DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 05/06/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1, 8 and 11-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yassour et al. [US 2008/0145190 A1].
Regarding claim 1, Yassour et al. discloses a thermal conditioning unit to thermally condition a substrate (Figs. 1 and 4-6), the thermal conditioning unit comprising:
a surface (as shown in Figs. 1 and 4-6);
a plurality of gas inlets and gas outlets provided in the top surface (as shown in Figs. 1 and 4-6, see also paragraphs [0029]-[0033] teaches the plurality of ports);
a plurality of pressure valves connected to the plurality of gas inlets and gas outlets (paragraphs [0035] and [0056] teaches flow restrictors), wherein each of the plurality of pressure valves is configured to, during use, be connected to a pressure supply to generate a spatial pressure distribution across the surface of the thermal conditioning unit (paragraphs [0059] and [0085] teaches wafer may be heated or cooled by a conductive heat transfer mechanism, being transferred between platform to a surface of wafer opposite to surface via fluid cushion); and
a control device (160) configured to control the plurality of pressure valves to generate, during use, the spatial pressure distribution (paragraphs [0072]-[0080] teaches controlling the gap between the wafer and the surface),
wherein the control device (160) is configured to receive substrate shape data representing a shape of the substrate to be conditioned (paragraph [0036] teaches the functionality of the PV-type fluid-cushion, with respect to FD-stiffness and accordingly to the flatness accuracy performances), wherein the control device is configured to control the plurality of pressure valves to adapt the spatial pressure distribution based on the substrate shape data (paragraph [0168] teaches support platform may be implemented to achieve relatively high flatness accuracy) and wherein the spatial pressure distribution provides a vacuum preloaded gas bearing to support the substrate such the entire substrate is suspended away from the surface and out of contact with any structure (paragraph [0040] teaches vacuum preload fluid-cushion that exhibits high flattening performance).
Regarding claim 8, Yassour et al. discloses wherein the substrate shape data comprises warpage data (paragraph [0036] teaches the functionality of the PV-type fluid-cushion, with respect to FD-stiffness and accordingly to the flatness accuracy performances).
Regarding claim 11, Yassour et al. discloses further comprising a support chuck having at least one degree of freedom (paragraph [0128] teaches vertical movement of platform).
Regarding claims 12, 13 and 17, Yassour et al. discloses connecting each of the plurality of pressure valves to a pressure supply, receiving, at the control device, substrate shape data representing a shape of the substrate to be conditioned (paragraph [0036] teaches the functionality of the PV-type fluid-cushion, with respect to FD-stiffness and accordingly to the flatness accuracy performances), and controlling the supply of an over-pressure, under-pressure, and/or ambient pressure to each of the plurality of pressure valves to generate a spatial pressure distribution across the surface of the thermal conditioning unit, wherein the spatial pressure distribution is based on the substrate shape data (paragraphs [0029]-[0033]), further comprising: conditioning the substrate with the generated spatial pressure distribution, and clamping the conditioned substrate (paragraph [0155] teaches non-contact clamped to one of the platforms can be heated or cooled accordingly).
Regarding claims 14, 15, 16, 18 and 19, Yassour et al. discloses a substrate handling device comprising the thermal conditioning unit, further comprising an inlet port configured to receive a substrate and a handling robot configured to position the substrate onto the thermal conditioning unit (paragraphs [0027] and [0143] teaches handing and conveying equipment).
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.
Claims 3-7, 9, 10, 20 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yassour et al. in view of Heo et al. [US 2019/0333800 A1].
Regarding claims 3-7, 20 and 21, Yassour et al. discloses the thermal conditioning unit, as applied above.
Yassour et al. does not teach wherein the control device is configured to determine a control sequence and/or control set point for the plurality of pressure valves based on the warpage data, wherein the control device is configured to determine the control sequence and wherein the control sequence represents an order in which the pressure valves are operated to establish the spatial pressure distribution, wherein the spatial pressure distribution comprises a plurality of concentric ring-shaped pressure areas, wherein the plurality of gas outlets and gas inlets are arranged along one or more concentric circles, wherein the surface comprises a plurality of grooves, each groove comprising one or more gas inlets or one or more gas outlets, wherein the plurality of grooves are arc or circular shaped.
However, Heo et al. discloses apparatus for supporting a substrate comprising a controller to independently control pressure valves to cope with a warpage of a substrate (paragraphs [0047]-[0053], see also Figs. 5-7), wherein the spatial pressure distribution comprises a plurality of concentric ring-shaped pressure areas, wherein the plurality of gas outlets and gas inlets are arranged along one or more concentric circles, wherein the surface comprises a plurality of grooves, each groove comprising one or more gas inlets or one or more gas outlets, wherein the plurality of grooves are arc or circular shaped (as shown in Figs. 1-9).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a control sequence to controlled to adapt the spatial pressure distribution based on the substrate warpage data, as taught by Heo et al. in the system of Compen et al. wherein the spatial pressure distribution comprises a plurality of concentric ring-shaped pressure areas and arc groves because such a modification provides a suitable alternative configuration of a substrate support to prevent warpage and improves the specific shaping of the substrate such that the substrate can be uniformly heated or cooled or imaged (processed) (paragraphs [0047]-[0053] of Heo et al.).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1 and 3-21 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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/DEORAM PERSAUD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
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