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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-20 are pending and rejected. Claims 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, and 13 are amended. Claims 15-20 are newly added.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-5, 8-12, 15, and 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okuda, US 2013/0171838 A1 in view of Bertram, US 2012/0083100 A1 and Tachibana, US 2009/0266296 A1 (provided on the IDS of 3/18/2024).
Regarding claims 1 and 8, Okuda teaches a substrate processing method (a method of forming a nitride film on a substrate in a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, abstract), comprising:
forming a film on a substrate by performing a cycle a predetermined number of times (performing a cycle a predetermined number of times, abstract), the cycle comprising:
(a) supplying a first process gas to the substrate through a first gas supply hole of a first process gas supply system (supplying NH3 gas to a process chamber through supply pipe 232b by opening the valve 243b of the second gas supply pipe 232b, where the NH3 gas flows into the chamber through gas supply holes 248b of the second nozzle 233b, 0163 and Fig. 2-3); and
(b) supplying a second process gas different from the first process gas to the substrate through a second gas supply hole of a second process gas supply system (where DCS is supplied to the chamber through gas supply holes 248a of the first nozzle 233a, 0136 and Fig. 2-3).
They teach that a gas storage unit or tank 250a is installed at the first gas supply pipe 232a at a downstream side of the valve 243a so that high-pressure source gas collected in the gas storage unit 250a may be supplied at once in a pulse state into the reduced-pressure process chamber while the APC valve 244 is closed (0242 and Fig. 3). They teach supplying the source gas at once using the gas storage unit 250a by first collecting the source gas in the gas storage unit by closing a valve 243 installed at the first gas supply pipe 232 a at a downstream side of the gas storage unit and opening the valve 243a installed at an upstream side of the gas storage unit (0243). They teach that when a desired amount of the source gas having a specific pressure is collected in the gas storage unit, the valve 243a installed at the upstream side of the gas storage unit is closed (0243 and Fig. 3). They teach that while the inside of the gas storage unit is filled with the source gas, the inside of the process chamber is exhausted using the vacuum pump such that the pressure in the chamber may be less than or equal to 20 Pa (0244). They teach that after filling the gas storage unit with the source gas and exhausting the chamber, the APC valve is closed and valve 243a’ is opened so the high-pressure source gas collected in the gas storage unit is supplied at once into the process chamber (0244 and Fig. 3). They teach that if the source gas is supplied at once using the storage unit, the speed of the gas ejected from first nozzle 233a into the chamber is accelerated due to the pressure difference in the storage unit and the chamber, increasing the speed of the source gas supplied so as to efficiently supply the gas to the entire wafer to improve the thickness and quality of the film on the wafer (0243). They teach that the method of supplying the source gas is referred to as flash flow (0245). Therefore, Okuda provides forming a film on a substrate by supplying a second process gas different from the first process gas by flash flow from a storage unit configured to temporarily store the second process gas, where the gas supply system comprises a first pipe at which the storage unit is configured to temporarily store the second process gas and a first supply valve located at a downstream side of the storage unit, where filling the storage unit includes closing the first supply valve and supplying the second process gas filled in the storage unit includes opening the first supply valve.
They teach forming the film by supplying DCS gas, purging, supplying a modifying gas (H2), supplying NH3 gas, purging, supplying the modifying gas (H-2), and repeating the cycle (0123-0125 and Fig. 5). Therefore, when providing the second process gas (DCS) in the cyclic process, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the steps of (b1) and (b2) intermittently and repeatedly a predetermined number of times in an alternating sequence so as to fill the storage unit with the gas in preparation for supplying it to the chamber in the supplying step.
They do not teach including a second temporary storage unit.
Bertram teaches methods of depositing material on a substrate by supplying a precursor from one or more thermalizing gas injectors (abstract). They teach that the precursor gas may be injected from the thermalizing gas injector into a space within a reaction chamber, and material may be deposited on the substrate within the reaction chamber using the precursor gas (0009). They teach including gas sources 128A-C having valves 117A-C that are used to selectively control the flow of gas through gas conduits 114A-C (0031 and Fig. 1A). They teach that the one or more gas sources 128A-C may be capable of holding about 25 kg or more of precursor (GaCl3), where multiple sources of precursor (GaCl3) may be connected together to form a single one of the gas sources 128A-C (0035 and Fig. 1A). They teach that the system may include less than three gas inflow conduits and respective gas injectors or it may include more than three (0038). They teach that the gas dispersion conduits 118A, 118C may converge with one another, such that the gases therein may mix together prior to exiting through the apertures 120 (0042 and Fig. 1A). They teach that two or more of the gas injectors 150A-C may be used to generate a common precursor to provide an increased flow rate of that specific precursor into the reaction chamber (0071 and Fig. 1A). They teach that each injector 150A-C may only be capable of supplying a precursor and one or more carrier gases at a maximum flow rate, which may be a function of the size of the gas injector and the capabilities of the gas source (0071). They teach that for large reaction chambers that need relatively large incoming flow rates of the precursor, the number of gas injectors used to supply a single precursor may be selected such that the sum of the individual flow rates of the gas injectors provides the desirable total incoming flow rate of the precursor to the chamber (0071).
From the teachings of Bertram, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the process of Okuda to have include a second and third (or more) buffer tanks with associated valves for the DCS precursor because Bertram teaches that it is desirable to include more than one source of the same precursor for increasing the flow rate when the source of the gas is limited based on size or capabilities, where the buffer tank of Okuda will be limited based on size since it can only hold a certain amount and Okuda teaches that it is desirable to provide the gas at an increased flow rate or speed to improve uniformity in the flash flow process, such that it will be expected to provide an additional source of DCS to increase the flow rate to the reaction tube while providing the valves for filling and releasing the tanks. Therefore, the second process gas supply system will comprise a first temporary storage unit and a first supply valve disposed at a downstream side of the first temporary storage unit and a second pipe at which a second temporary storage unit configured to temporarily store the second process gas and a second supply valve disposed at a downstream side of the secondary temporary storage unit. Further, since it is suggested to include the extra storage unit for increasing the flow rate when supplying DCS, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have opened the first and second valves simultaneously so as to provide the DCS precursor from both tanks and provide the increased flow rate for the ALD cycle. Further, according to MPEP 2144.04(VI)(B): In re Harza, 274 F.2d 669, 124 USPQ 378 (CCPA 1960) (Claims at issue were directed to a water-tight masonry structure wherein a water seal of flexible material fills the joints which form between adjacent pours of concrete. The claimed water seal has a "web" which lies in the joint, and a plurality of "ribs" projecting outwardly from each side of the web into one of the adjacent concrete slabs. The prior art disclosed a flexible water stop for preventing passage of water between masses of concrete in the shape of a plus sign (+). Although the reference did not disclose a plurality of ribs, the court held that mere duplication of parts has no patentable significance unless a new and unexpected result is produced.).
They do not teach that the first pipe and the second pipe are connected in parallel at a downstream side of the second supply valve and the first pipe being connected to the second gas supply hole.
Tachibana teaches an ALD apparatus that includes a film forming chamber in which the vapor phase growth of a film is performed and a material supply unit 105 including a material vaporizer 151, two buffer tanks, i.e., buffer tank A 152a and buffer thank B 152b, fill valve A 153a, supply valve A 154a, fill valve B 153b, and supply valve B 154b (abstract and Fig. 1). They teach that the material vaporizer fills buffer tank A and buffer tank B with sources gas (0020). They teach providing the gases from buffer tank A and buffer tank B through injection control valve 155 (0021-0022 and Fig. 1). They teach using a plurality of buffer tanks that are connected in parallel (0010, claim 1, and Fig. 1). Therefore, Tachibana teaches using multiple buffer tanks containing the same precursor material that are supplied from the same source in parallel, where the pipes of the tanks are depicted as meeting prior to valve 155 (Fig. 1).
From the teachings of Tachibana, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have connected the plurality of buffer tanks in parallel such that the second pipe is connected in parallel to the first pipe at a downstream side of the second supply valve and the first pipe being connected to the second gas supply hole because Tachibana teaches using multiple buffer tanks containing the same precursor material that are supplied from the same source in parallel, where the pipes of the tanks are depicted as meeting prior to valve 155, and where Bertram suggests mixing the gases prior to exiting through the apertures (0042), suggesting that such a configuration will be desirable for filing multiple buffer tanks with DCS for being supplied to the second gas supply hole.
Therefore, the gas supply system of Okuda in view of Bertram and Tachibana provides the claimed features so as to provide the second process gas in a flash flow process where it is suggested to open the valve simultaneously so as to provide the increased flow rate as is desired in the flash flow process for improving film uniformity, where steps (b1) and (b2) are intermittently and repeatedly performed a predetermined number of times in an alternating sequence so as to fill the storage units and subsequently supply the gas in the cyclic process.
Regarding claims 2 and 9, Okuda in view of Bertram and Tachibana suggest the process of claims 1 and 8. As discussed above for claim 1, Bertram suggests using three or more injectors or sources of the same precursor gas and Tachibana suggests configuring the plurality of buffer tanks to be connected in parallel. Therefore, the process of Okuda in view of Bertram and Tachibana suggests further including in the second process gas supply system a third pipe at which a third temporary storage unit configured to temporarily store the second process gas and a third supply valve disposed at a downstream side of the third temporary storage unit, wherein the third pipe is connected in parallel to the first pipe at a downstream side of the third supply valve, and wherein, in (b1), the second process gas will be filled into the third temporary storage unit by closing the third supply valve (as in the process of Okuda) and in step (b2) the first supply valve, the second supply valve, and the third supply valve are open simultaneously to supply the second process gas temporarily stored in the first temporary storage unit, the second process gas temporarily stored in the second temporary storage unit, and the second process gas temporarily stored in the third temporary storage unit through the second gas supply hole to the substrate simultaneously so as to provide an increased flow rate for DCS in the flash flow process.
Regarding claims 3 and 10, Okuda in view of Bertram and Tachibana suggest the process of claims 1 and 8. Tachibana further depicts connecting the pipes of the buffer tanks at an upstream side of the tanks prior to the material vaporizer (Fig. 1). From the teachings of Tachibana, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have also connected the first and second pipes of the buffer tanks at an upstream side to the DCS source because Tachibana teaches that such a configuration is suitable for buffer tanks that are filled with the same precursor such that it will be expected to provide a suitable configuration for filling the tanks from the DCS source.
Regarding claims 4 and 11, Okuda in view of Bertram and Tachibana suggest the process of claims 1 and 8. Okuda further teaches that valve 243a is provide at an upstream side of the storage unit for filling and collecting gas in the storage unit (0243-0244 and Fig. 3).
Tachibana teaches including fill valve A (153a) and fill valve B (153b) at an upstream side of the buffer tanks (abstract and Fig. 1). They teach filling the source gas into the buffer tanks and the supply of the source gas from the buffer tanks are controlled by controlling the opening/closing of the fill valves (153a, 153b) and supply valves (154a, 154b) (0020 and Fig. 1).
From the teachings of Okuda and Tachibana, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have included upstream valves on each of the storage units because Okuda and Tachibana teach that such valves are desirable for controlling the filling of the storage units such that it will be expected to provide a controllable method of filling the storage units with precursor vapor. Therefore, a fourth supply valve will be disposed at an upstream side of the first temporary storage unit in the first pipe and a fifth supply valve will be disposed at an upstream side of the second temporary storage unit in the second pipe.
Regarding claims 5 and 12, Okuda in view of Bertram and Tachibana suggest the process of claims 4 and 11. Tachibana further depicts connecting the pipes of the buffer tanks at an upstream side of the filling valves prior to the material vaporizer (Fig. 1). From this, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have connected the second pipe in parallel to the first pipe at an upstream side of the fifth supply valve because Tachibana teaches that such a configuration is desirable for connecting buffer tanks in parallel which are filled with the same source gas such that it will be expected to provide a suitable configuration for filling the tanks with DCS.
Regarding claims 15 and 16, Okuda in view of Bertram and Tachibana suggest the process of claim 4. Okuda further teaches collecting the source gas in the gas storage unit by closing a valve 243 installed at the first gas supply pipe 232 a at a downstream side of the gas storage unit and opening the valve 243a installed at an upstream side of the gas storage unit (0243 and Fig. 3). They teach that when a desired amount of the source gas having a specific pressure is collected in the gas storage unit, the valve 243a installed at the upstream side of the gas storage unit is closed (0243 and Fig. 3). Therefore, when filling the first and second storage units, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have opened the fourth and fifth supply valves until a pressure inside of the storage units increases to the desired pressure and then to have closed the fourth and fifth supply valves once the pressure in the units has been reached because Okuda teaches that such a method is used for filling a storage unit for flash flow, where the unit is filled unit a specific pressure is provided.
Claims 6-7, 13-14, and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okuda in view of Bertram and Tachibana as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hirose, US 2013/0186332 A1.
Regarding claims 6 and 13, Okuda in view of Bertram and Tachibana suggest the process of claims 1 and 8. Okuda teaches that after the silicon-containing layer is modified, NH3 gas is simultaneously excited to a plasma state by two plasma generation units (0162). They teach that NH3 is supplied to the second gas supply pipe 232b by opening valve 243b of the second gas supply pipe 232b so that NH3 gas flows through the second gas supply pipe (0163 and Fig. 3). They teach that the flow rate of NH3 gas is adjusted by the MFC 241b and is supplied into the buffer chamber 237b via the gas supply holes 248b of the second nozzle 233b (0163, Fig.2, and Fig. 3). They teach that the NH3 gas is excited to a plasma state by supplying high-frequency power between the first rod-shaped electrode 269b and the second rod-shaped electrode 270b (0163 and Fig. 2). They teach that the excited species are provided into the process chamber via the gas supply holes 238b in the buffer chamber (0163 and Fig. 2). Therefore, they teach that the NH3 gas supply hole is disposed in a discharge chamber (buffer chamber) communicated with a process chamber (buffer chamber in communication with the process chamber by the opening allowing the passage of NH3 plasma) where the substrate is processed so as to supply activated NH3 in the discharge chamber to the process chamber.
Okuda teaches that by increasing the flow rate of the DCS source gas using flash flow, the thickness and quality of the SiN film in a plane of the wafer may be uniformly improved because the gas is mor efficiently supplied to the entire wafer (0245).
As noted above, DCS was defined to be the second process gas and NH3 was defined as the first gas. Therefore, they do not teach that the second gas stored in the temporary storage units is activated in step (b).
Hirose teaches a processing apparatus for ALD (abstract and 0031). They teach forming a TiN film by ALD using an NH3 gas supply source 40 as a reaction gas supply source and a TiCl4 gas supply source 50 as a source gas supply source (0033 and Fig. 1). They teach that the NH3 gas supply source is connected to a gas introduction unit 11 through pipes 41 and 13, where a valve 43, MFC 45 for controlling gas flow rate and a chamber valve 47 are arranged in the pipe 41 (0035 and Fig. 1). They teach that in pipe 41, a buffer tank 48 is arranged near the NH3 gas supply source 40 at the upstream side of the chamber valve 47 along a gas supply direction (0035 and Fig. 1). They teach that a pressure gauge 48A for measuring the internal pressure of the buffer tank is attached to the buffer tank (0035 and Fig. 1). They teach checking the pressure change in the ammonia buffer tank to determine abnormalities in the process (0086).
From the teachings of Okuda and Hirose, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have also used a plurality of buffer tanks configured in parallel as suggested by Bertram and Tachibana for supplying ammonia using flash flow because Hirose teaches that it is desirable to supply ammonia in an ALD process using a buffer tank, where abnormalities in the process can be detected by measuring pressure change such that it will be expected to provide NH3 as desired and by providing the gas at a higher flow rate by flash flow it will also be expected to more efficiently supply the gas to the substrate for forming a uniform coating. Therefore, both the first gas and the second gas are suggested to be provided using the first and second temporary storage units, such that DCS can be considered the claimed first gas and ammonia can be considered the claimed second gas supplied through the second gas supply hole disposed in a discharge chamber communicated with a process chamber where the substrate is processed and in (b2) the second process gas is activated in the discharge chamber is supplied into the process chamber.
Regarding claims 7 and 14, Okuda in view of Bertram, Tachibana, and Hirose suggest the process of claims 6 and 13. Okuda teaches generating a plasma from the ammonia gas using the high-frequency power source 273 that is connected to rod-shaped electrodes 269b and 270b (0163 and Fig. 2). They teach that the rod-shaped electrodes are in the buffer chamber (0109 and Fig. 2). Therefore, the second process gas is activated by a plasm source disposed in the discharge chamber, i.e., the rod-shaped electrodes.
Regarding claim 17, Okuda in view of Bertram and Tachibana suggest the process of claim 15. As discussed above, Okuda and Hirose provide the suggestion of flash flowing NH3 as the second process gas. As discussed above for claim 6, the second gas supply hole through which ammonia flows is disposed in a discharge chamber communicated with a process chamber where the substrate is processed and in b2, the second process gas is activated in the discharge chamber and supplied to the process chamber.
They teach that when storing DCS gas in the storage unit, the pressure may be equal to or greater than 20,000 Pa (0243).
Bertram teaches using multiple gas injectors to provide an increased flow rate of the precursor, where the flow rate is a function of the size of the gas injector and the capabilities of the gas source (0071). They teach that for large reaction chambers that need relatively large incoming flow rates, the number of gas injectors used to supply a precursor may be selected such that he sum of the individual flow rates of the injectors provides the desirable total incoming flow rate (0071).
From this, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have optimized the predetermined pressure to be within the claimed range because Okuda indicates that a pressure equal to or greater than 20,000 Pa can be provided in a single storage unit and Bertram suggests providing more storage units to provide the desired flow rate, where the desired flow rate will be dependent on the reactor size such that by optimizing the predetermined pressure to be within the claimed range it will be expected to provide a suitable amount of ammonia to the reactor to provide flash flow so as to more efficiently provide the gas to the substrates for uniform deposition. According to MPEP 2144.05 II A, “Generally, differences in concentration or temperature will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art unless there is evidence indicating such concentration or temperature is critical. “[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Okuda teaches that when supplying NH3 plasma, the pressure in the process chamber is set to fall within a range of 10 to 1,000 Pa by controlling the APC valve (0166 and Fig. 3). They teach that the APC valve 244 is a pressure adjustor configured to perform or suspend vacuum-exhaust in the process chamber by opening/closing the APC valve (0113 and Fig. 3). From this, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have continuously performed vacuum exhausting during step (b2) to maintain the pressure in the range of 1o to 1,000 Pa because during step (b2) the gas will be introduced to the chamber such that it will increase the pressure and therefore the exhaust will need to be performed so as to maintain the pressure in the desired range. Further, while Okuda teaches suspending exhausting during flash flow of the DCS precursor, since they indicate that there is a desirable pressure for forming the NH3 plasma, the use of the vacuum exhaust and increased flow rate is still expected to provide improved results due to the increased flow rate while maintaining a pressure needed for forming the plasma. Therefore, the pressure will overlap the claimed range. According to MPEP 2144.05, “in the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists.”
Regarding claim 18, Okuda in view of Bertram, Tachibana, and Hirose suggest the process of claim 6. Okuda teaches that an inert gas supply pipe 232k is connected to the second gas supply pipe 232b at a downstream side of the valve 243b (0077 and Fig. 3). They teach that in order to prevent DCS gas from being supplied into the buffer chambers 237b and 237c, the second nozzle 2433b, or the third nozzle 233c, N2 gas is supplied into the second inert gas supply pipe 232k, the third inert gas supply pipe 232l, etc. by opening valves 243k (0137 and Fig. 3). Similarly, the teach flowing N2 gas through pipe 232k by opening valve 243k when supplying H2 gas to the chamber to prevent it from being supplied to an upstream side of the second gas supply pipe (0156 and Fig. 3). They also teach supplying N2 gas to pipe 232k when flowing NH3 (0163).
From this, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have flowed an inert gas supplied into the process chamber from a fourth pipe connected to the first pipe at a downstream side of the first supply valve and a connection point of the first pipe and the second pipe during b1 because Okuda teaches flowing an inert gas attached to the pipe for supplying NH3 at a point downstream from the supply valve to prevent gases from entering the buffer chamber or an upstream side of the second gas supply pipe during flow of the other gases and during flow of NH3 such that it will be expected to protect the buffer chamber and second gas supply during filling of the storage units while being downstream from the supply valves of the storage units.
Regarding claim 19, Okuda in view of Bertram, Tachibana, and Hirose suggest the process of claim 6. Okuda teaches that when supplying NH3 plasma, the pressure in the process chamber is set to fall within a range of 10 to 1,000 Pa by controlling the APC valve (0166 and Fig. 3). They teach that the APC valve 244 is a pressure adjustor configured to perform or suspend vacuum-exhaust in the process chamber by opening/closing the APC valve (0113 and Fig. 3). From this, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have continuously performed vacuum exhausting during step (b2) to maintain the pressure in the range of 1o to 1,000 Pa because during step (b2) the gas will be introduced to the chamber such that it will increase the pressure and therefore the exhaust will need to be performed so as to maintain the pressure in the desired range. Further, while Okuda teaches suspending exhausting during flash flow of the DCS precursor, since they indicate that there is a desirable pressure for forming the NH3 plasma, the use of the vacuum exhaust and increased flow rate is still expected to provide improved results due to the increased flow rate while maintaining a pressure needed for forming the plasma. Therefore, the pressure will overlap the claimed range. According to MPEP 2144.05, “in the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists.”
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Okuda in view of Bertram, Tachibana, and Hirose as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Kirikihira, US 2013/0237064 A1.
Regarding claim 20, Okuda in view of Bertram, Tachibana, and Hirose suggest the process of claim 6. Okuda teaches that the NH3 gas can be plasma-excited or thermally excited (0124). As noted above, Okuda teaches controlling the pressure during nitriding using the APC valve.
They do not teach the pressure is 1 Pa or less.
Kirikihira teaches a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device by forming a film on a substrate by performing a cycle a predetermined number of times (abstract). They teach that an APC valve is appropriately regulated to set the internal pressure of the process chamber to fall within a range of 1 to 3000 Pa (0103). They teach that when the internal pressure of the chamber is set to such a relatively high range of pressure, the NH3 gas can be thermally activated by non-plasma (0103).
From the teachings of Kirikihira, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have set the pressure range during the thermally activating process to be 1 to 3000 Pa because Kirikihira teaches that such a range is suitable for thermal activation of NH3. Therefore, the pressure will overlap the claimed range. Further, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have continuously performed vacuum exhausting during step (b2) to maintain the pressure in the range of 1 to 3,000 Pa because during step (b2) the gas will be introduced to the chamber such that it will increase the pressure and therefore the exhaust will need to be performed so as to maintain the pressure in the desired range. Further, while Okuda teaches suspending exhausting during flash flow of the DCS precursor, since they indicate that there is a desirable pressure for forming the NH3 plasma, the use of the vacuum exhaust and increased flow rate is still expected to provide improved results due to the increased flow rate while maintaining a pressure needed for forming the plasma. Therefore, the pressure will overlap the claimed range. According to MPEP 2144.05, “in the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments provided 1/21/2026 have been fully considered.
In light of the amendments to the claims, the reference of Suzuki is no longer being used and therefore Applicant’s arguments directed to Suzuki are not addressed herein. Specifically, the new reference of Okuda has been used which teaches using flash flow, where Bertram and Tachibana are used to suggest using multiple storage units.
As to Applicant’s argument over Bertram switching from one gas source to another, this embodiment is in reference to switching sources when one source is empty so that deposition is not interrupted (0035). The suggestion to simultaneously open the valves is provided the suggestion of using the multiple injectors to increase the flow rate (0071). As discussed above, it is considered to be obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to have opened the valves simultaneously to provide increased flow rate because by opening them at the same time an increased amount of gas will be provided at one time. Further, Okuda suggest providing flash flow to increase the flow rate of the gas introduced.
Regarding Applicant’s arguments over Bertram not teaching the first or second supply valves, Okuda provides valves on either side of the storage unit and Tachibana provides valves on either side of the storage units.
Regarding Applicant’s argument over the material stored in the injectors of Bertram, since the material of Bertram is not used in the process of Okuda and Okuda teaches storing the gas in the storage unit the problem of decomposition is not considered to be an issue. While the gases are different, the suggestion of increasing the flow rate provided by Bertram is considered to be applicable to the process of Okuda because they indicate that increasing the flow rate is desirable for larger reactors, where gas injectors (like storage units) are limited in size and the flow rate that can be produced using them. Additionally, Okuda teaches that it is desirable to increase the flow rate. As to paragraph 0035 of Bertram, it is noted that paragraph 0071 was also noted that teaches using the multiple injectors to increase the flow rate.
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 CHRISTINA D MCCLURE whose telephone number is (571)272-9761. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30-5:00 EST.
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, Gordon Baldwin can be reached at 571-272-5166. 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.
/CHRISTINA D MCCLURE/Examiner, Art Unit 1718
/GORDON BALDWIN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1718
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