Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 02, 2026
Application No. 18/707,235

SUBSTRATE TREATMENT SYSTEM AND SUBSTRATE TREATMENT METHOD

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
May 03, 2024
Priority
Nov 17, 2021 — nonprovisional of PCTJP2021042176
Examiner
CHIN, EDWARD
Art Unit
Tech Center
Assignee
Tokyo Electron Limited
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
87%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
94%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 87% — above average
87%
Career Allowance Rate
608 granted / 697 resolved
+27.2% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+6.8%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 5m
Avg Prosecution
21 currently pending
Career history
705
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.2%
-39.8% vs TC avg
§103
58.8%
+18.8% vs TC avg
§102
32.9%
-7.1% vs TC avg
§112
7.1%
-32.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 697 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
CTNF 18/707,235 CTNF 88248 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Detailed Action This office action is in response to applicant’s communication filed on 05/03/24. Claims 1-9 are pending in this application. Information Disclosure statement The information disclosure statement filed on 05/03/24 has been received and is being considered. Claim Rejections under 35 U.S.C. §102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-12-aia AIA (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 1, 7, and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. §102(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Wang (US 2006/0160365 A1). Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses a substrate treatment system connected to an exposure apparatus (32’, 33’, see fig 2, paras [0019]-[0021]), the substrate treatment system comprising: a substrate treatment apparatus configured to perform a treatment on a substrate (see figs 1-4 disclosing 32); and a first supply path connecting the substrate treatment apparatus and the exposure apparatus and configured to supply cooling water used in the substrate treatment apparatus to the exposure apparatus (see figs 1-4 and para [0020] disclosing that 30 connects 40 and 40’ to both chambers). Regarding claim 7, Wang discloses the substrate treatment system according to claim 1 , the system further comprising a cooler configured to cool cooling water to be supplied to the exposure apparatus (see paras [0019] and [0020] disclosing controlling temperature using cooling water). Regarding claim 9, Wang discloses a substrate treatment method using a substrate treatment system connected to an exposure apparatus, the substrate treatment method comprising supplying cooling water used in a substrate treatment apparatus to the exposure apparatus (see figs 1-4 disclosing system 30 connected to two process chambers). Claim Rejections Under 35 U.S.C. §103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C §103 as being unpatentable over Wang as applied to claim 1 and further in view of Lee (KR 20070013488 A) . Regarding claim 8, Wang discloses the substrate treatment system according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate treatment system notifies the exposure apparatus of information about the cooling water to be supplied to the exposure apparatus, see paras [0019], and [0020] disclosing controlling temperature of water but does not disclose a system controller controlling temperature information between the substrate treatment and exposure apparatus. However, Lee, at least at the description, discloses such a control system, (167 is connected to the control unit 169 to adjust. The control unit 169 may be separated (removed) from the cooling fluid recovery system 18. The control unit 169 may be separated after the cooling fluid recovery is completed and used in another cooling fluid recovery system.) Wang and Lee are in the same or similar fields of endeavor. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at a time prior to the effective filing date of the present application to combine Wang with Lee. Wang and Lee may be combined by regulating the temperature of Wang’s cooling water by using a controller as taught in Lee. One having ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to combine Wang with Lee in order to effectively utilize heat transfer characteristics of fluid heat transfer/cooling. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDWARD CHIN whose telephone number is (571)270-1827. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM-5PM. 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, Britt Hanley can be reached at (571) 270-3042 . 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. /EDWARD CHIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893 Application/Control Number: 18/707,235 Page 2 Art Unit: 2893 Application/Control Number: 18/707,235 Page 3 Art Unit: 2893
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

May 03, 2024
Application Filed
Jun 02, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
Sep 25, 2026
Interview Requested

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12751272
MEMORY DEVICE HAVING 2-TRANSISTOR VERTICAL MEMORY CELL AND A COMMON PLATE
3y 1m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12750998
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE
3y 3m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12751050
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME
2y 12m to grant Granted Sep 29, 2026
Patent 12740349
FILM FORMING METHOD AND FILM FORMING APPARATUS
2y 11m to grant Granted Sep 15, 2026
Patent 12733510
SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE
3y 3m to grant Granted Sep 08, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

Strategy Recommendation AI-generated — please review before filing

Get a prosecution strategy drawn from examiner precedents, rejection analysis, and claim mapping.
Typically takes 5-10 seconds — AI-generated, attorney review required before filing

Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
87%
Grant Probability
94%
With Interview (+6.8%)
2y 5m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 697 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

Sign in with your work email

Enter your email to receive a magic link. No password needed.

Personal email addresses (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) are not accepted.

Free tier: 3 strategy analyses per month