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 .
This is the initial office action for US Patent Application No. 18/254124 by Takaki et al.
Claims 1-5 are currently pending and have been fully considered.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102/35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Nakamura et al. (US 2018/0299778 A1), herein referred to as Nakamura, provided in Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement filed 5/23/2023.
Regarding claim 1, Nakamura teaches (Abstract) a resist composition comprising a base component (A) which exhibits changed solubility in a developing solution under action of acid, an acid-generator component (B) which generates acid upon exposure, the acid-generator component (B) comprising at least one acid generator (B1) and at least one acid generator (B2). Acid generator (B2) is represented by the chemical formula:
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The chemical formula for acid generator (B2) above taught by Nakamura may include specific anion moieties [0261] such as Chemical Formula 41 and Chemical Formula 42:
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Chemical Formula 41
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Chemical Formula 42
Chemical Formulas 41 and 42 above satisfy the compositional limitations of General Formula (d0-1) and General Formula (d0-2) respectively with Rd01 in Chemical Formula 41 being represented by a cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbon group and Rd02 in Chemical Formula 42 being represented by a cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbon group having an oxygen atom. Nakamura further teaches [0262] M2+ in chemical formula (B2) represents a monovalent organic cation.
Nakamura indicates [0264] as the component (B2), two or more kinds of compounds may be used in combination. With regard to the composition of the claimed photodecomposable base in claim 1, Chemical Formulas 41 and 42 taught by Nakamura anticipate claimed General Formulas (d0-1) and (d0-2) and therefore, the resist composition taught by Nakamura anticipates the resist composition recited in claim 1.
In the alternative, the resist composition recited in claim 1 would be obvious in view of the resist composition taught by Nakamura. Although Nakamura does not explicitly use the term “photodecomposable base”, it would be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to include known acid generator compounds, such as Chemical Formulas 41 and 42 taught by Nakamura, in a resist composition because Nakamura suggests [0280] an acid generator component, such as acid generator (B2), exhibits a quenching effect of trapping acid generated from an acid generator by an ion exchange reaction. This quenching effect is considered to be analogous to controlling the diffusion of acid generated from a photolithographic exposure of the resist composition. By attaining the quenching effect from the inclusion of Chemical Formulas 41 and 42 in the resist composition, one of ordinary skill in the art would achieve improved high resolution resist patterning and suppress resist pattern deterioration if too much acid is generated during the photolithographic exposure process.
Regarding claim 2, Nakamura teaches (Chemical Formula 41) two carbon atoms being bonded between the oxygen atom and the SO3- group (which corresponds to n01 being equal to an integer of 2 in General Formula (d0-1).
Regarding claim 3, Nakamura teaches [0261] Chemical Formula 41 may alternatively include a cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbon group having an oxygen atom (which corresponds to Rd01 in General Formula (d0-1):
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Regarding claim 4, Nakamura teaches (Chemical Formula 42) a cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbon group having nine carbon atoms (corresponding to Rd02 in Chemical Formula 42) and having an oxygen atom.
Regarding claim 5, Nakamura teaches [0015] forming a resist pattern comprising the steps of forming a resist film on a substrate with the resist composition discussed above, exposing the resist film and developing the exposed resist film to form a resist pattern.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
(US 2023/0400765 A1 by Nemoto et al.) discloses a radiation-sensitive resin composition for forming a pattern.
(US 2016/0282717 A1 by Nagamine et al.) discloses a resist composition and method for forming a resist pattern.
(US 2016/0209745 A1 by Hirayama et al.) discloses a resist composition and method of forming a resist pattern.
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/STEWART A FRASER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1724