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, 6-7, 9-13, 15-16, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U. S. Patent No. 5,101,053 (Boettcher).
Boettcher, in col 1, lines 5-7, in col 2, lines 10-18, in col 3, lines 15-18, and lines 23-24 discloses a radiation sensitive composition that comprises a base polymer that has structural units , and polymer-bound photosensitive polymerization initiator such as copolymerizable sulfonium salts. Boettcher, in col 3, lines 25-69, and in col 4, discloses that the sulfonium salt includes a sulfonium cation and an acid anion (claimed non-nucleophilic counter ion, A⁻), wherein the sulfonium cation part includes an initiator part, a spacer part and the reactive group which is the ethylenically unsaturated copolymerizable part; the sulfonium part (the initiator part) includes two R groups bonded to the S⁺ ion and the other bond of the S⁺ ion is bonded to the hydrocarbyl group that is part of the spacer group and reactive group, viz., -O-W-X-Z-CO-CY=CH2 and includes the claimed structure , see below,
(R1) (R2) S⁺ bonded to the spacer and reactive group, see below,
-O-CO-CH2-O-CO-NH-CH2-O-CO-C(CH3)=CH2,
wherein R1 and R2 are hydrocarbyl groups (see line 30 of col 3, is the same as the claimed R2, and R3), and the other R group bonded directly to the S⁺ is the -O-CO-CH2- i.e., the claimed X3, -O- is the claimed X2, claimed R1 is -H, and the claimed X1 is -CH2-, and is the same claimed structure recited as the sulfonium cation (claim 1). Boettcher, in col 3, lines 60, and in col 5, lines 22-28, discloses that the counter anion A⁻ is an acid anion such as fluorinated sulfonic acid anion (claim 2) and include structures such as (MSO3)⁻, wherein M is C1-C8 alkyl groups or fluorinated alkyl groups and is the same as the structure recited as (a1-1) in claim 3. Boettcher, in col 5, lines 22-24, discloses that the acid anion can also include a carboxylate anion such as CH3COO⁻ (claimed (a2-1)) (claim 6-7). Boettcher, in col 17, lines 41-46, discloses that the radiation sensitive composition includes a phenolic formaldehyde resin and includes the claimed structure (b2) i.e., the polymer includes an acid labile group, and that the polymer can also include recurring units of epoxy resin i.e., polymer that is free of acid-labile group (claims 9, 11). Boettcher, in col 17, lines 57-68, and in col 18, lines 13-23, discloses that the photosensitive composition can be used as a photoresist to form a resist pattern and that the sulfonium salt in the composition is photochemically active (photoactive) that causes photochemical elimination of phenolic protective groups and thereby causes solubility differentiation i.e., the photosensitive composition is chemically amplified and discloses the resist composition can be either a negative working or positive working composition (positive resist or negative resist) (claims 10, and 12). Boettcher, in col 10, lines 40-45, discloses that the composition includes organic solvent (claim 13). Boettcher, in col 17, lines 11-31, and in col 18, lines 14-20, discloses that composition is coated onto a substrate and subjected to exposure through a mask, followed by developing (washing away unexposed portions for a photocurable compositions), wherein the exposure to radiation include wavelengths as low as 200nm (include the claimed wavelength) (claims 15-16).
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) 4-5, 8, and 14, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U. S. Patent No. 5,101,053 (Boettcher) in view of U. S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021/0055652 (hereinafter referred to as Hatakeyama).
Boettcher is discussed in paragraph no. 3, above.
The difference between the claims and Boettcher is that Boettcher does not disclose that the Rfa of the sulfonate acid anion can be a hydrocarbyl containing iodine (claim 4). Boettcher does not disclose the quencher recited in claim 5 or the acid generator recited in claim 8 or the surfactant recited in claim 14.
Hatakeyama, in [0036], discloses that the resist composition includes a sulfonium cation and its counter anion, and in paragraph no. [0075], discloses that the anion is a fluorinated sulfonic acid anion that includes iodine (see structural formula (1E)). Hatakeyama, in [0120], discloses that the resist composition also includes a photoacid generator (claimed acid generator), a quencher, and a surfactant.
Therefore, it would be obvious to a skilled artisan to modify Boettcher by employing the acid anion with an iodine as taught by Hatakeyama because Boettcher, in col 5, lines 25-28, discloses that the hydrocarbon groups of the anion include halogenated derivatives i.e., can include iodine, and Hatakeyama, in [0023], discloses that including iodine in the sulfonium salt is highly effective for suppressing acid diffusion because of the large atomic weight of the iodine, and iodine atoms that are attached to alkyl groups generate radicals that promote decomposition of the sulfonium salts and thereby leads to high sensitivity. It would be obvious to a skilled artisan to modify Boettcher by including the quencher, acid generator and surfactant in the resist composition as taught by Hatakeyama because Boettcher, in col 16, lines 35-38, discloses that the composition can include other additives and does not preclude the claimed components and Hatakeyama, in [0138], discloses that including a quencher in the resist composition prevents a film thickness loss of the formed resist pattern or prevents the rounding of the top of the resist pattern, and Hatakeyama, in [0140], discloses that using a surfactant in the resist composition improves and/or controls the coating characteristics of the resist composition and Hatakeyama in [0120], discloses that adding an acid generator such as the photoacid generator (other than the sulfonium salt) results in a resist composition that has a very high sensitivity such that the dissolution rate in the developer of the base polymer is accelerated by the catalytic reaction.
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 March 11, 2026.