DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s Communication filed on 09/13/2024. In virtue of the communication:
Claims 1-19 are pending in the instant application.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
The references cited in the Information Disclosure Statement(s) (IDS(s)) filed on 09/13/2024, 07/03/2025 and 11/20/2025 have been considered by the examiner.
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
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 6, 8-14 and 16-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by INADA (U.S. Pub. 2023/0245869 A1).
Regarding claim 1, INADA discloses a substrate processing apparatus (100, Figs. 1, 3-4), comprising:
a mounting table (susceptor 217, Fig. 1) configured to be capable of mounting a substrate (200, Fig. 1) on the mounting table;
a heater (280, 217b, Fig. 1) located above the mounting table and configured to radiate heat rays toward the substrate mounted on the mounting table to heat the substrate (par [0034]);
a process container (vessel 203, 210 Fig. 1) disposed below the heater (280) and configured to accommodate the mounting table, wherein at least a portion of the process container, which is located adjacent to the heater, is made of opaque quartz (opaque quartz, par [0006], [0020]); and
a sealer (O-ring 301, Fig. 3; 303, Fig. 4) configured such that transmission of heat rays reflected from the substrate to the sealer is suppressed by the at least a portion of the process container and airtightness between the process container and the heater is maintained by a seal (Figs. 3-4, par [0083]).
Regarding claim 2, INADA discloses the substrate processing apparatus, wherein the process container (203) includes at least a ceiling (210b, Fig. 1) and a side wall (210a, Fig. 1), and wherein the ceiling is made of opaque quartz (a part of the ceiling 210b of the upper vessel 210 is made of the opaque quartz, par [0022]).
Regarding claim 6, INADA discloses the substrate processing apparatus, wherein a sealing surface (210b1, Fig. 4) is provided between the process container (203, Fig. 1) and the heater (280, Fig. 1), and the sealer (301, Fig. 3; 303, Fig. 4) is in contact with the process container and the heater at the sealing surface (Figs. 1, 3 and 4).
Regarding claim 8, INADA discloses the substrate processing apparatus, wherein the seal is an O-ring (301, Fig. 3; 303, Fig. 4) and is configured to maintain airtightness between the ceiling and the heater (Figs. 1, 3 and 4).
Regarding claim 9, INADA discloses the substrate processing apparatus, wherein the ceiling (210b, Fig. 1) is configured to suppress transmission of the heat rays reflected by the substrate and to prevent the O-ring from being heated by the heat rays (pars [0080], [0082]).
Regarding claim 10, INADA discloses the wherein a plasma generation space (201a, Fig. 1) in which a processing gas (processing gas, par [0036]) is plasma-excited and a substrate process space (201b, Fig. 1) communicating with the plasma generation space are configured by the process container (203, Fig. 1), and wherein the substrate processing apparatus further comprises: a gas supplier (120, Fig. 1) configured to supply the processing gas to the plasma generation space (par [0036]); and a plasma generator (plasma generator, Fig. 1, par [0052]) provided on an outer periphery of the process container so as to surround the plasma generation space and configured to excite the processing gas into plasma (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 11, INADA discloses the substrate processing apparatus, wherein the heater includes a lamp heater (280, Fig. 1, par [0020]).
Regarding claim 12, INADA discloses the substrate processing apparatus, further comprising, at a lower portion of the process container: a loading/unloading port (245, Fig. 1) configured to load and unload (par [0067]) the substrate (200, Fig. 1); a driver (elevator 268, Fig. 1) configured to raise and lower the mounting table (217, Fig. 1); and a controller (291, Fig. 1) configured to be capable of controlling the driver to raise and lower the mounting table to load and unload the substrate (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 13, INADA discloses the substrate processing apparatus, wherein a heat source of the heat rays (radiant light, par [0081]) is the heater (280, 217b, Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 14, INADA discloses the substrate processing apparatus, wherein a heat source of the heat rays is the plasma generation space (space 201a, Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 16, INADA discloses the substrate processing apparatus, wherein the process container (vessel 203, Fig. 1) includes at least a ceiling (210b, Fig. 1) and a side wall (210a, Fig. 1), and wherein the ceiling is made of opaque quartz (a part of the ceiling 210b of the upper vessel 210 is made of the opaque quartz, par [0022]), and a lower end of the ceiling is located above an upper end of the plasma generator (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 17, INADA discloses the substrate processing apparatus, further comprising: a driver (elevator 268, Fig. 1) configured to raise and lower the mounting table (217, Fig. 1); and a controller (291, Fig. 1) configured to be capable of controlling the driver so that the substrate mounted on the mounting table is positioned below a lower end of the plasma generator (Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 18, INADA discloses a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device by using a substrate processing apparatus (100, Fig. 1) that includes a mounting table (217, Fig. 1) configured to be capable of mounting a substrate (200, Fig. 1) on the mounting table, a heater (280, 217b, Fig. 1) located above the mounting table and configured to radiate heat rays (radiant light) toward the substrate mounted on the mounting table to heat the substrate, a process container (vessel 203, Fig. 1) disposed below the heater (280), configured to accommodate the mounting table (217), wherein at least a portion of the process container (203), which is located adjacent to the heater, is made of opaque quartz (opaque quartz, par [0006], [0020]), and a sealer (301/303, Figs. 3-4) configured such that transmission of heat rays reflected from the substrate to the sealer is suppressed by the at least a portion of the process container and airtightness between the process container and the heater is maintained by a seal (Figs. 3-4, par [0083]), the method comprising: mounting the substrate (200) on the mounting table (217) (Fig. 1, par [0029]); and heating the substrate (200) by the heater (280) (Fig. 1, par [0034]).
Regarding claim 19, INADA discloses a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium storing a program that causes, by a computer (par [0002]), a substrate processing apparatus (100, Fig. 1), which includes a mounting table (217, Fig. 1) configured to be capable of mounting a substrate (200, Fig. 1) on the mounting table, a heater (280, 217b, Fig. 1) located above the mounting table and configured to radiate heat rays (radiant light) toward the substrate mounted on the mounting table to heat the substrate, a process container (vessel 203, Fig. 1) disposed below the heater (280), configured to accommodate the mounting table (217), wherein at least a portion of the process container (203), which is located adjacent to the heater, is made of opaque quartz (opaque quartz, par [0006], [0020]), and a sealer (301/303, Figs. 3-4) configured such that transmission of heat rays reflected from the substrate to the sealer is suppressed by the at least a portion of the process container and airtightness between the process container and the heater is maintained by a seal (Figs. 3-4, par [0083]), to perform a process comprising: mounting the substrate (200) on the mounting table (217) (Fig. 1, par [0029]); and heating the substrate (200) by the heater (280) (Fig. 1, par [0034]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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) 3 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over INADA, as applied above, in view of Hellman (U.S. Patent 6,306,489 B1).
Regarding claims 3 and 4, INADA discloses all of the limitations as claimed except the opaque quartz is a natural/synthetic quartz.
However, as evidenced by Hellman, providing the opaque quartz is the natural/synthetic quartz (body 7 and the flange 10 are made of opaque quartz glass which is smelted from naturally occurring quartz materials, col. 7, lines 23-25; and TH layer 13 is made of high purity transparent synthetic quartz glass, col. 7, lines 35-36; Fig. 2) is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to employ the apparatus of INADA with the natural/synthetic quartz as taught by Hellman in order to provide the suitable materials for control/maintain the processing of substrate in the plasma chamber.
Claim(s) 5 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over INADA, as applied above, in view of OTSUKI (WO 2024070785 A1).
Regarding claim 5, INADA discloses all of the limitations as claimed except the sidewall is made of transparent quartz.
However, as evidenced by OTSUKI, providing the transparent quartz sidewall (The windows 80a and 80b are sealed by fitting a member that is transparent to infrared light, such as quartz, Fig. 1, par [0023]) is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to employ the apparatus of INADA with the natural/synthetic quartz as taught by Hellman in order to provide the suitable materials for control/maintain the processing of substrate in the plasma chamber.
Regarding claim 7, INADA discloses all of the limitations as claimed except the sealer includes a transparent quartz sheet.
However, as evidenced by OTSUKI, providing the transparent quartz sealer (The windows 80a and 80b are sealed by fitting a member that is transparent to infrared light, such as quartz, Fig. 1, par [0023]) is well known in the art.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to employ the apparatus of INADA with the natural/synthetic quartz as taught by Hellman in order to provide the suitable materials for control/maintain the processing of substrate in the plasma chamber.
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over INADA, as applied above.
Regarding claim 15, INADA discloses the ceiling (210b, Fig. 1) and the sidewall (210a, Fig. 1).
INADA does not teach a thickness of the ceiling is thicker than a thickness of the side wall.
However, this limitation is not of the patentable merits since it would be held obvious to one having skill in the art before the filing date of the invention to modify the numerical parameters of the above ceiling and the above sidewall to produces no unexpected effect of the substrate processing in the plasma chamber.
Accordingly, providing the different thickness of ceiling and sidewall of the plasma processing apparatus would have been deemed obvious to one having skill in the art.
Inquiry
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIMMY T VU whose telephone number is (571)272-1832. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Alexander H. Taningco can be reached on 571-272-8048. The fax phone numbers for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned are 571-273-8300.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application or proceeding should be directed to the receptionist whose telephone number is 571-272-2800.
/JIMMY T VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2844