Ex Parte Tanase et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

Nov 29, 2018

13420996 (P.T.A.B. Nov. 29, 2018)

UNITED STA TES p A TENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE
13/420,996 03/15/2012
60300 7590 11/30/2018
LAW OFFICES OF CHARLES QUENZER
ATTN: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
3852 Grove A venue
PALO ALTO, CA 94303
FIRST NAMED INVENTOR
Y oshiaki Tanase
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www .uspto.gov
ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
AM-10174-Cl 8001
EXAMINER
BERMAN, JASON
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
1794
MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE
11/30/2018 PAPER
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)
UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
Ex parte YOSHIAKI TANASE, MAKOTO INAGAWA,
and AKIHIRO HOSOKA WA 1
Appeal2018-001049
Application 13/420,996
Technology Center 1700
Before BEYERL YA. FRANKLIN, CHRISTOPHER C. KENNEDY, and
LILAN REN, Administrative Patent Judges.
FRANKLIN, Administrative Patent Judge.
DECISION ON APPEAL
Appellants request our review under 35 U.S.C. § 134 of the
Examiner's decision finally rejecting claims 1-3, 5, 6, 8-13, 15-18, and
22-28. We have jurisdiction over the appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 6(b ).
We REVERSE.
STATEMENT OF THE CASE
Claims 1 and 18 are illustrative of Appellants' subject matter on
appeal and is set forth below (with text in bold for emphasis):
1. A sputtering target, comprising:
a backing plate formed in a metal plate having two parallel
principal surfaces and including a plurality of cooling channels
1 Appellants identify the real party in interest as Applied Materials, Inc. See
App. Br. 1.
Appeal2018-001049
Application 13/420,996
formed in parallel cooling holes which extend laterally parallel
to a common axis from a first lateral side surface to an opposed
second lateral side surface of the metal plate and which are
formed in the metal plate with inner portions that are
cylindrically shaped;
a plurality of inlet and a plurality of outlet holes
extending only along respective flow axes from at least one of
the principal surfaces to respective pluralities of the cooling
holes; and
one or more sputtering target tiles bonded to one of the two
principal surfaces in a target area of the backing plate underlain
by the inner portions of the cooling holes.
18. A sputtering target backing plate formed by the process
compnsmg:
drilling a plurality of cylindrical first holes in a metal plate
to extend from a first lateral side surface of the metal plate to a
second lateral side surface of the metal plate opposed to the first
lateral side surface so as to extend parallel to a principal surface
of the metal plate, a plurality of cooling channels being formed
in inner portions of the first holes away from the first and second
lateral side surfaces;
milling second holes to extend between the principal
surface and the inner portions of the respective first holes
disposed between plug areas disposed adjacent the first and
second lateral side surfaces and arranged on each side of a central
area of the metal plate overlying cylindrical portions of the first
holes and adapted to be bonded to one or more sputter tiles
wherein each of the second holes extends to a respective
plurality of the first holes, wherein each of the second holes
axially extends only along a respective first axis extending
through the principal surface; and
inserting plugs into, filling, and fluid sealing ends of the
first holes in the plug areas.
The Examiner relies on the following prior art references as evidence
of unpatentability:
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Appeal2018-001049
Application 13/420,996
Schierz
Stevenson
Hughes
Beddome
us 4,079,410
us 5,328,585
us 5,873,989
US 2002/0174978 Al
THE REJECTIONS
Mar. 14, 1978
July 12, 1994
Feb.23, 1999
Nov. 28, 2002
1. Claims 18, 26, and 27 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 102(b)
as being anticipated by Schierz.
2. Claims 1-3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22-25, and 28 are rejected under pre-
AIA 35 U.S.C. § I03(a) as being unpatentable over Hughes in view of
Schierz.
3. Claim 10 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § I03(a) as being
unpatentable over Hughes in view of Schierz, as applied to claim 9 above,
and further in view of Beddome.
4. Claims 11-13 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § I03(a) as being
unpatentable over Hughes in view of Schierz and Beddome as applied to
claim 10 above, and further in view of Stevenson.
5. Claim 17 is rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § I03(a) as being
unpatentable over Hughes and Schierz, as applied to claim 9 above, and
further in view of Stevenson.
6. Claim 20 rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § I03(a) as being
unpatentable over Schierz, as applied to claim 18 above, and further in view
of Hughes.
ANALYSIS
Rejection 1
3
Appeal2018-001049
Application 13/420,996
The dispositive issue for Rejection 1 is whether Schierz discloses
the aspect of claim 18 pertaining to "milling second holes to extend
between the principal surface and the inner portions of the respective
first holes ... wherein each of the second holes extends to a respective
plurality of the first holes, wherein each of the second holes axially
extends only along a respective first axis extending through the
principal surface". The claimed "second holes" are depicted in
Appellant's Figure 3 (reproduced below) as items 66, 68, 70, and 72.
60
FIG. 3
66 78
I
72
Appellant's Figure 3
As shown in Appellant's Figure 3, second holes 66, 68, 70, and 72
extend between the principal surface of the backing plate 60 and the inner
portions of the first holes 64. The second holes 66, 68, 70, and 72 also
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Appeal2018-001049
Application 13/420,996
extend to a plurality of first holes 64, and the second holes axially extend
only along a respective first axis extending through the principal surface of
backing plate 60.
We agree with Appellants (Appeal Br. 7-8) that Schierz differs in that
each of two Schierz's connector holes 4 extends from a principal surface
along a first axis to only one of transverse channels 3 (not a plurality as
required by claim 18). Furthermore, any connection from one of Schierz's
connector holes 4 to plural transverse channels 3 requires an extension
perpendicular to the first axis, contrary to the claimed "axially extends only
along a respective first axis". Part of Schierz's Figure 1 is reproduced below
to illustrate these points made by Appellant.
7
Schierz's Figure 1
In view of the above, we reverse Rejection 1.
Rejections 2---6
Claim 1 has similar language discussed supra with regard to claim 18.
The Examiner relies upon Schierz in a similar fashion. Final Act. 5. Thus,
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Appeal2018-001049
Application 13/420,996
for the same reasons that we reverse Rejection 1 because of the deficiencies
of Schierz, we also reverse Rejection 2. See also Appeal Br. 9--13. The
Examiner does not rely upon the other additionally applied references in
Rejections 3-6 to cure the stated deficiencies of Schierz (Final Act. 8-12),
and therefore we reverse Rejections 3---6 also.
DECISION
Each rejection is reversed.
REVERSED
6