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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 07/26/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of claims 1-15 without traverse in the reply filed on 11/26/2025 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claim 2 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 2 recites the limitation, “wherein the integrated processing apparatus comprises vacuum cluster tool ”. The Examiner believes this limitation should read, “wherein the integrated processing apparatus comprises a vacuum cluster tool ”
Appropriate correction is required.
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 1-12 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tirukkonda et al US 20220208600 A1 in view of Wang et al US 20230290647 A1 and Hoang et al US 20230143057 A1. Tirukkonda et al, Wang et al, and Hoang et al will be referenced to as Tirukkonda, Wang, and Hoang respectively henceforth.
Regarding Claim 1,
Tirukkonda teaches:
“A method, comprising (FIG. 24A, FIG.26A-27B):
forming an alternating stack of first material layers (first insulating layers 132, [0222]) and second material layers (first sacrificial material layers 142, [0223]) over a substrate (substrate 8, [0205], FIG. 24A);
forming an etch mask material layer over the alternating stack (patterning film 331, [0234]: 331 has a high etch selectivity. 331 is formed over 180 which is over the first and second material layers.); wherein the unit processing sequence comprises:
a respective cladding liner deposition process in which a respective cladding material (cladding liner 335, [0244]: The cladding liner is made of metal.) is anisotropically deposited over the etch mask material layer ([0244-0245]) and a respective anisotropic etch process in which respective portions of the alternating stack that are not masked by the etch mask material layer are anisotropically etched ([0250], [0276]: A second anisotropic etch etches through the first alternating stack extending the via opening 149.)”
Tirukkonda doesn’t substantially teach:
“including a plurality of etch chambers in a respective etch chamber selected from the plurality of etch chambers .”
However, Wang teaches:
“including a plurality of etch chambers (Wang: [0025-0026], FIG. 1: Processing chambers 108a-f may include dry etch processes. 108a-b may alternatively be used to etch a deposited dielectric.) in a respective etch chamber selected from the plurality of etch chambers (Wang: [0025-0026], FIG. 1: Processing chambers 108a-f may include dry etch processes. 108a-b may alternatively be used to etch a deposited dielectric. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that Tirukkonda’s second anisotropic etch would occur in an etch chamber.).”
Together Tirukkonda and Wang teach:
“loading an assembly comprising the etch mask material layer, the alternating stack, and the substrate into an integrated processing apparatus ( Tirukkonda/Wang: Wang: the device of Wang comprises an etch mask material layer, an alternating stack and a substrate.; Tirukkonda: [0022-0025]: substrate processing steps are performed to create a 3D NAND device. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the materials needed to form a 3D NAND must be present within a process apparatus used to make the assembly and the assembly gains structures as it is processed.) and at least one cladding liner deposition chamber (Tirukkonda/Wang: Wang: [0045-0046], FIG. 1: Metal such as tungsten may be deposited in a separate chamber. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the tungsten cladding liner of Tirukkonda may be deposited in a separate chamber.); in a respective one of the at least one cladding liner deposition chamber (Tirukkonda/Wang: Wang: [0045-0046], FIG. 1: Metal such as tungsten may be deposited in a separate chamber. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the tungsten cladding liner of Tirukkonda may be deposited in a separate chamber.),”
Neither Tirukkonda nor Wang substantially teach:
“and iteratively performing multiple instances of a unit processing sequence without breaking vacuum in the integrated processing apparatus”
However, Hoang teaches:
“and iteratively performing multiple instances of a unit processing sequence without breaking vacuum in the integrated processing apparatus (Hoang: inbound load lock 802, [0089], [0093], FIG. 8: The inbound load lock is pumped down. A second robot arm transfers the wafer to another processing chamber. Unit processing sequences occur in the processing chamber or in multiple processing chambers.) ”
It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing
date of the invention to recognize that the device of Tirukkonda is modifiable in view of Wang and Hoang.
This is because Wang teaches the uses of an apparatus to form a NAND device which has high aspect ratios and therefore improves the loading of features. One of ordinary skill in the art would look to the teachings of Wang as Tirukkonda doesn’t explicitly teach the use of an apparatus to form its device. One of ordinary skill in the art however would understand that an apparatus is needed to form the device of Tirukkonda.
Further Hoang provides the benefit of keeping a semiconductor device in a vacuum which prevents the introduction of contaminants into device materials from the atmosphere. These contaminants can disturb the chemical makeup of a device which may ruin the desired operation of certain portions of a device leading to errors in device performance.
Regarding Claim 2,
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang teaches:
“The method of Claim 1, wherein the integrated processing apparatus comprises vacuum cluster tool (Hoang: annotated FIG. 8 #1) containing a vacuum transfer chamber that is connected to each of the plurality of etch chambers and the at least one cladding liner deposition chamber (Tirukkonda/Hoang: Hoang: chamber transport port 816, [0089], [0091], [0093], [0107], [0110] FIG. 8: the chamber transport port 816 is pumped down to vacuum and is connected to a processing chamber. There may be several processing chambers, some of which may be etch chambers and deposition chambers. From Tirukkonda, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that one of the deposition chambers would be a cladding liner deposition chamber.). ”
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Annotated FIG. 8 #1
Regarding Claim 3,
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang teaches:
“The method of Claim 2, wherein the assembly transits through the vacuum transfer chamber during each transfer between steps of the multiple instances of the unit processing sequences (Tirukkonda/Hoang: Hoang: [0093], [0110], FIG. 8: a robot transports a substrate between processing chambers in a low pressure chamber. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that a unit processing sequence in Tirukkonda occurs in processing chambers. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand low pressure to mean a vacuum pressure as perfect vacuums are not formed.). ”
Regarding Claim 4,
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang teaches:
“The method of Claim 2, wherein:
the integrated processing apparatus further comprises at least one loadlock (Hoang: inbound load lock 802, [0089], FIG. 8: The inbound load lock is pumped down. A second robot arm transfers the wafer to another processing chamber. Unit processing sequences occur in the processing chamber.) attached to the vacuum transfer chamber (Tirukkonda/Hoang: Hoang: chamber transport port 816, [0089], [0091], [0093], [0107], [0110] FIG. 8: the chamber transport port 816 is pumped down to vacuum and is connected to a processing chamber.);
the assembly is loaded into a first loadlock prior to iteratively performing the multiple instances of the unit processing sequence (Hoang: inbound load lock 802, FIG. 8: an atmospheric robot transfers a substrate from a pod to an inbound load lock.); and
the assembly is unloaded out of a second loadlock after iteratively performing the multiple instances of the unit processing sequence (Hoang: outbound loadlock 804, [0089], FIG. 8). ”
Regarding Claim 5,
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang teaches:
“The method of Claim 2, further comprising transferring the assembly between the vacuum transfer chamber and the plurality of etch chambers (Hoang: [0089], [0093], [0110], FIG. 8: A robot transfers substrates through 816 into a processing chamber. The processing chamber may be an etch chamber.) and the at least one cladding liner deposition chamber using a transfer robot comprising at least one robot arm (Hoang: [0089-0090], FIG. 8: A robot which is not shown transfers substrates through transport port 816 into a processing chamber which includes a deposition process. One of ordinary skill in the art would understand that to form the device of Tirukkonda, the deposition process must form a cladding liner layer.). ”
Regarding Claim 6,
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang teaches:
“The method of Claim 1, wherein the assembly remains under vacuum between initiation of the multiple instances of the unit processing sequences and termination of the multiple instances of the unit processing sequence (Hoang: [0089], FIG. 8: The processing chambers maintain vacuum via the load locks 802 and 804.).”
Regarding Claim 7,
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang teaches:
“The method of Claim 1, wherein each of the at least one cladding liner deposition chamber comprises a respective physical vapor deposition chamber (Wang: [0025]: Each chamber may be outfitted to perform a physical vapor deposition. Therefore, the at least one cladding liner deposition chamber comprises a physical vapor deposition chamber.), and the respective cladding liner deposition process comprises a sputtering process or an ion beam deposition process (Wang: [0049],[0059]: tungsten may be deposited by plasma-enhanced deposition. During a plasma-enhanced deposition process, plasma effluents are present and therefore a sputtering process is present.).”
Regarding Claim 8,
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang teaches:
“The method of Claim 7, wherein the cladding material comprises a conductive material, a semiconductor material, or an insulating material (Tirukkonda: cladding liner 335, [0244]: The cladding liner is made of metal. Metal is conductive.).”
Regarding Claim 9,
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang teaches:
“The method of Claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of etch chambers comprises a respective reactive ion etch chamber (Tirukkonda/Wang: Wang: [0025], FIG. 1: Each chamber may be outfitted to dry etch. A reactive ion etch is a kind of dry etch. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that since both Wang and Tirukkonda use a dry etch process to etch a semiconductor device, and Tirukkonda uses a reactive ion etch to etch a semiconductor device, then each chamber may be configured to perform a reactive ion etch in order for the device of Tirukkonda to be formed.), and the respective anisotropic etch process comprises a reactive ion etch process (Tirukkonda: [0298]: the second anisotropic etch process may use a series of reactive ion etch processes.) that etches materials of the first material layers and the second material layers within the alternating stack (Tirukkonda: [0250], [0276]: A second anisotropic etch etches through the first alternating stack extending the via opening 149.).”
Regarding Claim 10,
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang teaches:
“The method of Claim 1, wherein:
the first material layers comprise silicon oxide layers (Tirukkonda: [0225]: 132 may be made of silicon oxide.);
the second material layers comprise silicon nitride layers (Tirukkonda: [0227]: 142 may comprise silicon nitride.); and
each of the reactive ion etch processes employs at least one respective etchant gas comprising a fluorocarbon gas, a hydrofluorocarbon gas, a fluorochlorocarbon gas, nitrogen trifuoride gas, or sulfur hexafluoride gas (Tirukkonda: [0353]: the etch chemistry of the second anisotropic etch may be CF4O2. CF4O2 is a fluorocarbon gas.).”
Regarding Claim 11,
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang teaches:
“The method of Claim 1, wherein the etch mask material layer comprises a carbon-based material comprising carbon atoms at an atomic concentration greater than 50 % (Tirukkonda: [0272]: 331 comprises 331A which has a carbon atom atomic percentage between 99% and 100%.). ”
Regarding Claim 12,
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang teaches:
“The method of Claim 1, further comprising performing an initial anisotropic etch process (Tirukkonda: [0237], FIG. 24A: a first anisotropic etch process transfers a pattern from the photoresist layer to patterning film 331.) which etches at least the etch mask material layer prior to performing the multiple instances of the unit processing sequence and prior to depositing any cladding material on the etch mask material layer (Tirukkonda: [0038-0040], [0045]: The first anisotropic etch occurs in FIGs. 24A-C and therefore prior to the second anisotropic etch shown in FIGs. 27A-C. The cladding layer is in FIGs. 27A-C.).”
Regarding Claim 15,
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang teaches:
“The method of Claim 1, further comprising:
forming a memory film (Tirukkonda: memory film 50, [0360], FIGs. 33C-D) and a vertical semiconductor channel in each of respective memory openings formed in the portions of the alternating stack that are anisotropically etched (Tirukkonda: vertical semiconductor channel 60, [0361], FIG. 33C-D); and
replacing the second material layers with word lines to form a three-dimensional memory device (Tirukkonda: [0361]).”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13 and 14 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.
Regarding Claim 13,
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang fails to explicitly teach :
“wherein each of the anisotropic etch processes is longer than each of the cladding liner deposition processes, and wherein a ratio of a total number of the etch chambers to a total chamber number of the cladding liner deposition chambers is 2 to 10” In view of the rest of the limitations of claim 1.
Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang fails to explicitly teach the above limitation because the limitation cannot be found in the prior art of record. This is because although Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang teach the use of an anisotropic etch process and a cladding liner deposition process, none of these references teach that every anisotropic etch process is longer than every cladding liner deposition process.
The Examiner did not find prior art which one of ordinary skill in the art would use alone or would find obvious to combine with the invention of Tirukkonda/Wang/Hoang to reach all of the limitations of the claim.
Regarding Claims 14, this claim depends on claim 13 and is objected to for the same reasons.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEXANDRE XAVIER RAMIREZ whose telephone number is (571)272-2715. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM.
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ALEXANDRE X RAMIREZ/Examiner, Art Unit 2812
/William B Partridge/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2812