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. Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-15, in the reply filed on 3/17/26 is acknowledged. 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 ( i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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. Claim s 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Kato (US 20180308688) . Regarding claim 1, Kato discloses a deposition method for forming a film in a recess of a substrate having the recess on a surface thereof (Abstract, paragraph 0073) , the method comprising: a) depositing a film of a reaction product of a first reaction gas and a second reaction gas that react with each other in the recess (paragraph 0074) ; and b) exposing the substrate on which the film is deposited to a plasma generated from a noble gas (paragraph 0074) , wherein a) includes: a1) exposing the substrate to a plasma generated from the noble gas and a modifying gas to adsorb a hydroxyl group on an inner surface of the recess in a redetermined distribution (paragraphs 0060-0063, 00 73 -0084) , a2) supplying the first reaction gas to the substrate on which the hydroxyl group is adsorbed (paragraphs 0060-0063, 0073-0084) , and a3) supplying the second reaction gas to the substrate on which the first reaction gas is adsorbed, thereby causing the first reaction gas to react with the second reaction gas to produce the reaction product (paragraphs 0060-0063, 0073-0084) . Regarding claim 2, Kato further discloses wherein a) and b) are repeated multiple times in this order (paragraph 0086) . Regarding claim 3 , Kato further discloses wherein a) and b) are performed in a same vacuum chamber (1,figs. 2-3 and paragraph 0038) , and b) is performed at a lower pressure in the vacuum chamber than a) (paragraphs 0041-0042, 0048, 0093) Regarding claim 4 , Kato further discloses , wherein in a) and in b), the substrate is maintained at a same temperature (paragraph 0093) . Regarding claim 5 , Kato further discloses wherein a) is switched to b) before a thickness of the film deposited on a bottom of the recess exceeds 4 nm (paragraphs 0078-0086) . Regarding claim 6 , Kato further discloses wherein the substrate is placed along a circumferential direction on a rotary table in a vacuum chamber (figs. 1-3 and paragraphs 0029-0030) , a first region for performing a1) and b) (P1, paragraph 0037) , a second region for performing a2), and a third region for performing a3) are provided in the vacuum chamber above the rotary table along the circumferential direction of the rotary table, a) is repeatedly performed on the substrate by rotating the rotary table in a state where the noble gas and the modifying gas are supplied to the first region, the first reaction gas is supplied to the second region, and the second reaction gas is supplied to the third region (paragraphs 0076-0088) , and b) is repeatedly performed on the substrate by rotating the rotary table in a state where a supply of the modifying gas to the first region, a supply of the first reaction gas to the second region, and a supply of the second reaction gas to the third region are stopped, and the noble gas is supplied to the first region ( P1-P3, paragraphs 0076-0088) . Regarding claim s 7 -12 , Kato further discloses wherein the first reaction gas is aminosilane gas (Abstract and paragraphs 0036, 0074, 0080) . Regarding claim 13 , Kato further discloses wherein the second reaction gas is ozone gas (paragraphs 0035, 0093) . Regarding claim 14 , Kato further discloses wherein the noble gas is argon gas (Abstract, and paragraphs 0008, 0054, 0074) . 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 ( i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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, 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. Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kato (US 20180308688) . Regarding claim 15, Kato discloses t he deposition method according to claim 14, as mentioned above. Kato does no explicitly disclose wherein the modifying gas is ammonia gas. However, Kato does explicitly disclose wherein another nitrogen-containing gas may be used instead of N 2 (paragraph 0091). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to use ammonia gas (NH 3 ) in place of N 2 , since Kato explicitly disclosed substitutions of nitrogen-containing gases. Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US Patent Application Publication 20160379868 discloses another close deposition method for forming a film in a recess . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT DOUGLAS M MENZ whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-1877 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm . 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, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT Jacob Choi can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 469-295-9060 . 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. /DOUGLAS M MENZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897 4/2/26