DETAILED ACTION
Response to Amendment
1. Applicant's amendment filed on 02/04/26 has been received and entered in the case. Claim 1 is allowable in view of the incorporation of the allowable subject matter from claim 4 into claim 1. The indefiniteness rejection of claim 8 is maintained and repeated, as is the anticipation rejection of claims 17-19 and the obviousness rejection of claim 20, for the reasons set forth below.
Information Disclosure Statement
2. The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/12/25 has been considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
3. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
On lines 2-3 of claim 8, "the plurality of apertures disposed along the second cleaning gas flow path" lacks antecedent basis, note that neither claim 1 nor claim 6 recites a plurality of apertures disposed along the second cleaning gas flow path. Because neither claim 1 nor claim 6 recites a plurality of apertures disposed along the second cleaning gas flow path, it is improper to recite "the plurality of apertures disposed along the second cleaning gas flow path" in claim 8, i.e., this is a lack of antecedent basis problem.
On the last two lines of claim 8, "the plurality of apertures disposed along the first cleaning gas flow path" also lacks antecedent basis, for the same reason noted above, i.e., because neither claim 1 nor claim 6 recites a plurality of apertures disposed along the first cleaning gas flow path, it is improper to recite "the plurality of apertures disposed along the first cleaning gas flow path" in claim 8, i.e., this is again a lack of antecedent basis problem.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
4. The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Aida et al, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0367151.
Note paragraph six of the previous office action regarding the anticipation rejection of claims 17-19, i.e., as indicated therein, Aida et al’s figure 1 includes the claimed semiconductor processing chamber, enhancement liner and faceplate, and
it appears that both cleaning gas and plasma precursor gas flow into the processing chamber 1’s figure 1, wherein the cleaning gas is exhausted through the liner volume formed by liner components 30a-30d, as per claim 17, and the flowing of cleaning gas and/or precursor gase in Aida et al's figure 1 plasma processing apparatus will apparently be simultaneous with each other, as per claims 18 and 19, and as indicated in the previous office action, it has long been held by the courts that where the examiner has reason to believe that a functional limitation asserted to be critical for establishing novelty in the claimed subject matter may, in fact, be an inherent characteristic of the prior art, the examiner possesses the authority to require the applicant to prove that the subject matter shown to be in the prior art does not possess the characteristic relied on, see In re Swinehart, 58 CCPA 1027, 169 USPQ 226 (1971).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
5. The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Aida et al, supra.
As indicated in the previous office action, although Aida et al does not indicate that the plasma precursor comprises carbon, this limitation also would have been obvious to any person having ordinary skill in the art, the reason being that it was old and well-known in the art before the effective filing date of applicant's invention that plasma precursors typically comprise carbon, of which fact official notice is taken by the examiner.
Allowable Subject Matter
6. Claims 1-3, 5-7 and 9-13 are allowed.
Claim 8 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 1-3 and 5-13 are allowable in view of the incorporation of the allowable subject matter from claim 4 into claim 1, as noted above.
Action is Final
7. THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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.
Conclusion
8. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH B WELLS whose telephone number is (571)272-1757. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, LINCOLN DONOVAN can be reached at (571)272-1988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/KENNETH B WELLS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2842 February 16, 2026