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 .
Amendment to the claims was submitted with corrections on 08/11/2026, the 112(b) rejection to claim 30 is withdrawn.
Claim Status
Claims 1-23, 30, 32, and 35-36 are under consideration
Claims 29 and 31 are canceled
Claims 24-28 and 33-34 are withdrawn
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 08/11/2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1-14, 16-23, 32, and 36 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Weng (US20210302833A1, published 2021).
Regarding claims 1-14, 16-23, 32, and 36,
Weng teaches a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming a photoresist layer (radiation-sensitive, patternable material, polymeric material) over a substrate, including combining (reacting, polymerizing) a first precursor and a second precursor (instant precursors and/or reactants) in a vapor state (gas-phase) to form a photoresist material, and depositing the photoresist material over the substrate [abstract] in a vacuum chamber (reaction chamber/system) [0068], reading on instant claims 7-8, 14, 32, and 36.
Weng teaches the deposition may be performed by CVD (chemical vapor deposition), ALD (atomic layer deposition), PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition), or PEALD (plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition) [0067], reading on instant claims 2-3.
Weng teaches the first precursor may be an organometallic precursor with formula MaRbXc, where M may be Si (silicon) and R is an alkyl, alkenyl, or carboxylate group (carbosilane, organosilicon, siloxane, carbosiloxane) [0057], including a dimer such as the one below (silazane) [fig 9, 0066], reading on instant claims 4-5 and 9-13.
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Weng also teaches the second precursor (reactant) may be water or an amine [0063], reading on instant claims 10-11 and 13.
Weng teaches the precursor gases may be pulsed [0068], reading on instant claim 6.
Weng teaches their deposition gas my further contain argon (noble gas) [0075], reading on instant claim 16.
Weng teaches the substate may include buffer layers in its surface region, one or more layers of a metal containing layer, and a dielectric material [0052-0055], reading on the instant underlayer, as well as a patterned hard mask [0094], and a layer to be patterned over the substrate [0087], reading on instant claim 17.
Weng teaches selectively exposing their photoresist layer to EUV radiation to form exposed and unexposed regions [0031, 0088] and dry developing the patterned resist to remove the unexposed portions using either a gentle plasma (high pressure, low power) or a thermal process in a heated vacuum chamber while flowing a dry development chemistry [0048], reading on instant claims 19-21.
Weng teaches etching the substrate to transfer the pattern of the resist layer to the underlying substrate [0050], reading on instant claim 22.
Weng teaches filling trenches with a dielectric material (selective deposition onto the surface of the substrate) [0094], reading on instant claim 23.
Examine notes that the instant capping layer may be interpreted as any layer that caps (overlies) the resist layer, where a pulsed deposition process would include formation of multiple layers of the resist film, where a final deposition film may be considered the capping layer relative to the underlying formed resist layers, reading on instant claims 1 and 18.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 15, 30, and 35 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Weng (US20210302833A1, published 2021) as applied to claim 1 and 29 above.
Regarding claims 15, 30, and 35,
Weng teaches the above limitations set forth.
Weng further teaches the photoresist layer is formed to a thickness of about 5 nm to about 50 nm, and to a thickness of about 10 nm to about 30 nm in other embodiments [0074], overlapping the range of instant claims 15 and 30.
Weng teaches the pressure in their deposition chamber (reaction chamber) may be between about 5 mTorr to about 100 Torr (about 0.7 Pa to about 13332 Pa) [0070], overlapping the instantly claimed range, reading on instant claim 35.
Per MPEP 2144.05, in the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 08/11/2026 regarding the 102/103 rejections in view of Weng have been fully considered but they are not fully persuasive.
The applicant asserts Weng fails to teach forming a separate capping layer after forming a polymeric material, where the capping layer is materially different from the polymeric material.
However, the instant capping layer and polymeric material are not disclosed to be materially different in composition or deposition method, where the capping layer is disclosed only as overlying the polymeric material and containing silicon. The examiner maintains the cited interpretation and rejection filed 06/25/2026.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Alexander Lee whose telephone number is (571)272-2261. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30-5:30 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, Keith Walker can be reached at (571) 272-3458. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Alexander N. Lee/Examiner, Art Unit 1737
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