DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Claims 1-4, 8, 10, 12 in the reply filed on 12/29/2025 is acknowledged.
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) 1, 2, 4, 8, 10, 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimizu (US PG Publication 2025/0157836) in view of Son (US PG Publication 2023/0314948).
Regarding Claim 1, Shimizu (US PG Publication 2025/0157836) discloses a liquid processing apparatus (substrate processing apparatus 1 supplies a treatment liquid to the substrate W while rotating the substrate W to perform predetermined processing on the substrate W [0038]), comprising:
[] stage[] (spin chuck 3 [0040]) on [] of which a substrate (substrate W [0042]) is to be placed (lower surface portion 11 of chuck 9 on the spin chuck 3 supports the substrate W [0041]-[0042]);
multiple nozzles (treatment liquid supply mechanism 31 includes, for example, two nozzles 33 referred to as 33A and 33B [0051]) shared by the [] stage[] (both nozzles 33A and 33B are attached to the same base portion 37 and move together to the discharge position at P1 of spin chuck 3 [0051]-[0054]), and each nozzle being configured to supply a processing liquid (discharges the treatment liquid from the lower surface [0052]) to the substrate (discharge position above the rotation center P1 of the spin chuck 3 [0054]);
a camera (the camera CM is attached to the ceiling surface of the housing CA [0056]) shared by the multiple nozzles (target component to be described later falls within the field of view [0056]; target component is the nozzle 33 [0066]), the camera being configured to monitor states (abnormality detection target among the substrate processing apparatus 1 [0064]) of the multiple nozzles (two nozzles 33 referred to as 33A and 33B [0051]);
and an imaging condition changing program module (parameter memory 55 stores a target component to be detected; target component, the confirmation required timing, the allowable range, and the like set by the operator operating the instruction unit 47 [0064]) for causing circuitry to change an imaging condition of the camera (photographing direction by panning and tilting. The panning is to move the photographing field of view in the horizontal direction. The tilting is to move the photographing field of view in the vertical direction. The camera body CM1 includes zooming that changes a photographing magnification. The zooming is to enlarge or reduce a photographing field of view [0057]) according to a monitoring target (nozzles 33A and 33B are both located within the photographing field of view [0081]; photographing condition PC13ae is set at the confirmation required timing when the nozzle 33B is located at the discharge position [0093]).
Shimizu does not disclose, but Son (US PG Publication 2023/0314948) teaches
multiple stages (spin-chuck 400 may include a first spin chuck 400-1 and a second spin chuck 400-2 [0042], Fig. 1) on each of which a substrate is to be placed (A wafer W subject to PR coating may be disposed on the spin-chuck 400 [0042], Fig. 9A);
multiple nozzles (inner pipe 110 and outer pipe 120, one transferring photoresist and the other transferring thinner [0049]-[0050], Fig. 4A) shared by the multiple stages (nozzle housing 300 may be disposed between two spin chucks 400-1 and 400-2 [0041]; The nozzle arm 250 may be coupled to the moving body 230. As the moving body 230 moves along the moving rail 210, the nozzle arm 250 may move to a position of the spin chuck 400 corresponding thereto [0039], Fig. 1).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the application was filed would have been motivated to install the nozzle of Shimizu between two spin chucks, as taught by Son, because doing so enables a single nozzle construction to serve two wafers, reducing the materials required to produce the same number of wafers, reducing cost of building and maintaining the manufacturing facility and improving the efficiency of manufacturing wafers.
Regarding Claim 2, Shimizu (US PG Publication 2025/0157836) discloses the liquid processing apparatus of Claim 1, further comprising:
a moving body (base portion 37 [0052]) provided with the multiple nozzles (One end side of the extending portion 33a of the nozzle 33 is attached to a base portion 37 [0052], nozzles 33A, 33B [0051]), the moving body moving with respect to [] stage to supply the processing liquid to the substrate on [] stage (base portion 37 is rotated by driving of the motor 39; the nozzle 33 is swung around the rotation center P3 together with the base portion 37 [0053]; The nozzle moving mechanism 35 moves the tip portion 33c between the origin position and a discharge position above the rotation center Pl of the spin chuck 3 [0054]);
an illuminator provided at the moving body, the illuminator being for radiating light in a direction different from a direction toward each nozzle;
and a reflector (mirror 71 reflects light [0141]) fixed in position relative to each stage (disposed on the far inside of the chuck 9 at the 12 o'clock position [0141]), the reflector being for reflecting the light (reflects [0141]) radiated from the illuminator toward each nozzle.
Shimizu does not disclose, but Son (US PG Publication 2023/0314948) teaches
moving body (dispenser 200 may include a moving rail 210, a moving body 230 [0039], Figs. 1-2) moving with respect to each stage (moving rail 210 may move in a direction in which the moving rail 210 extends. The nozzle arm 250 may be coupled to the moving body 230. As the moving body 230 moves along the moving rail 210, the nozzle arm 250 may move to a position of the spin-chuck 400 corresponding thereto [0039], Figs. 1-2) to supply the processing liquid to the substrate on each stage (inner pipe 110 and outer pipe 120, one transferring photoresist and the other transferring thinner [0049]-[0050], Fig. 4A).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the application was filed would have been motivated to install the nozzle of Shimizu between two spin chucks, as taught by Son, because doing so enables a single nozzle construction to serve two wafers, reducing the materials required to produce the same number of wafers, reducing cost of building and maintaining the manufacturing facility and improving the efficiency of manufacturing wafers.
Regarding Claim 4, Shimizu (US PG Publication 2025/0157836) discloses the liquid processing apparatus of Claim 2, wherein the reflector is provided for each stage (mirror 71 reflects light … disposed on the far inside of the chuck 9 at the 12 o'clock position [0141]).
Regarding Claim 8, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 1.
Regarding Claim 10, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 2.
Regarding Claim 11, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 2.
Claim(s) 3, 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shimizu (US PG Publication 2025/0157836) in view of Son (US PG Publication 2023/0314948), Noda (US PG Publication 2011/0286738), and Okamoto (US PG Publication 2025/0384544).
Regarding Claim 3, Shimizu (US PG Publication 2025/0157836) discloses the liquid processing apparatus of Claim 2.
Shimizu does not disclose, but Noda (US PG Publication 2011/0286738) teaches the light from the illuminator (laser light source 110 emits the laser beam L [0090]) toward the substrate (toward an irradiation point T1 on the surface W1 of the wafer W [0090]) on each stage (Each of the wet-processing devices 2a, 2b and 2c has a spin chuck 41, namely, a substrate holder, and a splash cup 5 surrounding a wafer W held by the spin chuck 41 [0060]), and the light reflected from the substrate is radiated to each nozzle (The laser beam L projected toward the area between the tip 10d of the nozzle 10 and the surface W1 of the wafer W falls on the coating liquid column R1 and is reflected irregularly in the coating liquid column R1. Consequently, the coating liquid column R1 shines [0093]).
Shimizu does not disclose, but Okamoto (US PG Publication 2025/0384544) teaches wherein the reflector reflects the light (projection surface 73 is located sideway above the substrate W held by the substrate holder 20. The projection surface 73 may, for example, be a white flat surface other than a mirror surface [0085]) from the illuminator ( irradiator 70 applies the pattern light toward the projection surface 73 [0085]) toward the substrate (camera 80 captures a reflected image of the projection surface 73 reflated on the surface of the processing fluid on the substrate W [0085]).
One of ordinary skill in the art before the application was filed would have been motivated to use a light source to view the nozzle of Shimizu during wet-processing because Noda teaches that monitoring the coating process enables accurate determination of proper coating of the wafer [0010]-[0011], and the light enables the nozzle and the liquid to be clearly seen and analyzed [0094].
One of ordinary skill in the art before the application was filed would have been motivated to use the reflector of Okamoto to reflect light onto the substrate of Shimizu, as suggested by Noda, because Okamoto teaches that use of the reflector enables the irradiator to be arranged at any position, and this capability increases the flexibility in the arrangement of the light source [0086], providing for more efficient and optimized designs.
Regarding Claim 12, the claim is rejected on the grounds provided in Claim 3.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
US 20200391238 A1 – array of spin chucks for resist-coating a wafer
US 20240105484 A1 – transporting wafers one by one into the single-wafer processing chamber
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHADAN E HAGHANI whose telephone number is (571)270-5631. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9AM - 5PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jay Patel can be reached at 571-272-2988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SHADAN E HAGHANI/ Examiner, Art Unit 2485