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 .
Claims status
Claims 13-32 are pending. New claims 21-32 are added. Among those, claims 13, 26 and 30 are independent claims.
New dependent claims 21-25 are added that depend from claim 13.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group III, claims 13-20, in the reply filed on 12/8/2025 is acknowledged. New claims 21-25 depend from claim 13. Newly submitted independent claim 26 and claims 27-29 are grouped with claims 13-20.
The claims 1-12 that were directed to the non-elected Groups I and II are canceled.
Newly submitted claims 30-32 are directed to an invention that is independent or distinct from the invention originally claimed for the following reasons:
Restriction to one of the following inventions is required under 35 U.S.C. 121:
III. Claims 13-20 (and newly submitted claims 21-29), drawn to a method for forming a semiconductor device, classified in H01L 21/3081.
IV. newly submitted Claims 30-32, drawn to yet another method for forming a semiconductor device, classified in C03F7/027.
Inventions III and IV are directed to related process. The related inventions are distinct if: (1) the inventions as claimed are either not capable of use together or can have a materially different design, mode of operation, function, or effect; (2) the inventions do not overlap in scope, i.e., are mutually exclusive; and (3) the inventions as claimed are not obvious variants. See MPEP § 806.05(j). In the instant case, the inventions as claimed, the process of Invention III and the process of Invention IV have materially different mode of operation as the recited steps are materially different, for example, as to orders of the coating layers and the photoresist layer formed are materially different in each one of the respective processes. Furthermore, the inventions as claimed do not encompass overlapping subject matter and there is nothing of record to show them to be obvious variants.
Since applicant has received an action on the merits for the originally presented invention, this invention has been constructively elected by original presentation for prosecution on the merits. Accordingly, claims 30-32 are withdrawn from consideration as being directed to a non-elected invention. See 37 CFR 1.142(b) and MPEP § 821.03.
To preserve a right to petition, the reply to this action must distinctly and specifically point out supposed errors in the restriction requirement. Otherwise, the election shall be treated as a final election without traverse. Traversal must be timely. Failure to timely traverse the requirement will result in the loss of right to petition under 37 CFR 1.144. If claims are subsequently added, applicant must indicate which of the subsequently added claims are readable upon the elected invention.
Should applicant traverse on the ground that the inventions are not patentably distinct, applicant should submit evidence or identify such evidence now of record showing the inventions to be obvious variants or clearly admit on the record that this is the case. In either instance, if the examiner finds one of the inventions unpatentable over the prior art, the evidence or admission may be used in a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 103(a) of the other invention.
Newly submitted independent claim 26 and claims 27-29 are grouped with original claims 13-25.
Claims 13-29 are being examined on the merits in the present action.
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.
Claim(s) 13, 21-26 and 28-29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zi et al. (US 2021/0271166; “Zi”).
Regarding independent claim 13, Zi teaches a method for forming a semiconductor device comprising applying a coating composition onto a substrate to form a coating layer (para [0025], applying the underlayer coating composition to substrate), the coating composition comprising a switchable polymer having a polymer backbone and pendant groups that include one or more acid labile groups, one or more crosslinking groups and, an acid generator and a solvent (para [0025]-[0026], the underlayer coating composition of Zi comprising a polymer having a polymer backbone and in particular, the polymer having pendant groups that include acid labile groups, and pendant epoxy group which is a crosslinking group and, an acid generator and a solvent, such polymer of Zi having all the same pendant groups corresponding to the respective claimed pendant groups, and thus is considered being a switch polymer meeting the claimed limitations).
Regarding the limitations of “one or more optional floating groups attached to the polymer backbone” of claim 13, the examiner considers claim 13 does not require the present of any one of the optional elements.
Zi teaches heating the substrate and the coating layer to a temperature where the one or more crosslinking groups react to crosslink the switchable polymer, thereby forming a crosslinked coating layer (para [0047], heating the underlayer to 40 °C to about 300 °C that causes the crosslinking groups to crosslink forming a crosslinked underlayer coating layer), meeting the claimed limitations.
Zi teaches forming a photoresist layer over the crosslinked coating layer (para [0048], providing a photoresist composition, that is subsequently disposed over the cross-linked photoresist underlayer composition on the substrate 10 to form a photoresist layer 20), meeting the claimed limitations.
Zi teaches exposing the photoresist layer and the crosslinked coating layer to radiation through a photomask (para [0049], photoresist layer is patterned by exposure to actinic radiation), meeting the claimed limitations.
Zi further teaches removing unexposed regions of the photoresist layer and the crosslinked coating layer by a developer to form a patterned photoresist layer and a patterned crosslinked coating layer (para [0050], [0086], Li teaches removing unexposed regions by the developer, forming (negative) patterned photoresist layer and crosslinked coating layer), meeting the claimed limitations.
Regarding claim 21, Zi teaches the photoresist layer comprises an organometallic compound as desired of which the suitable examples include zirconium (Zr) oxide nanoparticle complexed with methacrylic acid, and hafnium (Hf) oxide nanoparticle complexed with methacrylic acid (para [0070]-[0071]), which clearly encompasses the organometallic compound having the structure as instantly claimed, and is considered as meeting the claimed limitations.
Regarding claim 22, Zi teaches the step of exposing comprises irradiating the photoresist layer and the crosslinked coating layer with extreme ultraviolet (para [0019]) causing cleavage of the hydrolysable ligand of the organometallic compound to form a hydrolyzed organometallic compound and generating an acid from the acid generator that cleaves the one or more acid-labile groups of the switchable polymer to yield one or more carboxyl or hydroxyl groups on the polymer sidechain, the carboxyl or hydroxyl groups reacting with a hydroxyl group of the hydrolyzed organometallic compound (see para [0019] [0079]-[0080] of Zi, including the step of selective exposing with extreme ultraviolet, EUV, which is the same process step as the instantly claimed step, and would be expected to induce the same photochemical reactions and causing the same cleavage formation meeting the claimed limitations).
Regarding claim 23, Zi teaches its process further comprising performing a post-exposure bake after exposing the photoresist layer and the crosslinked coating layer to the radiation, the post-exposure bake generating additional acid from the acid generator to cleave the one or more acid-labile groups of the switchable polymer in the exposed regions (para [0085], the additional post-exposure baking).
Regarding claim 24, Zi teaches heating the substrate and the coating layer is performed at a temperature ranging from 40 °C to 300 °C (para [0047], heating to a temperature ranging from 40 °C to 300 °C), the heating causing crosslinking of the one or more crosslinking groups without cleaving the one or more acid-labile groups of the switchable polymer (para [0047]), meeting the claimed limitations.
Regarding claim 25, Zi teaches its method further including step of etching the substrate using the patterned photoresist layer and the patterned crosslinked coating layer as an etch mask (para [0090], [0092], additional step of etching, using the patterned photoresist layer as an etch mask).
Regarding independent claim 26, Zi teaches a method for forming a semiconductor device comprising applying a coating composition onto a substrate to form a coating layer (para [0025], applying the underlayer coating composition to substrate), the coating composition comprising a switchable polymer having a polymer backbone and pendant groups that include one or more acid labile groups, one or more crosslinking groups (para [0025]-[0026], the underlayer coating composition of Zi comprising a polymer having a polymer backbone and in particular, the polymer having pendant groups that include acid labile groups, and pendant epoxy group which is a crosslinking group, such polymer of Zi having all the same pendant groups corresponding to the respective claimed pendant groups, and thus is considered being a switch polymer meeting the claimed limitations).
Zi teaches heating the substrate and the coating layer to a temperature where the one or more crosslinking groups react to crosslink the switchable polymer, thereby forming a crosslinked coating layer (para [0047], heating the underlayer to 40 °C to about 300 °C that causes the crosslinking groups to crosslink forming a crosslinked underlayer coating layer), meeting the claimed limitations.
Zi teaches forming a photoresist layer over the crosslinked coating layer (para [0048], providing a photoresist composition, that is subsequently disposed over the cross-linked photoresist underlayer composition on the substrate 10 to form a photoresist layer 20). Zi further teaches the photoresist layer comprises an organometallic compound as desired of which the suitable examples include zirconium (Zr) oxide nanoparticle complexed with methacrylic acid, and hafnium (Hf) oxide nanoparticle complexed with methacrylic acid (para [0070]-[0071]), considered as meeting the claimed material limitations.
Zi teaches exposing the photoresist layer and the crosslinked coating layer to radiation through a photomask (para [0049], photoresist layer is patterned by exposure to actinic radiation), meeting the claimed limitations.
Zi further teaches removing unexposed regions of the photoresist layer and the crosslinked coating layer by a developer to form a patterned photoresist layer and a patterned crosslinked coating layer (para [0050], [0086], Li teaches removing unexposed regions by the developer, forming (negative) patterned photoresist layer and crosslinked coating layer), meeting the claimed limitations.
Zi teaches its method further including step of etching the substrate using the patterned photoresist layer and the patterned crosslinked coating layer as an etch mask (para [0090], [0092], additional step of etching, using the patterned photoresist layer as an etch mask), meeting the claimed limitations.
Regarding claim 28, Zi teaches its polymer includes suitable pendant groups include a fluorine-containing functional group (para [0032], the fluorinated alkyl group, such fluorine-containing functional group taught by Zi is considered as equivalent to the instantly claimed floating groups), considered meeting the instantly claimed material limitations.
Regarding claim 29, Zi teaches the floating group is a fluoroalkyl group comprising -CF3, -C2Fs, -C3F7 or -C4F9 (para [0032], Zi teaches its polymer includes suitable pendant groups includes such as fluorinated alkyl group, fluorinated hydroxyalkyl groups, a hexafluoroisopropanol group), meeting the instantly claimed material limitations.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim(s) 14-20 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zi as applied to claim 13 and claim 26 above.
The limitations of claim 13 and 26 are taught by Zi as discussed.
Regarding claims 14-19, Zi teaches the polymer for its coating composition (the underlayer coating of Zi) includes one or more suitable acid labile groups such as those having alicyclic hydrocarbon structures such as those having cyclohexyl group and substituted cyclohexyl group (para [0030] [0031]), and includes one or more crosslinking groups (para [0025]-[0026], pendant epoxy group which is a crosslinking group), and includes suitable pendant groups includes those such as fluorinated alkyl group, fluorinated hydroxyalkyl groups, a hexafluoroisopropanol group (para [0032], which are the same pendant groups as the floating group of the instant application), which polymer clearly encompass and considered as to read on the polymer having structures recited in instant claims 14-19, and meeting the instantly claimed material limitations.
Regarding claim 20, Zi teaches its polymer includes suitable pendant groups including carboxylic esters group, (para [0029], acrylic esters, methacrylic esters), meeting the instantly claimed material limitations.
Regarding claim 27, Zi teaches its polymer for its coating composition (the underlayer coating of Zi) includes suitable one or more acid labile groups having alicyclic hydrocarbon structures such as cyclohexyl and substituted cyclohexyl group (para [0030] [0031]) as well as fluorinated alkyl group (para [0032]), which clearly encompass and considered as to read on the structures recited in instant claim 27, meeting the instantly claimed material limitations.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YAN LAN whose telephone number is (571)270-3687. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7AM-4PM.
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/YAN LAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1782