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.
Claim(s) 1-7 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe et al. [US 20100288937 A1, hereafter Watanabe].
As per Claim 1, Watanabe teaches a differential evacuation device (Para 10-11, an optical path connection module 11) comprising:
a connection pipe 11 which connects a first chamber (EUV chamber 4) which outputs extreme ultraviolet light and a second chamber (the projection optics 20) to which the extreme ultraviolet light is input as having a pressure lower than the first chamber (See fig. 5B, Para 59);
a first partition wall including a first opening (one of the diaphragm parts) and a first partition plate surrounding the first opening and being arranged such that the extreme ultraviolet light passes through the first opening (See fig. 5B);
a second partition wall (the diaphragm at the focal point) including a second opening smaller than the first opening and a second partition plate surrounding the second opening and being arranged such that the extreme ultraviolet light having passed through the first opening passes through the second opening (Para 59, wherein the diaphragm part having the smallest inner diameter within the optical path connection module 11g or 11h is located at the position of the intermediate focusing point (IF) required by the projection optics 20); and
a first exhaust port (an exhaust route 14d) configured to exhaust a gas in a first differential evacuation chamber between the first partition wall and the second partition wall (See fig. 4A),
Watanabe does not explicitly teach the first partition wall being arranged such that the second opening is surrounded by a portion outside a first high pressure region where a pressure is highest in pressure distribution at the second partition plate on the first differential evacuation chamber side.
However, Watanabe further disclosed that changes in the specifications of the EUV chamber 4 can be reduced by changing the optical path connection modules 11d, 11e, 11f in accordance with the internal pressure required by the projection optics 20d, 20e, 20f (Para 53-54 and 59, herein Watanabe disclosed a need for the formation of a diaphragm part corresponding to the intermediate focusing point (IF) in the optical path connection module and the vacuum pressure adjusting element in the desired portion or partition in the connecting path).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at time the invention was made to incorporate the connection modules as claimed in order to produce the internal pressure required by the projection optics.
As per Claims 2 and 3, Watanabe teaches the differential evacuation device according to claim 1.
Watanabe does not explicitly teach wherein the second opening is surrounded by a portion on a lower pressure side than an isobaric line of a median value in the pressure distribution at the second partition plate on the first differential evacuation chamber side.
However, Watanabe further disclosed that changes in the specifications of the EUV chamber 4 can be reduced by changing the optical path connection modules 11d, 11e, 11f in accordance with the internal pressure required by the projection optics 20d, 20e, 20f (Para 53-54 and 59, herein Watanabe disclosed a need for the formation of a diaphragm part corresponding to the intermediate focusing point (IF) in the optical path connection module and the vacuum pressure adjusting element in the desired portion or partition in the connecting path).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at time the invention was made to incorporate the connection modules as claimed in order to produce the internal pressure required by the projection optics.
As per Claim 4, Watanabe teaches the differential evacuation device according to claim 1, wherein a center axis of a gas flow flowing from the first opening into the first differential evacuation chamber intersects the second partition plate (See fig. 4A).
As per Claim 5, Watanabe teaches the differential evacuation device according to claim 1, wherein the first exhaust port is located in a space on a downstream side of a gas flow flowing from the first opening into the first differential evacuation chamber with respect to a first plane which includes an optical path axis of the extreme ultraviolet light passing through the first opening and is perpendicular to a second plane including the optical path axis and a center axis of the gas flow (See fig. 4).
As per Claim 6, Watanabe teaches the differential evacuation device according to claim 1, wherein a distance between the first partition wall and the first exhaust port is larger than a distance between the second partition wall and the first exhaust port (See fig. 4B).
As per Claim 7, Watanabe teaches the differential evacuation device according to claim 1, wherein an optical path axis of the extreme ultraviolet light passing through the first opening is non-perpendicular to the first partition wall (See fig. 4A).
As per Claim 18, Watanabe teaches the differential evacuation device according to claim 1, further comprising: a third partition wall (the partition wall on the left side of exhaust 14d) including a third opening larger than the first opening and a third partition plate surrounding the third opening and being arranged such that the extreme ultraviolet light having passed through the third opening passes through the first opening; and a second exhaust port configured to exhaust a gas in a second differential evacuation chamber between the third partition wall and the first partition wall, wherein the third partition wall is arranged such that the first opening is surrounded by a portion outside a second high pressure region where a pressure is highest in pressure distribution at the first partition plate on the second differential evacuation chamber side (See fig. 5B).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-17 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.
With regard to claims 8-17, the prior art of record does not anticipate nor render obvious to one skilled in the art the differential evacuation device as claimed, more specifically the differential evacuation device comprising the limitation as claimed including all of the limitations of the base claim and all intervening claims, as required by the claims.
Conclusion
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/MESFIN T ASFAW/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882