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 .
The foreign priority application No.2021-074152 filed on April 26, 2021 in Japan has been received and it is acknowledged.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Species B in the reply filed on June 24, 2026 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the grounds that the examination of the entire application can be done without serious burden. This is not found persuasive because the searches for the Species A and B do not overlap: Species A is directed to a method wherein a metal is oxidized to form a metal oxide film and a resist film is formed on the metal oxide film, while Species B is directed to a method wherein a resist underlayer film is formed on a metal layer, heating in the presence of oxygen is performed to form a stacked film comprising a resist underlayer on a metal oxide film, and a resist film is formed on the stacked film.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Therefore, claims 1-19 are pending with claims 1, 3-5, 8, 10, and 14-16 withdrawn from consideration as being directed to non-elected Species A.
Specification
The following guidelines illustrate the preferred layout for the specification of a utility application. These guidelines are suggested for the applicant’s use.
Arrangement of the Specification
As provided in 37 CFR 1.77(b), the specification of a utility application should include the following sections in order. Each of the lettered items should appear in upper case, without underlining or bold type, as a section heading. If no text follows the section heading, the phrase “Not Applicable” should follow the section heading:
(a) TITLE OF THE INVENTION.
(b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS.
(c) STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT.
(d) THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT.
(e) INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A READ-ONLY OPTICAL DISC, AS A TEXT FILE OR AN XML FILE VIA THE PATENT ELECTRONIC SYSTEM.
(f) STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR.
(g) BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION.
(1) Field of the Invention.
(2) Description of Related Art including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
(h) BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION.
(i) BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S).
(j) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION.
(k) CLAIM OR CLAIMS (commencing on a separate sheet).
(l) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE (commencing on a separate sheet).
(m) SEQUENCE LISTING. (See MPEP § 2422.03 and 37 CFR 1.821 - 1.825). A “Sequence Listing” is required on paper if the application discloses a nucleotide or amino acid sequence as defined in 37 CFR 1.821(a) and if the required “Sequence Listing” is not submitted as an electronic document either on read-only optical disc or as a text file via the patent electronic system.
The specification of the instant application should be amended to recite under the heading (b) CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS that the instant application is a National Stage entry under 35 U.S.C.371 of the international application No. PCT/JP2022/018653 filed on April 25, 2022 which claims benefit of the foreign priority application No.2021-074152 filed on April 26, 2021 in Japan.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 102 that forms 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.
Claims 2, 6, 7, 9, 11-13, and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Endo et al. (WO 2020/255984, with citations from the English equivalent US 2022/0319839).
With regard to claims 2 and 11-13, Endo et al. teach a method comprising the steps of:
-applying a resist underlayer film-forming composition onto a substrate having copper on the surface (par.0164);
-baking to form a resist underlayer film, wherein the conditions for baking are selected from a baking temperature of 80 to 400oC for a baking time of 0.3 to 60 minutes (par.0165);
-a resist film is formed on the resist underlayer film by applying the resist composition onto the underlayer film and baking to remove the solvent (par.0167);
-exposing and developing the resist film to form a resist pattern (par.0169).
Endo et al. specifically teach that the resist underlayer film-forming composition may be applied onto a copper substrate and heated at 200oC for 90 seconds to form a resist underlayer film (par.0213, par.0216, par.0219).
It is the examiner’s understanding that the baking step of Endo et al. occurs in ambient air, and the ambient air comprises about 20% oxygen.
The specification of the instant application teaches that a resist underlayer film-forming composition is applied onto a coper substrate so as to make a layer, and it is baked on a hot plate at 200oC for 90 seconds to form simultaneously a copper oxide film on a surface of the copper substrate and a layer of resist underlayer film-forming composition on the copper oxide film (par.0085).
The temperature and duration of the of the baking step of Endo et al. is the same as the temperature and the duration of the baking step in the specification of the instant application. Therefore, absent a record to the contrary, it is expected that the steps of applying a resist underlayer film-forming composition onto a substrate having copper on the surface and baking to form a resist underlayer film at a baking temperature of 200oC for 90 seconds are equivalent to the step of “applying a resist underlayer film-forming composition to a substrate having copper on a surface thereof; and then heating the applied composition in the presence of oxygen to form a stacked film having a resist underlayer film present on a copper oxide film” in claims 2, 11, and 13 of the instant application.
"[T]he discovery of a previously unappreciated property of a prior art composition, or of a scientific explanation for the prior art’s functioning, does not render the old composition patentably new to the discoverer." Atlas Powder Co. v. IRECO Inc., 190 F.3d 1342, 1347, 51 USPQ2d 1943, 1947 (Fed. Cir. 1999) (MPEP 2112.I. SOMETHING WHICH IS OLD DOES NOT BECOME PATENTABLE UPON THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW PROPERTY)
The process of Endo et al. comprises the same steps as the process of the instant application (see par.0008 the specification of the instant application), and the specification teaches that the resist pattern has reduced standing waves (see par.0009). Therefore, absent a record to the contrary it is expected that the resist pattern of Endo et al. has reduced standing waves, as required in claims 12 and 13.
Therefore, the method of forming a pattern of Endo et al. anticipates the methods in claims 2 and 11-13 of the instant application.
With regard to claims 6, 7, and 17-19, Endo et al. teach that the resist underlayer film-forming composition comprises a solvent and heterocyclic compound having a dicyanostyryl group (abstract).
The heterocyclic compound having a dicyanostyryl group may be represented by the formula:
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380
622
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(par.0116).
The compound above is a heterocyclic compound in claim 6.
The compound above is a compound of formula (I) in claims 7 and 17-19, wherein A1-A3 and B1-B3 are direct bonds, R4-R12 are hydrogen atoms, Z1-Z3 are groups of formula (II) wherein Y is an ether linkage, n=0, and R is a hydrogen atom.
With regard to claim 9, Endo et al. teach a method for producing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of:
-forming a resist underlayer film comprising a resist underlayer film-forming composition on a substrate having copper on a surface;
-forming a resist film on the resist underlayer film; and
-irradiating the resist film with a light or electron beam and subjecting the resultant film to development to form a pattern (par.0043-0046).
The step of ‘forming a resist underlayer film comprising a resist underlayer film-forming composition on a substrate having copper on a surface” comprises the steps of applying a resist underlayer film-forming composition onto a substrate having copper on the surface and baking to form a resist underlayer film, wherein the conditions for baking are selected from a baking temperature of 80 to 400oC for a basking time of 0.3 to 60 minutes (par.0165);
Endo et al. specifically teach that the resist underlayer film-forming compositions may be applied onto a copper substrate and heated at 200oC for 90 seconds to form a resist underlayer film (par.0213, par.0216, par.0219).
It is the examiner’s understanding that the baking step of Endo et al. occurs in ambient air, and the ambient air comprises about 20% oxygen.
The specification of the instant application teaches that a resist underlayer film-forming composition is applied onto a coper substrate so as to make a layer, and it is baked on a hot plate at 200oC for 90 seconds to form simultaneously a copper oxide film on a surface of the copper substrate and a layer of resist underlayer film-forming composition on the copper oxide film (par.0085).
The temperature and duration of the of the baking step of Endo et al. is the same as the temperature and the duration of the baking step in the specification of the instant application. Therefore, absent a record to the contrary, it is expected that the steps of applying a resist underlayer film-forming composition onto a substrate having copper on the surface and baking to form a resist underlayer film at a baking temperature of 200oC for 90 seconds are equivalent to the step of “applying a resist underlayer film-forming composition to a substrate having copper on a surface thereof; and then heating the applied composition in the presence of oxygen to form a stacked film having a resist underlayer film present on a copper oxide film” in claim 9 of the instant application (MPEP 2112.I. SOMETHING WHICH IS OLD DOES NOT BECOME PATENTABLE UPON THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW PROPERTY).
Therefore, the method of forming a pattern of Endo et al. anticipates the method in claim 9 of the instant application.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Endo et al. (WO 2020/255985, with citations from the English equivalent US 2022/0397828) teach a resist underlayer film-forming composition comprising a dicyanostyryl group-bearing polymer (P) or a dicyanostyryl group-bearing compound (C) (abstract). The dicyanostyryl group-bearing compound (C) may be represented by the formula:
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198
296
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, wherein L1 may be represented by the formulas:
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122
274
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118
272
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(par.0082-0083).
Endo et al. teach a process comprising the steps of: forming a resist underlayer film on a substrate having copper on a surface, applying a resist onto the resist underlayer film and baking to form a resist film; exposing and developing the resist film (par.0030-0034). The step of forming a resist underlayer film includes a step of coating the resist underlayer film-forming composition onto a substrate and heating on a hot plate at 200oC for 90 seconds (par.0177).
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/ANCA EOFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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