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 § 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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Togawa Tetsuji (JP2005-150468A using the Machine Generated English Translation provided with the IDS mailed April 16, 2026).
Regarding claim 1. The prior art of Togawa Tetsuji teaches a substrate processing apparatus that supplies a processing liquid (via cleaning liquid nozzle 51) to a front surface of a substrate (W) which is rotating, comprising: a substrate holder (20) configured to hold the substrate, wherein the substrate holder comprises: a gripper (contact portion 26 with claw 22) configured to come into contact with a periphery of the substrate to grip the substrate; and a base (main body 21) to which the gripper is attached.
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Fig. 2 of Togawa Tetsuji
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Fig. 3 of Togawa Tetsuji
Regarding claim 2. The substrate processing apparatus of Claim 1, wherein a material of the base (main body 21) is any one of PFA-coated SUS, SiC, C-PFA, CPCTFE, and PEEK. See [0030] and [0046] of the Machine Generated English Translation where it is recited that:
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Regarding claim 3. The substrate processing apparatus of Claim 1, wherein, when a metal film is formed on the front surface of the substrate W, the gripper (contact portion 26) is made of a high-resistance material, and wherein the high-resistance material has a volume resistance value of 1.0 x 105 Ω cm or more. The limitation describing the metal film refers to the substrate (wafer) which is not structurally part of the apparatus. Note that this limitation is interpreted as a matter of an intended use where the apparatus of Togawa Tetsuji is inherently capable of processing a wafer with the claimed metal film. See [0030] and [0046] of Togawa Tetsuji.
Regarding claim 4. The substrate processing apparatus of Claim 3, wherein the high-resistance material is any one of PFA-coated SUS, PFA-coated SiC, GF-PTFE, PCTFE, and PEEK. See [0030] and [0046] of Togawa Tetsuji.
Regarding claim 5. The substrate processing apparatus of Claim 4, wherein the metal film is made of any one of TiN, Co, Ni, W, Mo, Ru, A1203, SiGe, ZrO2, Al, and Cu. The limitation describing the metal film refers to the substrate (wafer) which is not structurally part of the apparatus. Note that this limitation is interpreted as a matter of an intended use where the apparatus of Togawa Tetsuji is inherently capable of processing a wafer with the claimed metal film.
Regarding claim 6. The substrate processing apparatus of Claim 1, wherein, when no metal film is formed on the front surface of the substrate, the gripper is made of a low-resistance material, and wherein the low-resistance material has a volume resistance value of less than 1.0 x105 Ω cm. The limitation describing the metal film refers to the substrate (wafer) which is not structurally part of the apparatus. Note that this limitation is interpreted as a matter of an intended use where the apparatus of Togawa Tetsuji is inherently capable of processing a wafer with no metal film formed. See [0030] and [0046] of Togawa Tetsuji where C-PEEK is recited.
Regarding claim 7. The substrate processing apparatus of Claim 6, wherein the low-resistance material is any one of C-PFA, C-PCTFE, and C-PEEK. See [0030] and [0046] of Togawa Tetsuji where C-PEEK is recited.
Regarding claim 8. The substrate processing apparatus of Claim 1, wherein, when a temperature of the processing liquid is 50 degrees C or higher, the gripper is made of a low-thermal conductive material, and wherein the low-thermal conductive material has a thermal conductivity of 1.0 W/mk or less. See [0047] of Togawa Tetsuji where a heater is used to heat the cleaning solution. See [0030] and [0046] of Togawa Tetsuji where the material construction of the gripper is recited
Regarding claim 9. The substrate processing apparatus of Claim 1, wherein the substrate holder includes a fixer (pin 24) configured to fix the gripper 26 to the base 21.
Regarding claim 10. The substrate processing apparatus of Claim 3, wherein the metal film is made of any one of TiN, Co, Ni, W, Mo, Ru, A1203, SiGe, ZrO2, Al, and Cu. The limitation describing the metal film refers to the substrate (wafer) which is not structurally part of the apparatus. Note that this limitation is interpreted as a matter of an intended use where the apparatus of Togawa Tetsuji is inherently capable of processing a wafer with the claimed metal film.
Regarding claim 11. The prior art of Togawa Tetsuji teaches a substrate gripping device that rotates together with a substrate having a front surface to which a processing liquid via cleaning liquid nozzle 51) is supplied in a state of holding the substrate, comprising: a base end portion (main body 21) detachably attached (via a pin 24) to a base; and a claw portion 22 connected to the base end portion and configured to come into contact with a periphery of the substrate W to grip the substrate. See Fig. 1 of the prior art of Togawa Tetsuji.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Nakazawa et al (US 12,083,563) teaches a substrate treating apparatus where a liquid supply is provided via nozzle 57 and support pins 15 are provided to contact the edge of the wafer and are made of resins see col. 4 lines 25-31.
Lin et al (US 10,658,221) teaches a semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus where chuck pins 30 are connected to base (rotatable spindles 23).
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/SYLVIA MACARTHUR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1716
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