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 Interpretation
Claims directed to an apparatus must be distinguished from the prior art on the basis of structural differences. Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Bausch & Lomb Inc., 909 F.2d 1464, 1469 (Fed. Cir. 1990) (“[A]pparatus claims cover what a device is, not what a device does.”) (emphasis in original). Likewise, the “[i]nclusion of the material or article worked upon by a structure being claimed does not impart patentability to the claims.” In re Otto, 312 F.2d 937 (CCPA 1963). It is firmly rooted that because an apparatus is a structure, an apparatus must be distinguished from prior art on the basis of its structure, and where a prior art structure is inherently “capable of” performing the claimed function of the apparatus, the burden shifts to the applicant to show that the claimed function patentably distinguishes the claimed structure from the prior art structure. See, In re Schreiber, 128 F.3d 1473, 1478 (Fed. Cir. 1997); In re Hallman, 655 F.2d 212, 215 (CCPA 1981). A claim containing a “recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus” if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. Ex parte Masham, 2 USPQ2d 1647 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1987).
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 and 7-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Applicant’s admitted prior art (AAPA).
With respect to Applicant’s claim 1, AAPA discloses an apparatus (see Applicant’s Fig. 3 labeled “Related Art”) comprising: (a) a processing container (209); (b) a stage (211) on which a substrate (W) is placed, the stage (211) being positioned in the processing container (209) (see Applicant’s Fig. 3); (c) a gas supply (260) facing the stage (211); and (d) a driver (240) configured to move the stage (211) so as to change a distance between the gas supply (260) and the stage (211). The gas supply (260) may supply a first (221a) and second (221b) processing gas into a space (Sp) between the gas supply (260) and the stage (211) of an outside region of the stage (211).
With respect to claims 7-11, the claims are process limitations which do not structurally distinguish over the apparatus of AAPA.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ifuku (US 2019/0085457).
With respect to claims 1-6 and 12-14, Ifuku discloses an apparatus (100) comprising: (a) a processing container (1); (b) a stage (2) on which a substrate (W) is placed, the stage (2) being positioned in the processing container (1) (see Ifuku, Fig. 6); (c) a gas supply (55, 66) facing the stage (2); and (d) a driver (“lift pins”) configured to move the stage (2) so as to change a distance between the gas supply (55, 66) and the stage (2) (see Ifuku, paragraph [0074]). The gas supply (55, 66) may supply a first and second processing gas into a space between the gas supply (55, 66) and the stage (2) of an outside region of the stage (2) (see Ifuku, Fig. 6). The apparatus (100) includes a shower plate (41) provided between the gas supply (55, 66) and the stage (2), the gas supply (55, 66) including a first (53) and second (67) discharge port, each port being configured to supply a gas from outside of a stage (2) region. A cleaner, e.g., plasma generator, may be configured to supply a cleaning or active gas species into a space between the gas supply (55, 66) and the shower plate (41) (see Ifuku, Fig. 6 and paragraphs [0071] and [0080]).
With respect to claims 7-11, the claims are process limitations which do not structurally distinguish over the apparatus of Ifuku.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nozawa (US 2021/0043447).
With respect to claims 1-6 and 12-14, Nozawa discloses an apparatus (10) comprising: (a) a processing container (11); (b) a stage (21) on which a substrate (W) is placed, the stage (21) being positioned in the processing container (11) (see Nozawa, Fig. 13); (c) a gas supply (34) facing the stage (21); and (d) a driver (63) configured to move the stage (21) so as to change a distance between the gas supply (34) and the stage (21). The gas supply (34) may supply a first (30a) and second (30b) processing gas into a space between the gas supply (34) and the stage (21) (through a plurality of ejection ports 41) of an outside region of the stage (21) (see Nozawa, Fig. 13; and paragraph 0050]). The apparatus (10) includes a shower plate (40) provided between the gas supply (34) and the stage (21), the gas supply (34) including a first and second discharge port (41), each port being configured to supply a gas from outside of a stage (21) region. A cleaner, e.g., plasma generator (39), may be configured to supply a cleaning or active gas species into a space between the gas supply (34) and the shower plate (40).
With respect to claims 7-11, the claims are process limitations which do not structurally distinguish over the apparatus of Nozawa.
Claims 1-3 and 7-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Omari (JP 2011-117030 A).
With respect to claims 1-3, Omari discloses an apparatus (see Omari, Figs. 1 and 3) comprising: (a) a processing container (1); (b) a stage (2) on which a substrate (S) is placed, the stage (2) being positioned in the processing container (1) (see Omari, Figs. 1 and 3); (c) a gas supply (34A, 34B) facing the stage (2); and (d) a driver (6) configured to move the stage (2) so as to change a distance between the gas supply (34A, 34B) and the stage (2) (see Omari, Fig. 3 and accompanying text). The gas supply (34A, 34B) may supply a first (3A) and second (3B) processing gas into a space between the gas supply (34A, 34B) and the stage (2) (through a plurality of ejection ports 41A, 41B) of an outside region of the stage (2) (see Omari, Figs. 1 and 3). The apparatus includes a shower plate (4) provided between the gas supply (34A, 34B) and the stage (2), the gas supply (34A, 34B) including a first and second discharge port (51A, 51B), each port being configured to supply a gas from outside of a stage (2) region (see Omari, Figs. 1 and 3).
With respect to claims 7-11, the claims are process limitations which do not structurally distinguish over the apparatus of Omari.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to Applicant's disclosure: Toyoda (US 9,171,734); Ren (US 2015/0357183); and Nozawa (US 2020/0294797). The references generally disclose substrate processing apparatuses (see respective Abstract for each reference).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Randy Boyer whose telephone number is (571) 272-7113. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday from 10:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. (EST).
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Prem C. Singh, can be reached at (571) 272-6381. The fax number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Randy Boyer/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1771
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