Appeal 2007-1228
Application 10/150,458
1 elected species, but also the generic claims and potentially the currently
2 elected embodiment.
3 Our consideration and discussion focuses only on the elected species.
4 Collins 1 describes a plasma reactor used for processing a
5 semiconductor wafer and an inductive coil antenna coupling RF power
6 through one of the parallel plates into the interior of the reactor. Collins 1,
7 col. 1:3-8.
8 Collins 1 also describes an arrangement of the plasma reactor
9 comprising: ceiling 1020 to serve as the top of a processing region 1035; a
10 coil inductor 1040 enclosed by an insulating layer 1112 disposed on top of
11 ceiling 1020; a heater layer 1110 on top of an insulating layer 1112; and a
12 cold plate 1120 on top of the heater layer 1110. Collins 1, col. 37:22-30.
13 Collins 1 further describes a heater layer 1110 that contains a
14 conventional electrical heating element. Collins 1, col. 37:30-32.
15 The elected species call for an RF insulator 130 to be disposed
16 between the top RF coil 102 and the cold plate 134, and has a heater 131
17 integrated within the RF insulator layer. Figure 5; Appeal Brief 2. The
18 disclosure of Collins 1 that heater layer 1110 has a conventional electrical
19 heating element would suggest that Collins 1 discloses a coil similar to the
20 heater coils 131 of Fig. 5 of the Applied Materials' Specification. However,
21 Collins 1 describes the heater coils to be disposed within the heater layer
22 1110, and not within the RF insulating layer 1112 as required by the elected
23 species. In addition, insofar as we can tell, Collins 1 does not say that heater
24 layer 1110 can function as an RF insulator. As a result, Collins 1 does not
25 teach that the heater coils be embedded within the RF insulator layer as
26 required by the elected species of the claimed invention.
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