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 § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 6 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 6 recites “that at least some of the plurality of second grooves are arranged from each other in the horizontal direction.” It is unclear what arrangement of the plurality of second grooves is being claimed by the limitation. As such, it is determined to be indefinite. For examination purposes, the limitation has been construed to be “that at least some of the plurality of second grooves are arranged apart from each other in the horizontal direction.”
Claim 14 recites “…and wherein the one of the plurality of first grooves and the at least one of the plurality of second grooves each other [sic] in the vertical direction.” It is unclear what relationship the limitation claims that the plurality of first grooves has with the plurality of second grooves. As such, it is determined to be indefinite. For examination purposes, the limitation has been construed to be “…and wherein the one of the plurality of first grooves and the at least one of the plurality of second grooves overlap each other in the vertical direction.”
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 1-6 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han (KR 20050002378 A) in view of Chen (US 20040038631 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Han (KR 20050002378 A) discloses a chemical mechanical polishing pad (see Han Trans. ¶[0005]) comprising: a body having a cylindrical shape and extending in a vertical direction, (aerial view of the body of polishing pad shown in FIGS. 1a-b and cross-sectional view of the body extending in a vertical direction shown in FIGS. 4a-b)
the body comprising: a plurality of first grooves extending downward in the vertical direction from an upper surface of the body; (see Ref. Pic. 1 below: the body comprises a plurality of grooves 11 extending downward in the vertical direction Z from the upper surface of the polishing pad body; see also Han Trans. ¶[0019])
and a plurality of second grooves extending downward in the vertical direction inside the body, (a plurality of holes 12a, 12b, and 12c extending downward in the vertical direction Z inside the body)
wherein each of the plurality of first grooves is exposed upward in the vertical direction from the upper surface of the body, (each of the plurality of grooves 11 is exposed upward in the vertical direction Z from the upper surface of the body)
wherein each of the plurality of second grooves is inside the body such that an upper surface of each of the plurality of second grooves is below the upper surface of the body, (see Ref. Pic. 1 below: each of the plurality of grooves 12a, 12b and 12c is inside the body such that the uppermost surfaces of 12a, 12b and 12c—denoted by lines U1, U2 and U3, respectively—are below the upper surface of the body)
PNG
media_image1.png
375
750
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Ref Pic. 1: Annotated Han FIG. 4a
Han does not disclose that at least two of the plurality of first grooves have depths different from each other.
However, Chen (US 20040038631 A1) teaches a polishing pad wherein at least two of the plurality of grooves exposed upward in the vertical direction from an upper surface of the body have depths different from each other (see Chen Fig. 1b: grooves V1, V2, and V3 are exposed upward in the vertical direction from the surface SF2 of a polishing pad and have different depths d1, d2, and d3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the polishing pad of Han so that at least two of the plurality of first grooves have depths different from each other, as taught by Chen. One would have been motivated to make such a modification “to show the abrasion of the polishing pad without pad destruction or pad contamination caused by measurement methods in the prior art” and accordingly ”advise replacement of the old polishing pad at a suitable time, thereby maintaining polishing removal uniformity of a wafer.” (Chen ¶[0027]).
Regarding claim 2, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as modified, further teaches that the upper surfaces of at least two of the plurality of second grooves are at different vertical levels from each other (see Ref. Pic. 1 in the discussion of claim 1 above: the upper surfaces U1, U2 and U3 of holes 12a, 12b and 12c, respectively, are at different vertical levels from each other).
Regarding claim 3, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as modified, teaches that at least one of the plurality of first grooves and at least one of the plurality of second grooves overlap each other in a horizontal direction (FIG. 4a: grooves 11 and grooves 12b overlap each other in the horizontal direction denoted by line a-a’).
Regarding claim 4, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as modified, teaches that at least one of the plurality of first grooves has a triangular cross-section on a vertical plane (see Han. FIG. 2b and Trans. ¶[0010]: the grooves exposed on the upper surface of the body have a triangular cross-section on a vertical plane)
and at least one of the plurality of second grooves has a triangular cross-section on the vertical plane (grooves 12a, 12b and 12c has the same cross-sectional shape as groove 11, in this case a triangular cross-sectional shape; see Trans. ¶[0019] and [0023]).
Regarding claim 5, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as modified, teaches that at least one of the plurality of first grooves has a circular cross-section on a vertical plane (see Han Trans. ¶[0023]: the cross sectional shape of groove 11 on a vertical plane, in the orientation shown in FIG. 4a, may be circular)
and at least one of the plurality of second grooves has a circular cross-section on the vertical plane (grooves 12a, 12b and 12c has the same cross-sectional shape as groove 11, in this case a circular cross-sectional shape; see Han Trans. ¶[0019] and [0023]).
Regarding claim 6, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as modified, teaches that at least some of the plurality of second grooves are arranged apart from each other in the horizontal direction, (FIG. 4a: grooves 12a, 12b and 12c are arranged apart from each other in the horizontal direction)
when comparing vertical levels of the upper surfaces of the at least some of the plurality of second grooves to each other, the vertical levels continuously increase or decrease in the horizontal direction (see Ref. Pic. 1 in the discussion of claim 1 above: the vertical depths from the upper surface of the body of U1, U2, and U3 of holes 12a, 12b, and 12c continuously increase in the horizontal direction, left to right).
Regarding claim 9, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as modified, teaches that the body, the plurality of first grooves, and the plurality of second grooves are integral with each other (the polishing pad body, grooves 11, and holes 12a, 12b, and 12c all form a single polishing pad and are integral with each other; see also Hans Trans. ¶[0025]-[0026]).
Regarding claim 10, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as modified, does not explicitly teach that the body comprises at least one of polyurethane and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene copolymer (ABS) resins.
However, Chen further teaches that the polishing body comprises polyurethane resin (Chen ¶[0019]).
Given that both Han and Chen teach polishing pads with embedded grooves for CMP processes, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the material of the polishing pad of Han with the polyurethane material of Chen, to provide the predictable result of polishing a semiconductor wafer.
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han (KR 20050002378 A) in view of Chen (US 20040038631 A1), further in view of Elliott (US 5690540 A).
Regarding claim 7, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as modified, does not teach that each of the plurality of first grooves and the plurality of second grooves has a spiral cross-section on a horizontal plane.
However, Elliott (US 5690540 A), teaches a polishing pad with a plurality of grooves with a spiral cross-section on a horizontal plane (polishing pad 80 with grooves 82, 84, 86, and 88 with a spiral cross-section on the horizontal plane shown in FIG. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the polishing pad of Han so that each of the plurality of first grooves and the plurality of second grooves has a spiral cross-section on a horizontal plane, as taught by Elliott. One would have been motivated to make such a modification so that “slurry is transported inwardly toward the center or toward the periphery of the polishing pad depending upon the circumferential direction of the spiral relative to the direction of rotation of the polishing pad” (see Elliott Col. 3, Line 43-Col. 4, Line 19).
Regarding claim 8, the rejection of claim 7 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as modified, further teaches that each of the plurality of first grooves and each of the plurality of second grooves have a same width as each other on the spiral cross-section of the horizontal plane (grooves 11 and holes 12a, 12b, and 12c have the same width—see Han Trans. ¶[0021]—and as per the modification discussed in the rejection of claim 7 above, the polishing pad has a spiral cross-section on the horizontal plane).
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Han (KR 20050002378 A) in view of Chen (US 20040038631 A1), further in view of Huang (US10189143B2).
Regarding claim 11, the rejection of claim 1 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as modified, does not teach that a lower surface of each of the plurality of first grooves is at a same vertical level as a vertical level of the upper surface of at least one of the plurality of second grooves.
However, Huang (US10189143B2) teaches a polishing pad wherein a lower surface of each of the plurality of grooves exposed on an upper surface of the polishing pad is at a same vertical level as a vertical level of the upper surface of at least one of the plurality of grooves in the pad below the upper surface (see Ref. Pic. 2 below: surface 1241 of groove 124 is at a same vertical level in the z direction as the vertical level of surface 1261 of groove 126; see also Col. 5, Lines 5-15).
PNG
media_image2.png
914
806
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Ref. Pic. 2: Annotated Huang FIG. 5
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the polishing pad of Han, as modified, so that a lower surface of each of the plurality of first grooves is at a same vertical level as a vertical level of the upper surface of at least one of the plurality of second grooves, as taught by Huang. One would have been motivated to make such a modification so that “even if the first groove 124 is worn down, the second groove 126 is opened to continuously accommodate the slurry 132” (Huang Col. 3, Line 55-Col. 4, Line 6).
Claims 12, 14, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gurusamy (US20200206866A1) in view of Han (KR 20050002378 A) and Chen (US 20040038631 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Gurusamy (US20200206866A1) discloses a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus (FIG. 1 and ¶[0026]-[0027]) comprising: a plate configured to rotate about a vertical axis; (rotatable platen 24 rotating around axis 25)
a chemical mechanical polishing pad on an upper surface of the plate; (polishing pad 30 on an upper surface of platen 24)
a polishing head facing the chemical mechanical polishing pad in a vertical direction; (carrier head 70 facing the polishing pad 30 in a vertical direction)
and a slurry supply above the plate, spaced apart from the polishing head in a horizontal direction, and configured to discharge polishing slurry toward an upper surface of the chemical mechanical polishing pad, (polishing liquid delivery arm 39 above platen 24, spaced apart from carrier head 70 in a horizontal direction, and configured to dispense polishing liquid 38 toward an upper surface of polishing pad 30; see also ¶[0032])
Gurusamy does not teach that the chemical mechanical polishing pad comprises a body including: a plurality of first grooves extending downward in the vertical direction from the upper surface of the chemical mechanical polishing pad;
and a plurality of second grooves extending downward in the vertical direction inside the body such that an upper surface of each of the plurality of second grooves is below an upper surface of the body,
wherein at least two of the plurality of first grooves have different depths in the vertical direction from each other,
and wherein the upper surfaces of at least two of the plurality of second grooves are at different vertical levels from each other.
However, Han teaches a chemical mechanical polishing pad (see Han Trans. ¶[0005]) comprising: a body including: a plurality of first grooves extending downward in the vertical direction from the upper surface of the chemical mechanical polishing pad; (see Ref. Pic. 1 in the discussion of claim 1 above: the body comprises a plurality of grooves 11 extending downward in the vertical direction Z from the upper surface of the polishing pad body; see also Han Trans. ¶[0019])
and a plurality of second grooves extending downward in the vertical direction inside the body such that an upper surface of each of the plurality of second grooves is below an upper surface of the body, (a plurality of holes 12a, 12b, and 12c extending downward in the vertical direction Z inside the body such that each of the plurality of holes 12a, 12b, and 12c is inside the body such that the uppermost surfaces of the plurality of holes—denoted by lines U1, U2 and U3—are below the upper surface of the body)
and wherein the upper surfaces of at least two of the plurality of second grooves are at different vertical levels from each other (see Ref. Pic. 1 in the discussion of claim 1 above: the upper surfaces U1, U2 and U3 of grooves 12a, 12b and 12c, respectively, are at different vertical levels from each other).
Given that both Gurusamy and Han teach polishing pads for CMP processes, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the polishing pad of Gurusamy with the polishing pad of Han, to provide the predictable result of polishing semiconductor devices.
Additionally, Chen (US 20040038631 A1) teaches a polishing pad wherein at least two of the plurality of grooves exposed upward in the vertical direction from an upper surface of the body have depths different from each other (see Chen Fig. 1b: grooves V1, V2, and V3 are exposed upward in the vertical direction from the surface SF2 of a polishing pad and have different depths d1, d2, and d3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the polishing pad of Gurusamy, as substituted with Han, so that at least two of the plurality of first grooves have depths different from each other, as taught by Chen. One would have been motivated to make such a modification “to show the abrasion of the polishing pad without pad destruction or pad contamination caused by measurement methods in the prior” and accordingly “advise replacement of the old polishing pad at a suitable time, thereby maintaining polishing removal uniformity of a wafer.” (Chen ¶[0027]).
Regarding claim 14, the rejection of claim 12 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as used to substitute the polishing pad of Gurusamy, further teaches that at least one of the plurality of second grooves is below one of the plurality of first grooves, (holes 12a, 12b, and 12c are located below grooves 11 in the vertical direction) and wherein the one of the plurality of first grooves and the at least one of the plurality of second grooves overlap each other in the vertical direction (see Ref. Pic. 3 below: grooves 11 and holes 12b overlap each other in the vertical direction V1).
PNG
media_image3.png
375
750
media_image3.png
Greyscale
Ref. Pic. 3: Annotated Han FIG. 4a
Regarding claim 16, the rejection of claim 12 is incorporated in this rejection. Gurusamy, as modified, further teaches a pad cleaner above the chemical mechanical polishing pad and configured to clean the chemical mechanical polishing pad (the liquid delivery arm 39 may be a combined slurry/rinse arm and rinse fluid would clean the chemical polishing pad; see Gurusamy ¶[0032]).
Regarding claim 17, the rejection of claim 12 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as used to substitute the polishing pad of Gurusamy, further teaches that at least one of the plurality of first grooves has a triangular cross-section on a vertical plane (see Han. FIG. 2b and Trans. ¶[0010]: the grooves exposed on the upper surface of the body have a triangular cross-section on a vertical plane) and at least one of the plurality of second grooves has a triangular cross-section on the vertical plane (grooves 12a, 12b and 12c has the same cross-sectional shape as groove 11, in this case a triangular cross-sectional shape; see Trans. ¶[0019] and [0023]).
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gurusamy (US20200206866A1) in view of Han (KR 20050002378 A) and Chen (US 20040038631 A1), further in view of Moyer (US11845157B2).
Regarding claim 15, the rejection of claim 14 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as used to substitute the polishing pad of Gurusamy, further teaches that the one of the plurality of first grooves overlaps two of the plurality of second grooves in the vertical direction (see Ref. Pic. 3 above in the discussion of claim 14: groove 11 along V1 overlaps two grooves 12b in the vertical direction), but does not teach that the one of the plurality of first grooves overlaps three of the plurality of second grooves in the vertical direction.
However, Moyer (US11845157B2) teaches a polishing pad wherein one of the plurality of grooves exposed on a top surface of the polishing pad overlaps three of the plurality of grooves in the pad below the upper surface (see Ref. Pic. 4 below: exposed groove 702b overlaps three grooves 702d in the vertical direction Z along the line V2).
PNG
media_image4.png
562
687
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Ref. Pic. 4: Annotated Meyer FIG. 7A—Polishing Pad at Initial Time
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the polishing pad of Gurusamy, as modified, so that one of the plurality of first grooves overlaps three of the plurality of second grooves in the vertical direction, as taught by Meyer. One would have been motivated to make such a modification so “the polishing pads may be used continuously (e.g., without conditioning) for long periods of time while maintaining a nearly constant groove volume at or within a predetermined range near [the grooves’ initial value] V0” (Meyer Col. 16, Line 64-Col. 17, Line 11).
Claims 13 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gurusamy (US20200206866A1) in view of Han (KR 20050002378 A) and Chen (US 20040038631 A1), further in view of Elliott (US 5690540 A).
Regarding claim 13, the rejection of claim 12 is incorporated in this rejection. Gurusamy, as modified, does not teach that each of the plurality of first grooves and the plurality of second grooves has a spiral cross-section on a horizontal plane.
Elliott (US 5690540 A), teaches a polishing pad with a plurality of grooves with a spiral cross-section on a horizontal plane (polishing pad 80 with grooves 82, 84, 86, and 88 with a spiral cross-section on the horizontal plane shown in FIG. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the polishing pad of Han so that each of the plurality of first grooves and the plurality of second grooves has a spiral cross-section on a horizontal plane, as taught by Elliott. One would have been motivated to make such a modification so that “slurry is transported inwardly toward the center or toward the periphery of the polishing pad depending upon the circumferential direction of the spiral relative to the direction of rotation of the polishing pad” (see Elliott Col. 3, Line 43-Col. 4, Line 19).
Regarding claim 18, Gurusamy discloses a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus (FIG. 1 and ¶[0026]-[0027]) comprising: a plate configured to rotate about a vertical axis; (rotatable platen 24 rotating around axis 25)
a chemical mechanical polishing pad on an upper surface of the plate; (polishing pad 30 on an upper surface of platen 24)
a polishing head facing the chemical mechanical polishing pad in a vertical direction; (carrier head 70 facing the polishing pad 30 in a vertical direction)
a slurry supply above the plate, spaced apart from the polishing head in a horizontal direction, and configured to discharge polishing slurry toward an upper surface of the chemical mechanical polishing pad; (polishing liquid delivery arm 39 above platen 24, spaced apart from carrier head 70 in a horizontal direction, and configured to dispense polishing liquid 38 toward an upper surface of polishing pad 30; see also ¶[0032])
and a pad cleaner above the chemical mechanical polishing pad and configured to clean the chemical mechanical polishing pad, (the liquid delivery arm 39 may be a combined slurry/rinse arm and rinse fluid would clean the chemical polishing pad; see ¶[0032]).
Gurusay does not disclose that the chemical mechanical polishing pad comprises a body comprising: a plurality of first grooves extending downward in the vertical direction from the upper surface of the chemical mechanical polishing pad;
and a plurality of second grooves extending downward in the vertical direction inside the body such that upper surfaces of each of the plurality of second grooves are below an upper surface of the body,
wherein at least two of the plurality of first grooves have different depths in the vertical direction from each other,
and wherein the upper surfaces of at least two of the plurality of second grooves are at different vertical levels from each other,
wherein at least one of the plurality of first grooves and at least one of the plurality of second grooves overlap each other in the horizontal direction,
and wherein each of the plurality of first grooves and the plurality of second grooves has a spiral cross-section on an horizontal plane.
However, Han teaches a chemical mechanical polishing pad (see Han Trans. ¶[0005]) comprising: a body including: a plurality of first grooves extending downward in the vertical direction from the upper surface of the chemical mechanical polishing pad; (see Ref. Pic. 1 in the discussion of claim 1 above: the body comprises a plurality of grooves 11 extending downward in the vertical direction Z from the upper surface of the polishing pad body; see also Han Trans. ¶[0019])
and a plurality of second grooves extending downward in the vertical direction inside the body such that an upper surface of each of the plurality of second grooves is below an upper surface of the body, (a plurality of holes 12a, 12b, and 12c extending downward in the vertical direction Z inside the body such that each of the plurality of holes 12a, 12b, and 12c is inside the body such that the uppermost surfaces of the plurality of holes—denoted by lines U1, U2 and U3—are below the upper surface of the body)
and wherein the upper surfaces of at least two of the plurality of second grooves are at different vertical levels from each other (see Ref. Pic. 1 in the discussion of claim 1 above: the upper surfaces U1, U2 and U3 of grooves 12a, 12b and 12c, respectively, are at different vertical levels from each other),
wherein at least one of the plurality of first grooves and at least one of the plurality of second grooves overlap each other in the horizontal direction (Han FIG. 4a: grooves 11 and grooves 12b overlap each other in the horizontal direction denoted by line aa’).
Given that both Gurusamy and Han teach polishing pads for CMP processes, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the polishing pad of Gurusamy with the polishing pad of Han, to provide the predictable result of polishing semiconductor devices.
Additionally, Chen (US 20040038631 A1) teaches a polishing pad wherein at least two of the plurality of grooves exposed upward in the vertical direction from an upper surface of the body have depths different from each other (see Chen Fig. 1b: grooves V1, V2, and V3 are exposed upward in the vertical direction from the surface SF2 of a polishing pad and have different depths d1, d2, and d3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the polishing pad of Gurusamy, as substituted with Han, so that at least two of the plurality of first grooves have depths different from each other, as taught by Chen. One would have been motivated to make such a modification “to show the abrasion of the polishing pad without pad destruction or pad contamination caused by measurement methods in the prior” and accordingly “advise replacement of the old polishing pad at a suitable time, thereby maintaining polishing removal uniformity of a wafer.” (Chen ¶[0027]).
In addition, Elliott (US 5690540 A), teaches a polishing pad with a plurality of grooves with a spiral cross-section on a horizontal plane (polishing pad 80 with grooves 82, 84, 86, and 88 with a spiral cross-section on the horizontal plane shown in FIG. 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the polishing pad of Han so that each of the plurality of first grooves and the plurality of second grooves has a spiral cross-section on a horizontal plane, as taught by Elliott. One would have been motivated to make such a modification so that “slurry is transported inwardly toward the center or toward the periphery of the polishing pad depending upon the circumferential direction of the spiral relative to the direction of rotation of the polishing pad” (see Elliott Col. 3, Line 43-Col. 4, Line 19).
Regarding claim 19, the rejection of claim 18 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as used to substitute the polishing pad of Gurusamy, further teaches that the plurality of second grooves are below each of the plurality of first grooves (see Ref. Pic. 1 in the discussion of claim 1 above: holes 12a, 12b, and 12c are located below grooves 11 in vertical direction z).
Regarding claim 20, the rejection of claim 18 is incorporated in this rejection. Han, as used to substitute the polishing pad of Gurusamy, further teaches that at least one of the plurality of first grooves has a triangular cross-section on a vertical plane (see Han. FIG. 2b and Trans. ¶[0010]: the grooves exposed on the upper surface of the body have a triangular cross-section on a vertical plane) and at least one of the plurality of second grooves has a triangular cross-section on the vertical plane (grooves 12a, 12b and 12c has the same cross-sectional shape as groove 11, in this case a triangular cross-sectional shape; see Trans. ¶[0019] and [0023]).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Hendron (US 20060286350 A1) discloses a CMP pad with a first plurality of grooves exposed on the top surface and a second plurality of grooves at varying heights and depths.
Suzuki (US20080064311A1) discloses a CMP pad with a plurality of grooves on the top surface and a second plurality of grooves on the bottom surface.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CATHERINE JOH whose telephone number is (571)272-0410. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8a-5p.
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, David Posigian can be reached at (313) 446-6546. 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.
/C.J./Examiner, Art Unit 3723
/DAVID S POSIGIAN/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3723
Prosecution Insights