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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
(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.
1. Claims 1, 2, 6, 9, 14-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(2) as being anticipated by Ishikawa et al (USPN 2022/0216086).
Regarding claim 1, Ishikawa discloses an electrostatic chuck member (an electrostatic chuck device 10, see figures 1, 3-4) comprising:
a dielectric substrate (20, 70) having a placement surface (20a, b) on which a sample (a wafer W) is mounted,
wherein a direction orthogonal to the placement surface is a thickness direction (a thickness direction includes a thickness of 20, 70) thereof; and
an adsorption electrode (electrodes 22) which is embedded in the dielectric substrate (20),
wherein a gas flow path (a gas flow path 30, see figures 3, 4), which extends along a planar direction of the placement surface (20a,b) (multiple gas flow paths 30 formed circumferentially the surface 20a, b of the ceramic plate 20, 70 see par. 0025, and figure 5) is provided in the dielectric substrate (20),
the gas flow path (30) has an inner surface (32) which includes a bottom surface portion (30a) that faces the same direction as the placement surface (20a), a top surface portion (31) that faces the bottom surface portion (31a), and a pair of side surface portions (33) that connect the bottom surface portion (31a) and the top surface portion (31), wherein at least one of the side surface portions (33) is inclined with respect to the thickness direction (the thickness of the plate 20, 70)(see figure 5).
Regarding claim 2, Ishikawa discloses wherein the gas flow path extends in an arc shape with respect to a center of the dielectric substrate (a segment of the gas flow paths 30 are formed circumferentially the surface 20a, b of the ceramic plate 20 formed an arc shape, see par. 0025, and figure 5).
Regarding claim 6, Yamaguchi discloses wherein the dielectric substrate (20) includes a first supporting plate (20) and a second supporting plate (70) which are stacked in the thickness direction, and the gas flow path (30) is provided between the first supporting plate and the second supporting plate (see figure ).
Regarding claim 9, Ishikawa discloses a base (a base 60) that supports the electrostatic chuck member (20) from a side opposite to the placement surface.
Regarding claim 14, Ishikawa discloses wherein a cross-section of the gas flow path (the gas flow path 30) in a radical direction has a trapezoidal shape or a substantially trapezoidal shape (the gas flow path 30 has a trapezoidal shape shown in figure 5).
Regarding claim 15, Ishikawa discloses wherein the bottom surface portion (30a) and the top surface portion (31) of the gas flow path are parallel to each other, and a dimension in a radical direction of the bottom surface portion (30a) is larger than that of the top surface portion in a plan view (31)(see figure 5).
Regarding claim 16, Ishikawa discloses wherein the gas flow path extends in a ring shape in a plan view (see par. 0025), and a dimension in a radical direction of the bottom surface portion (31a) is larger than that of the top surface portion (31) in a plan view (see figure 5).
Allowable Subject Matter
2. Claims 3-5, 7-8, 10-13 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
3. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANNY NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-2054. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00AM-4:30PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Monica Lewis can be reached at 571-271-1838. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DANNY NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2838
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