DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, i.e., claims 1-18, in the reply filed on November 21, 2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 19-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on November 21, 2025.
Claim Objections
Claims 7 and 9 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 7 recites the limitation “treating a surface of the metal-containing material to remove oxygen from the surface of the metal-containing material via a direct plasma treatment” in lines 1-3.
Claim 9 recites the limitation “treating a surface of the metal-containing material to remove oxygen from the surface of the metal-containing material” in lines 5-6.
However, there is a lack of clarity when and how an “oxygen” formed on the metal-containing material. Is it a native oxygen? Is it oxygen contamination form formation metal oxide layer in the chamber prior formation of metal-containing material?
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 9, 10, 13, 14, 16 and 18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yoon et al. (US 2021/0285102).
Re Claim 9, Yoon et al disclose a method of forming a structure, the method comprising the steps of providing a substrate (900, Fig. 9) within a reaction chamber (Figs. 2-6) the substrate (900, Paragraph [0143]) comprising a gap, the gap (910) comprising a first surface at a bottom (916, Fig. 9 and Paragraph [0143]) of the gap and a second surface at a sidewall (913 914) of the gap (Fig. 9, Paragraph [0143]) ; depositing a metal-containing material (930) within the gap to at least partially fill the gap (Fig. 9); and treating a surface of the metal-containing material to remove oxygen from the surface of the metal-containing material (see Paragraph [0147).
Re Claim 10, as applied to claim 9 above, Yoon et al disclose all the claimed limitations including wherein the step of depositing the metal-containing material comprises depositing the metal-containing material at a temperature between 300 °C and 600 °C (see Paragraph [0097]).
Re Claim 13, as applied to claim 9 above, Yoon et al disclose all the claimed limitations including wherein the step of treating comprises a cyclic process (Paragraph [0034]) comprising pulsing a metal halide to the reaction chamber (Paragraph [0135]).
Re Claim 14, as applied to claim 9 above, Yoon et al disclose all the claimed limitations including wherein the step of pulsing the metal halide to the reaction chamber is a thermal process (Paragraph [0141]).
Re Claim 16, as applied to claim 9 above, Yoon et al disclose all the claimed limitations including wherein the metal-containing material comprises at least one of titanium nitride, molybdenum, tungsten, ruthenium, and titanium silicon nitride (TiSiN) (see Paragraph [0105]).
Re Claim 18, as applied to claim 9 above, Yoon et al disclose all the claimed limitations including wherein the sidewall of the gap comprises a dielectric material selected from the group consisting of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, SiOC, and SiOCH (see Paragraph [0033]).
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.
Claim(s) 1, 5 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MATSUMOTO (JP 2016167545 A) in view of Mullick et al. (US 2019/0273019).
Re Claim 1, MATSUMOTO discloses a method of forming a structure, the method comprising the steps of: providing a substrate (W) within a reaction chamber (see Fig. 5), the substrate comprising a gap (204, see Fig. 1A), the gap comprising a first surface at a bottom of the gap comprising a metal oxide (212, see Fig. 1B), and a second surface at a sidewall of the gap comprising a dielectric material (202, i.e., insulating film); cleaning the first surface to selectively remove the metal oxide (see Figs. 1A -1C and related text in English translation Pages 3 of 44 to 4 of 44).
Mullick et al. disclose using a thermal process, cleaning the first surface using a metal halide reactant to selectively remove the metal oxide (see Paragraph [0003]) in order effectively to remove undesired metal oxide layer from the surface).
Therefore, it 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 to provide MATSUMOTO reference with using a thermal process, cleaning the first surface using a metal halide reactant to selectively remove the metal oxide as taught by Mullick et al. in order effectively to remove undesired metal oxide layer from the surface.
Re Claim 5, as applied to claim 1 above, MATSUMOTO and Mullick et al. in combination disclose all the claimed limitations including wherein the metal oxide.
With regard the metal oxide comprises at least one of tungsten oxide, molybdenum oxide, titanium oxide, RuOx, TiSiOx and TiSiONx, Examiner takes an Official notice because it is well-known in the art these metals are routinely used to fabricate semiconductor devices for intended purpose. See In re Malcolm, 129 F.2d 529, 54 USPQ 235 (CCPA 1942). See In re Ahlert, 424 F.2d 1088, 1091, 165 USPQ 418, 420 (CCPA 1970).
Re Claim 6, as applied to claim 1 above, MATSUMOTO and Mullick et al. in combination disclose all the claimed limitations including wherein the dielectric material comprises at least one of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, SiOC and SiOCH.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2-4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15 and 17 objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure Stewart et al. (US 2007/0099806) also disclose similar inventive subject matter.
Correspondence
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BROOK KEBEDE whose telephone number is 571-272-1862. The examiner can normally be reached Monday Friday 8:00 AM 5:00 PM.
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/BROOK KEBEDE/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2894
/BK/
February 21, 2026