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 § 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.
1. Claims 1, 5, 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato et al (USPN 2024/0429031) in view of Nawata et al (USPN 2023/0357088)
Regarding claim 1, Sato discloses an alumina-based sintered body (a body 1111, see figure 2) containing Al22O3 as a main component (the sintered ceramic body 1111 includes an alumina, see par. 0077, 0084), wherein the alumina-based sintered body (the body 1111) contains not smaller than 90 ppm and not greater than 265 ppm of yttrium (Y) (see par. 0039) , and an average grain size of alumina crystal grains is not greater than 6 micrometer (such as average grain size of alumina crystal fixed to one micrometer, see par. 0039).
Sato does not explicitly disclose a calcium as claimed.
Nawata discloses a sintered ceramic body contains an alumina, yttrium, and calcium (see par. 0021, 0018), wherein the calcium is not greater than 100 ppm (a calcium content is 20 ppm, see par. 0057).
It 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 to have modified the body of Sato to incorporate a calcium as disclosed by Nawata in order to enhance a body strength and a thermal resistance.
Regarding claim 5, Sato discloses an electrostatic chuck (an electrostatic chuck 11) for retaining a target (a wafer W), the electrostatic chuck comprising: a plate-shaped first layer (112) having a first surface at which the target (the wafer W) is to be placed, and a second surface which is a surface opposite to the first surface; and a plate-shaped second layer (1111) having a chuck electrode (1111b) therein and provided on the second surface side of the first layer, wherein at least a part of the first surface of the first layer (1111) is formed by the alumina-based sintered body (see par. 0039, 0084).
Sato does not explicitly disclose a calcium as claimed.
Nawata discloses a sintered ceramic body contains an alumina, yttrium, and calcium (see par. 0021, 0018), wherein the calcium is not greater than 100 ppm (a calcium content is 20 ppm, see par. 0057).
It 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 to have modified the body of Sato to incorporate a calcium as disclosed by Nawata in order to enhance a body strength and a thermal resistance.
Regarding claim 8, Sato discloses an electrostatic chuck (11, see figure 2) for retaining a target (a wafer W), the electrostatic chuck comprising: a plate-shaped first layer (112) having a first surface at which the target is to be placed, and a second surface which is a surface opposite to the first surface; and a plate-shaped second layer (1111) having a chuck electrode (1111b) therein and provided on the second surface side of the first layer, wherein at least a part of the first surface of the first layer is formed by the alumina-based sintered body (see par. 0039, 0084)
Sato does not explicitly disclose a calcium as claimed.
Nawata discloses a sintered ceramic body contains an alumina, yttrium, and calcium (see par. 0021, 0018), wherein the calcium is not greater than 100 ppm (a calcium content is 20 ppm, see par. 0057).
It 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 to have modified the body of Sato to incorporate a calcium as disclosed by Nawata in order to enhance a body strength and a thermal resistance.
2. Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sato et al (USPN 2024/0429031) in view of Nawata et al (USPN 2023/0357088), and further in view of Matsuda et al (USPN 2005/0152089).
Regarding claim 4, Sato and Nawata disclose all limitations of claim 1 as discussed above, but does not explicitly disclose a density as claimed.
Matsuda discloses an electrostatic chuck (10) comprises a sintered ceramic body (1), wherein a density of the alumina-based sintered body is not smaller than 3.96 g/cm3 (about 3.80 to 4.00 g/cm3, see par. 0055).
It 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 to have modified the body of Sato and Nawata to incorporate a density as disclosed by Matsuda in order to improve a mechanical strength and thermal conductivity.
Allowable Subject Matter
3. Claims 2-3, 6-7 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
4. 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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