Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 18, 2026
Application No. 18/270,256

RADIATION-SENSITIVE COMPOSITION AND METHOD OF FORMING RESIST PATTERN

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Jun 29, 2023
Examiner
CHAMPION, RICHARD DAVID
Art Unit
1737
Tech Center
1700 — Chemical & Materials Engineering
Assignee
Jsr Corporation
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
44%
Grant Probability
Moderate
1-2
OA Rounds
3y 7m
To Grant
55%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 44% of resolved cases
44%
Career Allow Rate
52 granted / 118 resolved
-20.9% vs TC avg
Moderate +11% lift
Without
With
+11.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 7m
Avg Prosecution
42 currently pending
Career history
160
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
62.5%
+22.5% vs TC avg
§102
26.0%
-14.0% vs TC avg
§112
9.1%
-30.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 118 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 1. In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status. 2. 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: 3 . A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. 4 . Claims 1 -2 and 4-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)( 2 ) as being anticipated by Fujiwara et al. ( United States Patent Publication no. US 2022 / 0127225 A1 ), hereinafter Fujiwara . 5 . Regarding Claims 1 -2 and 4-10 , Fujiwara teaches (Paragraph [0334 ], Tables 2-3, see particularly Polymer P-3 ) a polymer comprising a structural unit represented by formula (i) of the present application. Fujiwara teaches (Paragraphs [ 0244-0259 and 0330 ], Tables 2-3 , see particularly compound Q-1, Q-2, and Q-11 ) at least one acid-generating compound comprising a radiation-sensitive onium cation structure and an organic anion structure, wherein the polymer is excluded from the acid-generating compound. Fujiwara teaches ( Paragraphs [0244-0259 and 0330], Tables 2-3, see particularly compound Q-1, Q-2, and Q-11 ) wherein the at least one acid-generating compound comprises a compound comprising the fluorine-containing radiation-sensitive onium cation structure. Fujiwara teaches ( Paragraphs [0244-0259 and 0330], Tables 2-3, see particularly compound Q-1, Q-2, and Q-11 ) the fluorine-containing radiation-sensitive onium cation structure further comprises a sulfonium cation. Fujiwara teaches ( Paragraphs [0334 and 0343], Tables 2-3, see particularly Polymers P-3 and SF-1 ) further comprising, optionally, an additional polymer which is different from the polymer, wherein the polymer comprises a structural unit comprising an aromatic ring and a hydroxyl group bonded to the aromatic ring. Fujiwara teaches (Paragraphs [ 0351-0352 ]) the radiation-sensitive composition is suitable for forming a resist pattern through exposure to an extreme ultraviolet ray. Fujiwara teaches ( Paragraphs [0244-0259 and 0330], Tables 2-3, see particularly compound Q-1, Q-2, and Q-11) the fluorine-containing radiation-sensitive onium cation structure is included in a compound different from the polymer. Fujiwara teaches ( Paragraphs [0244-0259 and 0330], Tables 2-3, see particularly compound Q-1, Q-2, and Q-11) the polymer comprises a structural unit comprising the fluorine-containing radiation-sensitive onium cation structure and an organic anion. Fujiwara teaches ( Paragraphs [0337], Tables 2-3, see particularly compound PAG-3) a first acid-generating compound. Fujiwara teaches ( Paragraphs [0244-0259 and 0330], Tables 2-3, see particularly compound Q-1, Q-2, and Q-11) a second acid-generating compound that generates an acid weaker than an acid generated by the first acid-generating compound through exposure. Fujiwara teaches ( Paragraphs [0351-0352]) applying the radiation-sensitive composition on a substrate to form a resist film. Fujiwara teaches ( Paragraphs [0351-0352]) exposing the resist film. Fujiwara teaches ( Paragraphs [0351-0352]) developing the exposed resist film. Fujiwara teaches ( Paragraphs [0351-0352]) the resist film is exposed to an extreme ultraviolet ray. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 6 . 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 : 7 . 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. 8 . Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 1 03 as being unpatentable by Fujiwara et al. ( United States Patent Publication no. US 2022 / 0127225 A1 ), hereinafter Fujiwara . 9 . Regarding Cla im 3 , Fujiwara teaches all limitations of Claim 2 above. F urthermore, F ujiwara teaches (Paragraph [0062]) the fluorine-containing radiation-sensitive onium cation structure further comprises at least one aromatic ring Z each bonded to the sulfonium cation or the iodonium cation, and the two or more fluorine-containing groups are bonded to one aromatic ring of the at least one aromatic ring Z. 10 . However, Fujiwara fails to explicitly teach all components of the composition limited by the present application with a single experimental example. That said, all components of the composition are described with sufficient detail by the prior art. Thus, a person of ordinary skill in the art in view of Fujiwara would have found it obvious to try the combinations of components herein limited with a reasonable expectation of success. Conclusion 11. Any inquiry concerning this communication should be directed to RICHARD D CHAMPION at telephone number (571) 272-0750 . The examiner can normally be reached on FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Mon-Fri EST . 12. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MARK F HUFF can be reached at (571) 272-1385. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 13. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://portal.uspto.gov/external/portal. Should you have questions about access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). 14. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. /R.D.C./ Examiner, Art Unit 1737 /MARK F. HUFF/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1737
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Jun 29, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
44%
Grant Probability
55%
With Interview (+11.2%)
3y 7m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 118 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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