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 .
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) 1, 3-11, 14-16, and 18-20, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U. S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0305848 (hereinafter referred to as Shiota).
Shiota, in the abstract, in [0011], and in [0095]-[0099], discloses an onium salt (organic salt) that comprises an onium ion such as Selenium ion and an anion, and discloses that the three groups bonded to the cation (selenium ion) (as disclosed in formula a1) , wherein one of the R groups (R3) is illustrated as a phenyl (aryl group) with substitutions and the R1 and R2 groups can be alkyl or aryl or form a ring and includes halogen atom substitutions i.e., at least one or two of the alkyl or aryl groups bonded to the cation of the onium salt (selenium ion) include iodine (halogen). Shiota, in [0011], discloses the anion as X-, and discloses the substitution of the phenyl group (in formula (a2)) that includes halogen atom (such as iodine) (claims 1, 3-6). Shiota, in [0011], discloses the onium salt, see below,
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and in [0099], discloses the that cation of the onium salt can be a selenium ion, and Shiota discloses that R1, R2, and R3, can be substituted with a halogen atom (includes iodine), and that R1, and R2 may be combined to form a ring and the X- is an anion (claims 7-9). Shiota, in [0011], and [0046], [0066]-[0067], discloses that the anion X- can be a carboxylate anion or carbonate anion or sulfonate anion, see below,
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,
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536
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Wherein Rx2 includes structures, see below,
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, and/or Rx2 can be an alkyl or fluoroalkyl and include divalent functional groups such carbonyl bond, an ester bond, or sulfonyl bond, and is the same as that recited in claims 10-11. Shiota, in [0009], [0025], [0170], [0104], [0122], [0137], discloses a photosensitive composition, that comprises the onium salt (acid generator), solvent, and resin, and includes stabilizer (quencher), wherein the onium salt is a photoacid generator that generates acid upon being irradiated with UV (decomposed by irradiation with UV) (claims 14-16). Shiota, in [0258], [0260], discloses that the content of photoacid generator (onium salt) contained in the in the composition is about 40 mass % (claim 18). Shiota, in [0168], [0323], [0324], and [0325], discloses forming a resist coating of the photosensitive composition on the silicon wafer, followed by exposing the resist film through a mask to UV, and then developing the exposed resist film (claims 19-20).
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) 2, 12-13, and 17, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U. S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0305848 (hereinafter referred to as Shiota) in view of U. S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0021289 (hereinafter referred to as Ober).
Shiota is discussed in paragraph no. 3, above.
Shiota, discloses the onium salt structure with the cation and anion and R (R1, R2, and R3) groups bonded to the cation as disclosed in [0011]. Shiota, in [0011], and [0046], [0066]-[0067], discloses that the anion X- in the onium salt can be a carboxylate anion or carbonate anion or sulfonate anion, see below,
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wherein the Rx2 can be an alkyl or fluoroalkyl and include divalent functional groups such carbonyl bond, an ester bond, or sulfonyl bond and terminating with alkyl or fluoroalkyl groups (claims 12-13). Shiota in [0025], discloses that the onium salt decomposes upon being irradiated with UV rays, and in [0018], and [0097], Shiota discloses that the onium salt behaves as the photoacid generator and generates acid when irradiated with light (part of claim 17).
The difference between the claims and Shiota is Shiota does not disclose that the cation in the onium salt (organic salt) can be a tellurium ion (claim 2), or disclose the onium salt structure with tellurium ion as the cation. Shiota does not disclose that the onium salt (photoacid generator) acts as a quencher to neutralize acids, before the exposure to light (part of claim 17).
Ober, in [0019], and [0047], discloses that the onium salt can includes cations such as telluronium ions (tellurium cation in the onium salt) and can be a substituted telluronium ion wherein the substitution in the R groups can be with halogen such as iodine. Ober, in [0053], discloses that the photoacid generator can also behave as photodestroyable bases (quench the base).
Therefore, it would be obvious to a skilled artisan to modify Shiota by using the telluronium as the cation as taught by Ober, because Shiota, in [0099], discloses using other metal complex ion as the cation in the onium salt, and does not preclude the use of tellurium, and Ober, in [0047], discloses using selenium and other metal ions as the cations in the acid generator onium salt. It would be obvious to modify Shiota by using the onium salt as the base quencher as taught by Ober because Ober in [0053], teaches that the cations in the onium salt are some times paired with anions of a weak acid such as carboxylic acids, and that using such a pairing enables the use of the PAG onium salt (weak acid anion) as the base quencher (neutralize the base), and Shiota teaches pairing cations with anions of weak acid (carboxylate ion) in the onium salt.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Daborah Chacko-Davis whose telephone number is (571) 272-1380. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:30AM-6:00PM EST Mon-Fri. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark F. Huff can be reached on (571) 272-1385. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-272-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/DABORAH CHACKO-DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737 January 7, 2026.