Allowable Subject Matter
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 .
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities: In claim 1, line 3, it reads “…,”, which should be “(2), (3), (4), (5),”. Appropriate correction is required.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Throughout the specification it reads “…,”, which should be “(2), (3), (4), (5),” (see at least [0009], [0020], [0023], [0041], [0056], [0057], [0060]). Also, in [0070], [0078], (LC1-1), …, or (LC1-21)” which omits (LC1-2) to (LC1-20) as shown in [0063].
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claim(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al (2008/0102402) in view of Yamaguchi et al (WO 2014/119698).
Lee et disclose a resist composition and patterning method wherein the resin comprises a monomer unit having a sulfonyl group. The monomer has a structure falling within the scope of the instant formulas (1) and (2), wherein
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In the formula, the instant R1-R4 are alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, or alkyl aryl, which may have a ketone (R-C(=O)-R) group.
Examples include those of the instant formula (1) wherein the instant R1 and R2 join to form a ring by joining R1 and R2 organic groups as required by the instant R1 and R2,
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and wherein according to the instant formual (2) wherein the instant R3 and R4 areeach an organice group which join to form a ring, or wherein R3 is alkyl and R4 is aryl (both organic groups).
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The units are preferably included in the polymer in an amount of 20 to 60 mole % ([0016]) as required by the instant claims 1 and 2.
The reference fails to specifically disclose the SP values of the repeating units as claimed by the instant claims 4 and 11 and as definedby the specification. However, exemplified units in the instant specification include hydroxystyrene units and the units falling within the scope of the instant unit a1 (formulas (1) to (6)), which are preferred by the reference (see Formula 3, claim 4, and those including styrene Formula 4, claim 5), therefore it can be determined from the teachings and definitions of the specification that the units of the reference would inherently possess SP values as set forth by the instant claims (and see tables 1 and 2 in the instant specificaiton for SP values, styrnee M-99 is 18.3, hydroxystyrene M-19, 21.9).
With respect to the acid additive B, having a pKa of -3.60 or more, or a salt having an acid group having a pKa of -3.60 or more, the Lee et al reference teaches the inclusion of various known photoacid generator ([0022]-[0023]). The reference uses triphenyl sulfonium triflate in its examples, which according to the comparative examples in the instant specification has a pKa of 33.3, which is greater than -3.60 as required by the instant claim 1.
The composition further comprises an acid generator ([0022], [0023]), a solvent, and a base. The solid contents of the composition are preferably about 1 to 30 weight percent, which overlaps the instantly claimed range of 2% by mass or less ([0022]; instant claims 6, 13). One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to prepare the composition with any solid content within the taught range, including at the lower end which would fall within the scope of the instant claims 6 and 13.
The composition is applied to a substrate and dried to remove solvent and form a resist film (instant claim 7), wherein the film is exposed and developed to form a patterned device ([0003], [0004], claim 7; instant claims 7-9, 14-16).
Lee et al disclose a resist polymer and composition and teaches that the resist polymer may comprise a variety of known units providing desired properties (for example, a cross-linking unit), but fails to specifically disclose an additional unit which comprises an acid-decomposable group not having a structure of formulas (1) to (6) or a lactone unit.
Yamaguchi et al disclose a resist composition comprising a resin and an acid generator, wherein the resin comprising known units including substituted styrenes (with phenyl rings, and teaches the equivalence between various monomers including hydroxy styrenes and (meth) acrylates having –OH substituted phenyl rings), lactone-containing units, and acid-decomposable group containing units ((meth)acrylic acid esters having tertiary carbon acid-labile groups) in combination with acid decomposable units of structure similar to those of Lee et al (see page 50).
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The reference teaches that known and similar resist materials and polymers comprise acid-labile group (acid decomposable group; page 15)- containing monomers and lactone group-containing monomers in combination with monomers having acid-decomposable group similar to those of the instant unit a1 and formulas (1) to (6) (instant claims 5, 12).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant invention to prepare the material of Lee et al, choosing as the additional unit(s) an acid decomposable (acid-labile) group-containing monomer and/or a lactone group-containing unit as taught to be known monomers for use in resist polymers with similar monomers as taught by Yamaguchi et al.
The primary reference, Lee et al, teach that the additional monomeric units are included preferably in amounts of 0 to 5 mole % ([0019]), therefore the amount of the lactone and the additional acid decomposable unit are included in amounts of less than 20 mole % (instant claims 3, 10, and 18-20).
Additionally, the Yamaguchi et al reference teaches acid generators which are those taught by the instant specification as those preferred having a pKa of -3.60 (see especially compounds on 80-83, 93, compounds C1 and C2), and would have a pKa within the preferred range as described in the instant specification.
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While the primary reference teaches a PAG broadly, and exemplifies one well known and conventional compound as the PAG, alternatively, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant invention to prepare the material of Lee et al, choosing as the acid additive, that taught as known and advantageous by Yamaguchi et al, wherein the resultant material meets the limitations of the instant claims for an acid having a pKa of -3.60 or more.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMANDA C WALKE whose telephone number is (571)272-1337. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Thursday 5:30am to 4pm.
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/AMANDA C. WALKE/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722