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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments filed on 7/23/26 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection. The amendment necessitates the new ground(s) of rejection presented due to the added language in the independent claims.
Status of the Application
Claim(s) 1-5, 7-21 is/are pending.
Claim(s) 2, 5, 7-8, 13-14, 16, 19 is/are withdrawn.
Claim(s) 1, 3, 9-12, 15, 17, 18, 20-21 is/are rejected.
Claim 4 is objected.
Claim Rejections – 35 U.S.C. § 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:
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Claim(s) 1, 3, 10-12, 15, 17, 21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Chen et al. (US 20200314990 A1) [hereinafter Chen] in view of Ceglio et al. (US 20110242515 A1) [hereinafter Ceglio].
Regarding claim 1, Chen teaches a source vessel for extreme ultraviolet (EUV), comprising:
a body (see fig 3) that includes an outlet (see scrubber outlet, 284o) for discharging tin debris disposed in a central portion of the body (see fig 3) and an intermediate focus (IF) (near fig 2a: 212, see [0021]) disposed in an upper end portion of the body (see towards top of fig 2a);
a reflector (see 230) disposed in a lower end of the body (see towards bottom of fig 2a) and that includes a through-hole (see OW) through which laser light passes (see LB), the central portion of the body being disposed between the upper end portion of the body and the lower end of the body (see fig 2a),
wherein the body includes an IF cap portion (see 290) disposed on a lower portion of the intermediate focus that includes a heater (see 298, [0034])
an inner surface of the IF cap portion includes a flow groove (see 296a) through which tin residue flows (see [0017,31]),
the source vessel for EUV further comprises:
a collection container (see figs 2a,b: 400) connected to the flow groove to collect the tin residue from the flow groove (see e.g. [0033]); and
a scrubber (see 284a’), in which the tin debris are introduced from the outlet (see 284o) and treated (see [0025]), connected to the outlet (see figs 2a,b), and
the flow groove (see 296a) is spaced apart from the central portion of the body (see fig 2a,b) and is disconnected from the outlet disposed in the central portion of the body (see fig 3).
Chen may fail to explicitly disclose the IF cap potion includes a heater disposed on an outer surface thereof.
However, Chen teaches the heater may be embedded in the wall (see Chen, [0034]), and that the heater may be one of a wide range of different type of heater. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was effectively filed to form the heater as a separable socketed part, for example to simplify manufacturing and/or serviceability, thereby providing a heater disposed on an outer surface of the IF cap portion (defining as the interior components in 290, onto which the heater attaches. It is noted it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04(V); Nerwin v. Erlichman, 168 USPQ 177, 179.
Chen may fail to explicitly disclose the IF scanner portion includes a cooling pipe disposed on an external surface thereof.
However, the use of cooling pipes on both sides of the IF was known in the art at the time the application was effectively filed. For example, Ceglio teaches a system to enable improved collection and redirection of EUV radiation not perfectly aligned with the intermediate focal point to improve uniformity and distribution of the total output radiation (see e.g. Ceglio, [0007,15]), said system comprising an IF scanner portion (see fig 22, downstream of IF) including a cooling pipe (see 129) disposed on an external surface thereof (see fig 22), which also enables the ability to use active cooling to mitigate effects of thermal load on the surfaces of the device (see e.g. [0075]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was effectively filed to combine the teachings of Ceglio in the system of the prior art because a skilled artisan would have been motivated to look for ways to improve quality of the EUV radiation being emitted downstream, while also mitigating effects of thermal load on surfaces of the device, in the manner taught by Ceglio.
Regarding claim 3, the combined teaching of Chen and Ceglio teaches the flow groove includes a plurality of flow grooves spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction (see Chen, fig 3, e.g. halves of a row in 296a spaced apart from each other by 294).
Regarding claim 10, the combined teaching of Chen and Ceglio teaches the cooling pipe has a spiral shape that circles around an inner surface of the IF scanner portion (see downstream end cooling channel 129, Ceglio, fig 22, [0085]).
Regarding claim 11, Chen teaches a source vessel for EUV, comprising:
a body (see fig 3) that includes an intermediate focus (near fig 2a: 212, see [0021]) at an upper end; and
a reflector (see 230) disposed in a lower end portion of the body and that includes a through-hole (see OW) through which laser light passes (see LB),
wherein the body includes a funnel shaped IF cap portion (see upstream of 212, including 290) disposed on a lower portion of the intermediate focus (see fig 2a) that has a width that decreases toward an upper side (see fig 2a), and a funnel shaped IF scanner portion (see portion downstream of 212) that extends from and is in contact with the IF cap portion (see fig 2a) (note IF scanner portion could include the IF and portions of the upstream and downstream portions, under BRI), the IF scanner portion having a width that increases toward the upper side (see fig 2a, downstream portion),
the IF cap portion includes a heater (see 298, [0034])
Chen may fail to explicitly disclose the IF cap potion includes a heater disposed on an outer surface.
However, Chen teaches the heater may be embedded in the wall (see Chen, [0034]), and that the heater may be one of a wide range of different type of heater. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was effectively filed to form the heater as a separable socketed part, for example to simplify manufacturing and/or serviceability, thereby providing a heater disposed on an outer surface of the IF cap portion (defining as the interior components in 290, onto which the heater attaches. It is noted it has been held that constructing a formerly integral structure in various elements involves only routine skill in the art. See MPEP 2144.04(V); Nerwin v. Erlichman, 168 USPQ 177, 179.
Chen may fail to explicitly disclose the IF scanner portion includes a cooling pipe disposed on an outer surface.
However, the use of cooling pipes on both sides of the IF was well known in the art at the time the application was effectively filed. For example, Ceglio teaches a system to enable improved collection and redirection of EUV radiation not perfectly aligned with the intermediate focal point to improve uniformity and distribution of the total output radiation (see e.g. Ceglio, [0007,15]), said system comprising an IF scanner portion (see fig 22, downstream of IF) including a cooling pipe (see 129) disposed on an outer surface (see fig 22), which also enables the ability to use active cooling to mitigate effects of thermal load on the surfaces of the device (see e.g. [0075]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was effectively filed to combine the teachings of Ceglio in the system of the prior art because a skilled artisan would have been motivated to look for ways to improve quality of the EUV radiation being emitted downstream, while also mitigating effects of thermal load on surfaces of the device, in the manner taught by Ceglio.
Regarding claim 12, the combined teaching of Chen and Ceglio teaches a collection container (see Chen, figs 2b: 400) connected to the flow groove and that collects tin residues (see [0023]).
Regarding claim 15, the combined teaching of Chen and Ceglio teaches the cooling pipe has a spiral shape that circles around an inner surface of the IF scanner portion (see downstream end cooling channel 129, Ceglio, fig 22, [0085]).
Regarding claim 17, the combined teaching of Chen and Ceglio teaches the flow groove includes a plurality of flow grooves spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction (see Chen, fig 3, e.g. halves of a row in 296a spaced apart from each other by 294).
Regarding claim 21, the combined teaching of Chen and Ceglio teaches a collection container (see Chen, figs 2b: 400) connected to the flow groove to collect the tin residue from the flow groove (see [0023]); and a scrubber (see 284a’), in which tin debris are introduced from an outlet of the body (see fig 3), wherein the flow groove is disconnected from the outlet of the body (see 284o).
Claim(s) 9, 18, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Chen and Ceglio, as applied to claim 1 or 11 above, and further in view of Tsai et al. (US 20220413398 A1) [hereinafter Tsai].
Regarding claim 9, the combined teaching of Chen and Ceglio may fail to explicitly disclose the heater includes a plurality of heaters spaced apart from each other from a lower end toward an upper end of the IF cap portion. However, Chen mentions that the heater may comprise a plurality of heaters and directional heating can prevent liquid debris from falling into the collector (see Chen, [0034]). Further, Tsai teaches a feedback system that integrates a plurality of heaters with adjustable setpoints to better control temperature distribution and control flow of tin to a drain (see Tsai, [0060-62]), said system comprising a plurality of heaters (see Tsai, fig 3c: 314-A,B,C) spaced apart from each other from a lower end toward an upper end of the IF cap portion (see fig 3c). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was effectively filed to combine the teachings of Tsai in the system of the prior art because a skilled artisan would have been motivated to look for ways to enable the improved control of heat distribution and tin flow, in the manner taught by Tsai.
Regarding claim 18, the combined teaching of Chen and Ceglio teaches the flow grooves are disposed in a straight line from a top to a bottom of the IF cap portion (see Chen, fig 3, defining 264 as the flow grooves). Alternately, Tsai teaches to use a plurality of heaters to provide improved control of heat distribution and optimize flow over the grooves for collecting tin (see [0039,42,60-61]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was effectively filed to combine the teachings of Tsai in the system of the prior art to enable the improved control of heat distribution and tin flow, in the manner taught by Tsai.
Regarding claim 20, the combined teaching of Chen and Ceglio fails to explicitly disclose the claimed limitation(s). However, the differences would have been obvious in view of Tsai, for similar reasons as claim 18 above. Therefore, the combined teaching of Chen, Ceglio, and Tsai teaches the heater includes a plurality of heaters spaced apart from each other from a lower end toward an upper end of the IF cap portion (see Tsai, fig 3c: 314-A,B,C).
Claim(s) 11-12, 15, 17, 18, 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as being unpatentable over Derks et al. (US 20220197158 A1) [hereinafter Derks] in view of Ceglio et al. (US 20110242515 A1) [hereinafter Ceglio].
Regarding claim 11, Derks teaches a source vessel for EUV, comprising:
a body (see e.g. fig 1: 9) that includes an intermediate focus (see 6) at an upper end; and
a reflector (see 5) disposed in a lower end portion of the body and that includes a through-hole through which laser light (see 2) passes (see figs 1,2),
wherein the body includes a funnel shaped IF cap portion (see e.g. fig 1,3a-d: 16a to IF) disposed on a lower portion of the intermediate focus (see portion upstream of 6) that has a width that decreases toward an upper side (see fig 3a), and a funnel shaped IF scanner portion (see portion downstream of 6) that extends from and is in contact with the IF cap portion (see fig 1), the IF scanner portion having a width that increases toward the upper side (see fig 1),
the IF cap portion includes a heater (see 22) disposed on an outer surface and a flow groove disposed in an inner surface (see fig 3a) through which tin residue flows, and
Derks may fail to explicitly disclose the IF scanner portion includes a cooling pipe disposed on an outer surface.
However, the use of cooling pipes on both sides of the IF was well known in the art at the time the application was effectively filed. For example, Ceglio teaches a system to enable improved collection and redirection of EUV radiation not perfectly aligned with the intermediate focal point to improve uniformity and distribution of the total output radiation (see e.g. Ceglio, [0007,15]), said system comprising an IF scanner portion (see fig 22, downstream of IF) including a cooling pipe (see 129) disposed on an outer surface (see fig 22), which also enables the ability to use active cooling to mitigate effects of thermal load on the surfaces of the device (see e.g. [0075]). It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was effectively filed to combine the teachings of Ceglio in the system of the prior art because a skilled artisan would have been motivated to look for ways to improve quality of the EUV radiation being emitted downstream, while also mitigating effects of thermal load on surfaces of the device, in the manner taught by Ceglio.
Regarding claim 12, the combined teaching of Derks and Ceglio teaches a collection container (see Derks, [0074]) connected to the flow groove and that collects tin residues (see [0074]). It is unclear if the collection container is disposed outside of the body but it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art at the time the application was effectively filed to move the container wherever it is needed, including outside the body region (see removable, Derks, [0097]). It has been held that it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to rearrange the parts as a matter of design choice. See MPEP 2144.04; In re Kuhle, 526 F.2d 553, 188 USPQ 7 (CCPA 1975).
Regarding claim 15, the combined teaching of Derks and Ceglio teaches the cooling pipe has a spiral shape that circles around an inner surface of the IF scanner portion (see downstream end cooling channel 129, fig 22, [0085]).
Regarding claim 17, the combined teaching of Derks and Ceglio teaches the flow groove includes a plurality of flow grooves spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction (see Derks, fig 3a).
Regarding claim 18, the combined teaching of Derks and Ceglio teaches the flow grooves are disposed in a straight line from a top to a bottom of the IF cap portion (see Derks, fig 3a).
Regarding claim 20, the combined teaching of Derks and Ceglio teaches the heater includes a plurality of heaters (see Derks, fig 3a: 22) spaced apart from each other from a lower end toward an upper end of the IF cap portion (see fig 3a).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 4 is objected to due to a dependency on a rejected claim. However, since the prior art does not suggest or disclose all the claimed limitations of the instant claims, these would have been allowable if rewritten in independent form including all limitations of the base claim(s).
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 4, the prior art of record, alone or in combination, and to the examiner’s knowledge does not teach, disclose, suggest, or render obvious, at least to the skilled artisan, the instant invention regarding the structural configuration of the flow grooves in combination with the other structure and configuration as claimed in the claims upon which it depends.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to James Choi whose telephone number is (571) 272 – 2689. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:30 am – 6:00 pm M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Georgia Epps can be reached on (571) 272 – 2328. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273 – 8300.
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/JAMES CHOI/Examiner, Art Unit 2878
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