DETAILED CORRESPONDENCE
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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicants’ submission, filed on 06/11/2026, in response to claims 1-8 rejection from the non-final office action (03/11/2026), by amending claims 1-2 and 6-8, cancelling claims 3-5, and adding new claims 14-19 is entered and will be addressed below.
Election/Restrictions
No claims are currently withdrawn.
Claim Interpretation
This application includes one or more claim limitations that do not use the word “means,” but are nonetheless being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because the claim limitation(s) uses a generic placeholder that is coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to perform the recited function and the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier. Such claim limitation(s) is/are:
The “a floating unit” in claim 1, this is considered “a plurality of supply holes” ([0070]) as minimum requirement. Note claim 2 define this requirement and is no longer treated under 112f.
Because this/these claim limitation(s) is/are being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, it/they is/are being interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification as performing the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have this/these limitation(s) interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, applicant may: (1) amend the claim limitation(s) to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph (e.g., by reciting sufficient structure to perform the claimed function); or (2) present a sufficient showing that the claim limitation(s) recite(s) sufficient structure to perform the claimed function so as to avoid it/them being interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
The “to supply an inert gas toward an upper surface of the substrate” and “to supply a process gas toward a lower surface of the substrate and cleans the lower surface and bevel of the substrate … wherein the floating gas is alternately supplied to the first supply areas and the second supply areas” and “wherein the floating gas is alternately supplied to the first supply areas and the second supply areas such that, in each supply area to which the floating gas is not supplied, the process gas supplied from the lower showerhead is supplied to a space between the substrate holder and the lower surface of the substrate and cleans the bevel of the substrate” of claim 1 the identity of the gases is not part of the apparatus, an apparatus that is capable of supplying respective gases, and the plurality of supply areas performing alternating floating gas in different areas is considered read into this portion of the claim. Note alternating may be performed simultaneous in all areas.
It has been held that claim language that simply specifies an intended use or field of use for the invention generally will not limit the scope of a claim (Walter, 618 F.2d at 769, 205 USPQ at 409; MPEP 2106). Additionally, in apparatus claims, intended use must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim (In re Casey, 152 USPQ 235 (CCPA 1967); In re Otto, 136 USPQ 458, 459 (CCPA 1963); MPEP2111.02). When the structure recited in the reference is substantially identical to that of the claims, claimed properties or functions are presumed to be inherent (In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977); MPEP 2112.01).
The “wherein the plurality of supply holes are divided into a plurality of supply areas including at least two first supply areas and at least two second supply areas, the first supply areas and the second supply areas being alternately arranged along a circumferential direction with respect to a central portion of the substrate holder” of amended claim 1, as the boundary of areas is not defined, any division, physically or abstractly, reads into this limitation. An apparatus that is capable of performing the supply timing and locations is considered read into the claim.
The newly amended claim 6 “while the floating gas is supplied from one supply area of the plurality of supply areas and is not supplied from another supply area of the plurality of supply areas, the process gas supplied from the lower showerhead flows into a space between the substrate holder and the lower surface of the substrate in the another supply area from which the floating gas is not supplied, thereby cleaning the bevel of the substrate“ of claim 6, “wherein the process gas is supplied to spaces corresponding to the first supply areas only when the first supply areas supply no floating gas” of claim 17, and “wherein the process gas is supplied to spaces corresponding to the second supply areas only when the second supply areas supply no floating gas” of claim 18 is a description of how the gas flow, not part of the apparatus. This flow also depends on the pressure from the lower showerhead and the pressure of floating gas in each area. For example, if the pressure of the lower showerhead is higher than the floating gas in individual area, although the floating gas is “on” (with floating gas), the gas still flow into that area (“only when the first supply areas supply no floating gas” is not accurate). However, as this discrepancy is not related to the apparatus structure, this is not rejected under 112(b).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-2, 6-8, and 14-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chung et al. (KR 20200133493, from IDS, hereafter ’493), in view of KOELMEL et al. (US 20080280453, previously cited, hereafter ‘453).
‘493 teaches some limitations of:
Claim 1: Thin Film Deposition Apparatus And Thin Film Deposition Method (title, includes the claimed “A substrate processing apparatus comprising”):
Referring to FIG. 3, the thin film deposition apparatus 1000 includes a chamber 100 providing an accommodation space 110 in which a processing process for the substrate W is performed … the thin film deposition apparatus 1000 may further include an upper shower head 200 for supplying an inert gas from the inside of the chamber 100 toward the upper surface of the substrate W ([0037], includes the claimed “a chamber providing a processing space for a substrate; an upper showerhead provided in the chamber configured to supply an inert gas toward an upper surface of the substrate”, note supplying inert gas is an intended use of the apparatus),
RF power is applied to the upper showerhead 200 ([0052], includes the claimed “ and to which radio frequency power is applied”);
the substrate holder 410 may include an upper edge portion 411 and a concave portion 416 formed in a partial region of the upper edge portion 411 ([0060], includes the claimed “and a substrate supporting member that supports a lower surface of an edge of the substrate” and as shown in Figs. 3-4),
a lower showerhead 430 provided under the substrate W to supply a process gas toward the substrate W may be provided ([0037]), When RF power is applied to the upper showerhead 200, the upper showerhead 200 is capacitively coupled to the substrate W and the lower showerhead 430, and the lower surface of the substrate W Plasma is generated between the and the lower showerhead 430, so that a thin film may be deposited on the lower surface of the substrate W ([0052], includes the claimed “to supply a process gas toward a lower surface of the substrate and cleans the lower surface and a bevel of the substrate by using plasma, wherein the substrate supporting member includes a substrate holder configured to support the lower surface of the edge of the substrate and a lower showerhead configured to supply the process gas toward the lower surface of the substrate”).
Claim 14: Thin Film Deposition Apparatus And Thin Film Deposition Method (title, includes the claimed “A substrate processing apparatus comprising”):
Referring to FIG. 3, the thin film deposition apparatus 1000 includes a chamber 100 providing an accommodation space 110 in which a processing process for the substrate W is performed … the thin film deposition apparatus 1000 may further include an upper shower head 200 for supplying an inert gas from the inside of the chamber 100 toward the upper surface of the substrate W ([0037], includes the claimed “a chamber providing a processing space for a substrate; an upper showerhead provided in the chamber to supply an inert gas toward an upper surface of the substrate”, note supplying inert gas is an intended use of the apparatus),
RF power is applied to the upper showerhead 200 ([0052], includes the claimed “ wherein radio frequency (RF) power is applied to the upper showerhead”);
the substrate holder 410 may include an upper edge portion 411 and a concave portion 416 formed in a partial region of the upper edge portion 411 ([0060], includes the claimed “a substrate supporting member supporting a lower surface of an edge of the substrate” and as shown in Figs. 3-4),
a lower showerhead 430 provided under the substrate W to supply a process gas toward the substrate W may be provided ([0037]), When RF power is applied to the upper showerhead 200, the upper showerhead 200 is capacitively coupled to the substrate W and the lower showerhead 430, and the lower surface of the substrate W Plasma is generated between the and the lower showerhead 430, so that a thin film may be deposited on the lower surface of the substrate W ([0052], includes the claimed “to supply a process gas toward a lower surface of the substrate and cleaning the lower surface and a bevel of the substrate by using plasma, wherein the substrate supporting member comprises: a substrate holder supporting the lower surface of the edge of the substrate; and a lower showerhead supplying the process gas toward the lower surface of the substrate”),
the substrate holder 410 may include an upper edge portion 411 and a concave portion 416 formed in a partial region of the upper edge portion 411 ([0060], includes the claimed “wherein the substrate holder comprises: a hollow cylindrical side wall surrounding the lower showerhead; a ring-type flange bent inward from an upper end of the side wall”, Fig. 1 shows a gap between cylindrical sidewall 410 and the lower shower head 430, same as Applicants’ Fig. 1 in instant application).
‘493 does not teach the other limitations of:
Claim 1: wherein the substrate holder includes a floating unit configured to float the substrate,
wherein the floating unit includes a plurality of supply holes provided in a support surface of the substrate holder and configured to supply a floating gas toward the lower surface of the edge of the substrate,
wherein the plurality of supply holes are divided into a plurality of supply areas including at least two first supply areas and at least two second supply areas, the first supply areas and the second supply areas being alternately arranged along a circumferential direction with respect to a central portion of the substrate holder, and
wherein the floating gas is alternately supplied to the first supply areas and the second supply areas such that, in each supply area to which the floating gas is not supplied, the process gas supplied from the lower showerhead is supplied to a space between the substrate holder and the lower surface of the substrate and cleans the bevel of the substrate.
Claim 2: wherein the floating unit further includes a gas supply line configured to supply the floating gas to the supply holes.
Claim 14: a plurality of supply holes provided on a support surface of the ring-type flange to supply a floating gas toward the lower surface of the edge of the substrate; and
a gas supply line supplying the floating gas to the supply holes.
‘453 is an analogous art in the field of APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SUPPORTING, POSITIONING AND ROTATING A SUBSTRATE IN A PROCESSING CHAMBER (title), for an rapid thermal processing (RTP) process, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process, atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, dry etching process, wet clean, and/or laser annealing process (abstract). ‘453 teaches that FIG. 20 depicts a perspective view of a support and positioning assembly with substrate 2 disposed thereon according to one embodiment of the invention. During processing, the substrate 2 is elevated and floating above the base plate 1 or 21 (FIGS. 15-16) by a layer of fluid positioned between the substrate 2 and the base plate 1 or 21 as a result of the gas flow through the plurality of apertures 9 formed in the base plate 1, or from the groove 25 formed on the base plate 21 ([0133]), As shown in FIG. 5A, the predominant flow vectors X1, Y1, X2, and Y2 for the ports 111A, 111C, 111E, and 111G, respectively, are adapted to move a substrate in either the X or Y-directions by delivery of a fluid through the features contained in each of the ports … In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5A, the predominant flow direction vectors for ports 111A, 111C, 111E, and 111G each pass though a common point "C", such as substantially the center of the substrate support 110, thus allowing the substrate to be positioned in the X and Y-directions without tending to rotate the substrate (Fig. 5A, [0072], 2nd sentence and last sentence, i.e. requires varying delivery in each ports depending on the purpose of substrate positioning and rotation, see also Fig. 5B and its description), In one embodiment, the ports 111B, 111D, 111F, and 111H contain features that are adapted to rotate a substrate in either in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction due to the orientation of the features contained in each of the ports creating the force vectors R.sub.2 and R.sub.1, respectively. In this configuration each of the ports 111B, 111D, 111F, and 111H have a predominant flow direction that is normal to the radius of the substrate. Therefore, to cause the substrate to rotate in a clockwise direction the control system could deliver fluid to the features in the ports 111B and 111F, and to cause the substrate to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction the control system 120 would deliver fluid to the features in the ports 111D and 111H ([0073]). Note Fig. 2 shows flow control devices 131 controlling different ports 111, again showing a capability to “alternately supplied to the first supply areas and the second supply areas”. Note also Fig. 5A shows the ports 111A-111G are at the edge regions of the wafer support.
Before the effective filing dates of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill to have added ports 111A-111H with different flow controller and operated in various substrate position and rotation requirement as shown in Fig. 5A of ‘453 to the ring-shaped upper surface of substrate holder 410 of ‘493, for the purpose of positioning and rotating a substrate and floating substrate, as taught by ‘453 (title and ([0133]).
Note also as the center opening of the ring-shaped substrate holder 410 is required for the lower showerhead 430, the ports for floating substrate have to be near the edge area of the substrate holder 410 (of claim 14).
‘453 further teaches the limitations of:
Claims 6 and 17-18: The gases used to elevate (introduced via apertures 9 or groove 25), rotate (introduced via ports 111, gas flow pockets 91 and 93, or air jets), and position (through air bearing edge rollers 3 and/or gas flow pockets 97) … may be inert gases such as nitrogen, helium, or argon, mixtures thereof ([0149], with the imported control devices to various ports 111, when alternating supplying gas to some ports and not to other ports, the gas has to flow to the area of ports without gas supplied, includes the claimed “wherein, while the floating gas is supplied from one supply area of the plurality of supply areas and is not supplied from another supply area of the plurality of supply areas, the process gas supplied from the lower showerhead flows into a space between the substrate holder and the lower surface of the substrate in the another supply area from which the floating gas is not supplied, thereby cleaning the bevel of the substrate“ of claim 6, “wherein the process gas is supplied to spaces corresponding to the first supply areas only when the first supply areas supply no floating gas” of claim 17, and “wherein the process gas is supplied to spaces corresponding to the second supply areas only when the second supply areas supply no floating gas” of claim 18).
Claims 7 and 19: Fig. 5A shows eight ports evenly spaces, and the boundary of arc can be conceptually divided into eight equal areas (includes the claimed “wherein lengths of arcs of the plurality of supply areas are equal to each other” of claim 7 and “wherein arc lengths of the first and second supply areas are equal to each other”).
Claim 8: Rotation of substrate 2 may, in one embodiment, be obtained by providing a plurality of slanted apertures may be added to base plate 1 or 21 for flowing gas therethrough to rotate the substrate to ensure uniform heating during processing, as shown in FIGS. 1-14 discussed above ([0135], see Figs. 3B or 3D, includes the claimed “wherein the plurality of supply holes are inclined in the same direction along a circumferential direction of the substrate or are inclined in different directions for the plurality of respective supply areas”).
Claim 15: the eight ports 111A-111G reads into the claimed “wherein the plurality of supply holes of the floating unit are divided into at least two first supply areas and at least two second supply areas which are alternately arranged along a circumferential direction with respect to a central portion of the substrate holder”.
Claim 16: Fig. 2 shows flow control devices 131 controlling different ports 111, again showing a capability to “wherein each of the first and second supply areas alternately supplies the floating gas”.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 06/11/2026 have been fully considered but they are not convincing in light of the new grounds of rejection above.
In regarding to 35 USC 112(b) rejection of claim 6, see the middle of page 5, Applicants’ amendment overcomes the rejection. Note the amended claim 6 (and the new limitations of claims 17-18) is an intrinsic gas flow phenomenon.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 4903717 is cited for annular nozzle 8 near the very edge of the substrate 11 to float substrate (Fig. 1, col. 4, lines 19-21). This supports that floating gas does not need to be from the entire lower surface to float the substrate.
US 20160163518 is cited for fluid supply 120 at edge of wafer to float the wafer (Fig. 18, [0004]). US 20080280453 is cited for floating substrate ([0133]) with blowing hole in different inclined angles (Fig. 14B, for example) or directions (Fig. 6A).
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KEATH T CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1870. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30am-5:00 pm.
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/KEATH T CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1716
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