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 .
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 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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 12-19 in the reply filed on December 5, 2025 is acknowledged. Claims 1-11 and 20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Specification
The chemical formula “MnO-4” in paragraph 0049 of the Specification should be “MnO4-”. Correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claim 14 is objected to because of the following informalities: the chemical formula “MnO-4” should be “MnO4-”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 12-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 12, it recites the limitation “a hardmask formed of non-carbon material or boron-carbon material”. The term “hardmask” is referred to as “hard material” based on the Specification of current application (paragraphs 0013 and 0018). However, the relative term “hard” is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. For the purpose of this examination, the examiner interprets the limitation as “a material formed of non-carbon material or boron-carbon material”.
Regarding claims 13-19, they are indefinite due to their dependency on claim 12.
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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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 12-14 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (US20210403756).
Regarding claim 12, Kim discloses a method (paragraph 0080) comprising: obtaining a substrate comprising a hardmask formed of non-carbon material (polysilicon, paragraph 0080); obtaining a composition comprising a permanganate ion of a permanganate oxidizer (potassium permanganate, paragraph 0075); and contacting the composition and the hardmask using a chemical mechanical planarization apparatus to remove at least a portion of the hardmask (paragraph 0080, contacting a slurry composition and a substrate to be planarized using a chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) apparatus is an inherent feature of a CMP process).
Regarding claim 13, Kim discloses wherein the permanganate oxidizer comprises potassium permanganate (paragraph 0075).
Regarding claim 14, Kim discloses wherein the permanganate ion comprises MnO4- (potassium permanganate comprises MnO4-, paragraph 0075).
Regarding claim 17, Kim discloses wherein the hardmask comprises polysilicon and doped polysilicon (paragraphs 0080 and 0109).
Claims 12, 14, 16 and 18-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kong et al. (US20200002573).
Regarding claim 12, Kong discloses a method (paragraph 0102) comprising: obtaining a substrate comprising a hardmask formed of non-carbon material (a metal film, a metal oxide film, or an inorganic oxide film, paragraph 0102); obtaining a composition comprising a permanganate ion of a permanganate oxidizer (abstract and paragraph 0091); and contacting the composition and the hardmask using a chemical mechanical planarization apparatus to remove at least a portion of the hardmask (paragraph 0102, contacting a slurry composition and a substrate to be planarized using a chemical mechanical planarization apparatus is an inherent feature of a planarization process).
Regarding claim 14, Kong discloses wherein the permanganate ion comprises MnO4- (permanganic acid or permanganate comprises MnO4-, paragraph 0091).
Regarding claim 16, Kong discloses wherein the hardmask comprises chromium and chromium oxide (paragraph 0104).
Regarding claim 18, Kong discloses wherein the hardmask comprises silica (an oxide of silicon reads on a silica, paragraph 0105).
Regarding claim 19, Kong discloses wherein the hardmask comprises zirconia (an oxide of zirconium reads on a zirconia, paragraph 0105).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Shin et al. (US20230123263).
Regarding claim 12, Shin discloses a method (abstract and claim 19) comprising: obtaining a substrate comprising a hardmask formed of non-carbon material (a boron silicon compound, claim 19); obtaining a composition comprising a permanganate ion of a permanganate oxidizer (abstract and claim 2); and contacting the composition and the hardmask using a chemical mechanical planarization apparatus to remove at least a portion of the hardmask (claim 19, contacting a slurry composition and a substrate to be planarized using a chemical mechanical planarization apparatus is an inherent feature of a planarization process).
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 of this title, 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.
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.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Shin et al. (US20230123263) as applied to claim 12 above.
Regarding claim 15, Shin discloses wherein the hardmask comprises boron and silicon (claim 19). Shin is silent about the silicon being amorphous silicon. However, Shin discloses the same chemical elements (boron and silicon) in the hardmask material as required in the instant claim. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill, in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to apply the method of Shin to remove at least a portion of the hardmask comprising boron and amorphous silicon, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JIONG-PING LU whose telephone number is (571) 270-1135. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 9:00am – 5:00pm. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joshua L Allen, can be reached at telephone number (571)270-3176. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JIONG-PING LU/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1713