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 § 102
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.
(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.
Claim(s) 1-2, 4-5, 8-12 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tarumoto (JP 2003267968; IDS, 04/17/2024).
Tarumoto discloses a photoacid generator that generates acid in an exposed area upon irradiation with visible light, a method for producing the photoacid generator, a photosensitive resin composition containing at least the photoacid generator and a resin whose solubility in the exposed and unexposed areas changes by a reaction catalyzed by the acid produced by the photoacid generator, and a photosensitive material in which a resin layer of the photosensitive resin composition is formed on a support. (Para, 0001). Tarumoto discloses this invention relates to a photosensitive resin composition and a photosensitive material using the same, for example, to the microfabrication of LSIs, printing, printed circuit formation, and the manufacture of liquid crystal panels. (Para, 0001). This disclosure teaches the limitation of claim 12. Tarumoto explains that chemically amplified resist compositions are pattern-forming materials that generate acid in the exposed areas by irradiation with far-ultraviolet light or radiation, and then change the solubility in the developer of the irradiated and unirradiated areas through a reaction catalyzed by this acid, thereby forming a pattern on the substrate. (Para, 0003). These disclosures teach the limitation of claim 1, ‘ An actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition comprising a compound (I) that generates an acid upon irradiation with actinic rays or radiation…’ These disclosures also teach the limitation of claim 9, ‘ An actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition comprising a compound (I) that generates an acid upon irradiation with actinic rays or radiation…’
Tarumoto discloses an exemplary photoacid generator that may be included in a chemically amplified resist composition. (Para, 0006). Tarumoto discloses at least one compound represented by the following general formula (1) or (2) as the photoacid generator in a photosensitive composition that basically comprises a polymer whose solubility in an alkaline aqueous solution increases due to the action of an acid and a photoacid generator. (Para, 0006). Tarumoto explains these onium sulfonate compounds represented by general formula (1) or (2) can be produced with nearly quantitative accuracy and high purity by reacting a solution of the onium salt (13) with a solution of the sulfonate (11) or (12) according to the following reaction equation. (Para, 0009). Tarumoto discloses and illustrates specific examples of onium sulfonate compounds (hereinafter referred to as photoacid generators) produced by the reaction of the above-mentioned sulfonate and onium salt. (Para, 0021-0041; Figs. 1-20). Tarumoto also discloses and illustrates an exemplary onium sulfonate or photoacid generator in Para, 0027, which is photoacid generator 6. (Para, 0027; Fig.6).
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These disclosures and the illustrations of Figure 6 teach the limitations of claim 1, ‘ An actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition comprising … wherein the compound (I) has at least two acid anionic groups and cationic groups equal in number to the acid anionic groups, wherein at least one of the acid anionic groups and at least one of the cationic groups are linked via covalent bonding, and wherein at least two acid groups generated from the compound (I) upon irradiation with the actinic rays or radiation include at least two acid groups having different acid dissociation constants (pKa).’ Moreover, these disclosures and the illustrations of Figure 6 teach the limitation of claim 2, the limitation of claim 4, wherein the compound (I) is a compound represented by formula (I)-3, the limitation of claim 5 wherein A16- in (I)-3 is (A-1) and the limitation of claim 8. Furthermore, these disclosures also teach the limitations of claim 9, ‘An actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition comprising a compound (I) that generates an acid upon irradiation with actinic rays or radiation, wherein the compound (I) has at least two acid anionic groups and cationic groups equal in number to the acid anionic groups, wherein at least one of the acid anionic groups and at least one of the cationic groups are linked via covalent bonding, and wherein the at least two acid anionic groups in the compound (I) include at least two types of anionic groups selected from the group consisting of the following formulas (C-1) to (C-15):
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wherein, in the general formulas (C-1) to (C-15), * represents a bonding position; Rf1 to Rf8 each independently represent a fluorine atom or a monovalent substituent including at least one fluorine atom; Rf9 represents a perfluoroalkyl group; R1 to R7 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a monovalent substituent including no fluorine atom; and Ar1 to Ar4 each independently represent an aromatic ring.’
Tarumoto also discloses an exemplary photosensitive composition in example (1), which comprises Methacrylic acid, methyl methacrylate, and pyranyl methacrylate were copolymerized to produce a copolymer having carboxyl groups with a molecular weight of 64,000. (Para, 0058). Tarumoto discloses this copolymer and solvent were combined as shown in Table 6 to obtain a resin solution. (Para, 0058). Tarumoto discloses in the dark, a solution was obtained by dissolving 9.94 g of the photoacid generator-3 obtained in Synthesis Example 1 in 120 g of methanol in this resin solution to obtain a photosensitive resin composition. (Para, 0058). Tarumoto discloses this photosensitive resin composition was coated onto a silicon wafer (manufactured by Sumitomo Bakelite) using a spin coater and dried on a hot plate at 105°C for 5 minutes to produce a photosensitive material having a photosensitive resist film with a thickness of 1.0 μm. (Para, 0060). Tarumoto discloses an exposure pattern was placed on a photosensitive material having this photosensitive resist film, and the material was exposed to light by irradiating it with an argon laser (488 nm, 3.1 mW/cm2). Tarumoto discloses next, the images were exposed and heated at 105°C (PEB: post-exposure bake), and the exposed areas were removed by developing them by immersing them in a 2.38% tetramethylammonium hydroxide aqueous solution at 20°C for 60 seconds and shaking them. (Para, 0061). Tarumoto this same process was also carried out with a photosensitive composition similar to that of example 1; however, in example 3, the photoacid generator -6, illustrated in paragraph 0027, was used instead of photoacid generator-3. (Para, 0063). These disclosures and the disclosures and illustrations of Tarumoto as discussed above teach the limitations of claims 10-11.
Therefore, the recitations of claims 1-2, 4-5, 8-12 are anticipated by the disclosures and illustrations of Tarumoto as discussed above.
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.
Claim(s) 7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tarumoto.
As discussed in paragraph 3 above, the disclosures of Tarumoto fail to explicitly teach the limitation of claim 7, ‘The actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition according to claim 1, wherein, among pKa values of the at least two acid groups generated from the compound (I) upon irradiation with the actinic rays or radiation, the difference between a maximum pKa value and a minimum pKa value is 1.60 or more.’ However, the disclosures of Tarumoto as discussed above do contemplate the limitation of claim 7.
In example photoacid generator 6 as discussed above the pKa of benzenesulfonic acid group is .7 and the pKa of benzoic acid group is 4.20. (Para, 0027; Fig 6). Based on these pKa values for each of the acid groups in the photoacid generator 6, which gives a difference in pKa values of greater than 1.60, one of ordinary skill in the art would reasonably conclude and/or at least understand this would also result in a difference of 1.60 or more between a maximum pKa value and a minimum pKa value of the two acid groups upon irradiation. Therefore, the recitations of claim 7 would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art in view of the disclosures and illustrations of Tarumoto.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 6 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The disclosures and illustrations of Tarumoto as discussed above fail to teach and/or suggest the limitation of claim 3, ‘ The actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition according to claim 1, wherein the compound (I) is a compound in which all the acid anionic groups and all the cationic group are linked via covalent bonding.’ Moreover, the disclosures and illustrations of Tarumoto as discussed above fail to teach and/or suggest the limitation of claim 6, ‘ The actinic ray-sensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition according to claim 4, wherein A12-, A17-, A19-, A20- in general formulas (I)-1, (I)-4, and (I)-5 each independently represent an acid anionic group represented by any of the following formulas (B-1) to (B-3):
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wherein, in the formulas (B-1) to (B-3), * represents a bonding position.’ The prior art fails to provide other relevant disclosures which are properly combinable with Tarumoto to teach and/or suggest the limitations of claim 3 and 6. Therefore, claims 3 and 6 include allowable subject matter.
Conclusion
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/CALEEN O SULLIVAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899
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