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 .
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 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.
Response to Amendments/Arguments
The amendment made to claim 1 and the withdrawal of claim 10, as filed on May 1, 2026, are acknowledged.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to amended claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to new ground(s) of rejection in this Office Action necessitated by the amendments made to the claims.
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 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Blomberg et al. (US20190249312).
Regarding claim 1, Blomberg discloses an etching method of etching a metal on a substrate (abstract and paragraph 0115), the etching method comprising: (a) modifying a surface layer of the metal into a halide-containing surface layer by exposing the metal to a halogen-containing gas (paragraphs 0004); (b) removing the halide-containing surface layer by exposing the halide-containing surface layer to a gas containing carbon (C) and oxygen (O) (COS comprises carbon and oxygen, paragraphs 0018); and (c) repeating the step of (a) and the step of (b) in this order (paragraph 0005).
Regarding claims 2-3, Blomberg discloses wherein the metal is Fe (paragraph 0115).
Regarding claims 4-5, Blomberg discloses wherein the halogen-containing gas includes HF (paragraph 0076).
Regarding claim 6, Blomberg discloses wherein the gas containing C and O includes CH2O (HCOOH, paragraph 0004 and claim 23).
Regarding claim 7, Blomberg discloses wherein in the step of (b), the halide-containing surface layer is carbonylated and removed by the gas containing C and O (paragraphs 0004 and 0018).
Regarding claim 8, Blomberg discloses wherein in the step of (a) and the step of (b), a temperature of a stage on which the substrate is placed is controlled so that a temperature of the substrate ranges from 300 degrees C to 500 degrees C (paragraph 0023).
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 of this title, 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 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Blomberg et al. (US20190249312) as applied to claim 8 above.
Regarding claim 9, Blomberg discloses wherein in the step of (a) and the step of (b), the temperature of the stage is controlled so that the temperature of the substrate ranges from 300 degrees C to 500 degrees C (paragraph 0023), which overlaps with the range recited in the instant claim. In the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990). MPEP 2144.05(I).
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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIONG-PING LU whose telephone number is (571) 270-1135. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 9:00am – 5:00pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joshua L Allen, can be reached at telephone number (571)270-3176. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for published applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Patent Center for authorized users only. Should you have questions about access to Patent Center, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).
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) Form at https://www.uspto.gov/patents/uspto-automated- interview-request-air-form.
/JIONG-PING LU/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1713
Prosecution Insights