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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claims 4 and 8 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claims 4 and 8 recite “(-CH2-…-CO-)” such that the parentheses should be omitted. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-7 and 10-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kiriyama et al. (U.S. 2022/0413385).
Kiriyama et al. teaches a radiation-sensitive resin composition in Example 11 comprising polymer A-11, acid generator (B-4), acid diffusion control agent (C-1), polymer E-2, and solvents D-1 and D-4 [0289] (claim 13) wherein polymer A-11 comprises monomers M-11, M-44, and M-46 [page 32] which are the following:
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[page 26]
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[page 30] wherein monomer M-11 is equivalent to a compound represented by formula (I0) of instant claim 17, and when polymerized is equivalent to a resin comprising a structural unit represented by formula (I) of instant claims 1-7 and 10 when R0 is a hydrogen atom, X1 is a single bond, L1 is a single bond, Ar is an aromatic hydrocarbon group having 6 carbon atoms, m1 is 1, A1 is ***-X01-L01- where X01 is -O- and L01 is a single bond, R1 is a halogen atom, m2 is 3 where each R2 is a halogen atom, and R3 is represented by formula (5a), specifically formula (5a-B) when L10 is a single bond, and Raa1B-Raa3B are hydrocarbon groups having 1 carbon atom; monomer M-44 when polymerized is equivalent to a structural unit represented by formula (a1-2) of instant claim 11 when Ra5 is an alkyl group having 1 carbon atom, La2 is a single bond, Ra7 is an aromatic hydrocarbon group having 6 carbon atoms, n1 is 0, and n1’ is 1; and monomer M-46 when polymerized is equivalent to a structural unit represented by formula (a2-A) of instant claim 12 when Ra50 is a hydrogen atom, Aa50 is a single bond, and mb is 0; acid generator (B-4) is the following:
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[page 34] which is equivalent to an acid generator containing a salt represented by formula (B1) of instant claim 14 when Z+ is an organic cation, Qb1 and Qb1 are fluorine atoms, Lb1 is a divalent saturated hydrocarbon group having 1 carbon atom in which the hydrogen atoms are substituted with a fluorine atom, and Y is a cyclic hydrocarbon group having 10 carbon atoms which has two substituents in which two -CH2- are replaced by -O-; and acid diffusion control agent (C-1) is equivalent to a salt generating an acid having an acidity lower than that of an acid generated from the acid generator of instant claim 15. Kiriyama et al. also teaches an underlayer antireflective film having an average thickness of 105 nm was formed by applying a composition for underlayer antireflective film formation (“ARC66,” available from Brewer Science, Inc.) on a 12-inch silicon wafer using a spin-coater (“CLEAN TRACK ACT 12,” available from Tokyo Electron Limited), and thereafter heating the composition at 205° C. for 60 sec. Each radiation-sensitive resin composition prepared as described above was applied on the underlayer antireflective film using the spin-coater, and subjected to PB at 130° C. for 60 sec. Thereafter, by cooling at 23° C. for 30 sec, a resist film having an average thickness of 55 nm was formed. Next, the resist pattern was exposed using an EUV scanner (model “NXE3300,” available from ASML Co.) with NA of 0.33 under an illumination condition of Conventional s=0.89, and with a mask of imecDEFECT32FFR02. After the exposure, PEB was carried out at 120° C. for 60 sec. Thereafter, the resist film was subjected to development with an alkali using a 2.38% by mass aqueous TMAH solution as an alkaline developer solution. After the development, washing with water was carried out, followed by further drying, to form a positive-tone resist pattern [0290] (claim 16).
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.
Claims 8 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kiriyama et al. (U.S. 2022/0413385).
With regard to claim 8, Kiriyama et al. teaches the above monomer M-11 is a specific example of the following structural unit (1):
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[0026] wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, or a trifluoromethyl group; L represents a single bond, —COO—, —O—, or —CONH—; Ar1 represents a group obtained by removing (m+2) hydrogen atoms from an aromatic ring having 6 to 30 ring atoms; X represents a single bond, —O—, -G-O—, —CH2—, —S—, —SO2—, —NRA—, or —CONH—, wherein G represents a divalent aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and RA represents a hydrogen atom or a monovalent hydrocarbon group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms; Ar2 represents a group obtained by removing (n+1) hydrogen atoms from an aromatic ring having 6 to 30 ring atoms; R2 and R3 each independently represent a halogen atom, a hydroxy group, a sulfanyl group, or an organic group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms; m is an integer of 0 to 10, wherein in a case in which m is no less than 2, a plurality of R2s are identical or different from each other; and n is an integer of 0 to 10, wherein in a case in which n is no less than 2, a plurality of R3s are identical or different from each other [0026] such that when X is -G-O- where G is a divalent aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, i.e. when -O- of monomer M-11 is substituted with -G-O-, it is equivalent to formula (I) of instant claims 1-8 when R0 is a hydrogen atom, X1 is a single bond, L1 is a single bond, Ar is an aromatic hydrocarbon group having 6 carbon atoms, m1 is 1, A1 is ***-L01-X01- where L01 is an alkanediyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms and X01 is -O-, R1 is a halogen atom, m2 is 3 where each R2 is a halogen atom, and R3 is represented by formula (5a), specifically formula (5a-B) when L10 is a single bond, and Raa1B-Raa3B are hydrocarbon groups having 1 carbon atom. Kiriyama et al. also teaches hereinafter, the present invention is explained in detail by way of Examples, but the present invention is not in any way limited to these Examples [0245] and obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein [0300]. Kiriyama et al. further teaches the structural unit (I) is a structural unit represented by the following formula (1). Due to the structural unit (I) being included, introduction of substituents having a variety of functions is enabled without deteriorating efficiency of generation of an acid by an exposure. As a result, the radiation-sensitive resin composition enables a resist pattern to be formed with favorable sensitivity to exposure light and superiority in terms of the LWR performance and the CDU performance [0025].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the specific teachings of Kiriyama et al. to include the above defined structural unit and arrive at the instant claims through routine experimentation of substituting equally suitable groups for the sought invention in order to achieve optimum sensitivity, LWR, and CDU.
With regard to claim 9, Kiriyama et al. teaches the above monomer M-11 is a specific example of the following structural unit (1):
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[0026] wherein R1 represents a hydrogen atom, a methyl group, or a trifluoromethyl group; L represents a single bond, —COO—, —O—, or —CONH—; Ar1 represents a group obtained by removing (m+2) hydrogen atoms from an aromatic ring having 6 to 30 ring atoms; X represents a single bond, —O—, -G-O—, —CH2—, —S—, —SO2—, —NRA—, or —CONH—, wherein G represents a divalent aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, and RA represents a hydrogen atom or a monovalent hydrocarbon group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms; Ar2 represents a group obtained by removing (n+1) hydrogen atoms from an aromatic ring having 6 to 30 ring atoms; R2 and R3 each independently represent a halogen atom, a hydroxy group, a sulfanyl group, or an organic group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms; m is an integer of 0 to 10, wherein in a case in which m is no less than 2, a plurality of R2s are identical or different from each other; and n is an integer of 0 to 10, wherein in a case in which n is no less than 2, a plurality of R3s are identical or different from each other [0026] wherein the organic group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms which may be represented by R2 or R3 is exemplified by: a monovalent hydrocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms; a group (α) including a divalent hetero atom-containing group between two adjacent carbon atoms of the monovalent hydrocarbon group; a group (β) obtained by substituting with a monovalent hetero atom-containing group, a part or all of hydrogen atoms included in the monovalent hydrocarbon group or the group (α); a group (γ) in which the monovalent hydrocarbon group, the group (α), or the group (β) is combined with a divalent hetero atom-containing group; and the like [0039] and in the case in which R2 and/or R3 represent(s) the monovalent organic group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms, introduction of substituents having a variety of functions into the polymer (A) is enabled by appropriately selecting the type of the organic group. As a result, forming a resist pattern is enabled with favorable sensitivity to exposure light and superiority in terms of the LWR performance and the CDU performance [0047] and the organic group is preferably a group (hereinafter, may be also referred to as “group (I)”) including an acid-labile group, or a group (hereinafter, may be also referred to as “group (II)”) including a polar group [0049], as the group (I), groups (hereinafter, may be also referred to as “group (I-1) to group (I-3)”) represented by the following formulae (I-1) to (I-3) are preferred [0052] wherein examples of the group (I-3) include a group (hereinafter, may be also referred to as “group (I-3-1)”) represented by the following formula (I-3-1), and the like [0072]:
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[0072] such that when the acid-labile group -O-CO-O-C(CH3)3 of monomer M-11 is substituted with formula (I-3-1) it is equivalent to a structural unit represented by formula (I) of instant claims 1-7 and 9 when R0 is a hydrogen atom, X1 is a single bond, L1 is a single bond, Ar is an aromatic hydrocarbon group having 6 carbon atoms, m1 is 1, A1 is ***-X01-L01- where X01 is -O- and L01 is a single bond, R1 is a halogen atom, m2 is 3 where each R2 is a halogen atom, and R3 is represented by formula (5a), specifically formula (5a-A) when Raa1A is a hydrogen atom, Xa is an oxygen atom, and Raa2A and Raa3A are bonded to each other to represent a group that forms a ring having 5 carbon atoms together with -C-Xa-. Kiriyama et al. also teaches hereinafter, the present invention is explained in detail by way of Examples, but the present invention is not in any way limited to these Examples [0245] and obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein [0300]. Kiriyama et al. further teaches the structural unit (I) is a structural unit represented by the following formula (1). Due to the structural unit (I) being included, introduction of substituents having a variety of functions is enabled without deteriorating efficiency of generation of an acid by an exposure. As a result, the radiation-sensitive resin composition enables a resist pattern to be formed with favorable sensitivity to exposure light and superiority in terms of the LWR performance and the CDU performance [0025]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the specific teachings of Kiriyama et al. to include the above defined structural unit and arrive at the instant claims through routine experimentation of substituting equally suitable groups for the sought invention in order to achieve optimum sensitivity, LWR, and CDU.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. JP2011033839, JP2007256347, JP2011053365, JP2021130808, U.S. 2021/0191266, and U.S. 2002/0051940.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANNA E MALLOY whose telephone number is (571)270-5849. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30-3:00 EST M-F.
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/Anna Malloy/Examiner, Art Unit 1737
/KEITH WALKER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1735
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