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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Applicant’s arguments filed on May 12, 2026 have been fully considered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the second treated droplet adjacent to the treated droplet and the gap between the treated droplets narrower than the gap between the untreated droplets in claims 12 and 19 must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 12 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claims 12 and 19, the claim is directed to a second treated droplet adjacent to the treated droplet and the gap between the treated droplets narrower than the gap between the untreated droplets. However, Fig. 10 and para 0057 of the specification discloses that the treated droplet 20a is positioned outside of untreated droplets 20b and that the treated droplet 20a is closer to the periphery than the untreated droplets. If the purpose of positioning the treated droplets at the periphery is to prevent extension of the imprint material to outside the shot region, the second treated droplets would not be adjacent the first treated droplets and at the other periphery of the shot region, and the gap would be wider than the gap between the untreated droplets positioned in the inner region. Further other embodiments in Fig. 12 and 14 only show untreated droplets. In order to expedite prosecution, although the claims seem to contradict the disclosure, the claims are examined as written and disregarding the apparent contradictions.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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(s) 1, 3-7, 9-14 and 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hatano et al. (Hatano) (2020/0073233) in view of Cho et al. (Cho) (2023/0138834).
Regarding claim 1, Hatano discloses an imprint apparatus (Fig. 12) comprising: a stage (10) having a face on which an object (100 wafer, para 0027) is placed, the object having a first surface (Fig. 12); a dropping device (50) configured to drop a droplet of a photocurable resin in a first direction (downward, Fig. 3A) intersecting with the face (para 0033, 0039, Fig. 3A); an irradiation device (71) configured to irradiate a first light in a second direction (downward, Fig. 12, para 0091, 0092); a holder (21) configured to hold a template (200) having a second surface, the second surface having a pattern (Fig. 7, para 0030); an exposure device (41) configured to irradiate a second light in a third direction intersecting with the face (para 0032, 0044); and a control device (160) configured to drive the dropping device and the irradiation device and control selecting whether to irradiate the first light to the droplet according to a position where the droplet is to be dropped on the first surface (para 0091-0096, counts the order of dropping the droplet, predicts elapsed time of each of the shot regions and “irradiates the droplet in each of the shot regions, with light, while adjusting the intensity of the light with the irradiation unit 71 and the light intensity changing unit 72, according to the order of dropping the droplet”). However, Hatano does not disclose the first light irradiating in a second direction intersecting with the first direction, and wherein the irradiation device is configured to irradiate the first light to the droplet while the droplet is dropping.
Cho discloses a 3D printing apparatus (Fig. 1) comprising an object (W) on which photocurable resin is dropped from ejector (30, para 0031), an irradiation device (first photo curing system 100, para 0031) and an exposure device (second photo curing system 200, para 0031). Cho discloses that the irradiation device of first photo curing system is used to change the viscosity of the resin by irradiate the light in a direction that intersects with the direction the resin is dropping while the droplet is dropping (L1, Fig. 1, para 0039, 0043, 0046). Although the 3D printing apparatus is not the same as imprint lithography, they both have in common the method of dropping photocurable resin and curing the resin, and since Hatano discloses the irradiation device (71) to change the viscosity (para 0092) and Cho also discloses the irradiation device (100) is used to change the viscosity of the resin (para 0046), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the irradiation device which irradiates the droplets of the resin from the direction that is perpendicular to the dropping direction while the droplet is dropping in order to change the viscosity and to reduce spreading as taught by Cho in para 0046.
Regarding claim 3, Hatano discloses wherein the irradiation device comprises: a light source (71, Fig. 12) configured to emit the first light (para 0091); and an optical system (72) configured to control the first light (para 0092).
Regarding claim 4, although Hatano does not disclose wherein the irradiation device is provided in the dropping device, Hatano discloses in Fig. 12, the irradiation device (71) located in a close proximity to the dropping device (50). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the irradiation device in the dropping device in order to provide more compact apparatus since it has been held that forming in one piece an article which has formerly been formed in two pieces and put together involves only routine skill in the art.
Regarding claim 5, Hatano does not disclose wherein the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction. Cho discloses photocurable resin (50) dropped in the first direction (Z-direction, Fig. 1, para 0043) and the irradiation device irradiating the light in the second direction (Y-direction, Fig. 1) to change the viscosity of the resin (para 0043, 0046). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the irradiating the droplet in the direction perpendicular to the falling direction in order to irradiate the droplets while dropping for the reasons stated above.
Regarding claim 6, Hatano discloses wherein the second light (41) has a wavelength different from a wavelength of the first light (71, para 0092).
Regarding claim 7, Hatano discloses an imprint method (Fig. 12) comprising: dropping a first droplet of a photocurable resin (Fig. 3A, para 0033, 0039) and irradiating a first light (71, Fig. 12) to the dropped first droplet, to form a treated droplet of the first droplet on a first surface of an object (100, para 0091, 0092); pressing a pattern on a second surface of a template (200) against a dropped resin having the treated droplet and the untreated droplet, to mold the dropped resin and thus form a layer of the photocurable resin (Fig. 4B, 4C, para 0043-0045, Fig. 15, S205, para 0107); irradiating a second light (41, Fig. 4B, 15) to the layer through the template to cure the layer and transfer the pattern to the layer (para 0044); and releasing the template from the cured layer with the transferred pattern (Fig. 4C, para 0045). Although Hatano does not disclose wherein the treated droplet has a viscosity higher than a viscosity of the untreated droplet and lower than a viscosity of the cured layer, Hatano discloses that the droplet is treated by the first light (71) to increase the viscosity (para 0092) and the light intensity is changed depending on the timing of the dropping the droplet and the elapsed time before pressing the pattern of the template (200) against the dropped resin, so that some droplet would have higher viscosity than the other (para 0095, 0101-0103). Further, Hatano does not disclose irradiating the first light to the dropping first droplet, and does not disclose dropping a second droplet of the photocurable resin without irradiating the first light to the dropping second droplet, to form an untreated droplet of the second droplet on the first surface.
Cho discloses a 3D printing apparatus (Fig. 1) comprising an object (W) on which photocurable resin is dropped from ejector (30, para 0031), an irradiation device (first photo curing system 100, para 0031) and an exposure device (second photo curing system 200, para 0031). Cho discloses that the irradiation device of first photo curing system is used to change the viscosity of the resin by irradiate the light in a direction that intersects with the direction the resin is dropping while the droplet is dropping (L1, Fig. 1, para 0039, 0043, 0046). Although the 3D printing apparatus is not the same as imprint lithography, they both have in common the method of dropping photocurable resin and curing the resin, and since Hatano discloses the irradiation device (71) to change the viscosity (para 0092) and Cho also discloses the irradiation device (100) is used to change the viscosity of the resin (para 0046), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the irradiation device which irradiates the droplets of the resin from the direction that is perpendicular to the dropping direction while the droplet is dropping in order to change the viscosity and to reduce spreading as taught by Cho in para 0046. Further, Cho discloses a light controller (420, Fig. 13) which controls the first light (100) and the second light (200) and power controller (424) which determines and adjusts the power from “0 to 100%” to the light based on the material of the droplet and a rate of change in viscosity (para 0074). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a second droplet that is untreated so that the treated first droplet would have higher viscosity than the untreated second droplet by providing a first light of a predetermined intensity to the first droplet to treat the first droplet and providing a second light of 0% intensity, as taught by Cho, to the second droplet to form untreated droplet depending on the material or the timing of the dropping the droplet and the elapsed time before pressing the pattern of the template (200) against the dropped resin as taught by Hatano.
Regarding claim 14, Hatano discloses method of manufacturing a semiconductor device (para 0003), comprising: dropping a first droplet of a photocurable resin (Fig. 3A, para 0033, 0039) and irradiating a first light (71, Fig. 12) to the dropped first droplet, to form a treated droplet of the first droplet on a first surface of an object (100, para 0091, 0092); pressing a pattern on a second surface of a template (200) against a dropped resin having the treated droplet and the untreated droplet, to mold the dropped resin and thus form a layer of the photocurable resin (Fig. 4B, 4C, para 0043-0045, Fig. 15, S205, para 0107); irradiating a second light (41, Fig. 4B, 15) to the layer through the template to cure the layer and transfer the pattern to the layer (para 0044); and releasing the template from the cured layer with the transferred pattern (Fig. 4C, para 0045).
First, although Hatano does not explicitly disclose processing the object by etching using the layer, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to process the object after curing the layer and transferring the pattern in order to remove the residual layer of resist complete the fabrication of semiconductor device.
Second, although Hatano does not disclose wherein the treated droplet has a viscosity higher than a viscosity of the untreated droplet and lower than a viscosity of the cured layer, Hatano discloses that the droplet is treated by the first light (71) to increase the viscosity (para 0092) and the light intensity is changed depending on the timing of the dropping the droplet and the elapsed time before pressing the pattern of the template (200) against the dropped resin, so that some droplet would have higher viscosity than the other (para 0095, 0101-0103).
Third, Hatano does not disclose irradiating the first light to the dropping first droplet, and does not disclose dropping a second droplet of the photocurable resin without irradiating the first light to the dropping second droplet, to form an untreated droplet of the second droplet on the first surface.
Cho discloses a 3D printing apparatus (Fig. 1) comprising an object (W) on which photocurable resin is dropped from ejector (30, para 0031), an irradiation device (first photo curing system 100, para 0031) and an exposure device (second photo curing system 200, para 0031). Cho discloses that the irradiation device of first photo curing system is used to change the viscosity of the resin by irradiate the light in a direction that intersects with the direction the resin is dropping while the droplet is dropping (L1, Fig. 1, para 0039, 0043, 0046). Although the 3D printing apparatus is not the same as imprint lithography, they both have in common the method of dropping photocurable resin and curing the resin, and since Hatano discloses the irradiation device (71) to change the viscosity (para 0092) and Cho also discloses the irradiation device (100) is used to change the viscosity of the resin (para 0046), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the irradiation device which irradiates the droplets of the resin from the direction that is perpendicular to the dropping direction while the droplet is dropping in order to change the viscosity and to reduce spreading as taught by Cho in para 0046. Further, Cho discloses a light controller (420, Fig. 13) which controls the first light (100) and the second light (200) and power controller (424) which determines and adjusts the power from “0 to 100%” to the light based on the material of the droplet and a rate of change in viscosity (para 0074). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a second droplet that is untreated so that the treated first droplet would have higher viscosity than the untreated second droplet by providing a first light of a predetermined intensity to the first droplet to treat the first droplet and providing a second light of 0% intensity, as taught by Cho, to the second droplet to form untreated droplet depending on the material or the timing of the dropping the droplet and the elapsed time before pressing the pattern of the template (200) against the dropped resin as taught by Hatano.
Regarding claims 9 and 16, Hatano discloses wherein: the pattern has a depression (200, “concave”, Fig. 4, 12); and the pattern is pressed against the dropped resin to bring the treated droplet into contact with the depression (Fig. 4B, 0043).
Regarding claims 10 and 17, Hatano discloses wherein: the first surface has a shot region (Fig. 2, para 0036), and the treated droplet is formed adjacent to a periphery of the shot region (Fig. 14B, para 0101, entire shot region of droplets are treated including the periphery).
Regarding claims 11 and 18, Hatano discloses wherein: the pattern includes a first depression (200, “concave”, Fig. 4, 12) and the pattern is pressed against the dropped resin to bring the treated droplet into contact with the depression (Fig. 4B, 0043). Although Hatano does not disclose a second depression having a width larger than a width of the first depression, the arrangement of the depressions and various width of the depressions depend on a design of the pattern to be imprinted, and it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a template having a first depression having a width and a second depression having a larger width based on the intended pattern to be formed. Further, although Hatano does not disclose that the pattern is pressed against the dropped resin to bring the untreated droplet into contact with the first depression and bring the treated droplet into contact with the second depression, since as discussed above Hatano discloses that the different shot regions are treated to varying degree (para 0095, 0101-0103) and Cho discloses that irradiation power for treating the droplet can be adjusted from “0 to 100%” (para 0074), it would have been obvious to provide a shot regions with treated droplets and another shot region with untreated droplets, and when the pattern is pressed against untreated droplets, the untreated droplets would be brought into contact with the first depression (as well as the second, wider depression) and when the pattern is pressed against treated droplets, the treated droplets would be brought into contact with the second depression (as well as the first depression), for the reasons stated above.
Regarding claims 12 and 19, Hatano discloses dropping a third droplet of the photocurable resin and irradiating the first light to the third droplet, to form a second treated droplet of the third droplet on the first surface, the second treated droplet being adjacent to the treated droplet (Fig 2, 14A, 14B, para 0037, 0099-0105, disclose each region being treated and each region would have a treated droplet adjacent to another treated droplet). However, Hatano does not disclose irradiating the first light to the dropping third droplet and dropping a fourth droplet of the photocurable resin without irradiating the first light to the dropping fourth droplet, to form a second untreated droplet of the fourth droplet on the first surface, the second untreated droplet being adjacent to the untreated droplet, wherein: the dropped resin further includes the second treated droplet and the second untreated droplet; and a gap between the treated droplet and the second treated droplet is narrower than a gap between the untreated droplet and the second untreated droplet. Cho discloses that the irradiation device of first photo curing system is used to change the viscosity of the resin by irradiate the light in a direction that intersects with the direction the resin is dropping while the droplet is dropping (L1, Fig. 1, para 0039, 0043, 0046). Cho also discloses adjusting the power of irradiation light from 0-100% (para 0074). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the irradiation of the first light to the dropping third droplet as taught by Cho to the invention of Hatano for the reasons stated above. Also, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a fourth droplet that is untreated providing a second light of 0% intensity, as taught by Cho, so that a second untreated droplet of the fourth droplet is adjacent to the untreated droplet depending on the elapsed time before pressing the pattern of the template (200) against the dropped resin as taught by Hatano. Further, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide a gap between the treated droplet and the second treated droplet is narrower than a gap between the untreated droplet and the second untreated droplet since Hatano in view of Cho discloses a shot region with treated droplets and another shot region with less treated or untreated droplets for the reasons stated above regarding the type of resin and the elapsed time between the timing of the dropping the droplet and the elapsed time before pressing the pattern of the template (200) against the dropped resin, there would be some two droplets int the treated shot region with a gap narrower than some two droplets in untreated shot region with a wider gap.
Regarding claims 13 and 20, Hatano discloses wherein the second light (41) is irradiated in a third direction intersecting with the first surface (Fig. 4B). However, Hatano does not disclose wherein: the first light is irradiated in a second direction intersecting with a first direction perpendicular to the first surface; and the second light intersecting with the second direction. Cho discloses wherein: the first light (100, L1) is irradiated in a second direction (Y-direction) intersecting with a first direction (Z direction) perpendicular to the first surface (W); and the second light (200, L2) is irradiated in a third direction (Z direction) intersecting with the first surface and intersecting with the second direction (Fig. 1). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the first light and the second light irradiating in the claimed direction as disclosed by Cho to the invention of Hatano in order to treat the droplets as they are falling with irradiation that intersects the falling droplets for the reasons stated above.
Claim(s) 2, 8 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hatano et al. (Hatano) in view of Cho et al. (Cho) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Nishida (2021/0173301).
Regarding claim 2, Hatano discloses wherein: the first surface has a shot region (Fig. 2, para 0036). Although Hatano does not specifically disclose wherein the control device is configured to drive the dropping device and the irradiation device so as not to irradiate the first light to the dropping droplet when the position corresponds to a first position on the shot region; and the control device is configured to drive the dropping device and the irradiation device so as to irradiate the first light to the dropping droplet when the position corresponds to a second position on the shot region, the second position being closer to an periphery of the shot region than the first position is, Hatano discloses that the droplet is treated by the first light (71) to increase the viscosity (para 0092) and the light intensity is changed depending on the timing of the dropping the droplet and the elapsed time before pressing the pattern of the template (200) against the dropped resin such that the shot regions A, B, C, D, E, and F receive B, C, D, E, and F (Fig. 14A, 14B, para 0100-0103). Cho discloses a light controller (420, Fig. 13) which controls the first light (100) and the second light (200) and power controller (424) which determines and adjusts the power from “0 to 100%” to the light based on the material of the droplet and a rate of change in viscosity (para 0074). Nishida discloses an imprint apparatus and method (Fig. 1) comprising irradiation unit (7) which provides light (8A) to the peripheral edge of the shot region to increase the viscosity of the photocurable resin (6) at the periphery of the shot region (para 0026). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to provide the irradiation device which irradiates the droplets of the resin from the direction that is perpendicular to the dropping direction while the droplet is dropping in order to change the viscosity and to reduce spreading as taught by Cho in para 0046, and to further modify Hatano so that the irradiation device does not irradiate the first light to the dropping droplet when the position corresponds to a first position on the shot region; and the control device is configured to drive the dropping device and the irradiation device so as to irradiate the first light to the dropping droplet when the position corresponds to a second position on the shot region at the periphery of the shot region so that the photocurable resin is not spread out from the edge of the shot region as taught by Nishida in para 0026.
Regarding claims 8 and 15, Hatano does not disclose wherein a period of irradiating the first light to the first droplet is shorter than a period of irradiating the second light to the layer. Although Cho does not explicitly disclose that the first light (100, L1, para 0079) irradiated the first droplet for a shorter period than the second light (200, L2, para 0083), Cho discloses that the first light irradiates the first droplet while the first droplet is being dropped, which suggests that the first light irradiation period is shorter than the irradiating of the second light. Further, Nishida discloses in para 0028 the irradiation time of the first light (8A) is shorter than the irradiation time of the second light (8B, para 0028). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to further modify Hatano by irradiating the first light to the first droplet for a shorter period than the second light to the layer since the first light is used merely to increase the viscosity and not to fully cure the resin.
Response to Arguments
The rejections have been modified to reject all the claim including the claim indicated as having allowable subject matter in the previous Office Action.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER B KIM whose telephone number is (571)272-2120. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.
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/PETER B KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882 July 5, 2026
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