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 .
Claim Status
Claims 1-12 are under consideration
Claims 13-20 are withdrawn
Election/Restrictions
Claims 13-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 01/12/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manna (US20150194317A1, published 2015) in view of Srivastava (US 20180158723 A1, published 2018).
Regarding claims 1-2, 4, 6, 8, and 10,
Manna teaches a method for forming a semiconductor device comprising forming an amorphous layer (dielectric, film layer) on an underlayer with an underlying substrate (stack of layers) and forming a patterned photoresist (patterned by exposure using a photolithography process) over the amorphous carbon layer [0005, claim 15, 0036, 0040, 0023 fig 2C-2D], reading on instant claims 2, 4, 6, and 10.
Manna is silent to the composition of their photoresist film.
Srivastava, analogous art, teaches a resist layer may be a metal oxide photoresist, also known as a molecular organometallic photoresist. A metal oxide photoresist can be directly patterned using an exposure source, such as an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure source, and can be etched with a higher selectivity than organic films, such as a conventional organic photoresist [0011-0012].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use the metal oxide photoresist of Srivastava as the photoresist of Manna for the benefits disclosed by Srivastava, reading on instant claims 1 and 8.
Further, the substitution of the metal oxide photoresist of Srivastava for the photoresist of Manna, absent unexpected results, would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application with the predictable result of forming a patterned photoresist layer. The simple substitution of one known element for another is likely to be obvious when predictable results are achieved. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395 – 97 (2007) (See MPEP § 2143, B).
Claims 7 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manna (US20150194317A1, published 2015) in view of Srivastava (US 20180158723 A1, published 2018) as applied to claims 1 and 8 above, and further in view of Ohashi (US20150017791A1, published 2015).
Regarding claims 7 and 12,
Manna et al. teaches the above limitations set forth.
Manna teaches examples of implanted ions include atomic boron, carbon, silicon, nitrogen, phosphorous, arsenic, aluminum and tungsten [0025].
Manna fails to teach implanting indium or iodine.
Ohashi, analogous art, teaches ion implantation method using an ion implantation film which may contain carbon [claims 1 and 4], where the implanted ions may be boron, phosphorus, arsenic, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, argon, silicon, gallium, germanium, indium, or antimony [claim 3].
As both Manna and Ohashi teach implanted ions which may be boron, carbon, silicon, nitrogen, phosphorus, or arsenic, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that using indium ions as taught by Ohashi as the ions implanted by the method of Manna would result in a comparable and expected ion implanted layer, reading on instant claims 7 and 12.
That is, the substitution of the indium ions of Ohashi for the ions of Manna, absent unexpected results, would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application with the predictable result of forming an ion implanted layer. The simple substitution of one known element for another is likely to be obvious when predictable results are achieved. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395 – 97 (2007) (See MPEP § 2143, B).
Claims 5 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Manna (US20150194317A1, published 2015) in view of Srivastava (US 20180158723 A1, published 2018) as applied to claims 1 and 8 above, and further in view of Park (US20200273704A1, published 2020).
Regarding claims 5 and 11,
Manna et al. teaches the above limitations set forth.
Manna teaches forming an underlayer [claim 15].
Manna fails to teach forming underlying tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and spin-on carbon (SOC) layers.
Park, analogous art, a photolithography patterning stack and method [abstract]. Park teaches the stack may contain a TEOS layer formed over a substrate, with an overlying organic planarization layer which may be SOC [0025, 0027], and further teaches additional layers including amorphous carbon and silicon-containing anti-reflective coating layers [0025, 0028], reading on instant claims 5 and 11.
As both Park and Manna teach multilayer stacks for use with photolithography which may include amorphous carbon layers, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that using the TEOS and SOC underlayers of Park as the underlayers of Manna would result in a comparable and expected patterning stack.
That is, the substitution of the TEOS AND SOC layers of Park for the underlayer of Manna, absent unexpected results, would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application with the predictable result of forming an overlying patterned photoresist layer. The simple substitution of one known element for another is likely to be obvious when predictable results are achieved. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395 – 97 (2007) (See MPEP § 2143, B).
Claims 1-4, 6, and 8-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US20190164745A1, published 2019) in view of Srivastava (US 20180158723 A1, published 2018).
Regarding claims 1-4, 6, and 8-10,
Yang teaches a method for forming semiconductor structures [0006] comprising depositing a target layer (film layer) over a substrate, ion-implanting the target layer, coating a photoresist layer, and exposing and developing the photoresist layer to form a resist pattern [claim 1], reading on instant claim 6.
Yang teaches the target layer is an ARC (anti-reflective coating) layer which may be silicon (dielectric, silicon anti-reflective coating) [0012], reading on instant claims 2-4 and 9-10.
Yang is silent to the composition of their photoresist film.
Srivastava, analogous art, teaches a resist layer may be a metal oxide photoresist, also known as a molecular organometallic photoresist. A metal oxide photoresist can be directly patterned using an exposure source, such as an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure source, and can be etched with a higher selectivity than organic films, such as a conventional organic photoresist [0011-0012].
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to use the metal oxide photoresist of Srivastava as the photoresist of Yang for the benefits disclosed by Srivastava, reading on instant claims 1 and 8.
Further, the substitution of the metal oxide photoresist of Srivastava for the photoresist of Yang, absent unexpected results, would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application with the predictable result of forming a patterned photoresist layer. The simple substitution of one known element for another is likely to be obvious when predictable results are achieved. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395 – 97 (2007) (See MPEP § 2143, B).
Claims 7 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US20190164745A1, published 2019) in view of Srivastava (US 20180158723 A1, published 2018) as applied to claims 1 and 8 above, and further in view of Ohashi (US20150017791A1, published 2015).
Regarding claims 7 and 12,
Yang et al. teaches the above limitations set forth.
Yang teaches the implanting ions may be selected from, but not restricted to, the group consisting of boron, phosphorus, arsenic, germanium, fluorine, silicon, aluminum, nitrogen, carbon, argon, oxygen, and hydrogen [0013].
Yang fails to teach implanting indium or iodine.
Ohashi, analogous art, teaches ion implantation method using an ion implantation film which may contain silicon [claims 1 and 4], where the implanted ions may be boron, phosphorus, arsenic, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, argon, silicon, gallium, germanium, indium, or antimony [claim 3].
As both Yang and Ohashi teach implanted ions which may be boron, carbon, silicon, nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, fluorine, argon, oxygen, or germanium, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that using indium ions as taught by Ohashi as the ions implanted by the method of Yang would result in a comparable and expected ion implanted layer, reading on instant claims 7 and 12.
That is, the substitution of the indium ions of Ohashi for the ions of Yang, absent unexpected results, would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application with the predictable result of forming an ion implanted layer. The simple substitution of one known element for another is likely to be obvious when predictable results are achieved. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395 – 97 (2007) (See MPEP § 2143, B).
Claims 5 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang (US20190164745A1, published 2019) in view of Srivastava (US 20180158723 A1, published 2018) as applied to claims 1 and 8 above, and further in view of Park (US20200273704A1, published 2020).
Regarding claims 5 and 11,
Yang et al. teaches the above limitations set forth.
Yang teaches their substrate may contain one or more layers of material or composition (multiple underlayers) [0011].
Yang fails to teach forming underlying tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and spin-on carbon (SOC) layers.
Park, analogous art, a photolithography patterning stack and method [abstract]. Park teaches the stack may contain a TEOS layer formed over a substrate, with an overlying organic planarization layer which may be SOC [0025, 0027], and further teaches additional layers including amorphous carbon and silicon-containing anti-reflective coating layers [0025, 0028], reading on instant claims 5 and 11.
As both Park and Yang teach multilayer stacks for use with photolithography which may include silicon ARC layers, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that using the TEOS and SOC underlayers of Park as the underlayers of Yang would result in a comparable and expected patterning stack.
That is, the substitution of the TEOS AND SOC layers of Park for the underlayer of Yang, absent unexpected results, would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the instant application with the predictable result of forming an overlying patterned photoresist layer. The simple substitution of one known element for another is likely to be obvious when predictable results are achieved. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 415-421, 82 USPQ2d 1385, 1395 – 97 (2007) (See MPEP § 2143, B).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20240021433 A1 teaches a similar ion implanted hardmask. US20200357640A1 teaches an ion implanted amorphous carbon layer with an overlying photoresist film. US20150214056A1 teaches ion implantation with an overlying patterned resist layer.
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/A.N.L./Examiner, Art Unit 1737 /JONATHAN JOHNSON/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1734