DETAILED ACTION
Examiner Note
This Office Action is a second action non-final.
Response to Arguments
Applicant argues the FUJII reference uses a sensor that detects relatively stable gas molecules when the combination motivates using a highly reactive radical. Upon review of the reference, the examiner agrees that the reference does not specifically teach detection of a radical gas which could just as easily act as an etchant instead of adsorbing/chemosorbing onto a sensor (filter) layer.
The previous rejections are removed. A new reference WALTHER (US 2021/0339034) is included to teach detection of a reactive species including radicals.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I claims 1-7 in the reply filed on 3/19/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 8-20 are withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WANG et al. (US 2024/0392426) in view of HONDA (US 2006/0196846), WANG et al. (US 2018/0174901; hereinafter WANG II), and WALTHER (US 2021/0339034).
Regarding claims 1 and 5,
WANG teaches a plasma chamber with a protective layer of magnesium fluoride (fluorinated magnesium) abstract. The remote plasma source generates fluorine plasma [0007]. The magnesium fluoride prevents fluorine radicals from penetrating into the component [0008]. The reference does not expressly teach including a radical sensor including a filter and piezoelectric material. However, HONDA teaches that when using a plasma processing apparatus measuring the concentration of F radicals is desirable to precisely control the endpoint of an etching step abstract and [0018]-[0019]. At the time of filing the invention it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include a F radical sensor to measure the plasma density in a plasma chamber.
WANG teaches a protective magnesium fluoride coating on a component but the component is a product rather than a component of the plasma system itself. However, WANG II teaches that when performing a fluorine plasma treatment, a conditioning step can be done to passivate components (protective coating) of the system itself, such as chamber walls and showerheads [0003]. At the time of filing the invention it would have been prima facie obvious to passivate the components of the chamber itself to passivate the apparatus components from deposition and/or etching of the substrate.
Modified WANG teaches a plasma chamber with a F radical sensor but does not teach a filter selectively reacting with radical species on a piezoelectric material. However, when detecting reactive gases, including radicals, WALTHER teaches measuring the dose distribution of reactive species in a plasma chamber [0009] the reactive species can be radicals [0005]. The feedback from measuring the reactive species (radicals) from the plasma output allows for the uniform dose rate [0032]. The sensor itself is a quartz crystal microbalance with a surface coating (filter) [0052]. The mass loss of the coating (filter) is measured in real time to determine reactive species concentration. At the time of filing the invention it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the reactive species of WALTHER to detect the radicals as a known sensor for in situ measurements.
Regarding claim 2,
WANG teaches the plasma source is a remote plasma source 200 and gas supply 210 [0040]. As shown in Fig. 3 the gas source 210 is coupled to the remote plasma source 200 and chamber/housing 102. The shower head 160 can also correspond to the gas delivery lines. WANG teaches passivating with magnesium fluoride. The same protective/passivating material will perform the same function.
Regarding claim 3,
WANG teaches the shower head and chamber wall liner can be made of aluminum (metal) [0039]-[0041].
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WANG et al. (US 2024/0392426) in view of HONDA (US 2006/0196846), WANG et al. (US 2018/0174901; hereinafter WANG II), and WALTHER (US 2021/0339034) further in view of NGUYEN (CN 105190847; citation to machine translation).
Regarding claim 4,
Modified WANG teaches applying a protective/passivating coating to a plasma system component but does not teach the component as made of a ceramic material. However, NGUYEN teaches magnesium fluoride page 2 can be used as a protective coating for a ceramic plasma chamber component abstract. At the time of filing the invention it would have been prima facie obvious to protect/passivate both ceramic and metallic components from plasma deposition/etching to prevent damage to the apparatus.
Claim(s) 6 and 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over WANG et al. (US 2024/0392426) in view of HONDA (US 2006/0196846), WANG et al. (US 2018/0174901; hereinafter WANG II), and WALTHER (US 2021/0339034) further in view of TAI et al. (US 2011/0005922).
Regarding claim 6,
WANG teaches applying a protective layer but does not teach an adhesion layer between the component and protective coating. However, TAI teaches that when forming an MgF2 protective layer the underlying aluminum component can be oxidized to and form diffusion bonds with the magnesium fluoride [0032]. At the time of filing the invention it would have been prima facie obvious to form a protective layer of both aluminum oxide and magnesium fluoride to provide improved protection from plasma inside the chamber.
Regarding claim 7,
WANG teaches the protective layer is dense and nonporous to prevent penetration of fluorine radicals [0052]. The nonporous layer has a porosity of less than 5%. The thickness of the protective layer is 100-300nm abstract which falls within the claimed range.
TAI teaches the oxide layer can include porous layers and nonporous “hard” and “transition” layers (0% porosity) [0028]. The reference teaches the total thickness of the oxide layer is 50µm [0034]-[0035] but does not expressly teach the thickness of the hard and transition layers of the oxide material. However, the thickness of the protective layer is considered to be a result effective variable because a thicker protective layer is expected to offer more/longer protection than a relatively thinner layer at the cost of more material and weight. At the time of filing the invention it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to optimize the thickness of a protective layer to balance the protective properties with the costs associated with the protective layer.
Conclusion
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/AUSTIN MURATA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1712
