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 1-14) in the reply filed on 05/21/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 15-18 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 05/21/2026.
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, 2, 4 and 8-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hama et al. (US 2022/0037133 A1).
Regarding claims 1, 2, 4, and 8-14:
re claim 1, Hama discloses (in Figs. 1-3) a substrate processing apparatus comprising:
(a) a process chamber 10 [0037];
(b) a process gas supplier 50 [0057] configured to supply a process gas into the process chamber;
(c) a cleaning gas supplier 50 [0062] configured to supply a cleaning gas into the process chamber;
(d) a substrate support 13 [0038] provided with a substrate placing surface 100a on which a product substrate W [0036] or a dummy substrate [0142] whose diameter is smaller than that of the product substrate [0142] is capable of being supported; and
(e) a controller 70 [0063] configured to be capable of controlling the process gas supplier and the cleaning gas supplier to perform:
processing the product substrate by supplying the process gas in a state where the
product substrate is supported on the substrate placing surface [0036 and 0163]; and
performing a cleaning process (Figs. 15-16 and [0142-0143]) on a cleaning target (e.g., “A” in Fig. 2) formed by the process gas that has entered between a back surface of the product substrate W and the substrate placing surface 100a when the product substrate is processed (e.g., Fig. 2),
wherein the cleaning process (Figs. 15-16) is performed by supplying the cleaning gas to at least a portion of the substrate placing surface 100a corresponding to an outer circumference of the dummy substrate Ds (Figs. 15-16) in a state where the dummy substrate is supported on the substrate placing surface 100a.
re claim 2, the substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein a shape of the dummy
substrate Ds is substantially the same as that of the product substrate Ws (Figs. 2, 3, 15 and 16);
re claim 4, the substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the outer circumference
of the dummy substrate D (Fig. 4) is set such that a distance between the outer circumference of the dummy substrate D and an outer circumference of the product substrate W (Fig. 2) is a constant distance (i.e., both the dummy substrate and the product substrates are circular, wherein the dummy substrate is smaller than the product substrate: accordingly, a distance between the outer circumference of the dummy substrate D and an outer circumference of the product substrate W is a constant distance, e.g., the difference in radius between “W” and “D”);
re claim 8, the substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate placing
surface comprises:
a first surface whose outer edge is defined by an outer circumference of the substrate
placing surface (Note: With respect to this claim, the substrate placing surface comprises 100/101/110/111 in Fig. 4);
a second surface (e.g., surface of 110) located inside the first surface (e.g., surface of 111) and configured to be capable of supporting an outer peripheral end of the product substrate (Note that the surface of 111 is “capable of supporting” an outer peripheral end of the product substrate); and
a third surface 100a (Fig. 4) located inside the second surface (e.g., surface of 110 and whose outer edge is defined by the outer circumference of the dummy substrate D (Fig. 4, wherein “defined” doesn’t require the outer edge to coincide with the outer circumference of the dummy substrate D),
wherein the first surface is provided with a cleaning gas resistant structure 111 (Fig. 4) capable of suppressing an influence of the cleaning gas (e.g., “N” in Fig. 4 and [0079]);
re claim 9, the substrate processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the substrate placing
surface comprises:
a first surface whose outer edge is defined by an outer circumference of the substrate
placing surface (Note: With respect to this claim, the substrate placing surface comprises 100/101/110/111 in Fig. 4);
a second surface (e.g., surface of 110) located inside the first surface (e.g., surface of 111) and configured to be capable of supporting an outer peripheral end of the product substrate (Note that the surface of 111 is “capable of supporting” an outer peripheral end of the product substrate); and
a third surface 100a (Fig. 4) located inside the second surface and whose outer edge is defined by the outer circumference of the dummy substrate D (Fig. 4, wherein “defined” doesn’t require the outer edge to coincide with the outer circumference of the dummy substrate D),
wherein the second surface (e.g., surface of 110) is provided with a cleaning gas resistant structure capable of suppressing an influence of the cleaning gas (e.g., “N” in Fig. 4 and [0079]);
re claim 10, the substrate processing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second surface (e.g., surface of 110 in Fig. 4) is configured to be capable of supporting an edge of the back surface of the product substrate (Note that the surface of 110 is “capable of supporting” an edge of the back surface of the product substrate);
re claim 11, the substrate processing apparatus of claim 8, wherein the influence of the
cleaning gas is caused by an etching by the cleaning gas, and
the cleaning gas resistant structure 111 is capable of suppressing the etching caused by the cleaning gas (e.g., “N” in Fig. 4 and [0079]);
re claim 12, the substrate processing apparatus of claim 9, wherein the influence of the
cleaning gas is caused by an etching by the cleaning gas, and
the cleaning gas resistant structure 111 is capable of suppressing the etching caused by the cleaning gas (e.g., “N” in Fig. 4 and [0079]);
re claim 13, the substrate processing apparatus of claim 11, wherein the cleaning gas resistant structure is of a ring structure (Fig. 3 and [0011 and 0070]) in an annular shape; and
re claim 14, the substrate processing apparatus of claim 11, wherein the cleaning gas resistant structure is of a ring structure (Fig. 3 and [0011 and 0070]) in an annular shape.
Therefore, Hama anticipates claims 1, 2, 4 and 8-14.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 3 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hama in view of Nogami et al. (US 2008/0017613 A1; hereinafter, “Nogami”).
Regarding claims 3 and 5:
Hama anticipates claim 1 but does not disclose a notch used to align the product substrate and the dummy substrate as currently claimed.
Nogami teaches/shows (in Fig. 14 and [0224 and 0489]) it was well known in the art to incorporate a notch on as substrate along with an alignment mechanism for aligning a wafer with a circular outer peripheral part.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate a notch in each of the product substrate and the dummy substrate because Nogami teaches the notch assists with aligning circular substrates.
Claim(s) 6 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hama in view of Kobayashi et al. (US 2007/0023143 A1; hereinafter, “Kobayashi”).
Regarding claims 6 and 7:
Hama anticipates claim 1 but does not disclose further comprising one or more process chambers.
Kobayashi teaches it was well known in the art to use a substrate processing apparatus comprising multiple chambers, wherein the apparatus comprises:
one or more process chambers 14/15/19 (Fig. 10);
a vacuum transfer chamber 13 [0049] provided adjacent to the process chamber and the one or more process chambers; and
a dummy substrate storage where the dummy substrate is stored,
wherein the dummy substrate is transferred between the dummy substrate storage and the
process chamber or the one or more process chambers via the vacuum transfer chamber (i.e., the transport robot 18 and load-lock chambers 16/17 allow substrates to transferred in/out of vacuum and in/out of different processing chambers).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Hama by incorporating multiple processing chambers, as taught by Kobayashi, because the modification would allow multiple processes to performed without subjecting a substrate to contaminants in air/outside atmosphere.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LEX H MALSAWMA whose telephone number is (571)272-1903. The examiner can normally be reached M-F (4-12 Hours, between 5:30AM-10PM).
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/LEX H MALSAWMA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2892
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