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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the abstract is less than 50 words. The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
Claim Objections
Claims 3 and 11 are objected to because of the following informalities: Please remove the comma “,” in claims 3 and 11 on line 1 in view of claim consistency. Appropriate correction is required.
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) 1 and 3-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a) (1) as being anticipated by Hatakeyama et al. (US 2020/0089112 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Hatakeyama et al. disclose a positive [0019] resist compound (abstract, claims and examples) comprising a compound having a nitrobenzyl ester group bonded to an iodized aromatic ring ( sulfonium salt having the formula (I) [0015]:
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wherein L1, L2 and L3 are an ester bond, R3 is nitro group and R4 is an iodine group meeting the limitation of instant claims).
Regarding claim 3, Hatakeyama et al. teach the positive resist composition further comprising a base polymer [0018].
Regarding claims 4-7, Hatayama et al. teach the base polymer comprises a repeat units having a carboxy group whose hydrogen is substituted by an acid liable group having the formula (a1)and/or repeat units having a phenolic hydroxy group whose hydrogen is substituted by an acid liable group having the formula (a2) [0018], and further comprises a repeat units (b) have at least one type formula (c1) to (C3) [0021; see formula (1) to (3) }.
Regarding claim 8, Hatakeyama et al. disclose positive resist composition further comprises an acid generator [0017].
Regarding claim 9, Hatakeyama et al. disclose positive resist composition further comprises an organic solvent ( examples and Table 1).
Regarding claim 10 Hatakeyama et al. disclose positive resist composition further comprises a quencher ( Table 1 and Examples).
Regarding claim 11, Hatakeyama et al. disclose positive resist composition further comprises a surfactant [0022].
Regarding claim 12, Hatakeyama et al. teach a pattern forming process comprising the steps of applying the positive resist composition onto a substrate to form a resist film thereon, exposing the resist film to high-energy radiation, and developing the exposed resist film in developer ( claim 12).
Regarding claim 13, Hatakeyama et al. teach the process wherein the high-energy radiation is i-line, KrF excimer laser, ArF excimer laser, EB or EUV of wavelength 3 to 15 nm ( claims 13 and 14).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 2 is 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. No prior art teaches a compound having a compound having a nitrobenzyl ester group bonded to an iodized aromatic ring has the formula (1) as instantly claimed.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHANCEITY N ROBINSON whose telephone number is (571)270-3786. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday (8:00 am-6:00 pm; IFP; PHP).
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/CHANCEITY N ROBINSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737