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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Para. [0023] recites “An electron beam 200 is first shaped into a rectangle…” should be “electron beam 500.”
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US20200072777A1 [hereinafter Kanezawa] in view of US 2020/0394778 A1 [hereinafter Yoshitake].
Regarding Claim 1:
Kanezawa teaches a method of operating charged particle beam writing apparatus (para. [0007]), the method comprising:
transporting a substrate before writing received via an interface from an outside to a writing chamber and placing the substrate on a stage (Fig. 1A and para. [0039]: “The I/F 100 is provided with a mounting table 110 mounted on which is a container C … having a mask substrate W housed therein, and a transfer robot 120 for transferring the mask substrate W” from outside to writing chamber 400 via the transfer robot 120 and transfer robot 340);
irradiating the substrate on the stage with a charged particle beam to write a pattern (Fig. 1B and para. [0050]: “… a charged-particle beam irradiation means configured…to irradiate the mask substrate W mounted on the X Y stage 420 with a charged particle beam”); and
transporting the substrate after writing from the writing chamber to the outside via the interface (paras. [0040-0041]: the substrate is transported from the writing chamber 400 to the outside by the transfer robot 340 via the load lock chamber 200 and I/F 100 after writing),
However, Kanezaw does not expressly teach adjust the charged particle beam writing apparatus and wherein at least part of adjustment work for devices in the charged particle beam writing apparatus is performed during transport of the substrate between the interface and the writing chamber.
Yoshitake teaches “an electron beam inspection apparatus…for inspecting patterns formed on a substrate 101 by using electron beam.” “[B]efore carrying the substrate 101 into the inspection chamber 103, or during it being carried, it is also preferable to perform the scanning direction setting step (S204), before placing the substrate 101 on the stage 105.” The scanning direction setting step is performed by the scan direction setting circuit 29 “reads the exposure apparatus information…and sets the arrangement direction of EUV mask 601 to adjust the scanning direction of the multiple primary electron beams 20.” As shown in Fig. 9, the scan direction setting circuit 29 communicates with the deflection control circuitry 128 to implement the beam scanning direction (Fig. 9 and paras. [0086, 0111, 0116]).
As such, modify the charged particle apparatus operating method of Kanezawa with the electron beam scanning direction adjustment step of Yoshitake would entail a modified charged particle writing apparatus adjustment method, where operating parameters of the electron beam scanning are adjusted, e.g., via adjusting operating parameters of the charged particle deflecting devices, and before or during the substrate is transported into the writing chamber.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skilled person in the art, before the effective time of filing, to modify Kanezawa to perform the beam scanning direction setting of Yoshitake during transport the substrate to the writing chamber, to improve workflow efficiency by performing beam operating-parameter adjustment during a period in which writing cannot yet occurs, thereby reducing nonproductive waiting time before writing begins.
Regarding Claim 2:
Kanezawa in view of Yoshitake teaches the method claim 1. Yoshitake further teaches wherein a plurality of types of adjustment work are performed during transport of the substrate (Yoshitake teaches setting the scanning direction of the multiple primary electron beams, and such an implementation requires coordinating multiple operating parameters, including parameters of the beam deflection system and the stage motion system, and therefore would require to perform different parameter-adjustment works to complete the beam scanning setup).
Regarding Claim 3:
Kanezawa in view of Yoshitake teaches the method claim 1. The combined references further teach wherein execution timing of the adjustment work is determined based on attribute information that defines whether the adjustment work can be performed during transport of the substrate and a position where the substrate is located when the adjustment work is performed. Since Yoshitake teaches performing the beam scanning direction setting while the substrate is carried and before it is placed on the stage, it would have been obvious that only adjustment work that is capable of being completed during substrate transport would be schedule during transport, and that execution timing would be determined based on the substrate position so that the adjustment is completed before the substrate reaches the writing chamber.
Regarding Claim 5:
Kanezawa in view of Yoshitake teaches the method claim 1. The combined references further teach wherein adjustment work for the devices included in the charged particle beam writing apparatus is divided into multiple-times substrate transports and performed, where one-time substrate transport refers to transport of a substrate since the substrate is received by the interface until the substrate is placed on the stage. Since Yoshitake teaches utilizing the substrate-carrying interval to perform beam-setting work before the substrate reaches the stage, if the time required for an adjustment exceeds the duration of one substrate transport, it would have been obvious to divide the adjustment into portions and perform the portions during successive substrate transport.
Regarding Claim 6:
Kanezawa teaches a charged particle beam writing apparatus (Figs. 1A and 1B- a mask
writing apparatus 10) comprising:
an interface (Figs. 1A and 1B- interface (I/F) 100) configured to receive a substrate from an outside and transport the substrate to the outside;
a writing chamber (Figs. 1A and 1B- writing chamber (W-chamber) 400) which is provided with a stage (Figs. 1A and 1B- X - Y stage 420) for placing the substrate, and in which the substrate placed on the stage is irradiated with a charged particle beam to write a pattern; and
a transporter (Figs. 1A and 1B- transfer robot 340) configured to transport the substrate between the interface and the writing chamber.
However, Kanezawa does not expressly teach wherein at least part of adjustment work for component devices is performed during transport of the substrate between the interface and the writing chamber.
Yoshitake teaches “an electron beam inspection apparatus…for inspecting patterns formed on a substrate 101 by using electron beam.” “[B]efore carrying the substrate 101 into the inspection chamber 103, or during it being carried, it is also preferable to perform the scanning direction setting step (S204), before placing the substrate 101 on the stage 105.” The scanning direction setting step is performed by the scan direction setting circuit 29 “reads the exposure apparatus information…and sets the arrangement direction of EUV mask 601 to adjust the scanning direction of the multiple primary electron beams 20.” As shown in Fig. 9, the scan direction setting circuit 29 communicates with the deflection control circuitry 128 to implement the beam scanning direction (Fig. 9 and paras. [0086, 0111, 0116]).
As such, modify the charged particle writing apparatus of Kanezaw with the electron beam scanning direction adjustment step of Yoshitake would entail a modified charged particle writing apparatus, whose operating parameters of the electron beam canning are adjusted, e.g., via adjusting operating parameters of the charged particle deflecting device, and before or during the substrate is transported into the writing chamber.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skilled person in the art, before the effective time of filing, to modify Kanezawa to perform the beam scanning direction setting of Yoshitake during transport the substrate to the writing chamber, to improve workflow efficiency by performing beam operating-parameter adjustment during a period in which writing cannot yet occurs, thereby reducing nonproductive waiting time before writing begins.
Regarding Claim 7:
The process recited in claim 7 includes identical steps of claim 1. Kanezawa teaches a computer-readable recording medium storing a program causing a computer of a charged particle beam writing apparatus to execute a process (Fig. 1 – control mechanism 600 includes MPU 601 and memory 602). Kanezawa in view of Yoshitake teaches the method claim 1. Thus, the combined references also teach claim 7.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanezawa in view of Yoshitake, further in view of US 2010/0030522 A1 [hereinafter Tsuchiya].
Regarding Claim 4:
Kanezawa in view of Yoshitake teaches the method of claim 1. However, the combined references do not specially note that wherein the devices include a plurality of DAC (digital analog converter) amplifiers connected to a deflector that deflects the charged particle beam.
Tsuchiya teaches wherein the devices include a plurality of DAC (digital analog converter) amplifiers connected to a deflector that deflects the charged particle beam (Abstract and paras [0027-0033]: teaches a plurality of DAC amplifiers for generating deflection voltages applied to deflectors of a charged particle writing apparatus, and diagnosis and adjustment of the DAC amplifiers to maintain beam deflection accuracy).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one of ordinary skilled person in the art, before the effective time of filing, to modify Kanezawa/Yoshitake with Tsuchiya, so the plurality of DAC amplifiers would be diagnosed and adjusted before the substrate transported into the writing chamber. Tsuchiya explains that maintaining the output accuracy of DAC amplifiers is important, since “when a failure occurs in the DAC amplifier unit it is difficult to specify the location of the failure, the electron beam writing apparatus will disadvantageously remain down for a long period of time” (para. [0008]). Thus, diagnosing and adjusting the DAC amplifier units of a charged particle beam writing apparatus would facilitate identification of failure and reduce prolong apparatus downtime.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JING WANG whose telephone number is (571)272-2504. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-17:00.
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/JING WANG/Examiner, Art Unit 2881
/MICHAEL J LOGIE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2881
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