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 .
Status of the Claims
Claims 1, 9-10, 12-18, and 23-25 are pending and rejected. Claims 21-22 are withdrawn. Claims 2-8, 11, and 19-20 are cancelled. Claims 1 and 17 are amended. Claims 23-25 are newly added.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6/25/2026 has been entered.
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.
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, 9, 10, 12-18, and 23-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Liu, US 2023/0002888 A1 in view of Bhadauriya, WO 2022/241042 A1 and Nakamura, US 2009/0142491 A1 and alternatively further in view of Haukka, US 2016/0222504 A1.
Regarding claims 1 and 25, Liu teaches a method of depositing a material comprising a transition metal and a halogen on a substrate by a cyclic deposition process (methods of depositing metal films by exposing the substrate to an organometallic precursor comprising a metal and an iodine-containing reactant to form a carbon-less iodine-containing film, abstract, where the film is formed by ALD, 0019 and 0021, so as to provide a cyclic deposition process, where the metal is selected from molybdenum, tungsten, etc., abstract and 0042, so as to provide a transition metal) the method comprising:
providing a substrate in a reactor chamber (where the substrate is exposed to reactive compounds in a processing chamber during ALD, 0021, 0061, such that the substrate will be provided into a chamber for subsequent exposure to the reactive compounds);
providing a transition metal precursor into the reactor chamber in vapor phase (where the substrate is exposed to an organometallic precursor and the chamber is subsequently purged of excess precursor, 0028 and 0032, indicating the precursor will be provided into the reaction chamber, and where the precursors are described as being in gas phase, 0019-0020, 0024, and where the metal is selected from molybdenum, tungsten, etc., 0029, so as to provide a transition metal precursor); and
providing a haloalkane precursor into the reactor chamber in vapor phase, to form the material comprising a transition metal and a halogen on the substrate (where the substrate is exposed to an iodine-containing reactant to form a carbon-less iodine-containing metal film on the substrate, 0033, where the iodine-containing reactant is a haloalkane such as diiodomethane, 0034, and the reactants are described as being in gas phase, 0019-0020, 0024).
Liu further teaches that the method can be provided by chemical vapor deposition processes in which the reactive gases are mixed in the processing chamber to allow gas phase reactions of the reactive gases and deposition of the thin film (0024). They teach that in the CVD process, the substrate is exposed to the organometallic precursor and the iodine-containing reactant to deposit a carbon-less iodine-containing film (0054). They teach that in the CVD reaction, the deposited film can be deposited in one exposure to the mixed reactive gas or can be multiple exposures of the mixed reactive gas with purges between (0054). Therefore, when preforming multiple exposures of the mixed reactive gas with purges in between, the process is provided as a cyclical CVD process.
Liu teaches using precursors including carbonyl ligands (0030).
They do not teach using one of the listed precursors.
Bhadauriya teaches methods of forming hardmask films (abstract). They teach providing Mo-containing layers to serve as at least one of a hardmask, an intermediate layer, or a coverage layer within a stack (0005). They teach providing a Mo-containing layer by exposing a top surface of a substrate to a metal-containing precursor and one or more optional deposition precursors, and depositing the Mo-containing layer on the top surface of the substrate (0006). They teach providing the Mo-containing precursor and one or more deposition precursors either sequentially or simultaneously, where the exposing further includes delivering a reactant gas, a reducing agent, or a carrier gas to the processing chamber (0008). They teach that an interfacial layer can be provided between the Mo layer and the substrate, where the interfacial layer includes tungsten, molybdenum, etc. (0009). They teach that the Mo-containing precursor incudes an organomolybdenum compound (0029). They teach that the one or more deposition precursors is selected from precursors including carbon-containing precursors (0030). They teach that the delivery of the Mo-containing precursors and the one or more deposition precursors can be provided by ALD or CVD (0145). They teach that the exposing or depositing operations can include use of another reagent, such as a reactant gas, a reducing agent, a carrier gas, or a combination thereof (0147). They teach that reagents can include hydrogen, argon, nitrogen, helium, and combinations thereof (0147). They teach that the deposition includes use of a Mo-containing precursor, a deposition precursor, and a reducing agent, where the deposition precursor ai a C-containing precursor and the reducing agent can be hydrogen gas or ammonia (0161-0162). They teach that the molybdenum precursors can be organomolybdenum compounds such as molybdenum carbonyl (Mo[CO]6), bis(ethylbenzene)molybdenum, cycloheptatriene molybdenum tricarbonyl, etc. (0214). They teach that the carbon-containing precursors include halocarbon compounds such as haloalkanes (0219 and 0224).
They teach that the interfacial layer includes tungsten where the layer is formed using gas-phase deposition of precursors (0257 and 0259). They teach that M-containing precursors include MLn, where M is W, L is CO, and n is from 2-6 (0260). They teach that the precursor can be reacted with a C-containing precursor such as any described (0259 and 0261), where as noted above they teach using haloalkanes as C-precursors (0219 and 0224). They teach forming the interfacial layer by CVD (0164).
Therefore, Bhadauriya teaches using molybdenum hexacarbonyl as an alternative molybdenum precursor to those taught by Liu, where it can be reacted with haloalkane precursors and reducing agents such as hydrogen in a CVD process. Further, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that tungsten hexacarbonyl could also be reacted with a reducing agent because of the chemical similarities between W(CO)6 and Mo(CO)6.
From the teachings of Bhadauriya, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the process of Liu to have used hexacarbonyl molybdenum as the molybdenum precursor as a simple substitution of one known molybdenum precursor for another or tungsten hexacarbonyl as the tungsten precursor because Bhadauriya teaches using molybdenum hexacarbonyl as an alternative molybdenum precursor to those taught by Liu, where it can be reacted with haloalkane precursors and reducing agents such as hydrogen in a CVD process and they teach using tungsten hexacarbonyl as a tungsten precursor in CVD, where it can be reacted with haloalkane precursors and is expected to also be capable of reacting with reducing agents due to the chemical similarities with Mo(CO)6 such that it will be expected to provide precursors having suitable reactivity in the process. Therefore, the molybdenum precursor will be in the form of Mo(CO)6 and the tungsten precursor will be in the form of W(CO)6.
They do not teach supplying the precursors at a temperature greater than the decomposition temperature.
Nakamura teaches a method of film deposition that comprises a first gas-supplying step of supplying a high-melting-point organometallic material gas to a processing vessel that can be evacuated, and a second gas-supplying step of supplying, to the processing vessel, a gas consisting of one, or two or more gases selected from a nitrogen-containing gas, a silicon-containing gas, and a carbon-containing gas, where a thin metallic compound film composed of one, ore two or more compounds selected from a high-melting point metallic nitride, a high-melting-point metallic silicate, and a high-melting-point metallic carbide is deposited on the surface of an object to be processed (abstract). They teach that the first and second gas-supplying steps are alternately carried out, and in these steps, the object to be processed is held at a temperature equal to or higher than the decomposition-starting temperature of the high-melting point organometallic material (abstract). They teach that CVD provides a relatively high deposition rate, but a low step coverage (0010). They teach that ALD provides an extremely low deposition rate with low throughput, but a high step coverage (0011-0012). They teach a method that provides a method of film deposition and a film decomposition system that can ensure high step coverage and high film deposition rate (0013). They teach that the step coverage can be kept high by alternately carrying out the first and second gas-supplying steps, and the film deposition rate can also be kept high by keeping the temperature of the object to be processed equal to or higher than the decomposition-starting-temperature (0015). They teach that the process has the benefits of CVD and ALD methods (0015). They teach that preferably, a purging step of purging gas remaining in the processing vessel is carried out between the first and second gas-supplying steps (0016). They teach that the high-melting-point organometallic material contains a metal selected from Ta, Ti, W, Hf, and Zr (0024). They teach that the compound can be selected from W(CO)6 (0030). They teach that the nitrogen-containing gas is selected from the group including ammonia (0032). They teach that the carbon-containing gas can be methane, ethane, propane, etc. (00330. They teach providing the metal precursor, purging, providing the reactant, and purging to provide a cycle (0071 and Fig. 2). They teach that the wafer is held at a temperature equal to or higher than a decomposition-starting temperature of the organometallic material serving as the metal source (0080). They teach that when the temperature is drastically higher than the decomposition temperature, the film deposition rate becomes higher, but step coverage drastically lowers (0081). They teach that to avoid excessive decrease in step coverage, it is necessary that the upper limit of the wafer temperature be set to about the decomposition-starting temperature +400°C or +200°C (0081). They teach that when the wafer temperature is set to this range, the film deposition on the surface progresses while providing the advantages of both CVD-type and ALD-type deposition (0082).
From the teachings of Nakamura, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the process of Liu in view of Bhadauriya to have provided the metal precursor to the reaction chamber in vapor phase at a temperature that is substantially equal to or higher than the decomposition temperature of the precursor during the ALD process so as to provide an ALD/CVD process because Nakamura teaches that using a substrate temperature equal to or higher than the decomposition temperature of the precursor provides the benefits of both ALD and CVD processes so as to increase the deposition rate while still providing good coverage, where the process includes alternately and sequentially providing reactants with a purge between the precursors, where the precursor includes W(CO)6, and by introducing the precursors at such a temperature it will ensure that the substrate temperature is more easily held at the desired temperature to provide the CVD/ALD process since the chamber will also be at such a temperature.
Alternatively, they do not specifically teach that the precursors are provided into the reactor at a temperature equal to or higher than the decomposition temperature.
Haukka teaches methods for selectively deposition on a surface of a substrate relative to a second, different surface (abstract). They teach depositing a material such as nickel, cobalt, iron, etc. (abstract). They teach that the deposition process is a CVD type process or an ALD type process (0037). They teach that an ALD-process can be modified to be a partial CVD process so as to include at least partial decomposition of one or more precursors (0050). They teach that in some embodiments, an ALD process is modified to use extremely short purge or removal times (0050). They teach that ALD-type reacts are provided in which there may be some precursor decomposition, but the growth saturates (0081). They teach that in some embodiments thermal decomposition of one or more precursors occurs, in particular the metal precursor (0082). They teach that the growth rate may not fully plateau with increasing pulse times, but continue to rise with increased pulse times, although the growth rate may increase more slowly with ever increasing pulse times (0082). They teach that in some embodiments, a pulsed-CVD type deposition process is used, in which reactants are provided alternately and separately, but some gas-phase reactions may occur (0082). They teach that reaction conditions can be selected such that good control of the reactions is maintained, leading to good quality films with low impurities (0082). They teach that in some embodiments, the deposition temperature is at or above the thermal decomposition temperature (0083). They teach depositing a nickel film by an ALD type process by contacting the substrate surface with a first vapor phase reactant comprising a first Ni precursor to form a layer of the Ni precursor on the substrate, removing excess first reactant from the substrate surface, contacting the substrate with a second vapor phase reactant to react with the first Ni precursor, and removing excess second reactant and reactant byproducts (0091-0095). They teach that in some cases where the deposition temperature is above the decomposition temperature of the Ni precursor, more than one monolayer of Ni can be formed in each deposition cycle (0096). They teach depositing a cobalt film using a similar process, where more than one monolayer is provided when the deposition temperature is above the decomposition temperature (0122-0127).
From the teachings of Haukka, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the metal precursor to a temperature equal to or higher than the decomposition temperature because Haukka teaches that in an ALD-type process the deposition temperature can be equal to or higher than the decomposition temperature to provide increased deposition rate such that it will be expected to provide a suitable chamber temperature for the deposition process.
Therefore, in the process of Liu in view of Bhadauriya, and Nakamura, and alternatively further in view of Haukka, the transition metal precursor comprising W(CO)6 or Mo(CO)6 will be provided to the chamber in vapor phase at a temperature that is substantially equal to or higher than the decomposition temperature of the precursor, wherein the metal precursor and the haloalkane are provided in an alternate and sequential manner with a purge between the precursors as required by claims 1 and 25.
Regarding claim 9, Liu in view of Bhadauriya and Nakamura and alternatively in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. Liu further teaches that the iodine-containing reactant comprises a species having a formula RIx, where R is one or more of a C0-C10 alkyl, cyclo alkyl, alkenyl, or alkynyl group and x is in a range of 1 to 4 (0034). They teach that the I is monoiodo or diiodo and R comprises one or more of methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, etc. (0034). Therefore, they provide an iodoalkane precursor as the haloalkane precursor.
Bhadauriya teaches that the haloalkyl groups can also include iodo groups (0094), indicating that the C-precursors also include iodoalkane precursors.
Regarding claim 10, Liu in view of Bhadauriya and Nakamura and alternatively in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. Liu further teaches that the iodine-containing reactant comprises a species having a formula RIx, where R is one or more of a C0-C10 alkyl, cyclo alkyl, alkenyl, or alkynyl group and x is in a range of 1 to 4 (0034). They teach that the I is monoiodo or diiodo and R comprises one or more of methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, etc. (0034). From this, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have selected 1,2-diiodoethane or 1-iodobutane as the iodine-containing precursor because they teach that R can be ethyl or butyl, where I can be iodo and x can be one or two such that it will be expected to provide a suitable iodine-containing reactant for the process.
Regarding claims 12 and 13, Liu in view of Bhadauriya and Nakamura and alternatively in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. Liu further teaches that the deposition process is performed at a temperature in the range of from 150°C to 500°C (0027), such that it overlaps the range of claims 12 and 13 and is expected to include a range at which the precursors thermally decompose since the process can include CVD. According to MPEP 2144.05, “in the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists.”
Further, since Nakamura teaches that it is desirable to use a temperature that is equal to or above the thermal decomposition temperature, but not drastically above so as to provide an increased deposition rate and desirable coverage (0081-0082), it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have optimized the temperature to be within the claimed range so as to provide balance between the deposition rate and coverage. According to MPEP 2144.05 II A, “Generally, differences in concentration or temperature will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art unless there is evidence indicating such concentration or temperature is critical. “[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 14, Liu in view of Bhadauriya and Nakamura and alternatively in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. Liu further teaches that the deposition process 110 is conducted at a pressure in the range of 0.1 Torr to 10 Torr (0027), where deposition process 110 also ALD or CVD (0019 and 0054), suggesting that the pressure will also be suitable for the ALD/CVD process so as to be within the range of claim 14. According to MPEP 2131.03, "[W]hen, as by a recitation of ranges or otherwise, a claim covers several compositions, the claim is 'anticipated' if one of them is in the prior art."
Regarding claims 15-16, Liu in view of Bhadauriya and Nakamura and alternatively in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. Liu further teaches that in operation 120, the carbon-less iodine-containing metal film is exposed to a reductant such as H2 or NH3 (0039, 0040, and Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 17, Liu in view of Bhadauriya and Nakamura and alternatively in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 15. Liu teaches purging after providing the metal precursor and prior to exposing the substrate to a reactant (0032 and Fig. 1). They also teach purging after exposure to the iodine-containing reactant (0035 and Fig. 1). They teach exposing the film to a reductant (reactant) and then purging the substrate (0045). Therefore, the reactant will be supplied in pulses and the chamber will be purged between consecutive pulses of the precursors and reactant, where, as noted above Nakamura indicates that it is desirable to provide the precursors alternately and sequentially with purging.
Regarding claim 18, Liu in view of Bhadauriya and Nakamura and alternatively in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. Liu further teaches forming the carbon-less iodine-containing film on a substrate (0008-0009).
Regarding claim 23, Liu in view of Bhadauriya and Nakamura and alternatively in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. As noted above for claim 1, it is suggested to use Mo(CO)6 as the precursor since Bhadauriya teaches that Mo(CO)6 is a suitable precursor. Further, as noted above, for claim 10, it is suggested to use 1,2-diiodoethane as the haloalkane.
Regarding claim 24, Liu in view of Bhadauriya and Nakamura and alternatively in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. Liu teaches using substrate such as silicon, silicon oxide, carbon doped silicon oxides, silicon nitride, doped silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, glass, sapphire, metals, metal nitrides, metal alloys, etc. (0015).
According to the instant specification at [0097], the material layer comprising a transition metal and a haloalkane is deposited on substrate 202, which can be a metal oxide, a dielectric, or a metal.
Therefore, since Liu in view of Bhadauriya and Nakamura and alternatively in view of Haukka use substrates meeting those described in the specification and they suggest performing the claimed process, including using the claimed precursors, the transition metal precursor is also expected to chemisorb to a surface of the substrate. According to MPEP 2112.01 I, “Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977)”.
Claims 1, 9, 10, 12-16, 18, and 23-25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saly, US 2023/0227975 A1 (second inventor has been used to differentiate between Liu references) in view of Bhadauriya, WO 2022/241042 A1 and Nakamura, US 2009/0142491 A1 and alternatively further in view of Haukka, US 2016/0222504 A1.
Regarding claims 1 and 25, Saly teaches a method of depositing a material comprising a transition metal and a halogen on a substrate by a cyclic deposition process (methods of depositing metal films by exposing the substrate to an organometallic precursor comprising one or more of molybdenum, tungsten, etc., and an iodine-containing reactant to form a carbon-less iodine-containing film, abstract, 0031, and 0054, where the film is formed by ALD, 0018 and 0020, so as to provide a cyclic deposition process) the method comprising:
providing a substrate in a reactor chamber (where the substrate is exposed to reactive compounds in a processing chamber during ALD, 0020, 0061, such that the substrate will be provided into a chamber for subsequent exposure to the reactive compounds);
providing a transition metal precursor into the reactor chamber in vapor phase (where the substrate is exposed to an organometallic precursor and the chamber is subsequently purged of excess precursor, 0033, 0037, 0046, and Fig. 2, indicating the precursor will be provided into the reaction chamber, and where the precursors are described as being in gas phase, 0018-0020, 0023, and where the metal is selected from molybdenum, tungsten, etc., abstract and 0007, so as to provide a transition metal precursor); and
providing a haloalkane precursor into the reactor chamber in vapor phase, to form the material comprising a transition metal and a halogen on the substrate (where the substrate is exposed to an iodine-containing reactant to form a carbon-less iodine-containing metal film on the substrate, 0007, 0027, 0046, and Fig. 2, where the iodine-containing reactant is a haloalkane such as diiodomethane, 0029, and the reactants are described as being in gas phase, 0018-0020, 0023).
Saly further teaches that the method can be provided by chemical vapor deposition processes in which the reactive gases are mixed in the processing chamber to allow gas phase reactions of the reactive gases and deposition of the thin film (0023). They teach that in the CVD process, the substrate is exposed to the organometallic precursor and the iodine-containing reactant to deposit a carbon-less iodine-containing film (0045). They teach that in the CVD reaction, the deposited film can be deposited in one exposure to the mixed reactive gas or can be multiple exposures of the mixed reactive gas with purges between (0045). Therefore, when preforming multiple exposures of the mixed reactive gas with purges in between, the process is provided as a cyclical CVD process.
They do not teach using the listed precursors.
As discussed above, from the teachings of Bhadauriya, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the process of Saly to have used hexacarbonyl molybdenum as the molybdenum precursor as a simple substitution of one known molybdenum precursor for another or tungsten hexacarbonyl as the tungsten precursor because Bhadauriya teaches using molybdenum hexacarbonyl as an alternative molybdenum precursor to those taught by Liu, where it can be reacted with haloalkane precursors and reducing agents such as hydrogen in a CVD process and they teach using tungsten hexacarbonyl as a tungsten precursor in CVD, where is can be reacted with haloalkane precursors and is expected to also be capable of reacting with reducing agents due to the chemical similarities with Mo(CO)6 such that it will be expected to provide precursors having suitable reactivity in the process. Therefore, the molybdenum precursor will be in the form of Mo(CO)6 and the tungsten precursor will be in the form of W(CO)6.
They do not teach supplying the precursors at a temperature greater than the decomposition temperature.
As discussed above, from the teachings of Nakamura, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the process of Saly in view of Bhadauriya to have provided the metal precursor to the react chamber in vapor phase at a temperature that is substantially equal to or higher than the decomposition temperature of the precursor during the ALD process so as to provide an ALD/CVD process because Nakamura teaches that using a substrate temperature equal to or higher than the decomposition temperature of the precursor provides the benefits of both ALD and CVD processes so as to increase the deposition rate while still providing good coverage, where the process includes alternately and sequentially providing reactants with a purge between the precursors, where the precursor includes W(CO)6, and by introducing the precursors at such a temperature it will ensure that the substrate temperature is more easily held at the desired temperature to provide the CVD/ALD process.
Alternatively, they do not specifically teach that the precursors are provided into the reactor at a temperature equal to or higher than the decomposition temperature.
As discussed above, from the teachings of Haukka, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have provided the metal precursor to a temperature equal to or higher than the decomposition temperature because Haukka teaches that in an ALD-type process the deposition temperature can be equal to or higher than the decomposition temperature to provide increased deposition rate such that it will be expected to provide a suitable chamber temperature for the deposition process.
Therefore, in the process of Saly in view of Bhadauriya, and Nakamura, and alternatively further in view of Haukka, the transition metal precursor comprising W(CO)6 or Mo(CO)6 will be provided to the chamber in vapor phase at a temperature that is substantially equal to or higher than the decomposition temperature of the precursor, wherein the metal precursor and the haloalkane are provided in an alternate and sequential manner with a purge between the precursors as required by claims 1 and 25.
Regarding claims 9 and 10, Saly in view of Bhadauriya, and Nakamura, and alternatively further in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. Saly further teaches that the iodine-containing reactant comprises a species having a formula RIx, where R is one or more of a C1-C10 alkyl, cyclo, I is iodine, and x is in a range of 1 to 4 (0028). They teach using iodine-containing reactants such as 1-iodobutane, 1,2-diiodoethane, etc. (0029).
Regarding claims 12 and 13, Saly in view of Bhadauriya, and Nakamura, and alternatively further in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. Saly further teaches that the deposition process is performed at a temperature in the range of from 150°C to 600°C, in the range of 200°C to 550°C, or 300°C to 450°C (0026), such that it overlaps the range of claims 12 and 13 and is also expected to include a range at which the precursors thermally decompose. According to MPEP 2144.05, “in the case where the claimed ranges “overlap or lie inside ranges disclosed by the prior art” a prima facie case of obviousness exists.”
Further, since Nakamura teaches that it is desirable to use a temperature that is equal to or above the thermal decomposition temperature, but not drastically above so as to provide an increased deposition rate and desirable coverage (0081-0082), it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have optimized the temperature to be within the claimed range so as to provide balance between the deposition rate and coverage. According to MPEP 2144.05 II A, “Generally, differences in concentration or temperature will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art unless there is evidence indicating such concentration or temperature is critical. “[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation.” In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Regarding claim 14, Saly in view of Bhadauriya, and Nakamura, and alternatively further in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. Saly further teaches that the deposition process 110 is conducted at a pressure in the range of 0.1 Torr to 20 Torr (0026), where the deposition process 110 can be ALD or CVD (0018 and 0045), suggesting that such a pressure range is also suitable for the ALD/CVD process so as to be within the range of claim 14. According to MPEP 2131.03, “[W]hen, as by a recitation of ranges or otherwise, a claim covers several compositions, the claim is ‘anticipated’ if one of them is in the prior art.”
Regarding claims 15-16, Saly in view of Bhadauriya, and Nakamura, and alternatively further in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. Saly further teaches that in operation 120, the carbon-less iodine-containing metal film is exposed to a reductant such as H2 or NH3 (0039, 0040, and Fig. 2), such that a reactant will be provided to the chamber.
Regarding claim 18, Saly in view of Bhadauriya, and Nakamura, and alternatively further in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. Saly further teaches forming the carbon-less iodine-containing film on a substrate (0007).
Regarding claim 23, Saly in view of Bhadauriya and Nakamura and alternatively in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. As noted above for claim 1, it is suggested to use Mo(CO)6 as the precursor since Bhadauriya teaches that Mo(CO)6 is a suitable precursor. Further, as noted above, for claim 10, it is suggested to use 1,2-diiodoethane as the haloalkane.
Regarding claim 24, Saly in view of Bhadauriya and Nakamura and alternatively in view of Haukka suggest the process of claim 1. Saly teaches using substrate such as silicon, silicon oxide, carbon doped silicon oxides, silicon nitride, doped silicon, germanium, gallium arsenide, glass, sapphire, metals, metal nitrides, metal alloys, etc. (0016).
According to the instant specification at [0097], the material layer comprising a transition metal and a haloalkane is deposited on substrate 202, which can be a metal oxide, a dielectric, or a metal.
Therefore, since Saly in view of Bhadauriya and Nakamura and alternatively in view of Haukka use substrates meeting those described in the specification and they suggest performing the claimed process, including using the claimed precursors, the transition metal precursor is also expected to chemisorb to a surface of the substrate. According to MPEP 2112.01 I, “Where the claimed and prior art products are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, or are produced by identical or substantially identical processes, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977)”.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/25/2026 have been fully considered.
In light of the amendments to the claims, the rejection has been modified as indicated above.
Regarding Applicant’s arguments that introducing the organometallic precursor in Liu’s ALD process at a temperature that is substantially equal to or higher than the decomposition temperature will change the principle of operation of Liu’s ALD process, it is noted that Nakamura indicates that providing an ALD-type process with a temperature meeting the claimed requirements provides desired benefits of increasing the deposition rate while providing desirable coverage, where Haukka indicates that it will increase the deposition rate. Further, Liu and Saly teach that the process can be ALD or CVD, such that by providing a hybrid ALD/CVD process it will be expected to be suitable in the process of Liu or Saly while providing the described benefits.
Applicant’s arguments directed to Erbil and Shenai-Khatkhate are not addressed herein because they are no longer used in the above rejection.
Regarding Applicant’s benefits described on page 10, since the cited references suggest the claimed process, similar benefits are expected.
Conclusion
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/CHRISTINA D MCCLURE/Examiner, Art Unit 1718
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