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 § 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by ‘667 (KR 200300766667 see translation for citations).
Regarding claim 1, ‘667 teaches a showerhead spraying a processing gas for treating a substrate into a treatment space of a processing chamber, the showerhead comprising:
a shower plate (234b) in which a plurality of spray holes (Fig. 4) are formed, the shower plate configured to spray a processing gas into the treatment space through the plurality of spray holes (Fig. 4);
a lower plate (10c) installed on an upper side of the shower plate, the lower plate in which a plurality of spray flow paths, connected to the plurality of spray holes, are formed;
an upper plate (10a) installed on an upper side of the lower plate, the upper plate configured to spray the processing gas to the plurality of spray flow paths (pg. 5-6);
and a planar heating element (17) configured to heat the processing gas sprayed through the shower plate (pg. 12, 13).
Regarding claim 8, ‘667 teaches a power supply (63, 64) configured to operate the planar heating element (17) as a heat dissipating element by supplying power to the planar heating element (Fig. 4, top of pg. 9).
Regarding claim 9, ‘667 teaches at least one temperature measuring unit (65b, 66b, fig. 4) passing through the lower plate (10c) and the upper plate (10a), the at least one temperature measuring unit installed on the shower plate, the at least one temperature measuring unit configured to measure a temperature of the shower plate (bottom of pg. 8- top of page. 9).
Regarding claim 10, ‘667 teaches a controller (62) configured to control, based on the temperature of the shower plate measured by the temperature measuring unit, a temperature of the planar heating element through the power supply (top of page 9).
Regarding claim 11, ‘667 teaches the controller (62) is configured to control the power supply to maintain a uniform temperature of the planar heating element (top of page 9).
Regarding claim 12, ‘667 teaches the planar heating element (17) is configured to operate as a heat conductor, when power supplied from the power supply is cut off because conductor is interpreted broadly. Any material has a value of conductance and therefore has the capability to conduct heat. Since ‘667 teaches the required heating element it also must teach its operation as a heat conductor.
Regarding claim 16, ‘667 teaches a showerhead spraying a processing gas for treating a substrate into a treatment space of a processing chamber, the showerhead comprising:
a shower plate in which a plurality of spray holes are formed, the shower plate configured to spray a processing gas into the treatment space through the plurality of spray holes;
a lower plate (10c) installed on an upper side of the shower plate, the lower plate in which a plurality of spray flow paths, connected to the plurality of spray holes, are formed;
an upper plate (10a) installed on an upper side of the lower plate, the upper plate configured to spray the processing gas to the plurality of spray flow paths;
a planar heating element (17) configured to heat the processing gas sprayed through the shower plate; a power supply (63, 64) configured to operate the planar heating element as a heat dissipating element by supplying power to the planar heating element;
at least one temperature measuring unit (65B) passing through the lower plate (10c) and the upper plate (10a),
the at least one temperature measuring unit installed on the shower plate, the at least one temperature measuring unit configured to measure a temperature of the shower plate (bottom of page 8- top of page 9);
and a controller (62) configured to control, based on the temperature of the shower plate measured by the temperature measuring unit, a temperature of the planar heating element through the power supply, wherein the planar heating element (17) has a shape corresponding to a shape of a surface on which the shower plate and the lower plate are in contact with each other or a shape corresponding to a shape of a surface on which the lower plate and the upper plate are in contact with each other (Fig. 4, pg. 8-9).
Regarding claim 19, the Examiner takes the position that claim 19 describes how the planar heating element is intended to function. Any material has a value of conductance and therefore has the capability to conduct heat. Since ‘667 teaches the required heating element it also must teach its operation as a heat conductor.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘667 as applied to claim 1 above in view of Zhao (US 2023/0247733).
Regarding claim 2, ‘667 does not teach the planar heating element is graphene or a graphene-mixed material.
Zhao teach the planar heating element is graphene or a graphene-mixed material [0002].
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the planar heating element of ‘667 by providing the planar heating element is graphene or a graphene-mixed material, as taught by Zhao, because it would provide uniform heat and provide an efficient means for converting electricity to heat energy [0006].
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘667 as applied to claim 1 above in view of Omi (JP 2007-292199).
Regarding claim 4, ‘667 directed to a planar heating element does not teach the planar heating element has a thickness of 0.1 mm or more and 0.2 mm or less (pg. 7).
Omi teach the planar heating element has a thickness of 0.1 mm or more and 0.2 mm or less.
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the planar heating element of ‘667 by providing the planar heating element has a thickness of 0.1 mm or more and 0.2 mm or less, as taught by Omi, because it would prevent adherence of chemical species on the inner wall of a tube or pipe (top of pg. 4 of translation).
Claims 5 – 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘667 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yahata (US 2017/283945).
Regarding claim 5, ‘667 does not teach the planar heating element is provided in at least one of a space between the shower plate and the lower plate and a space between the lower plate and the upper plate.
Yahata teaches the planar heating element (234c) is provided in at least one of a space between the shower plate and the lower plate and a space between the lower plate (234b) and the upper plate (253, Fig. 1 [0041]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the planar heating element of ‘667 by providing it in at least one of a space between the shower plate and the lower plate and a space between the lower plate and the upper plate, as taught by Yahata, because it would allow the inside of the chamber to be heated [0041].
Regarding claim 6, ‘667 teach the planar heating element (17) has a shape corresponding to a shape of a surface on which the shower plate and the lower plate are in contact with each other or a shape corresponding to a shape of a surface on which the lower plate and the upper plate are in contact with each other (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 7, ‘667 does not teach plurality of through-holes are formed in the planar heating element, and the number of the plurality of through-holes is formed to respectively correspond to the number of the plurality of spray holes or the plurality of spray flow paths.
Yahata teach plurality of through-holes (234a) are formed in the planar heating element (234c, fig. 1), and the number of the plurality of through-holes (234a) is formed to respectively correspond to the number of the plurality of spray holes or the plurality of spray flow paths (fig. 1).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the planar heating element of ‘667 by providing a plurality of through-holes are formed in the planar heating element, and the number of the plurality of through-holes is formed to respectively correspond to the number of the plurality of spray holes or the plurality of spray flow paths, as taught by Yahata, because it would allow the inside of the chamber to be heated [0041].
Claims 13-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over ‘667 and Yahata as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Chen (US 5,906,683).
Regarding claims 13-15, ‘667 does not teach a cooling flow path through which a refrigerant flows for preventing the shower plate from being heated to a temperature higher than or equal to a limit temperature is formed in the upper plate.
Chen teaches a cooling flow path (94, fig. 4) through which a refrigerant (coolant) flows for preventing the shower plate from being heated to a temperature higher than or equal to a limit temperature is formed in the upper plate (42, fig. 2; col. 5, ln. 15-65).
Chen teaches the cooling flow path is configured as a single flow path (94, 96, fig. 4, col. 5,ln. 67).
Chen teaches the single flow path is formed to have a curved shape along an edge region of the upper plate in the edge region, the single flow path is formed to have a circular shape along a boundary between the edge region and a middle region of the upper plate at the boundary, the single flow path is formed to have a curved shape along the middle region of the upper plate in the middle region, the single flow path is formed to have a circular shape along a boundary between the middle region and a center region of the upper plate at the boundary, and the single flow path is formed to have a circular shape in the center region of the upper plate (94, 96, fig. 4, col. 5, ln. 15-65).
Therefore it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the cooling flow path of ‘667 by providing the cooling flow path a cooling flow path through which a refrigerant flows for preventing the shower plate from being heated to a temperature higher than or equal to a limit temperature is formed in the upper plate and providing it is configured as a single flow path and the single flow path is formed to have a curved shape along an edge region of the upper plate in the edge region, the single flow path is formed to have a circular shape along a boundary between the edge region and a middle region of the upper plate at the boundary, the single flow path is formed to have a curved shape along the middle region of the upper plate in the middle region, the single flow path is formed to have a circular shape along a boundary between the middle region and a center region of the upper plate at the boundary, and the single flow path is formed to have a circular shape in the center region of the upper plate, as taught by Chen, because it would maintain the temperature of the gas distribution plate below a threshold value to thereby avoid reaction and subsequent deposition of the process gases on the wall surfaces around the gas distribution holes (col. 2, ln. 50-53).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 20 is allowed.
Claims 3 and 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The closest prior art Bridel (US 2023/0247733) is directed to a lithium ion battery wherein an electrode is formed from a carbon matrix material comprising graphene platelets having a thickness ranging from 0.3 to 40 nm and graphite particles of an average particle size of 1 to 20 microns [0051-0058]. Bridel also teaches combining graphite particles and graphene platelets in a weight ratio graphite/graphene from 1 to 14 [0072]. As Bridel is not directed to a heating element or teach its electrode is used for heating there is no combination of prior art that teaches claims 3, 17 and 20 when combined with parent and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN J BRAYTON whose telephone number is (571)270-3084. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM EST M-F.
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JOHN J. BRAYTON
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1794
/JOHN J BRAYTON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1794
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