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 .
Response to Amendment
Applicant's amendment filed on 10/29/2025 has been entered.
Claims 1, 3, and 10 have been amended.
Claims 2 and 5-9 are as previously presented.
Claim 4 has been cancelled.
Claim 11 has been added.
Claims 1-3 and 5-11 are still pending in this application, with claims 1 and 3 being independent.
This amendment overcomes the previously set-forth objection to the drawings. Therefore the objection has been withdrawn.
This amendment overcomes the previously set-forth rejection of claim 3 under 35 USC § 102, having now been amended to incorporate claim 4. Therefore the 6/6/2025 rejection of claims 3 and 5-10 under 35 USC § 103 has been withdrawn. Applicant's arguments regarding the 35 USC § 103 rejections of claim 4 are not persuasive, as described in the 'Response to Arguments' section below.
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 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ishikawa (US 20210242048 A1).
Regarding claim 1,
Ishikawa teaches:
A ceramic heater [fig. 1: ceramic heater #10] comprising:
a plate [ceramic plate #20; para. 0017: “An imaginary boundary BL (see FIG. 3) that is concentric with the ceramic plate 20 divides the ceramic plate 20 into an inner-peripheral-side zone Z1 that has a small circular shape and an outer-peripheral-side zone Z2 that has an annular shape… The outer-peripheral-side zone Z2 is divided into three annular zones, that is, outer-peripheral-side first to third zones Z21 to Z23 by imaginary boundaries BL1 and BL2 (see FIG. 3) concentric with the ceramic plate 20.”];
a heating element embedded in the plate [resistance heating elements #22, #24, #26, and #28; para. 0017: “The inner-peripheral-side resistance heating element 22 is embedded in the inner-peripheral-side zone Z1 of the ceramic plate 20. The outer-peripheral-side first to third resistance heating elements 24, 26, and 28 are embedded in the respective outer-peripheral-side first to third zones Z21 to Z23.”]; and
a cylindrical shaft having an internal space [tubular shaft #40],
wherein the heating element includes a coiled wire portion and a non-coiled wire portion [para. 0007: “In the ceramic heater, the outer-peripheral-side resistance heating element that has a coil shape is disposed in the outer-peripheral-side zone, and accordingly, a relatively large amount of heat generation can be obtained. The shape of the inner-peripheral-side resistance heating element is not a coil shape but a two-dimensional shape, and accordingly, a line width can be decreased, and a line distance can be decreased. Accordingly, temperature variance can be inhibited from occurring in the inner-peripheral-side zone.”],
wherein the heating element comprises an inner peripheral heating element [#22 and #24] located in an inner peripheral area [#Z1 and #Z21] of the plate,
wherein a portion of the inner peripheral heating element [#22] is arranged in a central portion of the plate [see figs. 2 and 3], and the inner peripheral heating element arranged in the central portion of the plate is the non-coiled wire [para. 0018: “The inner-peripheral-side resistance heating element 22 is a heating element that is manufactured by using high-melting-point metal or carbide thereof and that has a two-dimensional shape and is manufactured by, for example, applying paste by printing. Examples of the two-dimensional shape include a ribbon shape (a flat elongated shape) and a mesh shape.”],
wherein the plate comprises a first surface [wafer placement surface #20a] and a second surface [back surface #20b],
wherein the cylindrical shaft is connected to the second surface of the plate [para. 0016: “…a tubular shaft 40 that is joined coaxially with the ceramic plate 20 to a surface (aback surface) 20b of the ceramic plate 20 opposite the wafer placement surface 20a.”],
wherein the central portion of the plate is connected to the cylindrical shaft [see fig. 2],
wherein the inner peripheral heating element of the non-coiled wire [i.e., #22] is arranged in the central portion of the plate corresponding to the internal space of the cylindrical shaft [see fig. 2], and
wherein the inner peripheral heating element arranged in the central portion of the plate [i.e., inner-peripheral-side resistance heating element #22] and the inner peripheral heating element arranged outside the central portion of the plate [i.e., outer-peripheral-side first resistance heating element #24] have different wire diameters or materials [In order to inhibit temperature variance from occurring in the inner-peripheral-side zone (paras. 0004-0005), inner peripheral heating element #22, instead of adopting a coil shape similar to #24, is manufactured by printing a two-dimensional ribbon shape, wherein a line width can be decreased (i.e., a wire diameter), a line distance can be decreased, a distance between terminals can be increased, and a sectional area can be decreased (para. 0018), allowing for en electrical resistance to be adjusted. The material of #22 may also be chosen such that the material used has high volume resistivity (para. 0030).].
[para. 0018: “Since the inner-peripheral-side resistance heating element 22 has a two-dimensional shape, a line width can be decreased, a line distance can be decreased, the distance between the terminals can be increased, and a sectional area can be decreased. For this reason, electric resistance between the terminals of the inner-peripheral-side resistance heating element 22 can be readily adjusted by adjusting these.”]
[para. 0030: “According to the embodiment described above, in the case where the electric resistance between the terminals of the resistance heating elements 22, 24, 26, and 28 is to be increased, a material that has high volume resistivity may be used.”]
Regarding claim 2, Ishikawa teaches the ceramic heater of claim 1.
Ishikawa further teaches:
wherein the heating element further comprises an outer peripheral heating element [fig. 2: #28] located in an outer peripheral area of the plate [fig. 2: #Z23].
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 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishikawa (US 20210242048 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Ishikawa teaches the ceramic heater of claim 1.
In view of Ishikawa’s ceramic heater being directed towards inhibiting temperature variance [paras. 0004-5] from occurring in an inner peripheral area [i.e., Z1 in fig. 2] relative to an outer peripheral area [Z2], wherein the heating element portions are designed by selecting wire type (i.e., coiled or non-coiled), material, dimensions (i.e., sectional area), spacing (i.e., line distance) [paras. 0018, 0030], and Ishikawa further disclosing the conventional practice wherein the number of terminals corresponds to the desired number, and location, of distinct, independently adjustable zones [para. 0011: “In the ceramic heater according to the present invention, the inner-peripheral-side zone may be a single zone, and the outer-peripheral-side zone may be divided into two or more zones, and the outer-peripheral-side resistance heating element may be separately wired for every zone. The outer-peripheral-side resistance heating element is separately wired in the two or more zones, and accordingly, the number of the terminal of outer-peripheral-side resistance heating element increases depending on the number of the zones. It is necessary to wire the inner-peripheral-side resistance heating element via an increased number of terminals.”], since Ishikawa teaches at least terminals 22a, 22b, 24a, 24b, 26a, 26b, 28a, 28b for controlling the heating response of heating element portions connected thereto, Ishikawa further teaches:
wherein the inner peripheral heating element arranged in the central portion of the plate and the inner peripheral heating element arranged outside the central portion of the plate extend from a pair of first terminals.
In this case, selecting a given terminal to connect a heating element would have flown naturally to one of ordinary skill in the art as necessitated by the specific requirements of a given application. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to have the inner peripheral heating element arranged in the central portion of the plate and the inner peripheral heating element arranged outside the central portion of the plate extend from a pair of first terminals, e.g., to achieve a specific heating response/heating profile, those two portions may cover the same distinct zone, and are to be adjusted together.
Claims 3, 5-7, and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishikawa (US 20210242048 A1) in view of Gelatos (US 20050194374 A1).
Regarding claim 3,
Ishikawa discloses:
A ceramic heater [fig. 1: ceramic heater #10] comprising:
a plate [ceramic plate #20; para. 0017: “An imaginary boundary BL (see FIG. 3) that is concentric with the ceramic plate 20 divides the ceramic plate 20 into an inner-peripheral-side zone Z1 that has a small circular shape and an outer-peripheral-side zone Z2 that has an annular shape… The outer-peripheral-side zone Z2 is divided into three annular zones, that is, outer-peripheral-side first to third zones Z21 to Z23 by imaginary boundaries BL1 and BL2 (see FIG. 3) concentric with the ceramic plate 20.”]; and
a heating element embedded in the plate [resistance heating elements #22, #24, #26, and #28; para. 0017: “The inner-peripheral-side resistance heating element 22 is embedded in the inner-peripheral-side zone Z1 of the ceramic plate 20. The outer-peripheral-side first to third resistance heating elements 24, 26, and 28 are embedded in the respective outer-peripheral-side first to third zones Z21 to Z23.”],
wherein the heating element comprises multiple concentric arc portions and multiple connecting portions connecting the multiple concentric arc portions [see fig. 3, showing heating elements #22, #24, #26, and #28 each comprising multiple concentric arc portions, and multiple straight connecting portions connecting the concentric arc portions],
wherein the multiple concentric arc portions comprise a first arc portion closest to a center of the plate [i.e., an innermost concentric arc portion of #22] and a second arc portion farthest from the center of the plate [i.e., an outermost concentric arc portion of #28],
wherein at least one concentric arc portion disposed between the first arc portion and the second arc portion is a non-coiled wire [i.e., a concentric arc portion of #22 that is adjacent to the innermost concentric arc portion of #22; para. 0018: “The inner-peripheral-side resistance heating element 22 is a heating element that is manufactured by using high-melting-point metal or carbide thereof and that has a two-dimensional shape and is manufactured by, for example, applying paste by printing. Examples of the two-dimensional shape include a ribbon shape (a flat elongated shape) and a mesh shape.”],
wherein an arc portion [an arc portion of #26], other than the at least one concentric non-coiled wire arc portion, between the first arc portion and the second arc portion is a coiled wire [para. 0019: “The outer-peripheral-side first to third resistance heating elements 24, 26, and 28 are coils that are manufactured by using high-melting-point metal or carbide thereof.”], and
wherein, when a distance between the second arc portion and the center of the plate is divided into three equal portions, the at least one concentric non-coiled wire arc portion is located in a middle area of the distance divided into the three equal portions.
However, Ishikawa does not explicitly disclose:
wherein, when a distance between the second arc portion and the center of the plate is divided into three equal portions, the non-coiled wire arc portion is located in a middle area of the distance divided into the three equal portions.
Gelatos, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein a non-coiled wire arc portion [para. 0034: “In one version, the resistance heater 32 comprises a cylindrical metal wire coiled concentrically to form a spiral from the center to the edge of the block 28. For example, the resistance heater 32 can be a molybdenum wire.] of a chosen gauge, geometry, and material [para. 0036: “The gauge of the wire is chosen depending upon, among other factors, the amount of heat generated per cross-sectional area of the wire for the chosen material and the desired electrical resistance of the resistance heater 32... The resistance heater 32 can also comprise other physical embodiments, for example alternate materials such as ceramics, or other geometries, such as a wire mesh, multiple coils of wire, or ribbons of material.”] is located in a middle area [i.e., a middle zone; para. 0036: “In yet another version, there are three separate, independently controllable zones having separately controllable resistive elements: inner, outer, and middle zones.”], in order to effect a high degree of radial temperature control [para. 0036: “Again in this version, each resistive element beneath each zone has separate heater leads that allow independent control by the heater power supply. This version is advantageous for substrate processes require a high degree of radial temperature control.”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the ceramic heater of Ishikawa by using a non-coiled wire portion of a chosen gauge, geometry, and material, to provide a desired amount of heat, located in the middle area in order to effect a high degree of radial temperature control, as taught by Gelatos. Using the known technique of locating a non-coiled wire in a middle area of Ishikawa to provide a desired amount of heat would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill.
Regarding claim 5, Ishikawa in view of Gelatos discloses the ceramic heater of claim 3.
Ishikawa further discloses:
wherein the heating element is electrically connected to a pair of first terminals [fig. 3: terminals #22a and #22b; para. 0018: “the inner-peripheral-side resistance heating element 22 extends from one of a pair of terminals 22a and 22b”].
Regarding claim 6, Ishikawa in view of Gelatos discloses the ceramic heater of claim 3.
Ishikawa further discloses:
wherein the first arc portion is electrically connected to a pair of first terminals [fig. 3: terminals #22a and #22b; para. 0018: “the inner-peripheral-side resistance heating element 22 extends from one of a pair of terminals 22a and 22b”], and
wherein the second arc portion is electrically connected to a pair of second terminals [fig. 3: terminals #28a and #28b; para. 0019: “The outer-peripheral-side third resistance heating element 28 extends from one of a pair of the terminals 28a and 28b”].
Regarding claim 7, Ishikawa in view of Gelatos discloses the ceramic heater of claim 3.
Ishikawa further discloses:
wherein the non-coiled wire [i.e., #22] and the coiled wire [i.e., #24] have different wire diameters or materials [In order to inhibit temperature variance from occurring in the inner-peripheral-side zone (paras. 0004-0005), inner peripheral heating element #22, instead of adopting a coil shape similar to #24, is manufactured by printing a two-dimensional ribbon shape, wherein a line width can be decreased (i.e., a wire diameter), a line distance can be decreased, a distance between terminals can be increased, and a sectional area can be decreased (para. 0018), allowing for en electrical resistance to be adjusted. The material of #22 may also be chosen such that the material used has high volume resistivity (para. 0030).].
Regarding claim 9, Ishikawa in view of Gelatos discloses the ceramic heater of claim 3.
Ishikawa further discloses:
wherein the heating element comprises an outer peripheral heating element [fig. 2: #28] located in an outer peripheral area of the plate [fig. 2: #Z23] and an inner peripheral heating element [fig. 2: #22] located in an inner peripheral area of the plate [fig. 2: #Z1].
Regarding claim 10, Ishikawa in view of Gelatos discloses the ceramic heater of claim 3.
Ishikawa further discloses:
wherein the heating element further comprises a non-coiled heating pattern arranged in a central portion of the plate [para. 0018: “Here, the inner-peripheral-side resistance heating element 22 extends from the terminal 22a, passes through spaces between terminals 24a, 24b, 26a, 26b, 28a, and 28b, is folded at folded portions in a one-stroke pattern, is wired over the substantially entire inner-peripheral-side zone Z1, and reaches the terminal 22b.”].
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishikawa (US 20210242048 A1) in view of Gelatos (US 20050194374 A1) as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Yang (US 20130284721 A1) and Jung (US 20180254204 A1).
Regarding claim 8, Ishikawa in view of Gelatos discloses the ceramic heater of claim 7.
Ishikawa discloses the non-coiled wire [#22] and the coiled wire [#24] each connected to separate pairs of terminals [#22a/#22b and #24a/#24b, respectively].
However, Ishikawa does not disclose:
wherein the non-coiled wire and the coiled wire are connected by a conductive connecting member.
Yang, in the same field of endeavor, teaches wherein a heating element [figs. 2B, 3A: #212] comprises multiple sections [#212A-D; para. 0055: “In one or more embodiments, the heating element 212 is configured into multiple portions (e.g., at least four (4) heating element sections 212A, 212B, 212C, 212D are shown in FIG. 2B), thus one single heating element is capable of providing multiple temperature zones on the substrate support surface of the support member 220 of the substrate support assembly 240. In one example, the heating element sections 212A, 212B, 212C, 212D of the heating element 212 are configured to provide at least four (4) heating zones "A", "B", "C", and "D", wherein spanning across the substrate support surface of the support member 220.”], wherein a section may be a non-coiled wire and a connected section may be a coiled wire [para. 0058: “In one embodiment, the heating element sections 212A, 212B, and 212C may be comprised of the same resistive heating material and configured in different geometry or pattern. For example, the heating element section 212C or a heating element section disposed near the outer edge portions of the support member 220 may be arranged in a geometrically denser pattern than the heating element section 212A to compensate heat loss on the edge portions of the support member 220. In another embodiment, the heating element section 212C or a heating element section disposed near the outer edge portions of the support member 220 may be arranged in a coiled shape or other shape rather than a looser coil, a tubular wire, or in ribbon shape to provide higher heating efficiency in the heating zone "C" than other heating zones, and to compensate heat loss on the edge portions of the support member 220.”], and wherein the non-coiled wire and the coiled wire are connected to each other and to a single power source [para. 0013: “The heating element sections are connected together in one electrical loop, and each heating element section responds independently and differently to an input power of a power source connected to the heating element.”], thus reducing software control and hardware burdens, and reducing the number of power lines occupying space in a shaft [para. 0049: “Advantageously, when one single heating element is used, only one single power source is required, thus reducing the software control and hardware burdens of controlling multiple power sources. In addition, a minimum of two power lines for one single heating element is packed within the shaft 222 without the need to pack lots of power lines inside the shaft, as seen in prior art substrate supports using multiple heating elements.”].
However, Yang is silent on how the heating element sections are connected together.
Jung, in the same field of endeavor, teaches a conductive connecting member [fig. 6A: connecting member #340; para. 0057: “Thus, as can be seen from (B) in FIG. 6A, the second heating element 320 may be connected to the third heating element 330 using a connecting member 340 connecting the second heating element 320 and the third heating element 330.”] connecting a non-coiled wire [figs. 3A, 3C, 6A: #330] and a coiled wire [figs. 3A, 3C, 6A: #320] wherein the conductive connecting member maintains its combination structure stably even in a high temperature environment [para. 0059: “Accordingly, the second heating element 320, the third heating element 330 and the connecting member 340 may maintain its combination structure stably even in high temperature environment”].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the invention, to modify the ceramic heater of Ishikawa by:
connecting the non-coiled wire [#22] and the coiled wire [#24], since this would reduce software control and hardware burdens, and reduce the number of power lines needed, as taught by Yang. Using the known technique of connecting heating element sections to each other such that the heating element sections share a power source and power lines, would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill; and
wherein the non-coiled wire and the coiled wire are connected by a conductive connecting member as taught by Jung, to improve the connection of the non-coiled wire and the coiled wire of Ishikawa for the predictable result of enabling the electrical connection between the non-coiled wire and the coiled wire.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 10/29/2025 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive (see pp. 7-11 of REMARKS).
Regarding new claim 11, although Ishikawa has the heating elements 22 and 24 connected to different terminals, as per the 103 rejection above, Ishikawa has been presented as showing that selecting a given terminal to connect a particular heating element would be an obvious matter of design choice necessitated by the requirements of the given application, e.g., to achieve a specific heating response/heating profile.
Regarding amended claim 3, Applicant argues “Thus, the cited references do not teach or suggest converting at least one arc in a concentric-arc heater to non-coiled and placing the non-coiled arc in the middle area while leaving the other arcs coiled,” specifically, that Gelatos does not describe a non-coiled wire arc portion located in the middle area. Examiner respectfully disagrees. Gelatos was presented as teaching a resistance heater 32 comprising concentric arc portions [i.e., the resistance heater is arranged in a spiral; para. 0034], and that any portion thereof may be selected such that it has a particular gauge/geometry/material according to the requirements of a given application [para. 0036], which would include any arc portion of the spiral resistance heater arranged in “a middle portion” between an innermost and outermost arc portion of the spiral resistance heater. Thus, a PHOSITA would find it obvious to, when a distance between the second arc portion and the center of the plate is divided into three equal portions, to select a non-coiled wire (e.g., a ribbon-type) for a middle one of the three equal portions of the distance, if, e.g., the application required a specific heating profile corresponding to the known heating response of a non-coiled wire. Furthermore, Examiner notes that Ishikawa similarly discloses the known practice of selecting a gauge/geometry/material of a wire according to the given application, and that a ribbon geometry is a known type of non-coiled wire [para. 0018].
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to THEODORE J EVANGELISTA whose telephone number is (571)272-6093. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm EST.
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, Edward F Landrum can be reached at (571) 272-5567. 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.
/THEODORE J EVANGELISTA/ Examiner, Art Unit 3761
/EDWARD F LANDRUM/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3761