the center of the second pipe in the gas supplier and a distance between a center of a first pipe and a center of a second pipe in the second gas supplier is shorter than a distance between the center of the first pipe of the gas supplier and the center of the first pipe of the second gas supplier or a distance between the center of the second pipe of the gas supplier and the center of the second pipe of the second gas supplier’ of claim 14, and “wherein in a plan view, a distance between the center of the first pipe and the center of the second pipe in the gas supplier is equal to a distance between the center of the second pipe of the gas supplier and a center of a first pipe of the second gas supplier” of claim 15.
Claim 16: the reaction gas is supplied to the wafer W from the reaction gas supply unit through the supply pipe 36b, the MFC 38b, the valve 40b, the nozzle 44b, and the slit 10D with the same configuration. In the nozzle 44b, a plurality of gas supply holes 45b that open toward the wafer W held by the boat 26 are formed. From the inert gas supply unit, the inert gas is supplied to the wafer W through the supply pipes 36c and 36d, the MFCs 38c and 38d, the valves 40c and 40d, the nozzles 44a and 44b, and the slit 10D (‘088, P3, 3rd complete paragraph, includes the claimed “further comprising an additional gas supplier formed with an opening in a side surface, wherein the gas supplier and the additional gas supplier are disposed to each other, and the gas is supplied from both the gas supplier and the additional gas supplier”, also taught by ‘936).
Claims 17-18: The HCDS gas is controlled to have a desired flow rate by the MFC 38a, and is supplied into the processing chamber 14 through the gas supply pipe 36a, the nozzle 44a, and the slit 10D (‘088, middle of P4, includes the claimed “wherein a gas supplied from the gas supplier and a gas supplied from the additional gas supplier are different from each other”, NOTE NH3 is reaction gas. Note also this is an intended use of the apparatus and “wherein the gas supplier is configured to supply a source gas, and the additional gas supplier is configured to supply a reactant gas” of claim 18, note which gas is considered as source and which as reactant is just a naming convention).
Claim 19: As shown in FIG. 9, the nozzle 44a is installed obliquely in the supply buffer chamber 10A so that the slit 45a faces the center of the wafer W. That is, the nozzle 44a is installed so that the center of the upstream portion 74 and the center of the downstream portion 72 are positioned on a virtual circle R having a radius r as a line connecting the center of the adjacent nozzle 44b and the center of the wafer W (P8, 1st complete paragraph, includes the claimed “wherein the opening of the gas supplier is formed in a slit shape”),
the reaction gas is supplied to the wafer W from the reaction gas supply unit through the supply pipe 36b, the MFC 38b, the valve 40b, the nozzle 44b, and the slit 10D with the same configuration. In the nozzle 44b, a plurality of gas supply holes 45b that open toward the wafer W held by the boat 26 are formed. From the inert gas supply unit, the inert gas is supplied to the wafer W through the supply pipes 36c and 36d, the MFCs 38c and 38d, the valves 40c and 40d, the nozzles 44a and 44b, and the slit 10D (‘088, P3, 3rd complete paragraph, includes the claimed “and the opening of the additional gas supplier is formed in a hole shape”).
Claims 5-9, and alternatively claims 13-15, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘088 and ‘936, as being applied to claims 1 and 12 rejection above, further in view of Hasebe et al. (US 20030186560, from IDS, hereafter ‘560).
The combination of ‘088 and ‘936 does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 5: further comprising a coupler that couples the first pipe and the second pipe.
Claim 6: wherein the coupler includes at least one coupler provided near a lower end of the opening formed in the second pipe.
Claim 7: wherein the coupler includes at least one coupler provided at a position lower than the opening formed in the second pipe.
Claim 8: wherein the coupler includes a plurality of couplers provided at a predetermined interval in a longitudinal direction of each of the first pipe and the second pipe.
Claim 9: wherein a cross-sectional area of the coupler is formed to be smaller than a cross-sectional area of the first pipe.
‘560 is analogous art in the field of Gaseous Phase Growing Device (title), first gas-introducing tube and second gas-introducing tube (abstract), This vapor-phase growing unit 10 is a batch-type of vertical vapor-phase growing unit, and is provided with a cylindrical reaction container 12 extending vertically (Fig. 1, [0044]). ‘560 teaches that As shown in FIG. 2, the first gas-introducing tube 32 includes an introducing tube portion 32A extending upward in the cylindrical void in the reaction container 12, and a spouting tube portion 32B curving in a U-shape and extending downward from an upper end of the introducing tube portion 32A. The introducing tube portion 32A and the spouting tube portion 32B extend in parallel to each other. The spouting tube portion 32B and the introducing tube portion 32A are connected to each other by means of reinforcing bridge members 33 at appropriate positions ([0055], Fig. 2 shows the reinforcing bridge member 33 has a smaller cross-section than the introducing tube portion 32A). ‘560 also teaches that as for a tube for the second gas-introducing tube 42, the same as the above described tube for the first gas-introducing tube 32 may be used ([0065]).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added reinforcing bridge members 33 of ‘560, to bridge the downstream portion 72 than the upstream portion 74 in ‘088, for the purpose of reinforcing the nozzle, as taught by ‘560 ([0055]). Furthermore, to have replacing the nozzle of 44b with nozzle 44a in Fig. 9 of ‘088 (the limitations of claims 13-15 again), as taught by ‘560, for its suitability with predictable results. The selection of something based on its known suitability for its intended use has been held to support a prima facie case of obviousness. MPEP 2144.07.
By replacing/duplicating the nozzle of 44b with nozzle 44a in Fig. 9 of ‘088 in the same location as shown in Fig. 9, one can see that the distance between the downstream portion 72 and upstream portion 74 is smaller than these two nozzles 44, it reads into the limitations of:
Claim 13: further comprising a second gas supplier with a same configuration as a configuration of the gas supplier, wherein
the gas supplier and the second gas supplier are disposed adjacent to each other, and the gas is supplied from both the gas supplier and the second gas supplier.
Claim 14: wherein in a plan view, at least one of a distance between the center of the first pipe and the center of the second pipe in the gas supplier and a distance between a center of a first pipe and a center of a second pipe in the second gas supplier is shorter than a distance between the center of the first pipe of the gas supplier and the center of the first pipe of the second gas supplier or a distance between the center of the second pipe of the gas supplier and the center of the second pipe of the second gas supplier.
Claim 15: wherein in a plan view, a distance between the center of the first pipe and the center of the second pipe in the gas supplier is equal to a distance between the center of the second pipe of the gas supplier and a center of a first pipe of the second gas supplier.
Alternatively, claims 7 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘088, ‘936, and ‘560, as being applied to claim 5 rejection above, further in view of Yang et al. (US 6146461, hereafter ‘461).
In case Applicants argue that “wherein the coupler includes at least one coupler provided at a position lower than the opening formed in the second pipe” of claim 7 should be the coupler at a position lower than all of the openings.
‘461 is analogous art in the field of Chemical Vapor Deposition Apparatus Having A Gas Diffusing Nozzle Designed To Diffuse Gas Equally At All Levels (title), a wafer boat (abstract, and a vertical reactor as shown in Fig. 1). ‘461 teaches that As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the gas diffusing nozzle includes an outer tubular member 40, a diaphragm 41 extending within and along the axial middle of the tubular member 40 so as to divide its internal space into two regions separated laterally from one another (col. 3, lines 36-40, the diaphragm 41 is considered a continuous coupler that bridges two nozzles/tubes).
Before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have re-arranged the reinforcing bridge members 33 continuously between the introducing tube portion 32A and the spouting tube portion 32B of ‘560 and then combined with ‘088 and ‘936, for its suitability for reinforcement with predictable results. The selection of something based on its known suitability for its intended use has been held to support a prima facie case of obviousness. MPEP 2144.07.
Also, by reducing the distance between the upstream portion 74 and downstream portion 72 of ‘088 to zero according to ‘461, it reads into claim 14 even if moving these two nozzles 44 very close to each other.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20070240644 is cited for gas discharge slit (Fig. 5) or holes (Fig. 4).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEATH T CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1870. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am-5:00 pm.
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, Parviz Hassanzadeh can be reached at 571-272-1435. 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.
/KEATH T CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1716