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. 18/262035 by Ma et al.
Claims 1-10 are currently pending and have been fully considered.
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.
Claims 1-4 and 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious in view of Chen et al. (CN110716386 A), herein referred to as Chen, provided in Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement filed 7/19/2023, as evidenced by Luo et al. (US 2005/0233262 A1), herein referred to as Luo.
Regarding claim 1, Chen teaches (Claim 1, pages 1 and 4 of Chen reference) a correction method of an optical proximity effect (a method for correcting a lithography pattern), comprising obtaining multiple test patterns as seen in Figure 4 of Chen (forming a plurality of test patterns on a test mask, each of the test patterns being characterized by at least a first test parameter and a second test parameter associated with the first test parameter);
exposing a mask based on the test pattern to obtain exposure data (exposing a photoresist layer by using the test mask containing the test patterns to form a plurality of photoresist patterns, each of the photoresist patterns being characterized by at least a first exposure parameter and a second exposure parameter associated with the first exposure parameter);
establishing an optical proximity effect correction (OPC) first rule base based on the corresponding relationship between the data of the test patterns and the exposure data (establishing a first data table based on a correspondence between the first test parameter and the second test parameter of the test pattern and the first exposure parameter and the second exposure parameter of the photoresist pattern);
determining the key region of the layout to be corrected, and obtaining the graphic characteristic parameter of the key region; screening the OPC first rule base according to the graphic characteristic parameter of the key zone to obtain the OPC second rule base (processing the first data table according to the first exposure parameter to obtain a second data table); wherein Chen further teaches the step of determining the key area of the layout to be corrected comprises dividing the region of the layout to be corrected to determine the key region and non-key region of the layout to be corrected;
and correcting the layout to be corrected based on the OPC second rule base to obtain a corrected layout, and making a mask for exposure based on the corrected layout (correcting second test parameters of a plurality of design patterns according to the second data table to obtain corrected design patterns, and manufacturing a mask for exposure by using the corrected design patterns), wherein Chen further teaches the step of correcting the layout to be corrected based on the OPC second rule library to obtain a corrected layout to make a mask for exposure based on the corrected layout comprises modifying the key region of the layout to be modified based on the OPC second rule base to obtain a modified layout, and making a mask for exposure based on the modified layout such that the key region comprises a pattern bearing the electrical performance, the pattern characteristic parameter of the key region at least comprises one of line width, interval and period of the pattern bearing the electrical performance.
Chen does not appear to explicitly teach the limitations of claim 1 wherein the method of correcting is based on a surface plasma lithography process for forming a pattern (lithography pattern of a surface plasma). However, surface plasma lithography is a conventional lithography process, as evidenced by Luo [0041-0044]. Therefore, at the time of the filing date of the instant application, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to apply a known technique of correcting a lithographic mask taught by Chen for surface plasma lithography applications in order to improve lithographic mask fabrication processes so that high resolution patterns are formed with fewer defects during the lithographic exposure process.
Regarding claim 2, Chen teaches (Figure 4 and page 4 of Chen reference) at least two test patterns of the plurality of test patterns have a same first test parameter.
Regarding claim 3, Chen teaches (page 4 of Chen reference) the first test parameter is an arrangement period of a line of the test pattern, and the second test parameter is a line width of a line of the test pattern or a spacing between two lines of the test pattern; the first exposure parameter is an arrangement period of a line of the photoresist pattern, and the second exposure parameter is a line width of a line of the photoresist pattern or a spacing between two lines of the photoresist pattern.
Regarding claim 4, Chen teaches (page 4 of Chen reference) the first exposure parameter of each photoresist pattern is the same as a first test parameter of a test pattern corresponding to the photoresist pattern.
Regarding claims 7-9, Chen teaches (pages 4 and 5 of Chen reference) the plurality of the test patterns are arranged into a one-dimensional periodic test pattern, the one-dimensional period test pattern comprises a horizontal line periodic pattern or a vertical line periodic pattern and the horizontal line period pattern or the vertical line period pattern, an arrangement period of a line is equal to a sum of a line width of the line and a spacing between lines.
Regarding claim 10, Chen teaches (pages 4 and 5 of Chen reference) the exposing a photoresist layer by using the test mask containing the test patterns to form a plurality of photoresist patterns, each of the photoresist patterns being characterized by at least a first exposure parameter and a second exposure parameter associated with the first exposure parameter comprises exposing the photoresist layer three times by using the test mask containing the test patterns, wherein each exposure forms a plurality of photoresist patterns, and each test pattern of the plurality of test patterns respectively forms three photoresist patterns after three exposures; and taking an average value of first exposure parameters and an average value of second exposure parameters of the three photoresist patterns as a first exposure parameter and a second exposure parameter of a photoresist pattern corresponding to the test pattern.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 6 are 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.
Claims 5 and 6 contain allowable subject matter because the prior art of record does not teach or suggest the specified method steps.
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/STEWART A FRASER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1724