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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 8, 10, and 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Song et al. (US 20190371615 A1).
As to claim 1, Song discloses a semiconductor manufacturing device [Abstract; Fig. 5], comprising:
a treatment tank 110 in which treatment of a workpiece is performed using a chemical solution containing nitric acid [Abstract; para. 0023-24];
a pipe 502 connected to the treatment tank 110 and through which nitric oxide (NO) that is generated by the treatment is recovered from the treatment tank [Fig. 5; para. 0041; para. 0035, re-circulation port 113 to pipe 502]; and
a sensor 516 configured to detect and output a physical quantity related to an amount of the NO that is recovered through the pipe [para. 0042-44, “NOx”; para. 0032, “desired level of NO.sub.x (such as NO or NO.sub.2)”] .
As to claim 8, Song discloses semiconductor manufacturing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a processor 702 [para. 0060-61, 0066] configured to determine an end of the treatment based on the physical quantity that is output by the sensor [para. 0044, 0048].
As to claim 10, Song discloses the semiconductor manufacturing device according to claim 1, wherein an area of a surface of the workpiece that comes into contact with the chemical solution changes according to a progress of the treatment in the treatment tank [para. 0044, 0048].
As to claim 16, Song discloses a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device [Abstract, Fig. 6], the method comprising:
beginning treatment of a workpiece using a chemical solution containing acid in a treatment tank 110 [Fig. 6, step 606; para. 0054];
recovering nitric oxide (NO) generated by the treatment from the treatment tank 110 through a pipe 502 [Fig. 6, step 608, para. 0054; para. 0048];
detecting a physical quantity related to an amount of the NO recovered through the pipe 502 [para. 0041-44, 0046; Fig. 6, steps 608-612]; and
determining an end of the treatment based on the detected physical quantity [para. 0044, 0048; Fig. 6, steps 608-612].
As to claim 17, Song discloses the method according to claim 16, wherein the end of the treatment is determined based on an elapsed time after the detected physical quantity falls into a particular range [Fig. 2, para. 0028, “After approximately 5 minutes the etching rate, in the illustrated chart of experiment, tapers down slightly and eventually settles at around a steady level of about 4.2-4.3 μm/min.”].
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Moore et al. (US 20120207664 A1).
As to claim 11, Moore discloses a semiconductor manufacturing device [Abstract, Fig. 4, para. 0048; Here, the preamble does not limit the structure of the claimed device, but rather recites an intended use of the claimed device, and therefore is not given patentable weight. See MPEP 2111.02], comprising:
a treatment tank 100 in which treatment of a workpiece is performed using a chemical solution containing nitric acid [Fig. 4, para. 0049];
a pipe 40 connected to the treatment tank 100 and through which nitric oxide (NO) that is generated by the treatment is recovered from the treatment tank [Fig. 4, “NOx”, para. 0047, para. 0050-51];
a first reaction tank 200 connected to the pipe 40 and in which the recovered NO reacts with ozone (via 50) to generate nitrogen dioxide (NO2) [Fig. 4, para. 0053-57]; and
a second reaction tank 300 connected to the first reaction tank and in which the generated NO2 reacts with pure water to generate nitric acid 80 [Fig. 4, para. 0058-60].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-7, 9, 12-15, and 18-20 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:
As to claim 2, the closest prior art of record to Song et al. (US 20190371615 A1) discloses a sensor to measure an amount of oxides of nitrogen generally, but not an amount of nitric oxide (NO) specifically [para. 0042-44, “NOx”; para. 0032, “desired level of NO.sub.x (such as NO or NO.sub.2)”], and therefore fails to disclose “wherein the sensor is an NO concentration meter attached to the pipe and configured to detect and output a concentration of NO that is recovered through the pipe.”
As to claim 3, the prior art of record fails to teach or suggest the combination of the claimed sensor of claim 1, with the first and second reaction tanks of claim 3.
Claims 4-7 are considered allowable based on their dependence on claim 3.
As to claim 9, the closest prior art of record to Song et al. discloses a sensor to measure an amount of oxides of nitrogen generally, but not an amount of nitric oxide (NO) specifically [para. 0042-44, “NOx”; para. 0032, “desired level of NO.sub.x (such as NO or NO.sub.2)”], and therefore fails to disclose “the physical quantity is a concentration of the NO”.
As to claim 12, the closest prior art of record to Moore et al. (US 20120207664 A1) fails to teach or suggest the combination of the claimed first and second reaction tanks, of claim 11, with “a sensor configured to detect and output a physical quantity related to an amount of the NO that is recovered through the pipe.”, of claim 12.
Claims 13-15 are considered allowable based on their dependence on claim 12.
As to claim 18, the closest prior art of record to Song et al. discloses a sensor to measure an amount of oxides of nitrogen generally, but not an amount of nitric oxide (NO) specifically [para. 0042-44, “NOx”; para. 0032, “desired level of NO.sub.x (such as NO or NO.sub.2)”], and therefore fails to disclose “the physical quantity is a concentration of the NO recovered through the pipe.”
As to claim 19, the closest prior art of record to Song et al. fails to teach or suggest, alone or in combination with other prior art, the step of “to cause the NO to react with ozone in the first reaction tank and thereby generate NO2 therein”.
As to claim 20, the prior art of record fails to teach, alone or in combination with other prior art, the step of “to cause the NO to react with ozone in the first reaction tank and thereby generate NO2 therein”.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: The additionally cited references are cited to show methods and apparatus for measuring nitric oxide or NOx, and/or for regenerating nitric acid therefrom [Abstracts].
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER M REMAVEGE whose telephone number is (571)270-5511. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM.
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/CHRISTOPHER REMAVEGE/Examiner, Art Unit 1713
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