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 .
As an initial matter, the Examiner had reached out to Applicants’ representative to see if a small modification of claims 9, 11, and 12- namely to replace each instance of “adjacent patterns” to “adjacent pattern features”- could be negotiated. However, it was subsequently realized that, whereas the claim amendments to claims 8 and 10 had overcome the rejections formulated over Nakajima and Shibayama , the same could not be said of Takei as explained below. The Examiner sincerely regrets any inconvenience to Applicant.
Claim Objections
Applicant has expounded on the meaning of ISO, DENSE, and “open area” to address misgivings with claims 9, 11, and 12 raised in the previous Office communication. However, the Examiner perceives that the spacing is not that between patterns, or patterned regions, but the spacing between pattern features within said regions. The Examiner will, once more, recommend the aforementioned amendment to resolve this matter.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. The Examiner perceives that the irradiation conditions attached to the formation of the resist film are actually only disclosed in association with the underlayer film in the original disclosure. It is possible that the resist film-forming composition was subject to same cure conditions but no subject matter was observed that would verify that intent.
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.
Claims 8 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Takei et al., WO 2007/066597 for the reasons outlined previously and in view of the following considerations:
It is simply untrue that Takei teaches baking the photoresist underlayer. Indeed, it is indicated in the title that the underlayer is photocrosslinked. Further, overlapping irradiation wavelengths and dosages- the latter are actually encompassed within the claimed range- are contemplated at the bottom of page 8 of the translated document. Example 1 recites the irradiation of the underlayer film-forming composition at 248 nm and 450 mJ/cm2. Thus, claims 8 and 10 continue to be unpatentable over this particular disclosure.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 11 and 12 are allowable pending successful resolution of the claim objection.
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 MARC S ZIMMER whose telephone number is (571)272-1096. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30-5:00.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Heidi Kelley can be reached at 571-270-1831. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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April 28, 2026
/MARC S ZIMMER/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1765
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