DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 6-18 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/29/25.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 5, and 19 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, there is no structural relationship between the processing chamber, as recited in line 2, with the remaining members of the claim; --and-- should be added after “chamber;” in line 2; “and” should be deleted from line 7; and --measured-- should be added before “emitted” in line 10.
In claim 5, --the-- should be added before “emitted” in line 3.
In claim 19, “measure an emitted light” should be changed to --receive a thermal radiation-- in line 1 (there is lack of antecedent basis in the claim for “the thermal radiation” in lines 9 and 11); “signal” should be deleted from line 1 (there is lack of antecedent basis in the claim for “the thermal radiation signal”); --an-- should be added after “into” in line 2; and the preamble of the claim (lines 1-2) claims a pyrometer assembly for measuring an emitted light from a portion of a semiconductor substrate, but the body of the claim (lines 11-13) claims the pyrometer assembly being for calculating a temperature of the portion of the semiconductor substrate based on stored calibration data.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication 2010/0124248 to Patalay et al [hereinafter Patalay] in view of U.S. Patent 4,129,356 to Oestreich.
Referring to claim 1, Patalay discloses a substrate processing system (figures 1, 2, 3A, 7; paragraphs 8, 21, 28, 30, 31, 45, 46, 61-63, 71, 83) comprising:
a processing chamber (712) (figure 7; paragraph 45); and
an optical pyrometer assembly (figures 1, 3A) to measure an emitted thermal radiation originating substantially from a portion of a target surface (215/315) (figures 2, 3A; paragraphs 30, 31), the optical pyrometer comprising a lightpipe that comprises a core (310) and a hollow sheath (305) surrounding the core (310), the core (310) and the sheath (305) being concentric with one another (figure 3A);
wherein a temperature of the target surface (215/315) (figures 2, 3A) is determined from an intensity of a portion of the emitted thermal radiation near at least one wavelength (paragraph 62).
Patalay does not disclose the sheath being formed by a chemical vapor deposition process and including local protrusions within a hollow interior thereof to maintain a position of the core within the sheath.
However, Oestreich discloses (figures 1-3; abstract; column 2, lines 45-49; column 4, lines 16-20, 29-35, 38-40) a lightpipe that comprises a core (2) and a hollow sheath (6) surrounding and concentric with the core (2) (figure 1), wherein the sheath (6) has local protrusions (7) within a hollow interior thereof to maintain a position of the core (2) within the sheath (6) in order to avoid attenuation and protect the core.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the sheath of Patalay with local protrusions within a hollow interior thereof to maintain a position of the core within the sheath, as suggested by Oestreich, in order to avoid attenuation and protect the core. Furthermore, the method of forming the sheath claimed by the applicant, i.e., forming the sheath by a chemical vapor deposition process, is not germane to the issue of patentability of the apparatus itself. Therefore, this limitation has not been given patentable weight.
Referring to claim 2, Patalay in view of Oestreich disclose a system having all of the limitations of claim 2, as stated above with respect to claim 1, wherein Patalay discloses that the core comprises a sapphire rod and that the sheath is formed of high-resistivity silicon carbide (SiC) (paragraph 62).
Referring to claim 3, Patalay in view of Oestreich disclose a system having all of the limitations of claim 3, as stated above with respect to claim 1, wherein Oestreich discloses that the local protrusions (7) comprise bumps (serrations) that are formed circumferentially within the hollow interior of the sheath (figure 3; column 4, lines 38-40).
Referring to claim 4, Patalay in view of Oestreich disclose a system having all of the limitations of claim 4, as stated above with respect to claim 1, wherein Oestreich discloses that the local protrusions (7) comprise discrete ridges or rails that are formed circumferentially and extend longitudinally within the hollow interior of the sheath (figures 1, 2).
Referring to claim 5, Patalay in view of Oestreich disclose a system having all of the limitations of claim 5, as stated above with respect to claim 1, wherein Patalay discloses an optical detector that is configured to receive an output from the lightpipe and to generate at least one signal representative of emitted thermal radiation, and a temperature circuit (detector) that transforms the at least one signal into a temperature value of the target surface (paragraphs 63, 71, 83).
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patalay in view of Oestreich, U.S. Patent Application Publication 2019/0228997 to Hu et al [hereinafter Hu], and the prior art disclosed by the applicant in paragraph 28 of the published application [hereinafter Prior Art].
Patalay discloses an optical pyrometer assembly (figures 1, 2, 3A; paragraphs 8, 21, 28, 30, 31, 45, 46, 61-63, 71, 83) to measure an emitted light originating substantially from a portion of a semiconductor substrate in a processing chamber (figure 7; paragraphs 8, 31), the optical
pyrometer comprising a lightpipe that comprises a sapphire rod core (310) (paragraphs 28, 30, 31) and a hollow sheath (305) surrounding the core (310) (figure 3A), the core (310) and the sheath (305) being concentric with one another (figure 3A), wherein the sheath (305) is formed of high-resistivity silicon carbide (SiC) (paragraph 28).
Patalay does not disclose the sheath being formed by a chemical vapor deposition process and including local protrusions within a hollow interior thereof to maintain a position of the core within the sheath; a fiber optical cable that transmits the thermal radiation sampled by the lightpipe to a detector; and a detector and electronics module to receive the thermal radiation signal and convert it into an analog signal, then digitize it and calculate a temperature of the portion of the semiconductor substrate based on stored calibration data.
However, Oestreich discloses (figures 1-3; abstract; column 2, lines 45-49; column 4, lines 16-20, 29-35, 38-40) a lightpipe that comprises a core (2) and a hollow sheath (6) surrounding and concentric with the core (2) (figure 1), wherein the sheath (6) has local protrusions (7) within a hollow interior thereof to maintain a position of the core (2) within the sheath (6) in order to avoid attenuation and protect the core.
Furthermore, Hu discloses an optical pyrometer assembly for measuring an emitted thermal radiation from a portion of a semiconductor substrate in a processing chamber (figures 1, 2; paragraphs 7, 8, 18, 23, 40, 42), wherein the assembly uses a fiber optic cable (208) to transmit the thermal radiation sampled by a lightpipe (202) to a detector (112/240) for determining the temperature of the semiconductor substrate (paragraphs 40, 42).
In addition, it is known in the Prior Art (known in the industry) that a detector and electronics module are used to receive the thermal radiation signal and convert it into an analog signal, then digitize it to calculate a temperature of the portion of the semiconductor substrate based on stored calibration data.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the sheath of Patalay with local protrusions within a hollow interior thereof to maintain a position of the core within the sheath, as suggested by Oestreich, in order to avoid attenuation and protect the core. Furthermore, the method of forming the sheath claimed by the applicant, i.e., forming the sheath by a chemical vapor deposition process, is not germane to the issue of patentability of the apparatus itself. Therefore, this limitation has not been given patentable weight.
Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide Patalay with a fiber optical cable that transmits the thermal radiation sampled by the lightpipe to a detector, as suggested by Hu, in order to determine the temperature of the substrate.
Lastly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide Patalay with a detector and electronics module to receive the thermal radiation signal and convert it into an analog signal, then digitize it and calculate a temperature of the portion of the semiconductor substrate based on stored calibration data, as known in the Prior Art, in order to provide a calibrated temperature measurement of the substrate.
Conclusion
The references made of record and not relied upon by the examiner are considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure by disclosing an optical pyrometer.
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/MIRELLYS JAGAN/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2855
1/9/26