DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
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 Species A3 (Fig. 5A-5C), subspecies A3-B (Fig. 6B), B1 (Fig. 10), and C1 (Fig. 13A) in the reply filed on 08/28/2026 is acknowledged.
Applicants designated claims 1-5, 7-8, 11-17, and 19-20 read into the elected Species.
Claims 6, 9-10, 18 and 21 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention Group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. The election was made without traverse.
Claim Interpretations
The “an injector pipe inserted through the first port and into the interior of the fluid circulation panel, the injector pipe configured to inject the heated gas at a plurality of locations in the interior of the fluid circulation panel to heat the walls of the fluid circulation panel, such that the heated walls of the fluid circulation panel heat the inner surface of the growth chamber” of claim 1, Applicants injector pipe 550 is connected to either LN2 inlet port of outlet port of the cryopanel 530 (see second half of [0065]), therefore, the injector pipe is injecting LN2 during cooling and injecting the heated gas during bakeout.
The ”wherein the fluid circulation panel is configured to be heated by the heated gas to serve as a heating source for performing internal bakeout of the inner surface of the growth chamber” of claims 2 and 15 is considered an intended use of the apparatus.
The “wherein a spacing, a number, or a shape of the plurality of holes are configured to promote uniform heating of the fluid circulation panel” of claim 7,
It has been held that claim language that simply specifies an intended use or field of use for the invention generally will not limit the scope of a claim (Walter, 618 F.2d at 769, 205 USPQ at 409; MPEP 2106). Additionally, in apparatus claims, intended use must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim (In re Casey, 152 USPQ 235 (CCPA 1967); In re Otto, 136 USPQ 458, 459 (CCPA 1963); MPEP2111.02). When the structure recited in the reference is substantially identical to that of the claims, claimed properties or functions are presumed to be inherent (In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977); MPEP 2112.01).
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.
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.
Claims 1-5, 7, 11, 14-17, and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAKAHASHI et al. (JP 2003158077, Applicants submitted IDS, hereafter ‘077), in view of Van Villette et al. (US 20120097105, from IDS, hereafter ‘105) and Miyata et al. (US 5163303, hereafter ‘303) .
‘077 teaches some limitations of:
Claim 1: a process that requires such an improvement in the degree of vacuum is a molecular beam epitaxy method (MBE) in which epitaxial growth is performed in an ultrahigh vacuum ([0003]), a CVD apparatus (chemical vapor deposition apparatus) or the like may be used ([0048], includes the claimed “A material deposition system comprising”):
This MBE apparatus includes a vacuum chamber 1, a liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 as an example of a cooling trap provided inside the vacuum chamber 1, and a heating medium from outside the vacuum chamber 1 inside the liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 (Fig. 1, [0029], includes the claimed “a growth chamber configured for a vacuum environment; a fluid circulation panel inside the growth chamber, the fluid circulation panel comprising walls around an interior of the fluid circulation panel”, note the cryopanel requires circulation to maintain cryo temperature);
a heating medium circulating device 7 as an example of a heating medium supply means for collecting the nitrogen gas from the nitrogen outlet 4 ([0029]), the heating medium circulation device 7 is provided with a heater and a fan ([0030], Thereafter, the entire vacuum chamber 1 is covered with a heat insulating panel (not shown), the vacuum chamber 1 is baked by the baking panel 10 located outside the vacuum chamber 1, and the liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 is baked by the heating medium circulation device 7. The liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 is heated by sending nitrogen gas at about 160 ° C. inside ([0032], includes the claimed “a first port in communication with the interior of the fluid circulation panel; and a first gas heater coupled to the first port, the first gas heater configured to supply a heated gas”, note nitrogen gas inlet 3 is the claimed “first port”).
Claim 14: a process that requires such an improvement in the degree of vacuum is a molecular beam epitaxy method (MBE) in which epitaxial growth is performed in an ultrahigh vacuum ([0003]), a CVD apparatus (chemical vapor deposition apparatus) or the like may be used ([0048], includes the claimed “A material deposition system comprising”):
This MBE apparatus includes a vacuum chamber 1, a liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 as an example of a cooling trap provided inside the vacuum chamber 1, and a heating medium from outside the vacuum chamber 1 inside the liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 (Fig. 1, [0029], includes the claimed “a growth chamber configured for a vacuum environment; a fluid circulation panel inside the growth chamber, the fluid circulation panel comprising walls around an interior of the fluid circulation panel”, note the cryopanel requires circulation to maintain cryo temperature);
a heating medium circulating device 7 as an example of a heating medium supply means for collecting the nitrogen gas from the nitrogen outlet 4 ([0029]), the heating medium circulation device 7 is provided with a heater and a fan ([0030], Thereafter, the entire vacuum chamber 1 is covered with a heat insulating panel (not shown), the vacuum chamber 1 is baked by the baking panel 10 located outside the vacuum chamber 1, and the liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 is baked by the heating medium circulation device 7. The liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 is heated by sending nitrogen gas at about 160 ° C. inside ([0032], includes the claimed “a first gas heater configured to supply a heated gas into the interior of the fluid circulation panel, to heat the walls of the fluid circulation panel such that the heated walls of the fluid circulation panel heat the inner surface of the growth chamber”).
Claim 16: a heating medium circulating device 7 as an example of a heating medium supply means for collecting the nitrogen gas from the nitrogen outlet 4 ([0029]), the heating medium circulation device 7 is provided with a heater and a fan ([0030], Thereafter, the entire vacuum chamber 1 is covered with a heat insulating panel (not shown), the vacuum chamber 1 is baked by the baking panel 10 located outside the vacuum chamber 1, and the liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 is baked by the heating medium circulation device 7. The liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 is heated by sending nitrogen gas at about 160 ° C. inside ([0032], the nitrogen gas inlet 3 is the claimed “further comprising a first port in communication with the interior of the fluid circulation panel” and “and the first gas heater is coupled to the first port”).
‘077 does not teach the other limitations of:
Claim 1: (1A) (a fluid circulation panel inside the growth chamber) and spaced apart from an inner surface of the growth chamber,
(1B) an injector pipe inserted through the first port and into the interior of the fluid circulation panel, the injector pipe configured to inject the heated gas at a plurality of locations in the interior of the fluid circulation panel to heat the walls of the fluid circulation panel, such that the heated walls of the fluid circulation panel heat the inner surface of the growth chamber.
Claim 14: (14A) (a fluid circulation panel inside the growth chamber) and spaced apart from an inner surface of the growth chamber,
(14B) an injector pipe in the interior of the fluid circulation panel, the injector pipe comprising a plurality of holes along a length of the injector pipe; and
(a first gas heater configured to supply a heated gas) through the injector pipe (and into the interior of the fluid circulation panel, to heat the walls of the fluid circulation panel such that the heated walls of the fluid circulation panel heat the inner surface of the growth chamber).
Claim 16: wherein the injector pipe is inserted through the first port.
‘105 is an analogous art in the field of MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING WAFERS OF SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL (title). ‘105 teaches that the molecular beam epitaxy apparatus comprises a main cryogenic panel having at least a lateral part 10 covering the inner surface of the lateral wall 3. This main cryogenic panel 10 is cooled with a cryogenic fluid like liquid nitrogen, for example (Fig. 1, [0049]), We mean by "covering" the fact that the cryogenic panel is disposed along the walls with a space d between these inner surfaces and the cryogenic panels, such that condensed precursor on cold parts does not touch the walls ([0078]).
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have included a space d between the inner surfaces of the chamber and the cryogenic panels, as taught by ‘105, to separate the cryopanel 2 and vacuum chamber 1 of ‘077 (the limitations of 1A and 14A), for the purpose of condensed precursor on cold parts does not touch the walls, as taught by ‘105 ([0078]).
‘303 is an analogous art in the field of A double-walled tube type open rack evaporating device comprising a plurality of heat-exchanging pipes each of a double-walled tube structure having an inner tube and an outer tube in communication with the inner pipe at one end to constitute a heat-exchanging panel, a liquefied gas inlet header tank connected to one end of the inner tube, an exit header tank connected to one end of the outer tube, and a heating means for gradually evaporating a liquefied gas that flows from the liquefied gas inlet header tank into the inner tube and then delivering the gas as a gas at a normal temperature to the exit header tank (abstract). ‘303 teaches that In each of the heat-exchanging pipes, an inner tube 21 shorter than an outer tube 20 is inserted into the latter pipe 20 of predetermined length and inner diameter and closed at the lower end, in which the closed lower end of the inner tube 21 is situated to the inner bottom of the outer tube 20. Further, small apertures 21a each of predetermined inner diameter are disposed to the lower portion of the inner tube 21 with area of disposition, pitch and number being optionally selected (Fig. 8, col. 13, line 67 to col. 13, line 7), since LNG in the inner tube 21 and NG in the outer tube 20 are mixed directly by way of the small apertures 21a disposed in the lower portion of the inner tube 21, and efficient heat exchange can be conducted by the heat conduction promoters 30, 31 disposed to the inside and the outside of the inner pipe 21 to provide advantages, for example, of making the heat exchanging pipe shorter and smaller (col. 14, lines 41-48).
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added an inner tube with apertures 21, as taught by ‘303, inserted into the inlet 3 of the liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 of ‘077 (the limitations of 1B, 14B and 16), for the purpose of efficient heat exchange, as taught by ‘303 (col. 13, line 44).
‘077 further teaches the limitations of:
Claims 2 and 15: the vacuum chamber 1 is baked by the baking panel 10, and nitrogen gas at about 160 ° C. is supplied to the liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 by the heating medium circulation device 7. Sent inside. Therefore, even if the inside of the vacuum chamber 1 is vacuum insulated, the temperature of the liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 rises in a short time by the nitrogen gas. Therefore, the moisture adsorbed on the surface of the liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 and supplying oxygen harmful to the semiconductor during the growth process of the compound semiconductor thin film can be reliably evaporated in a short time ([0033], includes the claimed “wherein the fluid circulation panel is configured to be heated by the heated gas to serve as a heating source for performing internal bakeout of the inner surface of the growth chamber”).
Claim 3: a liquid nitrogen cryopanel 2 as an example of a cooling trap ([0029], includes the claimed “wherein the fluid circulation panel is a cryopanel”).
Claim 11: Fig. 1, a top view, shows the cryopanel has the shape of the claimed “wherein the fluid circulation panel has an annular cylindrical shape”.
‘303 further teaches the limitations of:
Claim 4: Fig. 8 shows two apertures 21a along the length of the inner pipe 21 (includes the claimed “wherein the injector pipe comprises a plurality of holes along a length of the injector pipe to inject the heated gas at the plurality of locations in the interior of the fluid circulation panel”).
Claims 5, 7, 17, and 19: small apertures 21a each of predetermined inner diameter are disposed to the lower portion of the inner tube 21 with area of disposition, pitch and number being optionally selected (col. 13, line 67 to col. 13, line 7, with two apertures 21a, it reads into the claimed “wherein holes of the plurality of holes vary in size along the length of the injector pipe” of claims 5 and 17, and “wherein a spacing, a number, or a shape of the plurality of holes are configured to promote uniform heating of the fluid circulation panel” of claims 7 and 19).
Claims 8 and 20: Fig. 8 shows the claimed “wherein the injector pipe has a length that extends along a height of the fluid circulation panel” of claim 8 and “wherein the length of the injector pipe extends along a height of the fluid circulation panel”.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘077, ‘105, and ‘303, as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, further in view of Mitchell (US 20030010091, from IDS, hereafter ‘091).
The combination of ‘077, ‘105, and ‘303 does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 12: further comprising a control system in communication with i) a flow rate monitor coupled to the first gas heater and ii) a first temperature sensor at an outlet end of the first gas heater.
‘091 is an analogous art in the field of detecting occlusions in a semiconductor fabrication chamber assembly ([0001]). ‘091 teaches that The detector is made of a flow detector, interposed in a gaseous flow path between a gas supply and the rest of the system. A flow comparator is coupled to the flow detector, and compares the flow rate of the gas to a baseline flow rate of gas. In this manner, blockages of the system can be detected before a catastrophic failure. In one embodiment, the flow detector is a heating element coupled to a power supply. The heating element heats the gas flowing past it, thus determining the volume or flow of gas. A temperature-measuring device is coupled to the heating element, and the heating element can be selectively enabled in response to a signal from the temperature-measuring device (abstract, Fig. 2 shows the temperature measurement device 22 is downstream of the heating element or at an outlet end of the heater), Both the temperature measurement device 22 and the power management device 28 are coupled
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added a control circuitry 24, a flow detector and temperature measurement device 22, as taught by ‘091, to the heating medium circulation device 7 of ‘077, for the purpose of preventing catastrophic failure, as taught by ‘091 (abstract).
Claim 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘077, ‘105, ‘303, and ‘091, as being applied to claim 12 rejection above, further in view of Shih et al. (US 4605469, from IDS, hereafter ‘469) and Nelson et al. (US 20040107903, from IDS, hereafter ‘903).
‘091 teaches a control system as discussed above.
‘105 also teaches a pressure gauge ([0026], last sentence) and temperature at various part but does not specifically disclose the pressure gauge location. The combination of ‘077, ‘105, ‘303, and ‘091 does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 13: (wherein the control system) is in communication with a second temperature sensor and a pressure sensor, the second temperature sensor and the pressure sensor being located in the growth chamber.
‘469 is an analogous art in the field of MBE System With In-situ Mounting (title), A growth chamber 10 is the vacuum chamber (Fig. 1, col. 8, lines 23-24), During growth, the cryo shield 20 is cooled to approximately 77 degrees K., to reduce background contaminants during growth (col. 8, lines 44-46). ‘469 teaches that As shown in FIG. 3, a conventional MBE evaporation source is a small crucible (in which the source material will be placed), mounted on a vacuum flange together with a resistive heater, a heat shield, and a thermocouple (col. 4, lines 34-38). ‘469 further teaches that in the prior art, two methods are widely used for bakeout of an MBE system: most commonly, the growth chamber will be enclosed in a large heat shield, which contains radiant heaters mounted on the heat shield, to radiatively heat the whole MBE growth chamber. An alternative method is to locate a radiantly heater inside the MBE growth chamber, to radiately heat the system from the inside … However, the present invention is based on a realization that the requirements of partial bakeouts, performed periodically during routine operation, are different from the requirements of full bakeouts (col. 5, line 59 to col. 6, line 14). (Note ‘469 is not used as primary reference because it appears that the cryo shield 20 is not shown in the drawing).
‘903 is an analogous art in the field of SYSTEM FOR PRODUCING PATTERNED DEPOSITION FROM COMPRESSED FLUID IN A PARTIALLY OPENED DEPOSITION CHAMBER (title), including molecular beam deposition of thin films onto a substrate ([0005]). ‘903 teaches that The pressure inside the deposition chamber 30 is carefully monitored by a pressure sensor 103 and can be set at any pressure less than that of the delivery system 12 (including levels of vacuum) to facilitate precipitation/aggregation. In addition, the deposition chamber 30 is provided with temperature sensor 104 and temperature modulator 106 (Fig. 2, [0050], middle).
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have added a thermocouple of ‘469, to the apparatus of ‘077, for the purpose of monitoring temperature of vapor source. Furthermore, to have placed the pressure gauge of ‘903, together with the thermocouple of ‘469, inside the growth chamber 1 of ‘105, for the purpose of monitoring pressure. As for the location of the pressure gauge, it has been held that rearranging parts of an invention only involves routine skill in the art. MPEP 2144.04 VI C.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20140202667 is cited for inner tube 2 with holes 7 within the outer tube 3 of a liquid phase heat exchange (Fig. 4-2 and Fig. 6).
The OC of the parent applications 18/056062 applies ‘105, ‘469 and US 3364654 as alternative rejection. These three reference, along with the new reference ‘303 is also applicable for the rejection of claims 1 and 14 and some dependent claims.
References cited in the parent application, now in IDS includes US 3237687 is cited for hot gas for bakeout (col. 3, lines 14-15) in cold trap 40 and baffles 46 to 52 (Figs. 2 and 5-7). US 5788776 is cited for annular cryo panel (Fig. 4, col. 4, lines 58 to col. 4, line 1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEATH T CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1870. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am-5:00 pm.
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, Parviz Hassanzadeh can be reached on 571-272-1435. 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.
/KEATH T CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1716
