DETAILED ACTION
This is in response to communication received on 3/30/26.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The text of those sections of AIA 35 U.S.C. code not present in this action can be found in previous office actions dated 11/19/24, 2/20/25, 7/28/25, and 12/31/25.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Cheng et al. US PGPub 2018/0350668 hereinafter CHENG in view of Park et al. US PGPub 2020/0373149 hereinafter PARK on claim 1 and 7-10 are withdrawn because the independent claims 1 is amended.
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Cheng et al. US PGPub 201810350668 hereinafter CHENG in view of Park et al. US PGPub 202010373149 hereinafter PARK as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kang US 20210217773 hereinafter KANG on claim 2 and 7 are withdrawn because the independent claims 1 is amended.
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Cheng et al. US PGPub 201810350668 hereinafter CHENG in view of Park et al. US PGPub 2020/0373149 hereinafter PARK as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Dickey US PGPub 2020/0350179 hereinafter DICKEY on claim 3, 5-6, and 16-19 are withdrawn because the independent claims 1 is amended.
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Cheng et al. US PGPub 2018/0350668 hereinafter CHENG in view of Park et al. US PGPub 2020/0373149 hereinafter PARK as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yan et al. US PGPub 2016/0099143 hereinafter YAN on claim 4 is withdrawn because the independent claims 1 is amended.
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Cheng et al. US PGPub 2018/0350668 hereinafter CHENG in view of Park et al. US PGPub 2020/0373149 hereinafter PARK and Anderson et al. US PGPub 2015/0294880 hereinafter ANDERSON on claim 11 and 15 is withdrawn because the independent claims 1 is amended.
The claim rejection(s) under AIA 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Cheng et al. US PGPub 201810350668 hereinafter CHENG, Park et al. US PGPub 202010373149 hereinafter PARK and Anderson et al. US PGPub 201510294880 hereinafter ANDERSON as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Yan et al. US PGPub 2016/0099143 hereinafter YAN on claim 12-14 are withdrawn because the independent claims 1 is amended.
Claim(s) 1, and 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. US PGPub 2018/0350668 hereinafter CHENG in view of Park et al. US PGPub 2020/0373149 hereinafter PARK and Reddy et al. US PGPub 2018/0308680 hereinafter REDDY.
As for claim 1, CHENG teaches "Methods for gapfill of high aspect ratio features are described" (abstract, lines 1-2) and "The substrate 10 of some embodiments is a portion of a V-NAND device" (paragraph 19, lines 1-2), i.e. A method of forming a high aspect ratio structure within a 30 NAND structure.
CHENG teaches "FIG. 2E illustrates a feature that has been filled with the second film 30 after multiple cycles through the deposition-etch-treat process" (paragraph 45, lines 8-11) and "The features 14 illustrated are shown as a recess in a unitary material so that the bottom 16 and sidewalls 18 are made of the same material. In some embodiments, the features are formed by alternating layers of different materials so that a first material is shorter than a second material to form the recess shape" (paragraph 19, lines 2-7), i.e. delivering a coating material to a high aspect ratio opening disposed within a multilayer stack having two or more alternating layers ... wherein the coating material contact sidewalls of the two or more alternating layers within the high aspect ratio opening and extend continuously across the high aspect ratio opening such that the coating material fill the high aspect ratio opening to form a continuous gap fill material that fills the entirety of the high aspect ratio opening.
CHENG is silent on delivering a precursor ... the precursor selected from the group consisting of a diaminosilane, an aminosilane, and a combination thereof... delivering an oxygen-containing compound ... wherein the precursor and the oxygen containing compound are alternated cyclically to fill the high aspect ratio opening.
CHENG does teach "Embodiments of the disclosure advantageously provide methods of depositing a film (e.g., silicon) to fill a high aspect ratio feature. Some embodiments advantageously provide methods comprising cyclic deposition-etch treatment processes that can be performed in a cluster tool environment. Some embodiments advantageously deposit silicon oxide (SiO), silicon nitride (SiN) and/or silicon oxynitride (SiON) gapfill films using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) processes" (paragraph 15, lines 1-9).
PARK teaches "Methods for forming a material layer on or in nanostructures with desired small dimensions are provided" (paragraph 15, line 1-2) and "By a proper selection of a precursor as well as controlled process parameters, a material layer may be formed on a substrate or filled in a feature with high aspect ratios, such as greater than 20: 1, formed on a substrate" (paragraph 15, lines 6-9).
PARK teaches "At operation 204, a first gas precursor 306 is supplied into the plasma processing chamber 100 into the surface of the substrate 302, as shown in FIG. 3B. In one example, the first gas precursor 306 includes a first element, such as silicon element 350" (paragraph 36, lines 1-5) and "In one example, the organic silicon compound includes aminosilane precursors" (paragraph 36, lines 27-28), i.e. wherein delivering a precursor, the precursor selected from the group consisting of ...
aminosilane.
PARK teaches "At operation 208, a second gas precursor 310 is supplied into the plasma processing chamber 100 into the surface of the substrate 302, as shown in FIG. 3D. In one example, the second gas precursor 310 includes a second element which can react with the first element, such as the silicon element 350, on the substrate 302 and/or the structure 304 provided from the first gas precursor 306. The second element as pulsed reacts and bonds with the first element, such as the silicon element 350 on the surfaces 313, 314 and a sidewall 312 of the substrate 302 and/or the structure 304. In the example disposed in FIG. 3D, the second gas precursor 310 includes an oxygen or a nitrogen containing gas, providing an oxygen or a nitrogen element 311" (paragraph 45, lines 1-13), i.e. delivering an oxygen-containing compound to the high aspect ratio opening.
PARK teaches "It is noted that additional cycles starting from the pulsing of the first gas precursor 306 at operation 204, the purge gas supply at operation 206 and the second gas precursor 310 at operation 208 can then be repeatedly performed until a desired thickness of the material layer 360 is obtained" (paragraph 54, lines 1-6), i.e. wherein the precursor and the oxygen-containing compound are alternated cyclically to fill the high aspect ratio opening.
PARK further teaches "The deposition methods utilize an ALD-like deposition process performed at a temperature less than 110 degrees Celsius to form the material layer in an etching processing chamber so that an etching process may immediately follow after the deposition process of the material layer as needed. Furthermore, the low temperature deposition process also enables the material layer to be formed in any substrate with suitable features, such as high aspect ratios greater than 20: 1, which
requires slow and conformal deposition profiles. Thus, process cycle time and manufacturing throughput may be improved and well managed" (paragraph 55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to fill the gaps of CHENG with the process of PARK such that it includes delivering a precursor ... the precursor selected from the group consisting of a ... aminosilane ... delivering an oxygen-containing compound ... wherein the precursor and the oxygen-containing compound are alternated cyclically to fill the high aspect ratio opening because PARK teaches that such a process allows for low temperature operation and well managed and improved throughput.
CHENG and PARK are silent on wherein each cycle comprises delivering the precursor followed directly by delivering the oxygen-containing compound to react with the precursor within the high aspect ratio opening.
Specifically PARK teaches a purge gas being delivered to the chamber in between precursor and oxygen-containing compound (Fig. 2; paragraph 43).
REDDY teaches “Methods are provided for conducting a deposition on a semiconductor substrate by selectively depositing a material on the substrate” (abstract, lines 1-3).
REDDY teaches “A deposition cycle may include: exposing the substrate to a deposition precursor to modify the surface of the substrate; and exposing the substrate to a reducing agent to deposit the film. In some embodiments, the method further includes igniting a plasma. In some embodiments, at least some of the deposition precursor adsorbs onto the surface of the substrate during the exposing of the substrate to the deposition precursor. The chamber may be purged between exposures” (paragraph 5) and “After adsorption, the chamber may be optionally purged to remove excess precursor in gas phase that did not adsorb onto the surface of the substrate. Purging may involve a sweep gas, which may be a carrier gas used in other operations or a different gas. In some embodiments, purging may involve evacuating the chamber” (paragraph 51), i.e. wherein purging is an optional step and a known equivalent to processes without a purge step in between reactants.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include wherein each cycle comprises delivering the precursor followed directly by delivering the oxygen-containing compound to react with the precursor within the high aspect ratio opening in the process of CHENG and PARK because REDDY teaches that such a process was a known equivalent to processes with purge steps between reactants. It is a prima facie case of obviousness to substitute one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
As for claim 8, CHENG teaches "In some embodiments, the feature 14 has a high aspect ratio greater than or equal to about 10: 1" (paragraph 18, lines 4-5), i.e. wherein a ratio of the high aspect ratio openings is about 10: 1 or greater.
As for claim 9, CHENG teaches "Embodiments of the disclosure advantageously provide methods of depositing a film (e.g., silicon) to fill a high aspect ratio feature. Some embodiments advantageously provide methods comprising cyclic deposition etch treatment processes that can be performed in a cluster tool environment. Some embodiments advantageously deposit silicon oxide (SiO), silicon nitride (SiN) and/or silicon oxynitride (SiON) gapfill films" (paragraph 15, lines 1-8), i.e. wherein filling the high aspect ratio opening further comprises forming a silicon-containing material selected from the group consisting of... silicon oxide (SiO), silicon nitride (SiN) ... silicon oxynitride (SiON).
As for claim 10, CHENG is silent on the ALD process.
PARK teaches "Suitable examples of the oxygen containing gas include 02" (paragraph 46, lines 1-2) and "It is believed that the RF source and bias powers as applied may assist activating the oxygen or nitrogen elements 311 as well as the silicon elements 350 from the substrate 302 in an activated/excited state, so as to enhance the absorption of the oxygen or nitrogen elements 311 to the silicon elements 350" (paragraph 48, lines 12-17), i.e. wherein the oxygen-containing compound is selected from the group consisting of... oxygen plasma, and combinations thereof It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to fill the gaps of CHENG with the process of PARK such that it includes wherein the oxygen-containing compound is selected from the group consisting of... oxygen plasma, and combinations thereof because PARK teaches that such a process allows for low temperature operation and well managed and improved throughput, as shown in the rejection of claim 1.
Claim(s) 2, 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. US PGPub 201810350668 hereinafter CHENG in view of Park et al. US PGPub 202010373149 hereinafter PARK and Reddy et al. US PGPub 2018/0308680 hereinafter REDDY as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kang US 20210217773 hereinafter KANG.
As for claim 2, CHENG teaches "The features 14 illustrated are shown as a recess in a unitary material so that the bottom 16 and sidewalls 18 are made of the same material. In some embodiments, the features are formed by alternating layers of different materials so that a first material is shorter than a second material to form the recess shape" (paragraph 19, lines 2-7), and "The substrate 10 of some embodiments is a portion of a V-NAND device" (paragraph 19, lines 1-2) but is silent on wherein the
multilayer stack comprises a plurality of conductive layers alternated with a plurality of dielectric layers.
KANG teaches "The method 500 may be formed on the film stack 604 to form the stair-like structures therein used in a memory cell structures, such as VNAND structures" (paragraph 59, lines 8-10.
KANG further teaches "In one embodiment, a memory cell device includes a film stack comprising alternating pairs of dielectric layers and conductive structures horizontally formed on a substrate, and an opening formed in the film stack, wherein the opening is filled with a metal dielectric layer, a multi-layer structure and a center filling layer, wherein the metal dielectric layer in the opening is interfaced with the conductive structure" (abstract, lines 5-12), i.e. a multilayer stack comprising a plurality of conductive layers alternated with a plurality of dielectric layers.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to apply the center filing layer of KANG with the process of CHENG such that it includes a multilayer stack comprising a plurality of conductive layers alternated with a plurality of dielectric layers because KANG teaches that its invention has improved properties as a feature on semiconductor.
As for claim 7, CHENG is silent on wherein the precursor further comprises silane, disilane, trisilane, tetrasilane, and combinations thereof
KANG teaches "Examples of gases that may be supplied from the gas panel 293 may include a silicon containing gas, fluorine continuing gas, oxygen containing gas, hydrogen containing gas inert gas and carrier gases. Suitable examples of the reacting gases includes a silicon containing gas, such as SiH4 , Si2H6, SiF4, SiH2Cl2 , Si4HO," (paragraph 36, lines 1-6) and that these gases are used to apply silicon oxide layers (paragraph 62), i.e. wherein the precursor further comprises silane, disilane, trisilane, tetrasilane, and combinations thereof
It is a prima facie case of obviousness to combine prior art elements according to known methods to yield predictable results. In this case, it would have been obvious to combine the silane gases of KANG and the aminosilane gases of PARK to obtain the predictable result of a silicon oxide deposition on a surface.
Claim(s) 3, 5-6, and 16-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. US PGPub 201810350668 hereinafter CHENG in view of Park et al. US PGPub 2020/0373149 hereinafter PARK and Reddy et al. US PGPub 2018/0308680 hereinafter REDDY as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Dickey US PGPub 2020/0350179 hereinafter DICKEY.
As for claim 3, CHENG and PARK are silent on the precursor comprising a compound having the structure pictured in claim 3.
Examiner notes that in the specification, this structure is identified as having the chemical name of 1,2-Bis(diisopropylamino)disilane.
DICKEY teaches "Atomic layer deposition (ALD) methods and barrier films are disclosed" (abstract, lines 1-2) and "When SiOx is deposited according to embodiments disclosed herein, the SiOx is more chemically resistant than conventionally deposited SiOx, and is more abrasion resistant" (paragraph 19, lines 5-8).
DICKEY teaches "In some embodiments, the gaseous metal precursor comprises an amino-based silicon precursor (e.g., including at least one nitrogen atom directly bonded to a silicon atom). In some embodiments, the amino-based silicon precursor is selected from ... bisdiisoproplyaminodislane (BDIPADS)" (paragraph 26, lines 1-9).
Examiner also draws attention to claim 12 of DICKEY.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include the precursor comprising a compound having the structure pictured in claim 3 in the process of CHENG and PARK because DICKEY teaches a process using such a chemical structure and that its process produces more chemically resistant silicon oxide material.
As for claim 5, CHENG and PARK are silent on wherein the precursor further comprising a component having a formula R2-Si-Si-R2, wherein each R is independently a group including a carbon-containing group, a hydrogen-containing group, an oxygen-containing group, a nitrogen-containing group, a silicon-containing group, or combinations thereof.
DICKEY teaches "Atomic layer deposition (ALD) methods and barrier films are disclosed" (abstract, lines 1-2) and "When SiOx is deposited according to embodiments disclosed herein, the SiOx is more chemically resistant than conventionally deposited SiOx, and is more abrasion resistant" (paragraph 19, lines 5-8).
DICKEY teaches "In some embodiments, the gaseous metal precursor comprises an amino-based silicon precursor (e.g., including at least one nitrogen atom directly bonded to a silicon atom). In some embodiments, the amino-based silicon precursor is selected from ... bisdiisoproplyaminodisilane (BDIPADS)" (paragraph 26, lines 1-9), i.e. wherein the precursor further comprising a component having a formula R2-Si-Si-R2, wherein each R is independently a group including a carbon-containing group, a hydrogen-containing group .... a nitrogen-containing group ... or combinations thereof
Examiner also draws attention to claim 12 of DICKEY.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include wherein the precursor further comprising a component having a formula R2-Si-Si-R2, wherein each R is independently a group including a carbon containing group, a hydrogen-containing group .... a nitrogen-containing group ... or combinations thereof in the process of CHENG and PARK because DICKEY teaches a process using such a chemical structure and that its process produces more chemically resistant silicon oxide material.
As for claim 6, CHENG and PARK are silent on wherein the precursor further comprising a component having a formula R2-Si-Si-R2, wherein one or more R independently includes an isopropyl group, a butyl group, an amine group, or combinations thereof.
DICKEY teaches "Atomic layer deposition (ALD) methods and barrier films are disclosed" (abstract, lines 1-2) and "When SiOx is deposited according to embodiments disclosed herein, the SiOx is more chemically resistant than conventionally deposited SiOx, and is more abrasion resistant" (paragraph 19, lines 5-8).
DICKEY teaches "In some embodiments, the gaseous metal precursor comprises an amino-based silicon precursor (e.g., including at least one nitrogen atom directly bonded to a silicon atom). In some embodiments, the amino-based silicon precursor is selected from ... bisdiisoproplyaminodisilane (BDIPADS)" (paragraph 26, lines 1-9), i.e. wherein the precursor further comprising a component having a formula R2-Si-Si-R2, wherein one or more R independently includes an isopropyl group ... an amine group, or combinations thereof
Examiner also draws attention to claim 12 of DICKEY.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include wherein the precursor further comprising a component having a formula R2-Si-Si-R2, wherein one or more R independently includes an isopropyl group ... an amine group, or combinations thereof in the process of CHENG and PARK because DICKEY teaches a process using such a chemical structure and that its process produces more chemically resistant silicon oxide material.
As for claim 16, CHENG teaches "Methods for gapfill of high aspect ratio features are described" (abstract, lines 1-2) and "The substrate 10 of some embodiments is a portion of a V-NAND device" (paragraph 19, lines 1-2), i.e. A method of forming a 3D NAND structure on a substrate.
CHENG teaches "FIG. 2E illustrates a feature that has been filled with the second film 30 after multiple cycles through the deposition-etch-treat process" (paragraph 45, lines 8-11) and "The features 14 illustrated are shown as a recess in a unitary material so that the bottom 16 and sidewalls 18 are made of the same material. In some embodiments, the features are formed by alternating layers of different materials so that a first material is shorter than a second material to form the recess shape" (paragraph 19, lines 2-7), i.e. delivering a coating material to a high aspect ratio opening disposed within a multilayer stack having two or more alternating layers ... wherein the coating material contacts sidewalls of the two or more alternating layers within the high aspect ratio opening and the coating material extends continuously across the entirety of high aspect ratio opening.
CHENG teaches "In some embodiments, the feature 14 has a high aspect ratio greater than or equal to about 10: 1" (paragraph 18, lines 4-5), i.e. the high aspect ratio opening having an aspect ratio of about 10:1 or greater.
CHENG is silent on delivering a precursor ... the precursor comprises a diaminosilane ... delivering an oxygen-containing plasma ... wherein the precursor and the oxygen-containing plasma are alternated cyclically to fill the high aspect ratio opening with a silicon-containing material.
CHENG does teach "Embodiments of the disclosure advantageously provide methods of depositing a film (e.g., silicon) to fill a high aspect ratio feature. Some embodiments advantageously provide methods comprising cyclic deposition etch treatment processes that can be performed in a cluster tool environment. Some embodiments advantageously deposit silicon oxide (SiO), silicon nitride (SiN) and/or silicon oxynitride (SiON) gapfill films using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) processes" (paragraph 15, lines 1-9). PARK teaches "Methods for forming a material layer on or in nanostructures with desired small dimensions are provided" (paragraph 15, line 1-2) and "By a proper selection of a precursor as well as controlled process parameters, a material layer may be formed on a substrate or filled in a feature with high aspect ratios, such as greater than 20: 1, formed on a substrate" (paragraph 15, lines 6-9).
PARK teaches "At operation 204, a first gas precursor 306 is supplied into the plasma processing chamber 100 into the surface of the substrate 302, as shown in FIG. 3B. In one example, the first gas precursor 306 includes a first element, such as silicon element 350" (paragraph 36, lines 1-5) and "In one example, the organic silicon compound includes aminosilane precursors" (paragraph 36, lines 27-28), i.e. delivering a precursor to a high aspect ratio opening.
PARK teaches "At operation 208, a second gas precursor 310 is supplied into the plasma processing chamber 100 into the surface of the substrate 302, as shown in FIG. 3D. In one example, the second gas precursor 310 includes a second element which can react with the first element, such as the silicon element 350, on the substrate 302 and/or the structure 304 provided from the first gas precursor 306. The second element as pulsed reacts and bonds with the first element, such as the silicon element 350 on the surfaces 313, 314 and a sidewall 312 of the substrate 302 and/or the structure 304. In the example disposed in FIG. 3D, the second gas precursor 310 includes an oxygen or a nitrogen containing gas, providing an oxygen or a nitrogen element 311" (paragraph 45, lines 1-13), i.e. delivering an oxygen-containing plasma ... wherein the precursor and the oxygen-containing plasma are alternated cyclically to fill the high aspect ratio opening with a silicon-containing material.
PARK teaches "It is noted that additional cycles starting from the pulsing of the first gas precursor 306 at operation 204, the purge gas supply at operation 206 and the second gas precursor 310 at operation 208 can then be repeatedly performed until a desired thickness of the material layer 360 is obtained" (paragraph 54, lines 1-6).
PARK further teaches "The deposition methods utilize an ALD-like deposition process performed at a temperature less than 110 degrees Celsius to form the material layer in an etching processing chamber so that an etching process may immediately follow after the deposition process of the material layer as needed. Furthermore, the low temperature deposition process also enables the material layer to be formed in any substrate with suitable features, such as high aspect ratios greater than 20: 1, which
requires slow and conformal deposition profiles. Thus, process cycle time and manufacturing throughput may be improved and well managed" (paragraph 55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to fill the gaps of CHENG with the process of PARK such that it includes delivering a precursor ... delivering an oxygen-containing plasma ... wherein the precursor and the oxygen-containing plasma are alternated cyclically to fill the high aspect ratio opening with a silicon-containing material because PARK teaches that such a process allows for low temperature operation and well managed and improved throughput.
PARK is silent on the precursor comprises a diaminosilane.
Examiner notes that in the specification, on diaminosilane is identified as having the chemical name of 1,2-Bis(diisopropylamino)disilane. DICKEY teaches "Atomic layer deposition (ALO) methods and barrier films are disclosed" (abstract, lines 1-2) and "When SiOx is deposited according to embodiments
disclosed herein, the SiOx is more chemically resistant than conventionally deposited SiOx, and is more abrasion resistant" (paragraph 19, lines 5-8).
DICKEY teaches "In some embodiments, the gaseous metal precursor comprises an amino-based silicon precursor (e.g., including at least one nitrogen atom directly bonded to a silicon atom). In some embodiments, the amino-based silicon precursor is selected from ... bisdiisoproplyaminodislane (BDIPADS)" (paragraph 26, lines 1-9), i.e. wherein the precursor is diaminosilane.
Examiner also draws attention to claim 12 of DICKEY.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include the precursor comprises a diaminosilane pictured in claim 3 in the process of CHENG and PARK because DICKEY teaches a process using such a chemical structure and that its process produces more chemically resistant silicon oxide material.
CHENG and PARK are silent on wherein each cycle comprises delivering the precursor followed directly by delivering the oxygen-containing compound to react with the precursor within the high aspect ratio opening.
Specifically PARK teaches a purge gas being delivered to the chamber in between precursor and oxygen-containing compound (Fig. 2; paragraph 43).
REDDY teaches “Methods are provided for conducting a deposition on a semiconductor substrate by selectively depositing a material on the substrate” (abstract, lines 1-3).
REDDY teaches “A deposition cycle may include: exposing the substrate to a deposition precursor to modify the surface of the substrate; and exposing the substrate to a reducing agent to deposit the film. In some embodiments, the method further includes igniting a plasma. In some embodiments, at least some of the deposition precursor adsorbs onto the surface of the substrate during the exposing of the substrate to the deposition precursor. The chamber may be purged between exposures” (paragraph 5) and “After adsorption, the chamber may be optionally purged to remove excess precursor in gas phase that did not adsorb onto the surface of the substrate. Purging may involve a sweep gas, which may be a carrier gas used in other operations or a different gas. In some embodiments, purging may involve evacuating the chamber” (paragraph 51), i.e. wherein purging is an optional step and a known equivalent to processes without a purge step in between reactants.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include wherein each cycle comprises delivering the precursor followed directly by delivering the oxygen-containing compound to react with the precursor within the high aspect ratio opening in the process of CHENG and PARK because REDDY teaches that such a process was a known equivalent to processes with purge steps between reactants. It is a prima facie case of obviousness to substitute one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
As for claim 17, CHENG is silent on the process.
PARK teaches "The processing temperature is maintained at less than about 110 degrees Celsius, such as between about -10 degrees Celsius and about 120 degrees Celsius" (paragraph 50, lines 4-6), i.e. a range that overlaps with further comprising maintaining a substrate temperature of about 100 °C to about 450 °C. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990); In re Geisler, 116 F.3d 1465, 1469-71, 43 USPQ2d, 1362, 1365-66 (Fed. Cir. 1997). See MPEP 2144.05.
PARK further teaches "The deposition methods utilize an ALD-like deposition process performed at a temperature less than 110 degrees Celsius to form the material layer in an etching processing chamber so that an etching process may immediately follow after the deposition process of the material layer as needed. Furthermore, the low temperature deposition process also enables the material layer to be formed in any substrate with suitable features, such as high aspect ratios greater than 20: 1, which
requires slow and conformal deposition profiles. Thus, process cycle time and manufacturing throughput may be improved and well managed" (paragraph 55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to fill the gaps of CHENG with the process of PARK such that it includes a range that overlaps with further comprising maintaining a substrate temperature of about 100 °C to about 450 °C because PARK teaches that such a process allows for low temperature operation and well managed and improved throughput as shown in the rejection on claim 16.
As for claim 18, CHENG is silent on the process.
PARK teaches "Each pulse of the first precursor gas may deposit the first monolayer of a material layer 360 (as shown in FIG. 3E) having a thickness between about 3 A and about 5 A" (paragraph 42, lines 18-21 ), and "Each pulse of the second precursor gas may deposit the first monolayer of the material layer 360 having a thickness between about 3 A and about 15 A" (paragraph 48, lines 17-20), i.e. ranges that overlap with wherein delivering the precursor and the oxygen-containing plasma is an atomic layer deposition process with a growth per cycle of about 1. 5 A per cycle to about 3 A per cycle. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990); In re Geisler, 116 F.3d 1465, 1469-71, 43 USPQ2d, 1362, 1365- 66 (Fed. Cir. 1997). See MPEP 2144.05.
PARK further teaches "The deposition methods utilize an ALD-like deposition process performed at a temperature less than 110 degrees Celsius to form the material layer in an etching processing chamber so that an etching process may immediately follow after the deposition process of the material layer as needed. Furthermore, the low temperature deposition process also enables the material layer to be formed in any substrate with suitable features, such as high aspect ratios greater than 20: 1, which requires slow and conformal deposition profiles. Thus, process cycle time and manufacturing throughput may be improved and well managed" (paragraph 55). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to fill the gaps of CHENG with the process of PARK such that it includes a range that overlaps with wherein delivering the precursor and the oxygen-containing plasma is an atomic layer deposition process with a growth per cycle of about 1.5 A per cycle to about 3 A per cycle because PARK teaches that such a process allows for low temperature operation and well managed and improved throughput as shown in the rejection on claim 16.
As for claim 19, CHENG is silent on the process.
PARK teaches "Suitable examples of the organic silicon compounds include ... tris(dimethylamino) silane" (paragraph 37, lines 1-3), i.e. wherein the precursor includes a component having a formular of R2Si-NR2 wherein each R is independently selected from a group consisting of a carbon-containing group ... hydrogen-containing group ... a nitrogen containing group.
PARK further teaches "The deposition methods utilize an ALD-like deposition process performed at a temperature less than 110 degrees Celsius to form the material layer in an etching processing chamber so that an etching process may immediately follow after the deposition process of the material layer as needed. Furthermore, the low temperature deposition process also enables the material layer to be formed in any substrate with suitable features, such as high aspect ratios greater than 20: 1, which requires slow and conformal deposition profiles. Thus, process cycle time and manufacturing throughput may be improved and well managed" (paragraph 55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to fill the gaps of CHENG with the process of PARK such that it includes wherein the precursor includes a component having a formular of R2Si-NR2 wherein each R is independently selected from a group consisting of a carbon-containing group ... hydrogen-containing group ... a nitrogen containing group because PARK teaches that such a process allows for low temperature operation and well managed and improved throughput as shown in the rejection on claim 16.
Claim(s) 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. US PGPub 2018/0350668 hereinafter CHENG in view of Park et al. US PGPub 2020/0373149 hereinafter PARK and Reddy et al. US PGPub 2018/0308680 hereinafter REDDY as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Yan et al. US PGPub 2016/0099143 hereinafter YAN.
As for claim 4, CHENG and PARK are silent on the precursor comprising a compound having the structure pictured in claim 4.
Examiner notes that the chemical structure in claim 4 is named in paragraph 35 of the specification as N,N-di-sec-butylsilanamine.
YAN teaches "Processes for depositing SiO2 films on a wafer surface utilizing an aminosilane compound as a silicon precursor are described" (abstract) and "In one or more embodiments, the substrate surface may comprise one or more features with an aspect ratio in the range of about 10: 1 to about 100: 1 , or about 20: 1 to about 100: 1 , or about 10: 1 to about 50: 1, or about 20: 1 to about 50: 1, and the silicon precursor forms a conformal layer on the one or more features. In various embodiments, the surface features may be part of an electronic device" (paragraph 86).
YAN teaches "In one or more embodiments, the silicon precursor comprises R3Si:NY3, wherein R is hydrogen, a halide selected from the group consisting of Cl, Br and I, a linear or branched C1 -C10 alkyl group, a linear or branched C1 -C10 alkoxy group, and/or a C6-C10 aryl group, and Y is a hydrogen, a halide selected from the group consisting of Cl, Br and I, a linear or branched C1 -C10 alkyl group, a linear or branched C1 -C10 alkylsilyl group, and/or a C6-C10 aryl group" (paragraph 77), wherein when the 3 Rs are hydrogen, and the 1 Y is a hydrogen and the other two are a branched C4 alkyl group, the structure if N,N-di-sec-butylsilanamine.
YAN teaches "Embodiments of the disclosure are also related to methods for improving SiO2 film quality and uniformity in an ALD processor" (paragraph 27).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include the precursor comprising a compound having the structure pictured in claim 4 in the process of CHENG and PARK because YAN teaches that such a precursor was known to be used in improved ALD deposition of SiO2.
Claim(s) 11 and 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. US PGPub 2018/0350668 hereinafter CHENG in view of Park et al. US PGPub 2020/0373149 hereinafter PARK, Reddy et al. US PGPub 2018/0308680 hereinafter REDDY and Anderson et al. US PGPub 2015/0294880 hereinafter ANDERSON.
As for claim 11, CHENG teaches "Methods for gapfill of high aspect ratio features are described" (abstract, lines 1-2) and "The substrate 10 of some embodiments is a portion of a V-NAND device" (paragraph 19, lines 1-2), i.e. A method of forming a 3D NAND structure.
CHENG teaches "FIG. 2E illustrates a feature that has been filled with the second film 30 after multiple cycles through the deposition-etch-treat process" (paragraph 45, lines 8-11) and "The features 14 illustrated are shown as a recess in a unitary material so that the bottom 16 and sidewalls 18 are made of the same material. In some embodiments, the features are formed by alternating layers of different materials so that a first material is shorter than a second material to form the recess shape" (paragraph 19, lines 2-7), i.e. delivering a coating material to a high aspect ratio opening disposed within a multilayer stack having two or more alternating layers ... wherein the coating material contact sidewalls of the two or more alternating layers within the high aspect ratio opening and the coating material extends continuously across the entirety of the high aspect ratio opening.
CHENG is silent on delivering a precursor ... the precursor selected from the group consisting of a diaminosilane, an aminosilane, and a combination thereof... delivering an oxygen-containing plasma to the high aspect ratio opening, wherein the precursor and the oxygen-containing plasma are alternated cyclically to fill the high aspect ratio opening.
CHENG does teach "Embodiments of the disclosure advantageously provide methods of depositing a film (e.g., silicon) to fill a high aspect ratio feature. Some embodiments advantageously provide methods comprising cyclic deposition etch treatment processes that can be performed in a cluster tool environment. Some embodiments advantageously deposit silicon oxide (SiO), silicon nitride (SiN) and/or silicon oxynitride (SiON) gapfill films using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) processes" (paragraph 15, lines 1-9).
PARK teaches "At operation 204, a first gas precursor 306 is supplied into the plasma processing chamber 100 into the surface of the substrate 302, as shown in FIG. 3B. In one example, the first gas precursor 306 includes a first element, such as silicon element 350" (paragraph 36, lines 1-5) and "In one example, the organic silicon compound includes aminosilane precursors" (paragraph 36, lines 27-28), i.e. wherein delivering a precursor, the precursor selected from the group consisting of... aminosilane.
PARK teaches "At operation 208, a second gas precursor 310 is supplied into the plasma processing chamber 100 into the surface of the substrate 302, as shown in FIG. 3D. In one example, the second gas precursor 310 includes a second element which can react with the first element, such as the silicon element 350, on the substrate 302 and/or the structure 304 provided from the first gas precursor 306. The second element as pulsed reacts and bonds with the first element, such as the silicon element 350 on the surfaces 313, 314 and a sidewall 312 of the substrate 302 and/or the structure 304. In the example disposed in FIG. 3D, the second gas precursor 310 includes an oxygen or a nitrogen containing gas, providing an oxygen or a nitrogen element 311" (paragraph 45, lines 1-13), i.e. delivering an oxygen-containing compound to the high aspect ratio opening.
PARK teaches "It is noted that additional cycles starting from the pulsing of the first gas precursor 306 at operation 204, the purge gas supply at operation 206 and the second gas precursor 310 at operation 208 can then be repeatedly performed until a desired thickness of the material layer 360 is obtained" (paragraph 54, lines 1-6), i.e. wherein the precursor and the oxygen-containing compound are alternated cyclically to fill the high aspect ratio opening.
PARK further teaches "The deposition methods utilize an ALD-like deposition process performed at a temperature less than 110 degrees Celsius to form the material layer in an etching processing chamber so that an etching process may immediately follow after the deposition process of the material layer as needed. Furthermore, the low temperature deposition process also enables the material layer to be formed in any substrate with suitable features, such as high aspect ratios greater than 20: 1, which requires slow and conformal deposition profiles. Thus, process cycle time and manufacturing throughput may be improved and well managed" (paragraph 55).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to fill the gaps of CHENG with the process of PARK such that it includes delivering a precursor ... the precursor selected from the group consisting of a diaminosilane, an aminosilane, and a combination thereof... delivering an oxygencontaining plasma to the high aspect ratio opening, wherein the precursor and the oxygen-containing plasma are alternated cyclically to fill the high aspect ratio opening because PARK teaches that such a process allows for low temperature operation and well managed and improved throughput.
CHENG and PARK are silent on wherein each cycle comprises delivering the precursor followed directly by delivering the oxygen-containing compound to react with the precursor within the high aspect ratio opening.
Specifically PARK teaches a purge gas being delivered to the chamber in between precursor and oxygen-containing compound (Fig. 2; paragraph 43).
REDDY teaches “Methods are provided for conducting a deposition on a semiconductor substrate by selectively depositing a material on the substrate” (abstract, lines 1-3).
REDDY teaches “A deposition cycle may include: exposing the substrate to a deposition precursor to modify the surface of the substrate; and exposing the substrate to a reducing agent to deposit the film. In some embodiments, the method further includes igniting a plasma. In some embodiments, at least some of the deposition precursor adsorbs onto the surface of the substrate during the exposing of the substrate to the deposition precursor. The chamber may be purged between exposures” (paragraph 5) and “After adsorption, the chamber may be optionally purged to remove excess precursor in gas phase that did not adsorb onto the surface of the substrate. Purging may involve a sweep gas, which may be a carrier gas used in other operations or a different gas. In some embodiments, purging may involve evacuating the chamber” (paragraph 51), i.e. wherein purging is an optional step and a known equivalent to processes without a purge step in between reactants.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include wherein each cycle comprises delivering the precursor followed directly by delivering the oxygen-containing compound to react with the precursor within the high aspect ratio opening in the process of CHENG and PARK because REDDY teaches that such a process was a known equivalent to processes with purge steps between reactants. It is a prima facie case of obviousness to substitute one known element for another to obtain predictable results.
CHENG and PARK are silent on etching an opening within the silicon-containing material.
ANDERSON teaches "Etching gases are disclosed for plasma etching channel holes, gate trenches, staircase contacts, capacitor holes, contact holes, etc., in Si containing layers on a substrate and plasma etching methods of using the same" (abstract, lines 1-5) and "disclosed etching gases may be used to plasma etch silicon containing layers on a substrate. The disclosed plasma etching method may be useful in the manufacture of semiconductor devices such as NAND or 3D NAND gates or
Flash or DRAM memory" (paragraph 141, lines 1-5), i.e. wherein etching an opening within the silicon-containing material.
ANDERSON teaches "C4F6 and cyclic C4F8 were directly injected into a quadruple mass spectrometer (OMS) and data collected from 10-100 eV. The results are shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. Fragments from C4F 6 have lower F:C ratio than the fragments from C4F8, which lead to higher polymer deposition rate and may improve selectivity" (paragraph 161 ).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include wherein etching an opening within the silicon-containing material in the process of CHENG and PARK because ANDERSON that such a step is useful in providing the channel holes present in NAND structures with improved selectivity.
As for claim 15, CHENG and PARK are silent on wherein etching the opening with in the silicon-containing material comprises a fluorocarbon radical plasma etch process.
ANDERSON further teaches "Other exemplary gases with which the etching gas may be mixed include additional etching gases, such as C4F8, C4F6, CF4, CHF3, CF3H, CH2F2" (paragraph 151, lines 1-4) and "The disclosed etching gas and inert gas are activated by plasma to produce an activated etching gas. The plasma decomposes the etching gas into radical form (i.e., the activated etching gas)" (paragraph 147, lines 1-4), i.e. wherein etching the opening with in the silicon-containing material comprises a fluorocarbon radical plasma etch process.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include wherein etching an opening within the silicon-containing material in the process of PARK and KANG because ANDERSON that such a step is useful in providing the channel holes present in NAND structures with improved selectivity.
Claim(s) 12-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al. US PGPub 201810350668 hereinafter CHENG, Park et al. US PGPub 202010373149 hereinafter PARK, Reddy et al. US PGPub 2018/0308680 hereinafter REDDY and Anderson et al. US PGPub 201510294880 hereinafter ANDERSON as applied to claim 11 above, and further in view of Yan et al. US PGPub 2016/0099143 hereinafter YAN.
As for claim 12, CHENG is silent on the plasma but was combined with PARK as shown above in the rejection of claim 11 .
PARK and ANDERSON are silent on wherein the oxygen-containing plasma is pulsed for about 2 seconds to about 10 seconds.
PARK does teach "Several process parameters are also regulated during pulsing of the second gas precursor 310 ... Each pulse of the second precursor gas may deposit the first monolayer of the material layer 360 having a thickness between about 3A and about 15A." (paragraph 48), but is silent on time.
YAN teaches "In one or more embodiments, the amount of Si precursor adsorbed onto the substrate surface may be controlled by adjusting the partial pressure of the Si precursor and/or the amount of time the substrate surf ace is exposed to the gaseous Si precursor. Lower partial pressures and/or shorter exposure times may be used to produce sub-monolayer coverage, or higher partial pressures and/or longer exposure times may be used to produce saturated (i.e., monolayer) coverage"
(paragraph 45, lines 1-8), i.e. wherein the amount of time the surface is exposed to a precursor will effect the thickness of the precursor applied to the substrate.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to design the pulse time for the second precursor such that the desired thickness of the oxygen precursor is achieved. Discovery of optimum value of result effective variable in known process is ordinarily within the skill of the art. In re Boesch, CCPA 1980, 617 F.2d 272,205 USPQ215.
As for claim 13, CHENG, PARK and ANDERSON is silent on wherein a time pulse ratio of precursor to oxygen-containing plasma is about 1 :20 to about 1 :5.
YAN teaches "In one or more embodiments, the oxygen source comprises an oxygen plasma and/or ozone. In various embodiments, the ratio of ozone to deposited Si may be ... >2-to-1. A ratio of 1 : 1 means equal exposure time of the silicon precursor to ozone. A ratio of 2: 1 means that the ozone exposure is twice as long as the silicon precursor" (paragraph 61 ), i.e. a range that overlaps with wherein a time pulse ratio of precursor to oxygen-containing plasma is about 1 :20 to about 1 :5.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include w a range that overlaps with wherein a time pulse ratio of precursor to oxygen-containing plasma is about 1 :20 to about 1 :5 in the process of CHENG and PARK because YAN that such a process parameter produces silicon of the desired oxidation amount.
As for claim 14, CHENG is silent on the plasma but was combined with PARK as shown above in the rejection of claim 11 .
PARK teaches "The RF source power may be controlled at between about 100 watts and about 2500 watts, such as about 500 watts and about 1000 watts" (paragraph 48, lines 8-10), i.e. a range that overlaps with wherein the oxygen-containing plasma is provided from a remote plasma source coupled to a power source to energize gas delivered to the remote plasma source at a power of about 100W to about 300 W. In the case where the claimed ranges "overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art" a prima facie case of obviousness exists. In re Wertheim, 541 F.2d 257, 191 USPQ 90 (CCPA 1976); In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990); In re Geisler, 116 F.3d 1465, 1469-71, 43 USPQ2d, 1362, 1365- 66 (Fed. Cir. 1997). See MPEP 2144.05
PARK is silent on a frequency of about 13 MHz to about 60 MHz.
YAN teaches "For example, plasma may be generated by one or more of a microwave (MW) frequency generator or a radio frequency (RF) generator. The frequency of the plasma may be tuned depending on the specific reactive species being used. Suitable frequencies include, but are not limited to, 2 MHz, 13.56 MHz, 40 MHz, 60 MHz and 100 MHz" (paragraph 113, lines 18-24).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to design the radio frequency such that the desired disassociation for the reactive species is achieved. Discovery of optimum value of result effective variable in known process is ordinarily within the skill of the art. In re Boesch, CCPA 1980, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ215.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-19 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KRISTEN A DAGENAIS whose telephone number is (571)270-1114. The examiner can normally be reached 8-12 and 1-5.
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/KRISTEN A DAGENAIS/Examiner, Art Unit 1717
/Dah-Wei D. Yuan/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1717
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