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 1-3, 5, 6, 8-11, 13, 14, and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2016/0307738 (Marakhtanov).
For claim 1, Marakhtanov figure 4A teaches a uniformity control circuit (UCC) for achieving uniformity in a processing rate of a substrate, comprising:
a portion of a radio frequency (RF) transmission line (216);
a first RF strap (302) coupled to the portion;
a capacitor (figure 6C, capacitor 234 that illustrates an implementation of the filter 218 in figure 4A) coupled to the first RF strap; and
a second RF strap (figure 6C, strap 430) coupled to the capacitor and the portion of the RF transmission line, wherein the capacitor achieves the uniformity in the processing rate (see, e.g., para [0122], controller 254 tunes the capacitor 234 to “achieve… a uniformity…”).
For claim 2, Marakhtanov further teaches the portion of the RF transmission line is located between an output of a housing of an impedance matching circuit (209) and an electrode of a plasma chamber (214).
For claim 3, Marakhtanov further teaches the portion is of an RF rod of the RF transmission line (rod 216a).
For claim 5, Marakhtanov further teaches the first RF strap is coupled in series with the capacitor and the capacitor is coupled in series with the second RF strap (the straps are in series with the capacitor).
For claim 6, Marakhtanov further teaches the first RF strap is coupled in series with the capacitor and the capacitor is coupled in series with the second RF strap to form a series circuit, wherein the series circuit is coupled in parallel to the portion of the RF transmission line (the straps/capacitor are parallel with the portion 216B).
For claim 8, Marakhtanov further teaches the first RF strap is not a coil having one or more turns and the second RF strap is not a coil having one or more turns (the straps are lines).
For claim 9, Marakhtanov figure 4A teaches a computer (controller 254) for achieving uniformity in a processing rate of a substrate, comprising:
a memory device (see, e.g., para [0116], “A controller, as used herein, includes a processor and a memory device.”); and
a processor (see, e.g., para [0116], “A controller, as used herein, includes a processor and a memory device.”) coupled to the memory device, wherein the processor is coupled to a capacitor (figure 6C, capacitor 234 that illustrates an implementation of the filter 218 in figure 4A), wherein the capacitor is coupled to a first RF strap (302) and a second RF strap (figure 6C, strap 430), wherein the first and second RF straps are coupled to a portion of a radio frequency (RF) transmission line (216), wherein the processor is configured to modify a capacitance of the capacitor to achieve the uniformity in the processing rate (see, e.g., para [0122], controller 254 tunes the capacitor 234 to “achieve… a uniformity…”).
For claim 10, Marakhtanov further teaches the portion of the RF transmission line is located between an output of a housing of an impedance matching circuit (209) and an electrode of a plasma chamber (214).
For claim 11, Marakhtanov further teaches the portion is of an RF rod of the RF transmission line (rod 216a).
For claim 13, Marakhtanov further teaches the first RF strap is coupled in series with the capacitor and the capacitor is coupled in series with the second RF strap (the straps are in series with the capacitor).
For claim 14, Marakhtanov further teaches the first RF strap is coupled in series with the capacitor and the capacitor is coupled in series with the second RF strap to form a series circuit, wherein the series circuit is coupled in parallel to the portion of the RF transmission line (the straps/capacitor are parallel with the portion 216B).
For claim 16, Marachtanov further teaches the processor is coupled to the capacitor via a driver and a motor, wherein the processor is configured to send a control signal to the driver to control the capacitance of the capacitor (see, e.g., para [0115], “A controller 254 is coupled to a driver 408, e.g., a motor driver, or a current generator, or a set of transistors, etc.”).
For claim 17, Marachtanov figure 4A teaches a plasma system comprising:
a housing having an impedance matching circuit (209), wherein the housing has an output and an input, wherein the input is configured to be coupled to a radio frequency (RF) generator (225);
an RF transmission line (216) coupled to the output of the housing, wherein the RF transmission line has a portion; and
a uniformity control circuit coupled to the portion of the RF transmission line, wherein the uniformity control circuit includes:
a first RF strap (302) coupled to the portion of the RF transmission line;
a capacitor (figure 6C, capacitor 234 that illustrates an implementation of the filter 218 in figure 4A) coupled to the first RF strap; and
a second RF strap (figure 6C, strap 430) coupled to the capacitor and the portion of the RF transmission line.
For claim 18, Marachtanov further teaches the portion of the RF transmission line is configured to be coupled to an electrode of a plasma chamber (214).
For claim 19, Marakhtanov further teaches the portion is of an RF rod of the RF transmission line (rod 216a).
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.
Claims 4, 12, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Marakhtanov as applied to claims 1, 9, and 17 above, respectively, and further in view of US 2009/0200269 (Kadkhodayan).
For claim 4, Marakhtanov does not teach how to shape or the constitution of its RF straps.
Nonetheless, Kadkhodayan figure 4 teaches an RF strap that is flat and elongated (the straps are rectangular from the top and cross perspective),
wherein the first RF strap is fabricated from copper or an alloy of copper, wherein the second RF strap is flat and elongated, wherein the second RF strap is fabricated from copper or an alloy of copper (see, e.g., para [0019]. “…an RF strap comprised of beryllium copper…”).
Given Kadkhodayan, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of the invention to shape the RF straps of Marakhtanov in a flat, elongated fashion from a copper alloy, for the purpose of transmitting a signal with efficiency.
For claim 12, Marakhtanov does not teach how to shape or the constitution of its RF straps.
Nonetheless, Kadkhodayan figure 4 teaches an RF strap that is flat and elongated (the straps are rectangular from the top and cross perspective),
wherein the first RF strap is fabricated from copper or an alloy of copper, wherein the second RF strap is flat and elongated, wherein the second RF strap is fabricated from copper or an alloy of copper (see, e.g., para [0019]. “…an RF strap comprised of beryllium copper…”).
Given Kadkhodayan, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of the invention to shape the RF straps of Marakhtanov in a flat, elongated fashion from a copper alloy, for the purpose of transmitting a signal with efficiency.
For claim 20, Marakhtanov teaches the first RF strap is coupled in series with the capacitor and the capacitor is coupled in series with the second RF strap to form a series circuit (the straps are in series with the capacitor), wherein the series circuit is coupled in parallel to the portion of the RF transmission line (the straps/capacitor are parallel with the portion 216B).
However, Marakhtanov does not teach how to shape or the constitution of its RF straps.
Nonetheless, Kadkhodayan figure 4 teaches an RF strap that is flat and elongated (the straps are rectangular from the top and cross perspective),
wherein the first RF strap is fabricated from copper or an alloy of copper, wherein the second RF strap is flat and elongated, wherein the second RF strap is fabricated from copper or an alloy of copper (see, e.g., para [0019]. “…an RF strap comprised of beryllium copper…”).
Given Kadkhodayan, it would have been obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art at the time of the invention to shape the RF straps of Marakhtanov in a flat, elongated fashion from a copper alloy, for the purpose of transmitting a signal with efficiency.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 and 15 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ADAM D HOUSTON whose telephone number is (571)270-3901. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-7 CST.
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/ADAM D HOUSTON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836
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