Detailed Actions
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 Arguments
Applicant's arguments, See page 5, Paragraph 1 of applicant’s arguments, filed 08/25/2026, in regards to new claim 1, filed 08/25/2026 also regarding old claim 6, filed 05/29/2024 have been fully considered but they do not place the application in the conditions for allowance. In the non-final office action, it is written that “It would be impossible to determine what such a temperature decrease rate constitutes when such a single stage temperature increase is not part of the invention at hand”(See Page 1 of office action, dated 06/11/2026).” This limitation does not appear changed from the old claim 6. The issue remains that the limitation bases its temperature decrease rate off a hypothetical alternative process where the temperature of a front surface of a substrate is increased in a single stage to the treatment temperature. Such a hypothetical process could have countless temperature decrease rates from various process conditions not described in the claims or in the specification at hand. Therefore, old claim 6, and now new claim 1 remain rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as well as under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) under Yokomori(US 20090166351 A1, hereafter Yokomori), as the amended limitation to claim 1 now inherits old claim 6’s failure to particularly point out and distinctly claim subject matter, while the remainder of the claim remains largely identical as in the claims dated 05/29/2024. As claims 2-5 remain unchanged, their rejections are also kept the same.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Yokouchi(US 20110262115 A1) discloses a heating method which uses intermediate heating stages. Fuse(US 20180166281 A1) discloses another heating method with an intermediate heating temperature lower than a first heating peak.
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARSHALL MU-NUO HATFIELD whose telephone number is (703)756-1506. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thus 11:00 AM-9:00PM EST.
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/FERNANDO L TOLEDO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2897
/MARSHALL MU-NUO HATFIELD/Examiner, Art Unit 2897
