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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 11/12/2025, as to the point that the teaching of heating the chamber wall to a temperature higher than boiling point of the etching precursor (0 degree C or higher) of KR-606 (heating chamber wall at 20 to 200 degree C) into Gohira et al would directly frustrate the principal operation of Gohira et al as such heating will disturbing the cryogenic equilibrium in Gohira et al, have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
In response, examiner states that Gohira et al disclose that during etching a plasma product containing carbon or a plasma product containing carbon and fluorine is generated. This plasma product adheres to an inner wall surface of the chamber main body and forms a deposit when the etching is being performed. Especially, this plasma product is immediately condensed or solidified at a low-temperature place whose temperature is equal to or lower than −30° C., so that a thick deposit is formed. Thus, if the temperatures of the electrostatic chuck and the target object are maintained to be equal to or lower than −30° C. after the completion of the etching, a gas generated from the deposit adhering to the inner wall surface of the chamber main body may be condensed or solidified on the target object, so that a thick deposit is formed thereon. In the method according to the exemplary embodiment, the temperature of the electrostatic chuck and, ultimately, the temperature of the target object are raised to be equal to or higher than 0° C; Accordingly, the deposit on the target object is removed or the amount thereof is reduced by the time when the etching is ended and the target object is carried out of the chamber (col.2, lines 21-40). Therefore, heating the chamber wall at a temperature of at 0 degree C or higher would be beneficial as discussed above.
Therefore, the previous rejection is repeated here in as follows:
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim(s) 9-10,12 and 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gohira et al (US 10,361,070) in view of KR 10-1997-003606 A (KR-606, herein after; provided with IDS) and KR-10-2020-0018627 (KR-627, hereinafter; provided with IDS).
Regarding claim 9, Gohira et al disclose an etching process comprising a target object is placed (shown in FIG. 1) includes etching an etching target film of the target object in a plasma processing apparatus (col.4, lines 66-col.5, lines 2); supplying processing gas into the processing chamber, wherein the processing gas contains a fluorocarbon gas and/or a hydrofluorocarbon gas. As an example, the gas source group 40 includes a source of a fluorocarbon gas, a source of a hydrofluorocarbon gas and a source of an oxygen-containing gas. The fluorocarbon gas may be, for example, a C.sub.4F.sub.8 gas. The hydrofluorocarbon gas may be, by way of non-limiting example, a CH.sub.2F.sub.2 gas (col.7, lines 28-38); and aforesaid “processing gas” reads on the claimed “etching precursor”.
Gohira et al disclose that the etching target film EF is etched by the ions and/or radicals in the plasma of the aforementioned processing gas in a state (see FIG. 5) that the temperature of the electrostatic chuck 20 is set to the temperature equal to or less than −30° C. by the temperature control device 24; i.e., the temperature of the target object W is set to the temperature equal or less than −30° C (col.9, lines 18-30); aforesaid teaching reads on the claimed “cooling step of the object to be etched”.
Unlike the instant invention, Gohira et al do not disclose the step of chamber wall heating.
However, in the same field of endeavor, KR-606 discloses that installing a heating device on the wall of the plasma etching chamber and adjusting the amount of polymer adsorbed on the substrate in order to maintain etching profile slope (see the abstract).
KR-606 discloses the heating means for heating a wall surface of a chamber (see claim 1; abstract); and the such heating temperature would have been obvious to be higher than the boiling point of the precursor because the purpose of the heating of the chamber wall to reduce the adsorption of the reaction product as suggested by KR-606.
KR-606 discloses that heating device at a wall surface of a plasma etching chamber so as to adjust the amount of polymer adsorbed onto a wafer on a bottom electrode (see the abstract); and therefore, such heating would prevent the etching precursor being adsorbed to an interior of the chamber; and Gohira et al also disclosed that the amount of generated plasma product containing carbon and fluorine reduced on the chamber wall (col.2, lines 21-43).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ KR-606's teaching of heating the chamber wall of the etching chamber into the teaching of Gohira et al for adjusting or controlling the amount of reaction product (polymer) adsorbed on the substrate to be etched as suggested by KR-606.
Modified Gohira et al fail to disclose the etching precursor of the fluorocarbon gas and/or a hydrofluorocarbon gas has a boiling point of 0 degree C or higher in an atmospheric pressure.
However, KR-627 discloses injected into the plasma reaction chamber (21), and the halogenated hydrocarbon contains at least one compound selected from a group consisting of C3H2F6 or C4H2F6 (see paragraphs [0029]; and the halogenated hydrocarbon gas being injected gaseous form in which vapor is directly withdrawn from the container (31,33); a direct injection method in which droplets of material from the container are dripped on to a heater and the vapor generated; and the generated vapor of halogenated hydrocarbon is introduced with a carrier gas [0081]; and the object to be etched by generated plasma in the reaction chamber (21) forms active species by plasma [0090]; and aforesaid hydrofluorocarbon gas has boiling point of more than O degree C in an atmospheric pressure.
It is pointed out that the compound C₄H₂F₆ can refer to two isomers, (Z)-1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene and (E)-1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene (HFO-1336mzz(E)), according to the American Chemical Society. Both of these are colorless liquids at room temperature. The boiling points at standard atmospheric pressure for these compounds are:
(Z)-1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene (HFO-1336mzz(Z)): Approximately 33.0–33.5 °C.
(E)-1,1,1,4,4,4-hexafluoro-2-butene (HFO-1336mzz(E)): Approximately 7.5 °C (Source: Google).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ KR-627's teaching of using specified hydrofluorocarbon gas into the teaching of modified Gohira et al for selectively etching of the silicon containing film with higher etching rate as suggested by KR-627 (abstract).
Regarding claim 10, Gohira et al disclose that the temperature of the electrostatic chuck 20 is set to the temperature equal to or less than −30° C. by the temperature control device 24; i.e., the temperature of the target object W is set to the temperature equal or less than −30° C (col.9, lines 18-30); The temperature of the electrostatic chuck may be set to be higher than −30° C. and lower than 0° C (col.2, lines 47-48), which overlaps the claimed range and overlapping ranges are prima facie obvious, MPEP 2144.05.
Regarding claim 12, KR-606 discloses that heating temperature range of the heating means is 20°c - 200°c (see claim 2), which overlaps the claimed range and overlapping ranges are prima facie obvious, MPEP 2144.05.
Regarding claim 14, Gohira et al disclose a film to be etched (EF) is etched when the temperature of the electrostatic chuck (20) is set to -30°C or less by means of a temperature adjustment tool (24) (col.9, lines 18-30); and KR-606 discloses above that heating the wall surface of a plasma etching chamber so as to adjust the amount of polymer adsorbed onto a wafer on a bottom electrode during etching for maintaining etched profile (see the abstract). Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been easily appreciate that heating of the chamber wall being performed continuously with at least the precursor being supply to generate the plasma, plasma generation step and the etching step.
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 SHAMIM AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-1457. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH (8-5:30pm).
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SHAMIM AHMED
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1713
/SHAMIM AHMED/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1713