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 .
Examiner Notes
Examiner cites particular columns and line numbers in the references as applied to the claims below for the convenience of the applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply as well. It is respectfully requested that, in preparing responses, the applicant fully consider the references in entirety as potentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of the passage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: paragraph [0001], line 2, --now U.S. Patent No. 12,301,199 B2 issued on May 13, 2025,-- should be inserted after “May 5, 2025,”. Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-7 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.
Claims 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being incomplete for omitting essential structural cooperative relationships of elements, such omission amounting to a gap between the necessary structural connections. See MPEP § 2172.01. The omitted structural cooperative relationships are the clear necessary structural connections between a power supply; an impedance matching network; a cathode; a power processing module; and a sensor for measuring values. For example, the recited claims of a semiconductor processing tool, the semiconductor processing tool comprises several elements but the claims do not expressly establish how these elements are structurally interconnected. Therefore, Claims 1-7 are rejected as being incomplete for omitting essential structural cooperative relationships of elements.
Claim 7 is indefinite because the limitations "a first capacitor" and "a second capacitor", in the last 3 lines, lack clear antecedent basis. It is unclear if these limitations are referring to previously recited "a first capacitor" and "a second capacitor", respectively, in lines 3-4 of the independent Claim 1, or introducing new capacitors. Appropriate correction and/or clarification is required.
Reference of Note
The prior art of Record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
Coumou et al. (US 12,301,199) teaches a method of impedance tuning in a semiconductor processing tool, the method comprises measuring a voltage and a current of a transmission line, converting an analog voltage signal and an analog current signal into a digital voltage signal and a digital current signal, calculating a u-vector from the digital voltage signal and the digital current signal, calculating a C1 position of a first capacitor with real components of the u-vector, and calculating a C2 position of a second capacitor with imaginary components of the u-vector.
Coumou et al. (US 12,301,199) teaches a semiconductor processing tool comprising a power supply; an impedance matching network; a cathode; a processing module, wherein the processing module is communicatively coupled to the power supply and the impedance matching network; a first sensor provided upstream of the impedance matching network and a second sensor provided downstream of the impedance matching network.
Ulrich (US 11,521,831) teaches a semiconductor processing tool comprising a plasma chamber; and an impedance matching network operably coupled to the plasma chamber.
Conclusion
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/HAI L NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2836 August 9, 2026
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