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 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 t
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.
Claim(s) 1-6 and 9-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ichikawa et al (JP 2021-035936 and its machine translation).
Ichikawa et al disclose a resist composition comprising a PAG having a sulfonium cation and a sulfonate anion, wherein the cation and anion have structures meeting the limitations of the instant claims.
The cation includes instant Z1 and Z2 joined to form a ring (single bond), and at least one of R4 to R6 is a group having a -CO-O- structure. While exemplified compounds have the group in the R4 position and ring, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been been motivated to include the group in the R6 position instead, or in both positions, wherein the instant R2 and R3 also may include the -CO-O-R4 group. The additional ring substituents include fluorine atoms and fluorinated alkyl groups, alkoxy, alkoxycarbonyl groups ([0010]) meeting the limitations of the instant R1 to R3, and the cation meets the limitations of the instant claim 1 and formula (1), when the -CO=O-R group is on the R6 position ring.
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The anion of the reference has a structure similar to that of the instant formula (2)-1 and (2)-2 (instant claims 2 and 3).
In the formula z can be 1 and R1 and R2 fluorine atoms ([0012]), and wherein X1 and L1 (instant X1 and X2, and X3 and X4, respectively) are linking groups including -COO-, -OCO-, O-CO-O-, and a single bond, alkyl group ([0012]). Examples appear below, wherein the end group include a phenyl substituted by a halogen. While the halogen atom exemplified is F, one of ordinary skill in the art would have envisaged another from the finite group of halogens, including iodine ([0014]-[0018]).
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When the compound is as described above, wherein z 1 1 and R1 and R2 are F, and the fluorine atom on the phenyl ring is replaced by iodine, the anion meets the limitations of the instant claims 2 and 3.
The polymer (instant claim 4) preferably comprises an additional unit having an acid-labile group, falling within the scope of the instant (a1), wherein RA is H or methyl, and R11 is a alkyl-cycloalkyl group as required by the instant claim 5.
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The reference further teaches a unit of the instant formula (a2), wherein Ra32 (instant RA) is H or methyl, instant Y2, R14, Y3 are all single bonds, and instant R12 is -C(Ra34)(Ra35)-O-Ra36 as also set forth by the instant claim 5.
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The resist is preferably a positive resist (instant claim 6), and further includes a solvent (instant claim 9), a quencher (instant claim 10; as demonstrated in examples ([0223]), and surfactant ([0208], [0209]; instant claim 11).
The patterning process includes the steps as claimed, wherein the composition is applied, dried/pre-baked, exposed, and developed, with the light exposure performed by ArF, KrF, EUV, or electron beam ([0211], examples; instant claims 12 and 13).
Given the teachings of the reference, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art prior to the effective filing date of the instant invention to prepare the material of Ichikawa et al, choosing as the PAG salt cation, that having the -CO-O-R group in the R6 position as discussed above, wherein the resultant cation would also meet the limitations of the instant claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7 and 8 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.
Ichikawa et al as disclosed above fails to fairly teach or suggest a negative resist, free of acid-labile groups.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 9/2/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant has amended the claims to require the -COO-R4 group tp be in the 3 or 4 position on the ring, and further argues the references teach R4 groups having iodine atoms, which is prohibited by the instant claims.
First to the Hatakeyama et al reference. The reference teaches that the linking group may be -COO- and have a substituent in the R4 position which includes iodine. However, the claim recites that the R4 group may comprise a substituent including halogen, hydroxyl, cyano, nitro, halogenated alkyl, halogenated alkoxy, or a halogenates alkylthio group, wherein the halogen does not exclude iodine, only the immediate R4 group aliphatic hydrocarbyl, aryl, or heteroaryl group excludes iodine. The reference provides examples of R4 substituents that are
The R1 and R2 each independently be an aliphatic group, with L2 being the -COO- group, and L2 and L3 a single bond of esters, ether, or amide. Examples demonstrate ester groups linking group bonded to the aryl adjacent the sulfur atom (p group below), wherein L2 is the ester group and either R2 or R2 is an alkyl group as R4 which comprises the iodine-containing aryl group. Therefore, while R4 does comprise the iodine group as noted in the rejection above, it does meet the limitations of the instant claims when the ester group is -COO- rather than -OCO-, as the R4 group is the methyl group (or alkyl group) having the halogenated substituent, which is not R4 itself. However, the reference requires the halogenated substituent on the alkyl R4 group to be aromatic, which does not meet the limitations of the claim upon further consideration and the rejection is withdrawn.
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Regarding Ichikawa et al, applicant argues that the reference fails to fairly teach or suggest to one of ordinary skill in the art to prepare the cation wherein -COO- group in the R4 to R6 position is in the R3 or R4 position on the ring it is attached to.
However, it is clear from the examples of Ichikawa et al that the group is in the or 4 position on the ring:
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Therefore, the reference teaches a sulfonium cation having the -COO-R4 group in the 3 or 4 position on the ring and meets the limitations of the instant claims.
Additionally, applicant argues that the reference prefers the halogen substituent in R3 for the anion be F, but the reference defines halogen as the finite list of F, Br, Cl, and I, and the reference teachings are not limited to its most preferred embodiments. Given the definitions, one of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to choose any halogen, not just the most preferred, and when the anion includes an iodine in the place of a fluorine is preferred examples, the anion meets the limitations of the instant claims, and the rejections over Ichikawa et al are maintained.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to AMANDA C WALKE whose telephone number is (571)272-1337. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Thursday 5:30am to 4pm.
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/AMANDA C. WALKE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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