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 the method in the reply filed on 6/5/2026 is acknowledged.
Information Disclosure Statement
It is noted applicant has provided Hirose JP 2014162968 and other Japanese reference without a full translation though the Japanese office action cites more than the abstract in the rejection. As set forth in MPEP 609.04 a:
The requirement for a concise explanation of relevance is limited to information that is not in the English language. The explanation required is limited to the relevance as understood by the individual designated in 37 CFR 1.56(c) most knowledgeable about the content of the information at the time the information is submitted to the Office. If a complete translation of the information into English is submitted with the non-English language information, no concise explanation is required. There is no requirement for the translation to be verified, including reliable machine translations. An English-language equivalent application may be submitted to fulfill this requirement if it is, in fact, a translation of a foreign language application being listed in an information disclosure statement. The English language equivalent application should be separately listed and identified as an English language equivalent in the information disclosure statement. Submission of an English language abstract of a reference, such as one generated by a foreign patent office, may fulfill the requirement for a concise explanation. Where the information listed is not in the English language, but was cited in a search report or other action by a foreign patent office in a counterpart foreign application, the requirement for a concise explanation of relevance can be satisfied by submitting an English-language version of the search report or action which indicates the degree of relevance found by the foreign office. This may be an explanation of which portion of the reference is particularly relevant, to which claims it applies, or merely an “X”, “Y”, or “A” indication on a search report. The requirement for a concise explanation of non-English language information would not be satisfied by a statement that a reference was cited in the prosecution of a United States application which is not relied on under 35 U.S.C. 120.
In this instance the abstract alone is insufficient since the body of the reference was cited and the relevant portions are outside the abstract as evidenced from the foreign office action.
The office will use machine translations provided with search engines available to the public. However, applicant is requested to provide translations of the documents to satisfy the requirements under 37 CFR 1.56(c)
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 35-59 are, rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
a. As to claim 35 recites for depositing the one or more thin films comprising the first material onto the substrate surface prepared in step a) however this is not a positive recitation of the outcome this is an intend consequence of the outcome. Recitation of Illuminating the one or more thin films and/or the substrate with a third electromagnetic radiation coupled into the reaction chamber while the reaction chamber contains a third reaction atmosphere therefore lack antecedent basis since it has not been positively recited the films are formed in step b.
As to claim 35 recitation of the reaction chamber stays sealed with respect to the ambient atmosphere and both the substrate and the subsequent solid-state component, respectively, continuously stay in the reaction chamber is unclear since it appears it precludes removal of a finished solid-state component, forever, from the reaction chamber.
Further subsequent solid-state component lacks antecedent basis, the solid-state component nor a subsequent solid-state component have been established except that the process is supposed to lead to a solid-state component. It is unclear what the final “solid-state component” requires structurally.
b. As to claim 38 it is unclear if applicant mean to recite the atmosphere consists essentially of one the following. Normal atmosphere comprises O2 and Nitrogen as written it appears that the atmosphere can contain additional material as long as it contained one of the lists.
c. As to claim 40, claim 40 states the first reaction atmosphere and the second reaction atmosphere and the third reaction atmosphere are identical. However, the reaction atmosphere in step b will change as evaporation occurs thus the second atmosphere is not always identical the initial second atmosphere is identical but the atmosphere throughout step b would not be due to the injection of evaporated or sublimated material. Further identical atmosphere is unclear since the scope of atmosphere is not clearly set forth. It appears that the atmosphere includes pressure (claim 38 recites a vacuum). An atmosphere chamber mimics the pressure and temperature and volume Earth does the recited identical atmosphere need to include the temperature pressure and volume of material. However, this is inconsistent since in step a and c the temperature is varied through heating/cooling, step b the volume of material is changing due to evaporation and sublimation. These conditions are particular to each step and are not interchanged. Thus, the scope of “identical” atmosphere is unclear in the context since the scope of atmosphere is not clear. The office will interpret the claim to they contain a same gas as an ambient.
d. As to claim 41 recitations of different is unclear since it is unclear how different is different. Further the definition of atmosphere has not been sufficiently established to define a difference. Does atmosphere refer to only the ambient or does it refer to temperature pressure and volume of material. The office will interpret any difference to meet the claim limitation
e. As to claim 43, it is unclear how similar is similar.
f. As to claim 45, it is unclear what a flux termination material refers to the scope is unbounded and could be anything from the atmosphere to portions of the first material.
g. As to claim 48, it is unclear which plasma threshold and under which conditions plasma threshold would be dependent on pressure, volume of material, other materials, external fields, thus plasma threshold is unclear.
h. As to claim 50 the claim does not require it to be self supported only that it could be self-supported. Further is unclear what constitutes a “self-supported” capable material technically anything could be it may not work well but it could be used without a crucible.
i. As to claim 51, recitation wherein the material of the thin layer deposited in step b) is a reaction product of the evaporated and/or sublimated first material and a component of the second reaction atmosphere is unclear since applicant envisions atmospheres that are vacuums thus which part of a vacuum is combined. Further second reaction atmosphere will change due to the sublimation and evaporation of material/
j. As to claim 53, recitation of wherein step c) comprises a cooling controlled by the third electromagnetic radiation after each of the one or more tempering iterations is unclear since it is unclear what constitutes “controlled” or how controlled is controlled.
k. As to claim 56, 56 appears to be incorrect dependency since there are not multiple steps c in claim 54 it is assumed that claim 56 should depend from claim 55.
L . As to claim 57, it is unclear how much of a change is required to meet the limitation as written any change de minimis change of the recited parameters would read on the claim Further it is unclear : wherein for one or more of the one or more repetitions one or more of the following parameters are changed: first material, second reaction atmosphere, third reaction atmosphere, second electromagnetic radiation, and third electromagnetic radiation. Since if it is only repeated once it cannot change it appears applicant means that it is change with respect to the original or first step b.
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.
Claim(s) 35,47 and 48 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by Watanabe JPH08264525A cited by applicant but sufficient translation not provided.
a. As to claim 35 Wantanabe teaches A method of producing a solid-state component comprising one or more thin films (abstract), the one or more thin films comprising a first material and each said film having a thickness selected between a monolayer and 100 nm and being deposited onto a substrate surface of a substrate (The film formation substrate was heated to 630 ° C. while controlling the temperature with an infrared lamp, and was irradiated with 5000 shots to give a film thickness of 19A thin film at 0 nm was obtained.), wherein the production process is carried out in a reaction chamber sealed with respect to the ambient atmosphere (figure 6), the method comprising the following steps of
a) Preparing the substrate surface by heating the substrate with a first electromagnetic radiation coupled into the reaction chamber while the reaction chamber contains a first reaction atmosphere (On the other hand, the film formation substrate 3 is fixed on the substrate holder 7, and is heated during film formation by using a heating means such as an infrared lamp 9 built in the substrate holder 7 or provided separately. A conduit 8 is inserted into the vacuum chamber 1 from the outside, and an assist gas containing oxygen is supplied to the vicinity of the surface of the film formation substrate 3. In such a configuration, the temperature of the surface of the target 2 irradiated with the laser pulse 5 locally rises in an extremely short time, and explosively evaporates the constituent substances to form atoms, molecules,Ions and clusters of several to several tens of tens are generated. These substances fly and deposit on the film-forming substrate 3 facing each other. During the film formation process, the heat energy for heating the substrate and the supply of the assist gas accelerate the crystallization reaction to form the target thin film of the bismuth layered compound. It exists in some atmosphere Vacuum or other type of material.
b) Evaporating and/or sublimating the first material by heating a source element comprising the first material by a second electromagnetic radiation coupled into the reaction chamber while the reaction chamber contains a second reaction atmosphere, for depositing the one or more thin films comprising the first material onto the substrate surface prepared in step a) (In the present embodiment, a sintered body target was used, but depending on the composition, it is difficult to obtain a sintered body, and for mechanically brittle materials, a calcined body or a mixture of individual metal oxides, carbonates, etc. A powder target may be used. In particular, by using the calcined body and the mixed powder, there is an advantage that composition deviation is unlikely to occur because the high temperature heat treatment process of the main firing is not performed. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the composition of the target of the sintered body is 15 mol% excess of bismuth oxide which is easily vaporized and deficient during the heat treatment with respect to the stoichiometric ratio of the target compound SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9. Was added to obtain the stoichiometric ratio after firing. When each constituent element of the bismuth layered compound is compared, compared with other metal oxides, bismuth (bismuth oxide) has a lower melting point and higher saturated vapor pressure, so that the target evaporates when heated by laser irradiation. Bismuth is added excessively because it is lost without reaching the substrate surface, or even if it is deposited on the substrate, it is re-evaporated and lost from the thin film before it is incorporated into the crystal structure from the hot substrate surface. As a result, the composition according to the stoichiometric ratio is obtained.,
and optionally c) Illuminating the one or more thin films and/or the substrate with a third electromagnetic radiation coupled into the reaction chamber while the reaction chamber contains a third reaction atmosphere, for forming the solid-state component and for tempering and/or controlled cooling of the solid-state component, whereby during the steps a) to c) the reaction chamber stays sealed with respect to the ambient atmosphere and both the substrate and the subsequent solid-state component, respectively, continuously stay in the reaction chamber A film of 2 Ta 2 O 9 was formed. At this time, the substrate on which the bismuth layer compound thin film is formed is heated to 750 ° C. using an infrared lamp.The film formation was performed while holding at. This temperature is SrBiSince the crystallization temperature of the 2 Ta 2 O 9 thin film is 700 ° C,The temperature is equal to or higher than the crystallization temperature of the SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9 thin film. Known as a ceramic and several hundred nm of a thin film of the composition has a large difference in the crystallization temperature, SrBi 2 T1050 ° C. to 120 for firing a 2 O 9 ceramicsA high temperature of 0 ° C. is required, but in the state of a thin film, the temperature is lowered by about 500 ° C. from this temperature. FIG. 8 shows the hysteresis characteristic of the bismuth layered compound thin film produced through the above steps.).
b. As to claim 47, Watanabe teaches wherein in step b) the first material comprises two or more different material components and the source element accordingly comprises two or more distinct component sections (61-63), whereby each component section provides one of the two or more material components, and whereby the second electromagnetic radiation accordingly comprises two or more component beams(64-65, each of the two or more component beams adapted for the evaporation and/or sublimation of one of the two or more material components (As described above, in the oxygen-rich atmosphere, the heat treatment temperature by the rapid temperature rising heating at the temperature raising rate of 1 to 200 ° C./sec is the crystallization temperature of the bismuth layered compound or more, and the treatment time is 5 seconds to 300 seconds. By performing a heat treatment process for a short time and a firing process for performing a heat treatment for a relatively long time in a heating furnace, a uniform grain size distribution with few crystal defects and a high-quality, high-characteristic bismuth based on this distribution are obtained. A layered compound thin film can be formed. As a result, a thin film capacitor having extremely excellent ferroelectricity and dielectric strength can be manufactured. (Seventeenth Embodiment) Next, a seventeenth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Three targets 61, 62, and 63 made of strontium carbonate, bismuth oxide, and tantalum oxide were installed in a vacuum chamber (omitted), and three Ars were placed outside the vacuum chamber.The F excimer lasers 64, 65, 66 were arranged corresponding to each target. The film formation substrate 67 was arranged on the rotating substrate holder 68 capable of revolving and rotating so as to face each target. Further, a heating lamp 69 composed of a halogen lamp was provided immediately above the circumference drawn by the film-forming substrate to heat and crystallize the deposited thin film, and oxygen gas was introduced and supplied as an assist gas through a conduit near the substrate surface.).
c. As to claim 48, Watanabe teaches wherein the evaporation and/or sublimation of step b) is carried out below the plasma threshold of the first material (no plasma is use in the disclosure of Watanabe).
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.
Claim(s) 35-45, and 49-59 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Hirose JP 2014162968 cited by applicant (full translation not provided)
a. As to claim 35, Hirose teaches A method of producing a solid-state component comprising one or more thin films, the one or more thin films comprising a first material and each said film having a thickness ( figures 1 item 12 has some thickness) and being deposited onto a substrate surface of a substrate (item 11), wherein the production process is carried out in a reaction chamber sealed with respect to the ambient atmosphere (figure 3), the method comprising the following steps of
a) Preparing the substrate surface by heating the substrate with a first electromagnetic radiation coupled into the reaction chamber while the reaction chamber contains a first reaction atmosphere (Hirose states An infrared lamp 36 for heating the substrate 11 is installed in the chamber 31. The temperature of the substrate 11 is monitored by a radiation thermometer 37 installed outside the chamber 31 through the window 31b, and is controlled to always be a constant temperature. Also, In the seed layer forming step, the PLD apparatus 30 is used. When the seed layer 12 is formed using the PLD apparatus 30, for example, a TiO .sub.2 sintered body is used as the target 39. In the seed layer forming step, first, the substrate 11 is placed in the chamber 31. Next, impurities on the substrate surface are removed, the substrate temperature is set to 500 ° C., and pretreatment annealing may be performed under predetermined conditions. The pretreatment annealing is preferably performed for 1 hour or more, for example. Further next, while maintaining the inside of the chamber at a predetermined pressure, the substrate temperature is set to a predetermined temperature, and the substrate 11 is rotated. Further, by intermittently irradiating the pulse laser light while rotating the target 39, the temperature of the surface of the target 39 is rapidly increased, and ablation plasma is generated. Since applicant considers a Vacuum claim 38 as an atmosphere there must be some atmosphere in the chamber Vacuum or otherwise )
b) Evaporating and/or sublimating the first material by heating a source element comprising the first material by a second electromagnetic radiation coupled into the reaction chamber while the reaction chamber contains a second reaction atmosphere, for depositing the one or more thin films comprising the first material onto the substrate surface prepared in step a) (Next, while maintaining the inside of the chamber at a predetermined pressure, the substrate temperature is set to a predetermined temperature, and the substrate 11 is rotated. Further, by intermittently irradiating the pulse laser light while rotating the target 39, the temperature of the surface of the target 39 is rapidly increased, and ablation plasma is generated. Ti atoms and O atoms contained in the ablation plasma move to the substrate 11 while gradually changing the state while repeating a collision reaction with the oxygen gas in the chamber 31. Then, the particles containing Ti atoms and O atoms that have reached the substrate 11 are diffused as they are on the surface of the substrate 11 to be thinned. Thus, the seed layer 12 is formed on the substrate 11, an atmosphere whether Vacuum or other is inherent).
and optionally c) Illuminating the one or more thin films and/or the substrate with a third electromagnetic radiation coupled into the reaction chamber while the reaction chamber contains a third reaction atmosphere, for forming the solid-state component and for tempering and/or controlled cooling of the solid-state component, whereby during the steps a) to c) the reaction chamber stays sealed with respect to the ambient atmosphere and both the substrate and the subsequent solid-state component, respectively, continuously stay in the reaction chamber. (The reaction chamber stays sealed with respect to the ambient atmosphere and both the substrate and the subsequent solid-state component, respectively, continuously stay in the reaction chamber, the heating would be from the IR lamp since this is the only source mentioned further the component stays in the sealed chamber since a growth of item 13 occurs afterwards in the same chamber). It is noted that while the office action cites seed layer the TaON can be interpreted as step b since it uses PLD
(The conductor substrate 2 is manufactured through a heating step for heating the substrate 11 and a growth step for forming the conductive layer 13 directly on the heated substrate 11. In the heating step and the growth step, the substrate 11 can be continuously performed while being accommodated in the PLD apparatus 30. First, the substrate 11 formed using the above-described substance having a lattice constant greater than 3.85 and less than 4.05 is accommodated in the chamber 31 of the PLD apparatus 30. Thereafter, for example, impurities on the substrate surface may be removed, and pretreatment annealing may be performed).
Hirose does not explicitly state that the film comprises a thickness of 1 monolayer to 100 nm for layer 12 or 13.
However, to be a seed the layer would need to cover the entire substrate to at least one monolayer to act as a seed further seeds layers of 1 monolayer to 100 nm were known at the time of filing. Further TaON of thickness of 50 to 100nm were known
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to provide layer 12 as 1 monolayer to 100 nm to provide adequate coverage of the substrate to act as a sufficient seed layer for layer 13.
Thus, it would also be obvious to form the TaON to be 50 nm to 100 nm to using the method in order provided known material and known thicknesses for the expected outcome of a transparent electrode.
With respect to step c while it appears the IR lamp is being used for heating it is not explicitly stated. Thus, since there is only one heating element, the IR lamp, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to post anneal layer 12 using the IR lamp provided use known and provided equipment to provide the expected outcomes of the anneal temperature.
b. As to claim 36, Hirose teaches a laser for step b radiation.
c. As to claim 37, Hirose suggest using the same IR lamp for step a and c thus the first and third radiation are the same.
d. As to claim 38, Hirose teaches An infrared lamp 36 for heating the substrate 11 is installed in the chamber 31. The temperature of the substrate 11 is monitored by a radiation thermometer 37 installed outside the chamber 31 through the window 31b, and is controlled to always be a constant temperature.
For example, an RF plasma type radical supply device 44 is provided outside the chamber 31 so that nitrogen gas can be injected into the chamber 31 via a nitrogen gas flow rate adjustment valve 45 for adjusting the flow rate of nitrogen gas. It has become. Further, a turbo molecular pump 42 and a pressure valve 43 are connected to the chamber 31 in order to realize film formation under reduced pressure. Thus at least in step a nitrogen is used.
e. As to claim 39, Hirose teaches Next, while maintaining the inside of the chamber at a predetermined pressure, the substrate temperature is set to a predetermined temperature, and the substrate 11 is rotated. Further, by intermittently irradiating the pulse laser light while rotating the target 39, the temperature of the surface of the target 39 is rapidly increased, and ablation plasma is generated. Ti atoms and O atoms contained in the ablation plasma move to the substrate 11 while gradually changing the state while repeating a collision reaction with the oxygen gas in the chamber 31. Then, the particles containing Ti atoms and O atoms that have reached the substrate 11 are diffused as they are on the surface of the substrate 11 to be thinned. Thus, the seed layer 12 is formed on the substrate 11. (thus, at the time of formation the Ti and Oxygen ions exist as an atmosphere in the chamber due to the plasma this is a continuous process so while ablation is occurring there exists a plasma Thus the second reaction atmosphere contains two states the state of step a initially and the ablation plasma state).
f. As to claim 40, Under the interpretation the gas is the same ambient Hirose teaches nitrogen in each step.
g. As to claim 41, Hirose teaches that at some point during the step b the second atmosphere is different from the first due to evaporation/sublimation and the generation of the plasma.
h. As to claim 42 Hirose teaches herein a substrate is used with a material chosen from the following list: SiC, AlN, GaN, Al.sub.2O.sub.3, MgO, NdGaO.sub.3, DyScO.sub.3, TbScO.sub.3, TiO.sub.2, (LaAlO.sub.3).sub.0.3(Sr.sub.2TaAlO.sub.6).sub.0.35 (LSAT), Ga.sub.2O.sub.3, SrLaAlO.sub.4, Y:ZrO.sub.2 (YSZ), and SrTiO.sub.3 (Further, according to the present embodiment, since the substrate 11 containing a single crystal of a material having a lattice constant greater than 3.85 and less than 4.05 is used, the lattice matching between the substrate 11 and the anatase TaON is performed. It becomes easy to do. For example, as such a substance, at least one of LSAT, SrTiiO .sub.3 , KaTaO .sub.3 , and MgAl .sub.2 O .sub.4 is used. A substrate 11 in which a plurality of these substances is mixed may be used).
i. As to claim 43, Hirose teaches wherein a substrate is used which is similar to the thin film in one or more of the following aspects: lattice symmetry, lattice parameter, surface reconstruction, and surface termination (Further, according to the present embodiment, since the substrate 11 containing a single crystal of a material having a lattice constant greater than 3.85 and less than 4.05 is used, the lattice matching between the substrate 11 and the anatase TaON is performed. It becomes easy to do. For example, as such a substance, at least one of LSAT, SrTiO .sub.3 , KaTaO .sub.3 , and MgAl .sub.2 O .sub.4 is used. A substrate 11 in which a plurality of these substances is mixed may be used.).
k. As to claim 44, Hirose teaches temperature at 650 to 900 but does not explicitly teach 900 degrees C ( Next, a heating step is performed while maintaining the nitrogen partial pressure in the chamber 31 at a predetermined value. In the heating step, the substrate temperature is set to a predetermined temperature, and the substrate 11 is rotated. The predetermined temperature at this time can be set in a range of 650 ° C. to 900° C., and preferably in a range of 700 ° C. to 800 ° C. In addition, More preferably, it can set to about 750 degree C.)
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing anneal the temperature to 900C in step a to optimize growth parameters for the desired growth rate.
l. As to claim 45, recitation of termination material is unbounded. The nitrogen atmosphere can be considered a termination material. Thus, Hirose teaches claim 45
m. As to claim 49 , Hirose teaches Tantalum which has a critical temperature at 4.4 n. As to claim 50 Hirose teaches sintered TaON which can be “self-supported” or not a powder due to the nature of it being sintered.
o. As to claim 51, Hirose teaches wherein the material of the thin layer deposited in step b) is a reaction product of the evaporated and/or sublimated first material and a component of the second reaction atmosphere (during the evaporation/ sublimation material is added to the atmosphere which recombines to form the seed and electrode).
p. As to claim 52 applicant does not distinguish a two-step process from a one step process and a continuous process can always be subdivided into a first step and a second step. Thus, Hirose teaches wherein step c) comprises two or more separated tempering iterations.
q. As to claim 53 Applicant sets forth no standard as to how controlled is controlled or how the radiation controls the outcome. Thus, the cooling of the device to ambient temperature would constitute a “controlled” cooling since even the lack of a third radiation would act to cool since no energy is provided. Thus, Hirose teaches claim 53.
r. As to claim 54, Hirose teaches wherein step b) is repeated one or more times for providing a multi-layer structure for the thin film, the step is repeated for the formation of item 13. (Further, according to the present embodiment, the conductive layer 13 is formed by the pulse laser deposition method, that is, the pulse laser is irradiated to the target including at least one of Ta .sub.2 O .sub.5 and TaON sintered body, and the pulse laser is irradiated. After that, the atoms moving toward the substrate are reacted with nitrogen radicals to produce anatase TaON crystals, so that the conductive layer 13 with high crystallinity can be manufactured.)
s. As to claim 55 Hirose does not explicitly teach exposing the layer to the IR lamp.
However, it was known cooling arbitrarily quickly can lead to fractures due to stress and strains from cooling of different material with different thermal expansion coefficients.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to gently ramp down the temperature using the IRT lamp after forming TaON to reduce the risk of cracking or delamination.
t. As to claim 56, Hirose teaches wherein each step b) and each step c) are identically carried out with respect to the used electromagnetic radiations and the used reaction atmospheres and the first material. (Hirose uses the same laser and same IR lamp).
u. As to claim 57, Hirose teaches wherein for one or more of the one or more repetitions one or more of the following parameters are changed with res: first material, second reaction atmosphere, third reaction atmosphere, second electromagnetic radiation, and third electromagnetic radiation (the second reaction atmosphere varies due to different sublimination and evaporation of different materials).
v. As to claim 58, Hirose teaches wherein as final procedure of step a) one or more buffer layers comprising a buffer material are deposited onto the substrate surface, whereby the buffer material is evaporated and/or sublimated by a fourth electromagnetic radiation coupled into the reaction chamber while the reaction chamber contains a fourth reaction atmosphere (item 12 is formed as a buffer/seed for layer 13 under some atmosphere using PLD as discussed).
w. As to claim 59, conversely Hirose teaches wherein after the carrying out of the last step b) one or more cover layers comprising a cover material are deposited onto the one or more thin films, whereby the cover material is evaporated and/or sublimated by a fifth electromagnetic radiation coupled into the reaction chamber while the reaction chamber contains a fifth reaction atmosphere ( item 13 is form to cover item 12).
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.
Claim(s) 46 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable Hirose JP 2014162968 cited by applicant in view of JP 2010511304 cited by applicant (full translation not provided).
Hirose does not explicitly teach wherein a substrate holder is used for holding the substrate, the substrate holder comprising a smaller absorption with respect to the first electromagnetic radiation and/or the third electromagnetic radiation in comparison to the substrate.
JP 2010511304 teaches The present invention relates to a heater assembly for a semiconductor wafer having a matte transparent quartz material for a wafer susceptor (6) disposed between the heater (8) and the wafer (7), and the discharge from the heater (8). At specific wavelengths of radiated energy, the matte transparent quartz material is “heat transmissive” to thermal radiation from the infrared region. The heater assembly is more than 90 percent “heat transmissive” for infrared radiation shorter than a wavelength of 3.5 μm, although the upper quartz plate or susceptor (6) on which the wafer (7) is supported is not “light transmissive”. And is made of a material having higher tolerance and mechanical strength than the conventional transparent quartz material.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the substrate holder of 2010511304 to prevent over heating of the bottom of the substrate and to provide better thermal strains ( In other words, in the range where the temperature of the prior art quartz exceeds 1000 ° C., the higher temperature results in plastic deformation of the prior art quartz material. Furthermore, prior art quartz materials, when cooled below 1000 ° C., produce strong thermal strains that result in very high internal stresses in the material. These internal stresses reduce the overall mechanical strength of the material. In most applications, the chamber of the device is maintained under vacuum while the quartz casing containing the heater and other components is filled with an inert gas. The pressure difference between the inside and the outside of a casing formed from prior art quartz material is typically about 101.3 KPa (1 atm). This pressure difference is sufficient to break the quartz casing because the quartz plate is now at design strength because the strength of the quartz plate is reduced due to internal stresses generated in the material. Because it can no longer withstand. This always leads to mechanical deformation of the quartz susceptor, resulting in poor surface contact between the wafer and the susceptor, so that heating of the wafer through heat conduction is no longer efficient. Thus, to achieve the same wafer temperature, the heater now needs to operate at a much higher temperature.)
Since it is thermally transmissive thus it would not absorb as much as substrate.
Claim(s) 47 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hirose in view of Mihara (JP08264525) cited by applicant full translation not provided.
As to claim 47, Hirose does not explicitly teach wherein in step b) the first material comprises two or more different material components and the source element accordingly comprises two or more distinct component sections, whereby each component section provides one of the two or more material components, and whereby the second electromagnetic radiation accordingly comprises two or more component beams, each of the two or more component beams adapted for the evaporation and/or sublimation of one of the two or more material components.
Mihara teaches aa method of forming Bismuth layers comprising three sources 61-62 within the chamber and associated light Excimer laser 64-66.
Thus, Mihara teaches step b of claim 35.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art modify the method and apparatus of Hirose to include more laser and targets for deposition of other materials such as piezoelectric materials and ferroelectric materials to allow the apparatus and method to deposit a wider variety
Conclusion
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/MATTHEW L. REAMES/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2896
/MATTHEW L REAMES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896
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