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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 4-7, filed December 11, 2025, with respect to the rejection(s) of claims 1 and 3-6 under U.S.C. 102 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. A new ground(s) of rejection is necessitated by the amendment. The deficiencies of Matsumoto are now met by Miyazaki in. Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1and 3-6 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.
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.
Claim(s) 1 and 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Miyazaki US 2013/0154675 A1(hereinafter referred to as Miyazaki).
Regarding claim 1, Miyazaki discloses a wafer inspection apparatus (fig. 1, elm. 2, par. [0048]) comprising a turntable (fig. 1, elm. 4, par. [0049]), the turntable comprising; an annular wafer support unit (fig. 1, elm. 3, par. [0049]), the annular wafer support unit comprising: a contact portion (fig. 2-3 and 6, elm. 12, par. [0062]) configured to contact a lower surface of a wafer (fig. 2, elm. 5, par. [0049]), the contact portion (fig. 2-3 and 6, elm. 12, par. [0062]) having a convex shape extending towards the lower surface of the wafer (see fig. 2-3), a non-contact portion (fig. 2-3 and 5, groove, par. [0055]) configured to be out of contact with the lower surface of the wafer, the non-contact portion having a concave shape recessed relative to an upper surface of the contact portion (see fig. 2-3), and a stepped portion between the contact portion and the non-contact portion defining a height difference (fig. 5, distance t2, par. [0062]) such that a gap is formed between the wafer and the non-contact portion (see fig. 2); and a clamping system (fig. 2, wafer holding means 9, par. [0082]) comprising a holding claw (fig. 6-7,wafer holder 13, par. [0062]) for clamping the wafer, wherein the contact portion and the non-contact portion are alternately arranged in a circumferential direction of the turntable so as to face an outer peripheral portion of the lower surface of the wafer (see fig. 2-5), and are provided such that the length in the circumferential direction of the contact portion is shorter than the length in the circumferential direction of the non-contact portion (see fig. 2).
Regarding claim 3, Miyazaki discloses the wafer inspection apparatus of claim 1, wherein a direction of a normal line of a stepped surface (see fig. 2-5)) between the contact portion (fig. 2-3 and 6, elm. 12, par. [0062]) and the non-contact portion (fig. 2-3 and 5, groove, par. [0055]) of the annular wafer support unit (fig. 1, elm. 3, par. [0049]) is a direction to face outward with respect to a tangential direction of an outer periphery of the turntable (fig. 1, elm. 4, par. [0049]).
Regarding claim 4, Miyazaki discloses the wafer inspection apparatus of claim 1, wherein a same number of clamping systems (fig. 2, wafer holding means 9, par. [0082]) and contact portions (fig. 2-3 and 6, elm. 12, par. [0062]) are disposed in the circumferential direction of the turntable (fig. 1, elm. 4, par. [0049]).
Regarding claim 5, Miyazaki discloses the wafer inspection apparatus of claim 4, wherein the holding claw (fig. 6-7,wafer holder 13, par. [0062]) of the clamping system is (fig. 2, wafer holding means 9, par. [0082]) provided within a range that overlaps a region where the contact portion (fig. 2-3 and 6, elm. 12, par. [0062]) is provided in the circumferential direction of the turntable (see fig. 3 and 6-8).
Regarding claim 6, Miyazaki discloses the wafer inspection apparatus offig. 6-7, wafer holder 13, par. [0062]) is disposed radially outward with respect to the annular wafer support unit (see fig. 2).
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyazaki as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Smedt et al. US 20010013684 A1 (hereinafter referred to as Smedt).
Regarding claim 2, Miyazaki discloses the wafer inspection apparatus of claim 1, Miyazaki does not disclose wherein a gap between the wafer (and the annular wafer support unit in the non-contact portion is greater than 0 mm and 0.4 mm or less, and preferably 0.3 mm or less.
Smedt discloses wherein a gap between the wafer (fig. 7, wafer 115, par. [0056]) and the annular wafer support unit (fig. 7, handling chuck 101, par. [0056]) in the non-contact portion is greater than 0 mm and 0.4 mm or less, and preferably 0.3 mm or less (fig. 7, 0.012 inch gap, par. [0056]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to (provide minimize surface contact and sufficient space for an air bearing as taught in Smedt in modifying the apparatus of Miyazaki. The motivation would be to stabilize the wafer due to spinning vortex effects. (see Smedt: abstract).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 COURTNEY G MCDONNOUGH whose telephone number is (571)272-6552. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8 am-5 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, EMAN ALKAFAWI can be reached at (571) 272-4448. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/COURTNEY G MCDONNOUGH/Examiner, Art Unit 2858
/NASIMA MONSUR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2858