DETAILED ACTION
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-4, 6, 9-10, and 12-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0240778 (L’Bassi) in view of
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0004209 (Mudd) (cited by Applicant) and further in view of
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0202610 (Gold).
Claim 1:
The cited prior art describes a system for manufacturing semiconductors comprising: (L’Bassi: “In a number of applications, it may be necessary to deliver precise amounts of gases or other fluids to processing chambers and/or other processing facilities. These applications may include, but are not limited to, the fabrication of semiconductor systems.” Paragraph 0001; “A system for dividing a single mass flow into a plurality N of secondary flows includes an inlet configured to receive the single mass flow, and a master FRC and one or more slave FRCs connected to the inlet.” Paragraph 0006)
L'Bassi does not explicitly describe hardware components or command processing as described below. However, Mudd teaches the hardware components and Gold teaches the command processing as described below.
a central controller comprising (L’Bassi: see the host controller 270 as illustrated in figure 3)
a processor, (Mudd: see the processor 370A as illustrated in figure 26)
a memory, and (Mudd: see the memory 380A as illustrated in figure 26)
a communication module; (Mudd: see the communication interface 310A as illustrated in figure 26)
a plurality of fluid supplies; (L’Bassi: see the gas supplies 104-1, 104-2 . . ., 104-i, . . . 104-M as illustrated in figure 1A and as described in paragraph 0017)
a plurality of apparatus for controlling flow, each of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow comprising: (L’Bassi: see the MCFRC 106 with FRCs 210, 220 as illustrated in figures 1A, 2A, 3)
an inlet fluidly coupled to one of the plurality of fluid supplies; (L’Bassi: see the flow channels 122-1, . . . , 122-i, . . . , 122-N as illustrated in figure 1A and as described in paragraph 0021)
an outlet; (L’Bassi: see the outlets 130-1, . . . , 130-i, . . . , 130-N as illustrated in figure 1A and as described in paragraph 0021)
a fluid pathway connecting the inlet to the outlet; (L’Bassi: see the connection between the flow channels 122-1, . . . , 122-i, . . . , 122-N and outlets 130-1, . . . , 130-i, . . . , 130-N as illustrated in figure 1A and as described in paragraph 0021)
a sensor fluidly coupled to the fluid pathway; (L’Bassi: see the sensors 124-1, . . . , 124-i, . . . , 124-N as illustrated in figure 1A and as described in paragraph 0021)
an active component fluidly coupled to the fluid pathway; and (L’Bassi: see the valves 126-1, . . . , 126-i, . . . , 126-N as illustrated in figure 1A and as described in paragraph 0021)
a device controller comprising (Mudd: see the apparatus controller 200A as illustrated in figure 26)
a communication module, (Mudd: see the communication interface 210A as illustrated in figure 26)
a memory, (Mudd: see the memory 280A as illustrated in figure 26)
a sensor circuit operably coupled to the sensor, and (Mudd: see the temperature sensor interface 260A as illustrated in figure 26)
an active component drive operably coupled to the active component; and (Mudd: see the proportional valve controller 220A as illustrated in figure 26)
a processing chamber fluidly coupled to the outlets of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow, the processing chamber configured to contain an article to be processed (Mudd: see the processing chamber 1300C as illustrated in figure 41 and as described in paragraph 0244; “Articles such as semiconductors may be processed within the processing chamber 1300C.” paragraph 0244)
wherein the central controller is configured to (L’Bassi: see the host controller 270 as illustrated in figures 2A, 3)
receive sensor data from the sensor circuit of a first one of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow and (L’Bassi: see the flow rates sent to the host controller 270 as illustrated in figure 3; “The master FRC 210 can be further configured to report to the host controller 270 the measured flow rates and the actual ratios that the master FRC 210 has received from each slave FRC.” Paragraph 0035)
transmit an active component command to the active component drive of the first one of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow, the active component command computed based on the sensor data. (Gold: “Sensors 190 may also be provided at various locations in the gas delivery system 100 to provide a metric indicative of the gas flows and/or chemistries within the system 100. The metric provided by the sensors 190 may be utilized by the controller 150 to adjust the outputs of the MFC's 170 or other component of the gas delivery system 100 such that a desired composition, pressure, rate or volume of gases are provided to the chamber 114. The sensors 190 may be pressure sensor, chemistry sensor, flow rate sensor and the like.” Paragraph 0030)
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of L’Bassi, namely, multiple channel flow ratio controller, with the known techniques of Mudd, namely, flow control system, and the known techniques of Gold, namely, gas flow controller to a processing chamber, would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved system. Accordingly, applying the teachings of L’Bassi to use a host controller to control a multiple channel flow ration controller with the teachings of Mudd to control a flow control system utilizing various controller hardware components and the teachings of Gold to control a gas flow controllers using sensor data would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art as resulting in an improved distributed gas flow controller system. In other words, the combination of references provides for a gas flow controller system using a central controller with various hardware components and using various data processing control mechanisms based on the teachings of a gas flow control system with a host controller in L’Bassi, the teachings of using various hardware components in a gas flow control system in Mudd, and the teachings of using various data processing control mechanisms for a gas flow control system in Gold.
Claim 2:
L'Bassi and Mudd do not explicitly describe closed loop control as described below. However, Gold teaches the closed loop control as described below.
The cited prior art describes the system of claim 1 wherein the central controller provides closed loop control of the active component of the first one of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow. (Gold: “In another embodiment, the sensors 190 may be utilized to provide closed loop control of the chemical mixing within the gas delivery system. By monitoring the chemistries entering the chamber 114, exiting the manifold 134 and/or at any other point within the gas delivery system 100 using the sensors 190, real time adjustment of chemistry parameters, such as desired composition (e.g., gas mix), rate and/or pressure, may be realized. For example, if sensors detect an improper flow ratio of chemistry from sources 102A-B exiting the manifold at port 106C, the operational state of the valves 304C coupling inlet delivery lines 220A-220B to outlet delivery line 232C may be adjusted to bring the chemistry flows to a desired target ratio. The same process may be performed using the other valves or flow ratio controllers. Information from the sensors 190 may also be utilized to adjust the MFC settings, flow rates and/or pressures of the gases provided from the sources 102A-F.” paragraph 0049)
L’Bassi, Mudd, and Gold are combinable for the same rationale as set forth above with respect to claim 1.
Claim 3:
L'Bassi does not explicitly describe storing calibration data as described below. However, Mudd teaches the storing calibration data as described below.
The cited prior art describes the system of claim 1 wherein the memory of the first one of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow stores calibration data. (Mudd: “The electronic control element also stores all system calibration data to ensure that parameters such as the characterization data of the restrictor(s) in the laminar flow components.” Paragraph 0166; “The value of the flow impedance is stored in the memory 280A along with other constants and calibration data to enable accurate calculation of the various process parameters.” Paragraph 0183)
L’Bassi, Mudd, and Gold are combinable for the same rationale as set forth above with respect to claim 1.
Claim 4:
L'Bassi does not explicitly describe the hardware components as described below. However, Mudd teaches the hardware components as described below.
The cited prior art describes the system of claim 1
wherein the sensor is one of a pressure sensor or a temperature sensor and (Mudd: “Furthermore, temperature sensor components may be incorporated into the monolithic base, the control valve component, or any of the other components within the system.” Paragraph 0166)
wherein the active component is a proportional valve. (Mudd: “a proportional valve coupled to the flow path” paragraph 0015)
L’Bassi, Mudd, and Gold are combinable for the same rationale as set forth above with respect to claim 1.
Claim 6:
L'Bassi and Mudd do not explicitly describe a control loop as described below. However, Gold teaches the control loop as described below.
The cited prior art describes the system of claim 1 wherein the central controller implements a feedback control loop using the sensor data to control the active component of the first one of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow and wherein the central controller implements a feedback control loop for each of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow. (Gold: “Sensors 190 may also be provided at various locations in the gas delivery system 100 to provide a metric indicative of the gas flows and/or chemistries within the system 100. The metric provided by the sensors 190 may be utilized by the controller 150 to adjust the outputs of the MFC's 170 or other component of the gas delivery system 100 such that a desired composition, pressure, rate or volume of gases are provided to the chamber 114. The sensors 190 may be pressure sensor, chemistry sensor, flow rate sensor and the like.” Paragraph 0030)
L’Bassi, Mudd, and Gold are combinable for the same rationale as set forth above with respect to claim 1.
Claim 9:
The cited prior art describes the system of claim 1 wherein the device controller of the first one of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow is configured to transmit a sensor data message comprising the sensor data. (L’Bassi: see the flow rates sent to the host controller 270 as illustrated in figure 3; “The master FRC 210 can be further configured to report to the host controller 270 the measured flow rates and the actual ratios that the master FRC 210 has received from each slave FRC.” Paragraph 0035)
Claim 10:
The cited prior art describes the system of claim 1 further comprising a communication bus operatively connecting the communication module of the central controller and the communication module of the device controller of the first one of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow. (L’Bassi: “A digital communication bus 230, shown in FIG. 2A, enables communications between the master FRC 210 and the slave FRCs 220, or the master FRC 210 and the host controller 270.” Paragraph 0028)
Claim 12:
The cited prior art describes the system of claim 10 wherein the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow communicate with the central controller via one of Ethernet, Modbus, Profibus, Profinet, DeviceNet, CANbus, Fieldbus, OPC, MQTT, or BACnet. (L’Bassi: “In one embodiment, the master FRC 210 and the slave FRCs 220 may be configured to communicate with each other and with the host controller 270 through a digital communications network. The network may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: Ethernet TCP/IP; UDP/IP; DeviceNet; CAN (Controller Area Network); RS-232; and RS-485. A digital communication bus 230, shown in FIG. 2A, enables communications between the master FRC 210 and the slave FRCs 220, or the master FRC 210 and the host controller 270” paragraph 0028)
Claim 13:
The cited prior art describes the system of claim 1
wherein the central controller is configured to
receive sensor data from the sensor circuit of a second one of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow and (L’Bassi: see the flow rates sent to the host controller 270 as illustrated in figure 3; “The master FRC 210 can be further configured to report to the host controller 270 the measured flow rates and the actual ratios that the master FRC 210 has received from each slave FRC.” Paragraph 0035)
L'Bassi and Mudd do not explicitly describe control as described below. However, Gold teaches the control as described below.
transmit an active component command to the active component drive of the second one of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow and wherein the active component command transmitted to the first one of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow is computed at least in part based on sensor data of the second one of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow. (Gold: “Sensors 190 may also be provided at various locations in the gas delivery system 100 to provide a metric indicative of the gas flows and/or chemistries within the system 100. The metric provided by the sensors 190 may be utilized by the controller 150 to adjust the outputs of the MFC's 170 or other component of the gas delivery system 100 such that a desired composition, pressure, rate or volume of gases are provided to the chamber 114. The sensors 190 may be pressure sensor, chemistry sensor, flow rate sensor and the like.” Paragraph 0030)
L’Bassi, Mudd, and Gold are combinable for the same rationale as set forth above with respect to claim 1.
Claims 8, 11, 15-16, 21, 23, 26, 27, 39, and 47-48 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2007/0240778 (L’Bassi) in view of
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0004209 (Mudd) (cited by Applicant) and further in view of
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0202610 (Gold) and
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0005956 (Gregor).
Claim 8:
L'Bassi, Mudd, and Gold do not explicitly describe storing a setpoint as described below. However, Gregor teaches the storing a setpoint as described below.
The cited prior art describes the system of claim 1 wherein the memory of the central controller stores a setpoint, the setpoint corresponding to a target operating parameter of the first one of the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow. (Gregor: “In feed-forward embodiments, previous setpoints used by the Flow Ratio Control System can be stored in a data store. The Control Server can use the data store to predict correct flow and/or valve setpoints for specific flow conditions encountered within the Flow Ratio Control System. When unstable flow conditions are detected that can have been encountered in the past, the Control Server can select a setpoint that was successfully implemented to correct the prior condition. The Control Server can then send an updated setpoint command directly to the MFC array without accessing the feedback control logic. For example, if a process recipe step causes a transient flow instability within the MFC array, the flow setpoints used for each channel to correct the problem can be saved to the data store and used to eliminate similar instabilities encountered in the future. If the same or a similar flow instability is encountered at a later time, the Control Server can access the data store to predict a series of flow setpoints that will lead to a flow correction.” Paragraph 0020)
One of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that applying the known technique of L’Bassi, namely, multiple channel flow ratio controller, with the known techniques of Mudd, namely, flow control system, and the known techniques of Gold, namely, gas flow controller to a processing chamber, and the known techniques of Gregor, namely, controlling a flow ratio controller, would have yielded predictable results and resulted in an improved system. Accordingly, applying the teachings of L’Bassi to use a host controller to control a multiple channel flow ration controller with the teachings of Mudd to control a flow control system utilizing various controller hardware components and the teachings of Gold to control a gas flow controllers using sensor data and the teachings of Gregor to store data for controlling a flow ratio controller would have been recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art as resulting in an improved distributed gas flow controller system. In other words, the combination of references provides for a gas flow controller system using a central controller with various hardware components and using various data processing control mechanisms with storage based on the teachings of a gas flow control system with a host controller in L’Bassi, the teachings of using various hardware components in a gas flow control system in Mudd, the teachings of using various data processing control mechanisms for a gas flow control system in Gold, and teachings of controlling a flow ration controller using stored data in Gregor.
Claim 11:
L'Bassi, Mudd, and Gold do not explicitly describe ethercat as described below. However, Gregor teaches the ethercat as described below.
The cited prior art describes the system of claim 10 wherein the plurality of apparatus for controlling flow communicate with the central controller via the EtherCAT protocol. (Gregor: “The control server 110 can communicate with the flow ratio control system 125 via a high speed digital connection coupled to an analog to digital interface 120. Some MFC technology only supports analog signal input and output whereas the control server 110 can support digital input and output over high speed connections such as Ethercat. The analog to digital interface 120 provides connectivity between the analog MFC array 140 and the control server 115. In one embodiment, the analog to digital interface 120 can be a CIOC Interface that translates analog input and output to into Ethercat input and output, utilizing high resolution analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion.” Paragraph 0026)
L’Bassi, Mudd, Gold, Gregor are combinable for the same rationale as set forth above with respect to claim 8.
Claim 15:
L'Bassi, Mudd, and Gold do not explicitly describe a stored setpoint as described below. However, Gregor teaches the stored setpoint as described below.
The cited prior art describes the system of claim 1 wherein the active component command is computed based on a setpoint stored in the memory of the central controller. (Gregor: “In feed-forward embodiments, previous setpoints used by the Flow Ratio Control System can be stored in a data store. The Control Server can use the data store to predict correct flow and/or valve setpoints for specific flow conditions encountered within the Flow Ratio Control System. When unstable flow conditions are detected that can have been encountered in the past, the Control Server can select a setpoint that was successfully implemented to correct the prior condition. The Control Server can then send an updated setpoint command directly to the MFC array without accessing the feedback control logic. For example, if a process recipe step causes a transient flow instability within the MFC array, the flow setpoints used for each channel to correct the problem can be saved to the data store and used to eliminate similar instabilities encountered in the future. If the same or a similar flow instability is encountered at a later time, the Control Server can access the data store to predict a series of flow setpoints that will lead to a flow correction.” Paragraph 0020)
L’Bassi, Mudd, Gold, Gregor are combinable for the same rationale as set forth above with respect to claim 8.
Claim 16:
Claim 16 is substantially similar to the combination of claims 1, 10, and 15 and is rejected based on the same reasons and rationale.
16. A system for manufacturing semiconductors comprising:
a central controller comprising
a processor,
a memory, and
a communication module;
a fluid supply;
a first apparatus for controlling flow comprising:
an inlet fluidly coupled to the fluid supply;
an outlet;
a fluid pathway connecting the inlet to the outlet;
a sensor fluidly coupled to the fluid pathway;
an active component fluidly coupled to the fluid pathway; and
a device controller comprising
a communication module,
a memory,
a sensor circuit operably coupled to the sensor, and
an active component drive operably coupled to the active component;
a processing chamber fluidly coupled to the outlet of the first apparatus for controlling flow, the processing chamber configured to contain an article to be processed; and
a communication bus operatively connecting the communication module of the central controller and the communication module of the device controller;
wherein the device controller is configured to transmit a sensor data message comprising sensor data to the central controller via the communication bus; and
wherein the central controller is configured to transmit an active component message to the device controller via the communication bus, the active component message comprising an active component command determined at least in part based on a setpoint stored in the memory of the central controller and on the sensor data of the sensor data message.
Claim 21:
Claim 21 is substantially similar to claim 6 and is rejected based on the same reasons and rationale.
21. The system of claim 16 wherein the central controller implements a feedback control loop using the sensor data to control the active component of the first apparatus for controlling flow.
Claim 23:
Claim 23 is substantially similar to claim 8 and is rejected based on the same reasons and rationale.
23. The system of claim 16 wherein the setpoint corresponds to a target operating parameter of the first apparatus for controlling flow.
Claim 26:
Claim 26 is substantially similar to claim 13 and is rejected based on the same reasons and rationale.
26. The system of claim 16 wherein the central controller is configured to receive sensor data from a sensor circuit of a second apparatus for controlling flow and transmit an active component command to an active component drive of the second apparatus for controlling flow.
Claim 27:
Claim 27 is substantially similar to claim 8 and is rejected based on the same reasons and rationale.
27. The system of claim 26 wherein the active component command transmitted to the first apparatus for controlling flow is computed at least in part based on sensor data of the second apparatus for controlling flow.
Claim 39:
The cited prior art describes a method of manufacturing semiconductors comprising: (L’Bassi: “In a number of applications, it may be necessary to deliver precise amounts of gases or other fluids to processing chambers and/or other processing facilities. These applications may include, but are not limited to, the fabrication of semiconductor systems.” Paragraph 0001; “A system for dividing a single mass flow into a plurality N of secondary flows includes an inlet configured to receive the single mass flow, and a master FRC and one or more slave FRCs connected to the inlet.” Paragraph 0006)
L'Bassi does not explicitly describe hardware components, a stored setpoint, or command processing as described below. However, Mudd teaches the hardware components and Gold teaches the command processing and Gregor teaches the stored setpoint as described below.
a) transmitting a first sensor data message comprising first sensor data from a device controller of a first apparatus for controlling flow to a central controller, the first apparatus for controlling flow comprising a sensor operably coupled to the device controller, the sensor sensing a characteristic of a fluid within a fluid pathway of the first apparatus for controlling flow; (L’Bassi: see the flow rates sent to the host controller 270 as illustrated in figure 3; “The master FRC 210 can be further configured to report to the host controller 270 the measured flow rates and the actual ratios that the master FRC 210 has received from each slave FRC.” Paragraph 0035)
b) computing a first active component command using a setpoint stored in a memory of the central controller and the first sensor data of the first sensor data message; (Gregor: “In feed-forward embodiments, previous setpoints used by the Flow Ratio Control System can be stored in a data store. The Control Server can use the data store to predict correct flow and/or valve setpoints for specific flow conditions encountered within the Flow Ratio Control System. When unstable flow conditions are detected that can have been encountered in the past, the Control Server can select a setpoint that was successfully implemented to correct the prior condition. The Control Server can then send an updated setpoint command directly to the MFC array without accessing the feedback control logic. For example, if a process recipe step causes a transient flow instability within the MFC array, the flow setpoints used for each channel to correct the problem can be saved to the data store and used to eliminate similar instabilities encountered in the future. If the same or a similar flow instability is encountered at a later time, the Control Server can access the data store to predict a series of flow setpoints that will lead to a flow correction.” Paragraph 0020) (Gold: “Sensors 190 may also be provided at various locations in the gas delivery system 100 to provide a metric indicative of the gas flows and/or chemistries within the system 100. The metric provided by the sensors 190 may be utilized by the controller 150 to adjust the outputs of the MFC's 170 or other component of the gas delivery system 100 such that a desired composition, pressure, rate or volume of gases are provided to the chamber 114. The sensors 190 may be pressure sensor, chemistry sensor, flow rate sensor and the like.” Paragraph 0030)
c) transmitting a first active component message from the central controller to the device controller of the first apparatus for controlling flow, the first active component message comprising the first active component command; (Gold: “Sensors 190 may also be provided at various locations in the gas delivery system 100 to provide a metric indicative of the gas flows and/or chemistries within the system 100. The metric provided by the sensors 190 may be utilized by the controller 150 to adjust the outputs of the MFC's 170 or other component of the gas delivery system 100 such that a desired composition, pressure, rate or volume of gases are provided to the chamber 114. The sensors 190 may be pressure sensor, chemistry sensor, flow rate sensor and the like.” Paragraph 0030)
d) controlling an active component of the first apparatus for controlling flow in accordance with the first active component command to deliver the fluid to a processing chamber comprising an article to be processed; (L’Bassi: see the valves 126-1, . . . , 126-i, . . . , 126-N as illustrated in figure 1A and as described in paragraph 0021)
e) transmitting a second sensor data message comprising second sensor data from the device controller of the first apparatus for controlling flow to the central controller; (L’Bassi: see the flow rates sent to the host controller 270 as illustrated in figure 3; “The master FRC 210 can be further configured to report to the host controller 270 the measured flow rates and the actual ratios that the master FRC 210 has received from each slave FRC.” Paragraph 0035) (Mudd: see the processing chamber 1300C as illustrated in figure 41 and as described in paragraph 0244; “Articles such as semiconductors may be processed within the processing chamber 1300C.” paragraph 0244)
f) computing a second active component command using the setpoint and the second sensor data; (Gregor: “In feed-forward embodiments, previous setpoints used by the Flow Ratio Control System can be stored in a data store. The Control Server can use the data store to predict correct flow and/or valve setpoints for specific flow conditions encountered within the Flow Ratio Control System. When unstable flow conditions are detected that can have been encountered in the past, the Control Server can select a setpoint that was successfully implemented to correct the prior condition. The Control Server can then send an updated setpoint command directly to the MFC array without accessing the feedback control logic. For example, if a process recipe step causes a transient flow instability within the MFC array, the flow setpoints used for each channel to correct the problem can be saved to the data store and used to eliminate similar instabilities encountered in the future. If the same or a similar flow instability is encountered at a later time, the Control Server can access the data store to predict a series of flow setpoints that will lead to a flow correction.” Paragraph 0020) (Gold: “Sensors 190 may also be provided at various locations in the gas delivery system 100 to provide a metric indicative of the gas flows and/or chemistries within the system 100. The metric provided by the sensors 190 may be utilized by the controller 150 to adjust the outputs of the MFC's 170 or other component of the gas delivery system 100 such that a desired composition, pressure, rate or volume of gases are provided to the chamber 114. The sensors 190 may be pressure sensor, chemistry sensor, flow rate sensor and the like.” Paragraph 0030)
g) transmitting a second active component message from the central controller to the device controller of the first apparatus for controlling flow, the second active component message comprising the second active component command; (Gold: “Sensors 190 may also be provided at various locations in the gas delivery system 100 to provide a metric indicative of the gas flows and/or chemistries within the system 100. The metric provided by the sensors 190 may be utilized by the controller 150 to adjust the outputs of the MFC's 170 or other component of the gas delivery system 100 such that a desired composition, pressure, rate or volume of gases are provided to the chamber 114. The sensors 190 may be pressure sensor, chemistry sensor, flow rate sensor and the like.” Paragraph 0030)
h) controlling the active component in accordance with the second active component command to deliver the fluid to the processing chamber. (L’Bassi: see the flow rates sent to the host controller 270 as illustrated in figure 3; “The master FRC 210 can be further configured to report to the host controller 270 the measured flow rates and the actual ratios that the master FRC 210 has received from each slave FRC.” Paragraph 0035) (Mudd: see the processing chamber 1300C as illustrated in figure 41 and as described in paragraph 0244; “Articles such as semiconductors may be processed within the processing chamber 1300C.” paragraph 0244)
L’Bassi, Mudd, Gold, Gregor are combinable for the same rationale as set forth above with respect to claim 8.
Claim 47:
L'Bassi does not explicitly describe hardware components, a stored setpoint, or command processing as described below. However, Mudd teaches the hardware components and Gold teaches the command processing and Gregor teaches the stored setpoint as described below.
The cited prior art describes the method of claim 39 further comprising steps i), j), k), and l),
step i) comprising transmitting a third sensor data message comprising third sensor data from a device controller of a second apparatus for controlling flow to the central controller, (L’Bassi: see the flow rates sent to the host controller 270 as illustrated in figure 3; “The master FRC 210 can be further configured to report to the host controller 270 the measured flow rates and the actual ratios that the master FRC 210 has received from each slave FRC.” Paragraph 0035)
step j) comprising computing a third active component command using the setpoint and the third sensor data, (Gregor: “In feed-forward embodiments, previous setpoints used by the Flow Ratio Control System can be stored in a data store. The Control Server can use the data store to predict correct flow and/or valve setpoints for specific flow conditions encountered within the Flow Ratio Control System. When unstable flow conditions are detected that can have been encountered in the past, the Control Server can select a setpoint that was successfully implemented to correct the prior condition. The Control Server can then send an updated setpoint command directly to the MFC array without accessing the feedback control logic. For example, if a process recipe step causes a transient flow instability within the MFC array, the flow setpoints used for each channel to correct the problem can be saved to the data store and used to eliminate similar instabilities encountered in the future. If the same or a similar flow instability is encountered at a later time, the Control Server can access the data store to predict a series of flow setpoints that will lead to a flow correction.” Paragraph 0020) (Gold: “Sensors 190 may also be provided at various locations in the gas delivery system 100 to provide a metric indicative of the gas flows and/or chemistries within the system 100. The metric provided by the sensors 190 may be utilized by the controller 150 to adjust the outputs of the MFC's 170 or other component of the gas delivery system 100 such that a desired composition, pressure, rate or volume of gases are provided to the chamber 114. The sensors 190 may be pressure sensor, chemistry sensor, flow rate sensor and the like.” Paragraph 0030)
step k) comprising transmitting a third active component message from the central controller to the device controller of the first apparatus for controlling flow, the third active component message comprising the third active component command, and (Gold: “Sensors 190 may also be provided at various locations in the gas delivery system 100 to provide a metric indicative of the gas flows and/or chemistries within the system 100. The metric provided by the sensors 190 may be utilized by the controller 150 to adjust the outputs of the MFC's 170 or other component of the gas delivery system 100 such that a desired composition, pressure, rate or volume of gases are provided to the chamber 114. The sensors 190 may be pressure sensor, chemistry sensor, flow rate sensor and the like.” Paragraph 0030)
step l) comprising controlling the active component in accordance with the third active component command to deliver the fluid to the processing chamber. (L’Bassi: see the valves 126-1, . . . , 126-i, . . . , 126-N as illustrated in figure 1A and as described in paragraph 0021)
L’Bassi, Mudd, Gold, Gregor are combinable for the same rationale as set forth above with respect to claim 8.
Claim 48:
L'Bassi does not explicitly describe hardware components, a stored setpoint, or command processing as described below. However, Mudd teaches the hardware components and Gold teaches the command processing and Gregor teaches the stored setpoint as described below.
The cited prior art describes the method of claim 39 further comprising steps i), j), k), and l),
step i) comprising transmitting a fourth sensor data message comprising fourth sensor data from a device controller of a second apparatus for controlling flow to the central controller and transmitting a fifth sensor data message comprising fifth sensor data from the device controller of the first apparatus for controlling flow to the central controller, (L’Bassi: see the flow rates sent to the host controller 270 as illustrated in figure 3; “The master FRC 210 can be further configured to report to the host controller 270 the measured flow rates and the actual ratios that the master FRC 210 has received from each slave FRC.” Paragraph 0035)
step j) comprising computing a fourth active component command using the setpoint and the fourth and fifth sensor data, (Gregor: “In feed-forward embodiments, previous setpoints used by the Flow Ratio Control System can be stored in a data store. The Control Server can use the data store to predict correct flow and/or valve setpoints for specific flow conditions encountered within the Flow Ratio Control System. When unstable flow conditions are detected that can have been encountered in the past, the Control Server can select a setpoint that was successfully implemented to correct the prior condition. The Control Server can then send an updated setpoint command directly to the MFC array without accessing the feedback control logic. For example, if a process recipe step causes a transient flow instability within the MFC array, the flow setpoints used for each channel to correct the problem can be saved to the data store and used to eliminate similar instabilities encountered in the future. If the same or a similar flow instability is encountered at a later time, the Control Server can access the data store to predict a series of flow setpoints that will lead to a flow correction.” Paragraph 0020) (Gold: “Sensors 190 may also be provided at various locations in the gas delivery system 100 to provide a metric indicative of the gas flows and/or chemistries within the system 100. The metric provided by the sensors 190 may be utilized by the controller 150 to adjust the outputs of the MFC's 170 or other component of the gas delivery system 100 such that a desired composition, pressure, rate or volume of gases are provided to the chamber 114. The sensors 190 may be pressure sensor, chemistry sensor, flow rate sensor and the like.” Paragraph 0030)
step k) comprising transmitting a fourth active component message from the central controller to the device controller of the first apparatus for controlling flow, the fourth active component message comprising the fourth active component command, and (Gold: “Sensors 190 may also be provided at various locations in the gas delivery system 100 to provide a metric indicative of the gas flows and/or chemistries within the system 100. The metric provided by the sensors 190 may be utilized by the controller 150 to adjust the outputs of the MFC's 170 or other component of the gas delivery system 100 such that a desired composition, pressure, rate or volume of gases are provided to the chamber 114. The sensors 190 may be pressure sensor, chemistry sensor, flow rate sensor and the like.” Paragraph 0030)
step l) comprising controlling the active component in accordance with the fourth active component command to deliver the fluid to the processing chamber. (L’Bassi: see the valves 126-1, . . . , 126-i, . . . , 126-N as illustrated in figure 1A and as described in paragraph 0021)
L’Bassi, Mudd, Gold, Gregor are combinable for the same rationale as set forth above with respect to claim 8.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0324233 describes a fluid control device.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0129020 describes a flow rate ratio control device.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0076935 describes a multiple channel pulse gas delivery system.
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/Christopher E. Everett/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2117
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