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 .
DETAILED ACTION
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 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 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 5-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Blank et al. (US 20210118715 A1) in view of Whitcomb (US 20030077162 A1).
Regarding Claim 5, Blank teaches:
an apparatus comprising:
a rotational indexer (202 & 302), the rotational indexer including:
a base (312);
a first hub (330); and
N indexer arm assemblies (336), each indexer arm assembly including
a) a wafer support (338) and
b) an indexer arm (340) having a proximal end fixedly connected with the first hub and a distal end that supports the wafer support for that indexer arm (Fig. 3 & Fig. 11-A), wherein:
each wafer support is configured to be rotatable about a corresponding rotational axis (354) located at the distal end of the indexer arm that supports that wafer support and between a first rotational position relative to the indexer arms and a second rotational position relative to the indexer arms (Fig. 11-A & Fig. 11-B & Fig. 11-C & Fig. 11-D & Fig. 11-E) [0070],
the first hub is configured to be rotatable about a center axis (352) and between at least a first angular position relative to the base and a second angular position relative to the base (Fig. 2) [0044],
the first angular position and the second angular position are 360°/N apart [0012 & 0077 & 0080],
each wafer support:
is configured to support a semiconductor wafer of diameter D from below when the semiconductor wafer is placed on that wafer support [Fig. 3].
Blank does not teach:
one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces configured to limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at a first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second relative rotational position.
Whitcomb teaches:
an apparatus comprising:
a robotic substrate handler (7) [0020], the robotic substrate handler including:
the robotic substrate handler including
a) a wafer support (20) and
b) a handler arm (19) having a proximal end fixedly connected with a support base and a distal end that supports the wafer support for that handler arm (Fig. 1A & Fig. 1B & Fig. 3), wherein:
each wafer support is configured to be rotatable about a corresponding rotational axis located at the distal end of the indexer arm that supports that wafer support and between at least a first rotational position relative to the indexer arms and a second rotational position relative to the indexer arms (Fig. 3) [0020 & 0021],
the handler arm is configured to be rotatable about a center axis and between at least a first angular position relative to the base and a second angular position relative to the base [0007],
each wafer support:
is configured to support a semiconductor wafer of diameter D from below when the semiconductor wafer is placed on that wafer support (Fig. 1A & Fig. 1B & Fig. 3), and
has one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces (21a & 21b & 21c) configured to limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the arm is caused to rotate about the center axis at a first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second relative rotational position (Fig. 1A & Fig. 1B & Fig. 3) [0022 & 0023 & 0024 & 0025 & 0026 & 0027].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the waver indexing assembly having rotatable wafer supports taught by Blank with the robotic substrate handler having a rotatable wafer support with one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces configured to limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at a first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second relative rotational position taught by Whitcomb in order to provide an indexing mechanism which positively secures the wafers against movement due to motion of the indexer thereby preventing misalignment of the wafers.
Regarding Claim 6, Blank does not teach:
the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer by way of at least two points of contact between the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces and the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at the first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second rotational position.
Whitcomb teaches:
the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer by way of at least two points of contact between the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces and the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at the first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second rotational position (Fig. 1A & Fig. 1B & Fig. 3) [0022 & 0023 & 0024 & 0025 & 0026 & 0027].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the waver indexing assembly having rotatable wafer supports taught by Blank with the robotic substrate handler having a rotatable wafer support with one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces configured to limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at a first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second relative rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer by way of at least two points of contact between the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces and the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at the first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second rotational position taught by Whitcomb in order to provide an indexing mechanism which positively secures the wafers against movement due to motion of the indexer thereby preventing misalignment of the wafers.
Regarding Claim 7, Blank does not teach:
the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support includes at least a first wafer edge contact interface and a second wafer edge contact interface.
Whitcomb teaches:
the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support includes at least a first wafer edge contact interface (21a) and a second wafer edge contact interface (21b) (Fig. 1A & Fig. 1B & Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the waver indexing assembly having rotatable wafer supports taught by Blank with the robotic substrate handler having a rotatable wafer support with one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces configured to limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at a first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second relative rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer by way of at least two points of contact between the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces and the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at the first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support includes at least a first wafer edge contact interface and a second wafer edge contact interface taught by Whitcomb in order to provide an indexing mechanism which positively secures the wafers against movement due to motion of the indexer thereby preventing misalignment of the wafers.
Regarding Claim 8, Blank does not teach:
for each wafer support, the corresponding first wafer edge contact interface and the corresponding second wafer edge contact interface are both positioned within a 90° sector of arc relative to the corresponding rotational axis of that wafer support.
Whitcomb teaches:
for each wafer support, the corresponding first wafer edge contact interface and the corresponding second wafer edge contact interface are both positioned within a 90° sector of arc relative to the corresponding rotational axis of that wafer support (Fig. 1A & Fig. 1B & Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the waver indexing assembly having rotatable wafer supports taught by Blank with the robotic substrate handler having a rotatable wafer support with one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces configured to limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at a first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second relative rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer by way of at least two points of contact between the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces and the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at the first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support includes at least a first wafer edge contact interface and a second wafer edge contact interface, for each wafer support, the corresponding first wafer edge contact interface and the corresponding second wafer edge contact interface are both positioned within a 90° sector of arc relative to the corresponding rotational axis of that wafer support taught by Whitcomb in order to provide an indexing mechanism which positively secures the wafers against movement due to motion of the indexer thereby preventing misalignment of the wafers.
Regarding Claim 9, Blank does not teach:
for each wafer support, the corresponding first wafer edge contact interface and the corresponding second wafer edge contact interface are both positioned within a 60° sector of arc relative to the corresponding rotational axis of that wafer support.
Whitcomb teaches:
for each wafer support, the corresponding first wafer edge contact interface and the corresponding second wafer edge contact interface are both positioned within a 60° sector of arc relative to the corresponding rotational axis of that wafer support (Fig. 1A & Fig. 1B & Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the waver indexing assembly having rotatable wafer supports taught by Blank with the robotic substrate handler having a rotatable wafer support with one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces configured to limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at a first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second relative rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer by way of at least two points of contact between the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces and the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at the first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support includes at least a first wafer edge contact interface and a second wafer edge contact interface, for each wafer support, the corresponding first wafer edge contact interface and the corresponding second wafer edge contact interface are both positioned within a 60° sector of arc relative to the corresponding rotational axis of that wafer support taught by Whitcomb in order to provide an indexing mechanism which positively secures the wafers against movement due to motion of the indexer thereby preventing misalignment of the wafers.
Regarding Claim 10, Blank does not teach:
for each wafer support, the corresponding first wafer edge contact interface and the corresponding second wafer edge contact interface are both positioned within a 30° sector of arc relative to the corresponding rotational axis of that wafer support.
Whitcomb teaches:
for each wafer support, the corresponding first wafer edge contact interface and the corresponding second wafer edge contact interface are both positioned within a 30° sector of arc relative to the corresponding rotational axis of that wafer support (Fig. 1A & Fig. 1B & Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the waver indexing assembly having rotatable wafer supports taught by Blank with the robotic substrate handler having a rotatable wafer support with one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces configured to limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at a first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second relative rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer by way of at least two points of contact between the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces and the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at the first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support includes at least a first wafer edge contact interface and a second wafer edge contact interface, for each wafer support, the corresponding first wafer edge contact interface and the corresponding second wafer edge contact interface are both positioned within a 30° sector of arc relative to the corresponding rotational axis of that wafer support taught by Whitcomb in order to provide an indexing mechanism which positively secures the wafers against movement due to motion of the indexer thereby preventing misalignment of the wafers.
Regarding Claim 11, Blank does not teach:
each wafer edge contact interface includes a corresponding roller configured to rotate relative to the indexer arms.
Whitcomb teaches:
each wafer edge contact interface includes a corresponding roller configured to rotate relative to the handler arm [0022 & 0023 & 0024 & 0025 & 0026 & 0027].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the waver indexing assembly having rotatable wafer supports taught by Blank with the robotic substrate handler having a rotatable wafer support with one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces configured to limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at a first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second relative rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer by way of at least two points of contact between the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces and the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at the first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support includes at least a first wafer edge contact interface and a second wafer edge contact interface, and each wafer edge contact interface includes a corresponding roller configured to rotate relative to the indexer arms taught by Whitcomb in order to provide an indexing mechanism which positively secures the wafers against movement due to motion of the indexer thereby preventing misalignment of the wafers and can facilitate rotational adjustment of the wafer to correct for rotational misalignment.
Regarding Claim 12, Blank does not teach:
each roller is configured to rotate relative to the indexer arms and about a corresponding roller axis that is parallel to a reference plane that is perpendicular to the center axis.
Whitcomb teaches:
each roller is configured to rotate relative to the indexer arms and about a corresponding roller axis that is parallel to a reference plane that is perpendicular to the center axis (Fig. 1A & Fig. 1B & Fig. 3) [0022 & 0023 & 0024 & 0025 & 0026 & 0027].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the waver indexing assembly having rotatable wafer supports taught by Blank with the robotic substrate handler having a rotatable wafer support with one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces configured to limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at a first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second relative rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer by way of at least two points of contact between the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces and the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at the first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support includes at least a first wafer edge contact interface and a second wafer edge contact interface, and each wafer edge contact interface includes a corresponding roller configured to rotate relative to the indexer arms, where each roller is configured to rotate relative to the indexer arms and about a corresponding roller axis that is parallel to a reference plane that is perpendicular to the center axis taught by Whitcomb in order to provide an indexing mechanism which positively secures the wafers against movement due to motion of the indexer thereby preventing misalignment of the wafers and can facilitate rotational adjustment of the wafer to correct for rotational misalignment.
Regarding Claim 13, Blank teaches:
each wafer support has a surface closest to the corresponding rotational axis for that wafer support that is located at a distance from the corresponding rotational axis for that wafer support that is substantially equal to one half of D (Fig. 3).
Blank does not teach:
each wafer support has a roller.
Whitcomb teaches:
each wafer support has a roller (21a & 21b & 21c).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the waver indexing assembly having rotatable wafer supports taught by Blank with the robotic substrate handler having a rotatable wafer support with one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces configured to limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at a first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second relative rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer by way of at least two points of contact between the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces and the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at the first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support includes at least a first wafer edge contact interface and a second wafer edge contact interface, and each wafer edge contact interface includes a corresponding roller configured to rotate relative to the indexer arms taught by Whitcomb in order to provide an indexing mechanism which positively secures the wafers against movement due to motion of the indexer thereby preventing misalignment of the wafers and can facilitate rotational adjustment of the wafer to correct for rotational misalignment.
Regarding Claim 14, Blank teaches:
each wafer support includes a plurality of protrusions extending upward from an upper surface of that wafer support and configured to support the semiconductor wafer of diameter D from below when the semiconductor wafer is placed on that wafer support.
Whitcomb teaches:
each wafer support includes a plurality of protrusions extending upward from an upper surface of that wafer support and configured to support the semiconductor wafer of diameter D from below when the semiconductor wafer is placed on that wafer support (Fig. 1A & Fig. 1B & Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the waver indexing assembly having rotatable wafer supports taught by Blank with the robotic substrate handler having a rotatable wafer support with one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces configured to limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at a first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second relative rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer by way of at least two points of contact between the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces and the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at the first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second rotational position, the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support includes at least a first wafer edge contact interface and a second wafer edge contact interface, and each wafer support includes a plurality of protrusions extending upward from an upper surface of that wafer support and configured to support the semiconductor wafer of diameter D from below when the semiconductor wafer is placed on that wafer support taught by Whitcomb in order to provide an indexing mechanism which positively secures the wafers against movement due to motion of the indexer thereby preventing misalignment of the wafers.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The art of record fails to render obvious the claimed combination of: “An apparatus comprising: a rotational indexer, the rotational indexer including: a base; a first hub; and N indexer arm assemblies, each indexer arm assembly including a) a wafer support and b) an indexer arm having a proximal end fixedly connected with the first hub and a distal end that supports the wafer support for that indexer arm, wherein: each wafer support is configured to be rotatable about a corresponding rotational axis located at the distal end of the indexer arm that supports that wafer support and between a first rotational position relative to the indexer arms and a second rotational position relative to the indexer arms, the first hub is configured to be rotatable about a center axis and between at least a first angular position relative to the base and a second angular position relative to the base, the first angular position and the second angular position are 360°/N apart, each wafer support has at least three corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces including a corresponding first wafer edge contact interface, a corresponding second wafer edge contact interface, and a corresponding third wafer edge contact interface, each wafer edge contact interface is, when the wafer supports are in the first rotational positions relative to the indexer arm assemblies and the wafer supports are viewed along a direction parallel to the center axis, located outside of a plurality of circular reference regions that each have a center positioned along a circular path centered on the center axis, are each positioned between a different adjacent pair of the indexer arm assemblies, and that each have a diameter D, and each wafer edge contact interface is, when the wafer supports are in the second rotational positions relative to the indexer arm assemblies and the wafer supports are viewed along a direction parallel to the center axis, located at least partially within one of the circular reference regions.”, as recited in Claim 1 specifically:
the structural and operative relationship between the rotational indexer, base, first hub, indexer arm assemblies, wafer support, indexer arm, wafer edge contact interfaces, and circular reference regions. Especially as it relates to the relationship between the rotational indexer, base, first hub, indexer arm assemblies, wafer support, indexer arm, wafer edge contact interfaces, and circular reference regions.
Claims 15-20 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The art of record fails to render obvious the claimed combination of: “An apparatus comprising: a rotational indexer, the rotational indexer including: a base; a first hub; and N indexer arm assemblies, each indexer arm assembly including a) a wafer support and b) an indexer arm having a proximal end fixedly connected with the first hub and a distal end that supports the wafer support for that indexer arm, wherein: each wafer support is configured to be rotatable about a corresponding rotational axis located at the distal end of the indexer arm that supports that wafer support and between at least a first rotational position relative to the indexer arms and a second rotational position relative to the indexer arms, the first hub is configured to be rotatable about a center axis and between at least a first angular position relative to the base and a second angular position relative to the base, the first angular position and the second angular position are 360°/N apart, and each wafer support: is configured to support a semiconductor wafer of diameter D from below when the semiconductor wafer is placed on that wafer support, and has one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces configured to limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at a first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second relative rotational position, wherein the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support limit radial outward movement of the semiconductor wafer by way of at least two points of contact between the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces and the semiconductor wafer due to centrifugal force when the first hub is caused to rotate about the center axis at the first angular rate while the semiconductor wafer is supported by that wafer support and that wafer support is in the second rotational position, wherein the one or more corresponding wafer edge contact interfaces of each wafer support includes at least a first wafer edge contact interface and a second wafer edge contact interface, wherein each wafer support includes a plurality of protrusions extending upward from an upper surface of that wafer support and configured to support the semiconductor wafer of diameter D from below when the semiconductor wafer is placed on that wafer support, further comprising N pedestals and a first set of lift pins associated with a first pedestal of the N pedestals, wherein: the wafer supports, when in the first rotational position, are oriented such that the first wafer edge contact interface and the second wafer edge contact interface of a first wafer support of the N wafer supports lies within a circle centered on the center axis and passing through at least one of the lift pins in the first set of lift pins, and the wafer supports, when in the second rotational position, are oriented such that the first wafer edge contact interface and the second wafer edge contact interface of the first wafer support lie outside of the circle.”, as recited in Claim 15 specifically:
the structural and operative relationship between the rotational indexer, base, first hub, indexer arm assemblies, wafer support, indexer arm, wafer edge contact interfaces, lift pins, and circular reference regions. Especially as it relates to the relationship between the rotational indexer, base, first hub, indexer arm assemblies, wafer support, indexer arm, wafer edge contact interfaces, lift pins, and circular reference regions.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Patent publications US 20240213070 A1, US 20210407843 A1, and US 20240332054 A1 have been cited by the examiner as pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure because they teach: rotational indexers for transferring wafers in a wafer processing system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BRENDAN P TIGHE whose telephone number is 571-272-4872. The Examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday, 7:00-5:30 EST
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, SAUL RODRIGUEZ can be reached on 571-272-7097. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BRENDAN P TIGHE/Examiner, Art Unit 3652
/SAUL RODRIGUEZ/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3652
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