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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicants’ submission of Specification amendment, filed on 08/09/2026, is acknowledged. Applicants’ submission, filed on 08/09/2026, in response to claims 1-20 rejection from the non-final office action (05/12/2028), by amending claims 1, 3-9, 11-15, 17-18, and 20 is entered and will be addressed below.
Claim Objections
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: “the the outer surface of the disc has an outer diameter increasing with height”. Please remove “the”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Interpretations
The newly amended limitations “a remote plasma generator generating a remote plasma and active species” of claim 1 is not common terminology. Plasma, including remote plasma, is known to contain ions, electrons, and radicals. The examiner suggests change this portion to “a remote plasma generator generating [[a remote plasma]] ions and electrons and active species” and “transmitting the active species from the remote plasma generator to the upper chamber and removing the ions and electrons [[remote plasma]] supplied by the remote plasma generator” latter in claim 1. As disclosed in the Specification [0045].
Continuing on claim 1, “a second baffle partitioning the upper chamber and the lower chamber transmitting the active species from the upper chamber to the lower chamber, and blocking charged particles generated in the lower chamber, the second baffle comprising circular through-holes“, this means some charged particles from the remote plasma pass through the first baffle, therefore, “removing the remote plasma supplied by the remote plasma generator“ is partially removal, not complete removal.
The “an upper chamber having an opening connected to an output port of the remote plasma generator”, there is no requirement of the size of “an opening” and an “outlet port” relative to the size of the remote plasma generator. Therefore, the opening of the upper chamber, the outlet port of the remote plasma generator, and the plasma generator body can be of the same size.
The “each of the second through-holes has a diameter greater than twice a thickness of a plasma sheath between the lower baffle and the capacitively-coupled plasma” of claim 4, the thickness of plasma sheath depends on the operation condition. A diameter of the second through-hole that is larger than twice a thickness of the plasma sheath in any operation condition is considered reads into claim 4.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-5 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Singh et al. (US 20160141188, hereafter ‘188), in view of Xie et al. (US 20210082724 , hereafter ‘724) and Ren et al. (US 20140141621, hereafter ‘621).
‘188 teaches some limitations of:
Claim 1: INTERNAL PLASMA GRID APPLICATIONS FOR SEMICONDUCTOR FABRICATION (title), improved methods and apparatus for etching a semiconductor substrate (abstract, includes the claimed “A plasma substrate treatment apparatus comprising”):
An internal plasma grid 150 divides the overall etching chamber into an upper sub-chamber 102 and a lower sub-chamber 103 (Fig. 1, [0088], 6th sentence), a plasma chamber outfitted with a grid may produce a result similar to that accomplished with existing remote plasma tools such as the GAMMA™ platform tools available from Novellus Systems ([0039]), the grid functions as a separator between an upstream and a downstream plasma, where the downstream plasma exists in the lower sub-chamber and may be radical rich ([0039], an upper portion of the upper sub-chamber 102 is considered the remote plasma generator with an output opening the same diameter as the sub-chamber 102, includes the claimed “a remote plasma generator generating a remote plasma and active species; an upper chamber having an opening connected to an output port of the remote plasma generator, spatially separated from the remote plasma generator, and receiving and diffusing the active species from the remote plasma generator”, note the upper chamber is between the ceiling of the chamber and the movable grid discussed below. See also claim interpretation above regarding the size of the opening and output port);
Where multiple grids are used, the number of grids is typically between about 2 and 5. Often, where multiple plasma grids are used, at least one of the plasma grids is movable with respect to at least one other plasma grid ([0053], 2nd-3rd sentences), When the fixed grid is positioned below the movable grid, as shown in FIG. 5, the grounded connection provides a large ground return surface for the bias current in the lower-zone plasma ([0060], 2nd last sentence, the upper movable grid is considered where the “a first baffle”, includes the claimed “a first baffle on the opening of the upper chamber, transmitting the active species from the remote plasma generator to the upper chamber and removing the remote plasma supplied by the remote plasma generator”; the fixed grids divides the upper chamber and the lower chamber, same function and position as Applicants’ baffles 162, 164, includes the claimed “a lower chamber receiving the diffused active species from the upper chamber; a second baffle partitioning the upper chamber and the lower chamber and transmitting the active species from the upper chamber to the lower chamber, and blocking charged particles generated in the lower chamber”); in some embodiments, the grid may include holes ([0036]), circular openings may be used in conjunction with slotted openings ([0041], includes the claimed “the second baffle comprising circular through-holes“);
a chuck 117 is positioned within the lower sub-chamber 103 near the bottom inner surface. The chuck 117 is configured to receive and hold a semiconductor wafer (i.e., "wafer") 119 upon which the etching process is performed ([0088], 9th-10th sentence, includes the claimed “a substrate holder supporting a substrate disposed in the lower chamber”);
The chuck 117 can be electrically charged using an RF power supply 123 ([0088], 4th last sentence, includes the claimed “and a radio-frequency power source applying RF power to the substrate holder”).
‘188 does not teach the other limitations of:
Claim 1: (1A) (a radio-frequency (RF) power source applying RF power to the substrate holder) and generating a capacitively-coupled plasma, wherein:
(1B) the upper chamber has a truncated cone shape, and
the opening of the upper chamber is in a truncated portion.
‘724 is analogous art in the field of METHODS FOR THE TREATMENT OF WORKPIECES (title). ‘724 teaches that The example plasma processing apparatus 600 of FIG. 3 is operable to generate a first plasma 602 (e.g., a remote plasma) in the plasma chamber 120 and a second plasma 604 (e.g., a direct plasma) in the processing chamber 110. As shown, the plasma processing apparatus 600 can include an angled dielectric sidewall 622 that extends from the vertical sidewall 122 associated with the remote plasma chamber 120 ([0073], i.e. a truncated cone shape), the first grid plate 210 can be made of metal (e.g., aluminum) or other electrically conductive material and/or the second grid plate 220 can be made from either an electrically conductive material … In the event a grid plate is made of metal or other electrically conductive material, the grid plate can be grounded ([0056]). ‘724 also teaches that a plasma is generated in plasma chamber 120 (i.e., plasma generation region) by an inductively coupled plasma source 135 ([0050], last sentence), The inductively coupled plasma source 135 can include an induction coil 130 disposed adjacent the dielectric side wall 122 about the plasma chamber 120 ([0052], i.e. an induction coil wound around dielectric cylindrical), for the purpose of various benefits ([0047], [0164], [0228], [0295], [0297]), When the bias electrode 510 is energized with RF energy, a second plasma 504 can be generated from a mixture in the processing chamber 110 for direct exposure to the workpiece 114 ([0066], 3rd sentence, i.e. capacitively coupled plasma, description of Fig. 2 applicable to Fig. 3).
‘724 does not teach a grid at the lower portion of the angled dielectric sidewall 622.
‘621 is analogous art in the field of DRY-ETCH SELECTIVITY (title), using radicals and other neutral species can reduce plasma damage compared to conventional plasma etch processes that include sputtering and bombardment ([0016], 2nd last sentence), Uncharged neutral and radical species may pass through the openings in the ion suppressor and/or the showerhead to react with the substrate ([0017], 3rd sentence) . ‘621 teaches that FIG. 2A is a substrate processing chamber 1001 according to disclosed embodiments. A remote plasma system 1010 may process the fluorine-containing precursor which then travels through a gas inlet assembly 1011. Two distinct gas supply channels are visible within the gas inlet assembly 1011. A first channel 1012 carries a gas that passes through the remote plasma system 1010 (RPS), while a second channel 1013 bypasses the remote plasma system 1010 … Showerhead 1053 allows a plasma present in chamber plasma region 1020 to avoid directly exciting gases in substrate processing region 1070, while still allowing excited species to travel from chamber plasma region 1020 into substrate processing region 1070 ([0031], again, “spatially separated from the remote plasma generator”, note Fig. 2A shows an “the upper chamber has a truncated cone shape, and the opening of the upper chamber is in a truncated portion”, the showerhead 1053 corresponds to the baffles 162, 164 of instant application at the lower portion of the truncated cone), for the purpose of suppressing the number of ionically-charged species that reach the substrate (abstract).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have arranged a grounded grid at the top opening of a truncated cone and inductive couple plasma by an induction coil wound around dielectric cylindrical, as taught by ‘724 and by ‘621, to the apparatus of ‘188 (the limitation 1B), for the purpose of various benefits, as taught by ‘724 ([0047], [0164], [0228], [0295], [0297]) and for the purpose of suppressing the number of ionically-charged species that reach the substrate, as taught by ‘621 (abstract). Furthermore, to have operated the bias electrode for capacitively coupled plasma, as taught by ‘724, to the power supply 123 and the chuck 117 of ‘188 (the limitation of 1A), for the purpose of various benefits, as taught by ‘724 ([0047], [0164], [0228], [0295], [0297]).
‘188 further teaches the limitations of:
Claim 2: a grounded grid acts as an enhanced bias current return for the cathode ([0036], last sentence), Certain implementations utilize a plasma grid assembly having both movable and fixed plasma grids. The grids may be grounded … ([0059]), It is generally beneficial for the fixed grid to be grounded ([0060]), the grid is a fairly simple thin sheet of material having slots, generally circular holes ([0035], 2nd sentence), the grid may include holes. Thus, the grid includes holes and slots in combination. Non-limiting examples of grid structures are shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3A-3D ([0036], 2nd sentence, as there are 5 grids, the lower two grids reads into the claimed “wherein the second baffle comprises: an upper baffle electrically grounded and comprising a plurality of first through-holes opposing the upper chamber; and a lower baffle electrically grounded and spaced apart from the upper baffle and comprising a plurality of second through-holes”).
Claim 3: Where the slots/holes in the grids do not align, there is no clear line-of-sight through the grid assembly, as shown in FIG. 3F ([0054], 3rd sentence, includes the claimed “wherein the second through-holes do not overlap the first through-holes”).
Claim 5: distances that might be tuned include the distance between the wafer and the lower grid, the distance between the top of the upper sub-chamber and the upper grid, and/or the distance between the grids. These variable distances allow a wider range of electron temperature and plasma density tuning above the wafer compared to a single fixed grid ([0058]), a distance between the first and second grids is about 5 mm or less (claim 7 of ‘188, includes the claimed “further comprising:
a first gap between the upper baffle and the lower baffle of about 1 to 5 millimeters”, Figs. 1, 4, 5 each shows “and a second gap between the substrate holder and a lower surface of the upper baffle, the second gap being greater than the first gap between the upper baffle and the lower baffle”, see also Fig. 3 of ‘724).
The combination of ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621 further teaches the limitations of:
Claim 4: the holes have a diameter in the range of about 0.05 inches to about 0.2 inches. They penetrate the full thickness of the grid (‘188, [0043], last two sentences, i.e. 1.27 to 5 mm, within the range of Applicants’ hole diameter 1 to 5 mm, [0083], 2nd sentence, includes the claimed “wherein each of the second through-holes has a diameter greater than twice a thickness of a plasma sheath between the lower baffle and the capacitively-coupled plasma, and the capacitively-coupled plasma permeates into the second through-holes”, when operating in capacitively coupled plasma as taught by ‘724).
Claim 19: an inductively coupled plasma is generated in the upper sub-chamber by running current through coils located above the upper sub-chamber (‘188, [0065], 2nd sentence), a plasma is generated in plasma chamber 120 (i.e., plasma generation region) by an inductively coupled plasma source 135 (‘724, [0059], last sentence, includes the claimed “wherein the remote plasma generator is an inductively-coupled plasma source comprising an induction coil”),
The plasma chamber 120 includes a dielectric side wall 122 and a ceiling 124 … The inductively coupled plasma source 135 can include an induction coil 130 disposed adjacent the dielectric side wall 122 about the plasma chamber 120 (‘724, [0060], includes the claimed “an induction coil wound around a dielectric cylinder”).
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621, as being applied to claim 2 rejection above, further in view of Liang et al. (US 20210104374, hereafter ‘374).
The combination of ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621 does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 6: wherein each of the first through-holes in the upper baffle is smaller than a diameter of each of the second through-holes in the lower baffle.
‘374 is analogous art in the field of MULTI-SOURCE ION BEAM ETCH SYSTEM (title), a remote broad beam ion/plasma source ([0003]), an inductively coupled plasma (ICP), capacitively coupled plasma (CCP), hybrid ICP/CCP ([0024]). ’374 teaches that In some embodiments, the holes in the lower grid 506 may be larger than the holes in the upper grid 504 (Fig. 5B-5C, [0029], 2nd sentence), The first apertures 508 may be shaped to suppress the migration of ionically-charged species out of the plasma region , while allowing uncharged neutral or radical species to pass through the grid 414 ([0032], see also Fig. 4), for the purpose of switching between multiple ion beam sources within a single tool in a quick and efficient manner ([0005]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have adopted a larger hole at the lower grid, as taught by ‘374, to the plurality of grid of ‘188, for the purpose of switching between multiple ion beam sources within a single tool in a quick and efficient manner, as taught by ‘374 ([0005]).
‘188 further teaches the limitations of:
Claim 7: Where the slots/holes in the grids do not align, there is no clear line-of-sight through the grid assembly, as shown in FIG. 3F ([0054], 3rd sentence, includes the claimed “wherein the second through-hole is disposed to avoid overlapping the first through-hole”).
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621, as being applied to claim 2 rejection above, further in view of Lee et al. (KR 20190027084, from IDS, hereafter ‘084).
The combination of ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621 does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 8: wherein a diameter of the upper baffle is smaller than a diameter of the lower baffle.
‘084 is analogous art in the field of Apparatus For Treating Substrate (title), the plasma source 400 may be an inductively coupled plasma source. The plasma source 400 has an antenna 420 and a power supply 440 (Fig. 3, English translation, [0037]). ’084 teaches that The second baffle 520 may be provided with a slightly larger diameter than the first baffle 560 ([0045]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have adopted a larger second/lower baffle than the first/upper baffle, as taught by ‘084, to the grids of ‘188, for its suitability for remote plasma with grids with predictable results. The selection of something based on its known suitability for its intended use has been held to support a prima facie case of obviousness. MPEP 2144.07.
Claims 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621, as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, in view of Maydan et al. (US 5643394, hereafter ‘394).
‘724 further teaches the limitations of:
Claim 9: In the event a grid plate is made of metal or other electrically conductive material, the grid plate can be grounded ([0064], last sentence, includes the claimed “the first baffle blocks the remote plasma from the remote plasma generator and spatially distributes the active species, and the opening of the upper chamber is at a smaller end of the truncated cone shape“ and as shown in Fig. 3).
The combination of ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621 does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 9: wherein the first baffle comprises:
a disk having an inclined outer surface; and
a ring plate having an inclined inner surface and an inclined outer surface, and surrounding the disk at a predetermined gap from the disk,
the the outer surface of the disc has an outer diameter increasing with height,
the inner surface of the ring plate has an inner diameter increasing with height.
Claim 10: wherein the disk and the ring plate are fixed by a plurality of bridges, and the ring plate is fixed to the upper chamber by a plurality of columns.
‘188 further teaches that the grid may serve the additional purpose of being a showerhead for the upper and/or lower sub-chambers ([0045], also taught by ‘621, Fig. 2A).
‘394 is analogous art in the field of Gas Injection Slit Nozzle For A Plasma Process Reactor (title), i.e., a showerhead (col. 4, line 23, same as ‘188, [0045]). ’394 teaches that FIG. 6A illustrates an expansion of the concept of FIG. 4A in which the blocking plate assembly 69 is modified to include a pair of concentric parallelogramic annuli 72, 74, providing three circular slotted apertures or nozzles 80, 85, 90 angled inwardly toward the center (col. 6, lines 32-36), The separate pieces 70, 75, 77 may be held together by radial spokes 96, the outer piece 77 being fastened by bolts 95, 97 to the lid 10 (col. 6, lines 23-25), for the purpose of etch rate uniformity (col. 2, line 45).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have adopted the showerhead in Fig. 6A (or 4A) of ‘394, as the shape of grids of ‘188, for the purpose of etch rate uniformity, as taught by ‘394 (col. 2, line 45).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘188, ‘724, ‘621, and ‘394, as being applied to claim 9 rejection above, further in view of Chandrasekharan et al. (US 20160340782, hereafter ‘782).
‘394 further teaches some limitations of:
Claim 11: FIG. 6A illustrates an expansion of the concept of FIG. 4A in which the blocking plate assembly 69 is modified to include a pair of concentric parallelogramic annuli 72, 74, providing three circular slotted apertures or nozzles 80, 85, 90 angled inwardly toward the center (col. 6, lines 32-36, includes the claimed “wherein the first baffle comprises a first plurality of through-holes in a center portion of the first baffle and a second plurality of through-holes at an edge of the first baffle, the first plurality of through-holes are inclined toward a central axis”).
The combination of ‘188, ‘724, ‘621, and ‘394 does not teach the other limitations of:
Claim 11: and the second plurality of through-holes are inclined towards an outer side.
‘782 is analogous art in the field of LOW VOLUME SHOWERHEAD WITH FACEPLATE HOLES FOR IMPROVED FLOW UNIFORMITY (title), including plasma ([0007]). ’782 teaches that The faceplate 1464 includes a plurality of central through-holes 1492 and a plurality of edge through-holes 1498 surrounding the central through-holes 1492. One or more edge through-holes 1498 may be sloped at an angle from a first side 1464a to a second side 1464b of the faceplate 1464, where the first side 1464a defines a surface of the plenum volume 1430, The one or more sloped edge through-holes 1498 can increase flow uniformity at the edge of the substrate (Fig. 14C, [0118]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added a plurality of edge through-holes of ‘782, to the showerhead of Fig. 6A ‘394, and then combined with ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621, for the purpose of flow uniformity at the edge of the substrate, as taught by ‘782 ([0118]).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621, as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, in view of Canniff (US 20200075295, hereafter ‘295).
The combination of ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621 does not teach the limitations of:
Claim 12: further comprising: at least one ground ring, wherein
the at least one ground ring is below the second baffle to surround the capacitively-coupled plasma between the substrate holder and the second baffle and has a ring shape, and
an inner diameter of the at least one ground ring is greater than an outer diameter of the substrate holder.
‘295 is analogous art in the field of CONFINEMENT RING WITH EXTENDED LIFE (title), including remote plasma generation and delivery ([0022], last sentence). ’295 teaches that The confinement ring 180, which is typically grounded, is arranged around the upper electrode 104 and the substrate support 106 to confine plasma within a plasma region 182 (Fig. 1, [0030], 2nd sentence).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added a grounded confinement ring of ‘295, arranged around the chuck 117 of ‘188, for the purpose of confining plasma within a plasma region, as taught by ‘295).
Claims 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621, as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, in view of Schmitt (US 6228438, hereafter ‘438).
‘188 further teaches some limitations of:
Claim 13: a grounded grid acts as an enhanced bias current return for the cathode ([0036], last sentence), Certain implementations utilize a plasma grid assembly having both movable and fixed plasma grids. The grids may be grounded … ([0059]), It is generally beneficial for the fixed grid to be grounded ([0060]), the grid may include holes. Thus, the grid includes holes and slots in combination. Non-limiting examples of grid structures are shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B and 3A-3D ([0036], 2nd sentence, as there are 5 grids, the lower two grids reads into the claimed “wherein the second baffle comprises: an upper baffle electrically grounded and comprising a plurality of first through-holes opposing the upper chamber; and a lower baffle electrically grounded and spaced apart from the upper baffle and comprising a plurality of second through-holes, the lower baffle comprises: a perforated plate comprising a conductor”).
The combination of ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621 does not teach the other limitations of:
Claim 13: and a compensation plate below the perforated plate, comprising an insulator having a dielectric constant or a semiconductor, and
the second through-holes of the lower baffle is disposed to penetrate through the perforated plate and the compensation plate.
Claim 14: wherein the lower baffle has a constant thickness,
a thickness of the perforated plate varies by location, and
a thickness of the compensation plate varies by location to maintain the constant thickness of the lower baffle.
Claim 15: wherein the compensation plate comprises at least one of silicon, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and silicon oxynitride.
Claim 16: wherein the thickness of the compensation plate is greatest in at least one of a central region and an edge region,
the central region has a circular shape, and
the edge region has a ring shape.
‘438 is analogous art in the field of Plasma Reactor (title), The radiofrequency power source 9 is centrally connected to an upper electrode 3 called "shower head electrode" having holes 83 through its lower surface facing the plasma process space 13 (col. 7, lines 1-3). ’438 teaches that In FIG. 12, a microwave capacitive plasma reactor 40 is diagrammatically illustrated. The illustration shows a possible design according to which a rather thick tailored layer generally referenced as 120 (col. 8, lines 61-64), the tailored layer 120 be obtained from three dielectric plates defining three steps (discs 120a, 120b, 120c) (col. 9, lines 12-14), the equivalent thickest part of the tailored layer 130 is made of the lowest dielectric material (quartz for example), whereas the intermediate layer 132 can be made of a material such as silicon nitride (Fig. 13, col. 9, lines 39-42), for the purpose of reducing, an electromagnetic (or a process) non uniformity (col. 2, lines 2-3). Note quartz is a silicon oxide.
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added tailored layer 120a-120c of quartz of SiN, varying thickness from center to edge ring region, as taught by ‘438, to the bottom of the showerhead/grid of ‘188, for the purpose of reducing, an electromagnetic (or a process) non uniformity, as taught by ‘438 (col. 2, lines 2-3).
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘‘188, ‘724, ‘621, and ‘438, as being applied to claim 14 rejection above, further in view of TAKANASHI et al. (US 20180323077, hereafter ‘077).
‘188 teaches some limitations of:
Claim 17: The chuck 117 can be electrically charged using an RF power supply 123 ([0088], 3rd last sentence), the RF bias may have a frequency below 30 MHz, preferably between about 100 kHz to about 13.56 MHz, to reduce the amount of electron heating generated by the application of bias power to the substrate ([0080], includes the claimed “wherein the radio-frequency (RF) source comprises: a low-frequency RF power source of 13.56 MHz or less”).
The combination of ‘188, ‘724, ‘621, and ‘438 does not teach the other limitations of:
Claim 17: and a high-frequency RF power source of more than 13.56 MHz and less than 60 MHz.
‘077 is analogous art in the field of The etching method includes generating plasma (abstract). ’077 teaches that A power supplying apparatus 30 for supplying dual-frequency superimposed power is connected to the susceptor 20. The power supplying apparatus 30 includes a first high-frequency power source 32 for supplying high-frequency power HF with first frequency used for plasma generation, and a second high-frequency power source 34 for supplying high-frequency power LF with second frequency that is lower than the first frequency used for bias voltage generation. The first high-frequency power source 32 is electrically connected to the susceptor 20 via a first matching box 33. The second high-frequency power source 34 is electrically connected to the susceptor 20 via a second matching box 35. The first high-frequency power source 32 applies, for example, 60 MHz high-frequency power HF to the susceptor 20. The second high-frequency power source 34 applies, for example, 12.56 MHz high-frequency power LF to the susceptor 20 (Fig. 1, [0027]), for the purpose of different biasing steps ([0048], [0056]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have added a 60 MHz biased power HF, as taught by ‘077, to the chuck 117 of ‘188, for the purpose of different biasing steps, as taught by ‘077 ([0048], [0056]).
Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘188, ‘724, ‘621, ‘438, and ‘077, as being applied to claim 17 rejection above, further in view of Shannon et al. (US 20050034816, hereafter ‘816).
The combination of ‘188, ‘724, ‘621, ‘438, and ‘077 does not teach the other limitations of:
Claim 18: further comprising: a pulse control controlling the low-frequency RF power and the high-frequency RF power, wherein each of the low-frequency RF power and the high-frequency RF power operates in pulse mode.
‘816 is analogous art in the field of Plasma Generation And Control Using A Dual Frequency RF Source (title). ’816 teaches that The source 104 is an RF generator with dual frequency excitation. The source 104 is generally capable of generating two frequencies in the range of from about 100 KHz to about 200 MHz. The source 104 is also generally able to produce up to 5000 W of either continuous or pulsed power (Fig. 1, [0019]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have pulsed power, as taught by ‘816, to the dual-frequency bias of ‘077 and then combined with 188, for its suitability for biasing the chuck with predictable results. The selection of something based on its known suitability for its intended use has been held to support a prima facie case of obviousness. MPEP 2144.07.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621, as being applied to claim 1 rejection above, in view of Sano et al. (US 6372304, hereafter ‘304).
The combination of ‘188, ‘724, and ‘621 does not teach limitations of:
Claim 20: wherein the diameter of the output port of the remote plasma generator ranges from 50 millimeters to 150 millimeters.
‘724 is silent on the opening size of the remote plasma.
‘304 is analogous art in the field of Plasma CVD (title), a grounded circular mesh 14 is provided between the ring-like supply gas inlet 6 and the substrate 7 (Fig. 1 shows a remote plasma, col. 4, lines 36-37). ‘304 teaches that ring-like inlet 6, whose diameter was 150 mm (col. 6, lines 55-56).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to have adopted 150 mm as the opening of the remote plasma of ‘724, and then combined with ‘188 (the limitation of 19A), for its suitability for remote plasma with grids with predictable results. The selection of something based on its known suitability for its intended use has been held to support a prima facie case of obviousness. MPEP 2144.07.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 08/09/2026 have been fully considered but they are not convincing in light of the new grounds of rejection above.
Applicants argue that ‘678 does not teach remote plasma by citing Hong without providing the NPL of Hong in an IDS (P13-15).
The examiner maintains the ‘678 or ‘188 readable into Applicants’ claim. Furthermore, remote plasma 1010 with a narrow connection to a truncated cone shape upper chamber is taught by the new reference ‘621.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20070221833 is cited for reflective body 500 having larger opening than the upper grids 400 for obtaining the neutral beam 102 (Fig. 2, [0033]).
US 20210020405 is cited for a staggered bilayer conductive grid 350 (Fig. 7A) of inductive plasma (Fig. 1A).
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 KEATH T CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1870. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am-5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Parviz Hassanzadeh can be reached at 571-272-1435. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KEATH T CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1716
Prosecution Insights