CTNF 18/468,245 CTNF 88620 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. Priority 02-26 AIA Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55. 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. 07-34-01 Claim 17 is 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 17 recites “A method for manufacturing an electronic device, comprising: the pattern forming method according to claim 16” but fails to set forth additional steps. 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Ichikawa et al. (U.S. 2011/0200940) . Ichikawa et al. teaches a photoresist composition in which the following components were mixed and dissolved, further, filtrated through a fluorine resin filter having pore diameter of 0.2 µm, to prepare photoresist compositions. Resin (kind and amount are described in Table 1), Polymer (kind and amount are described in Table 1), Acid generator (kind and amount are described in Table 1), Quencher (kind and amount are described in Table 1), and Solvent E1 [0230-0235], specifically Example 11 comprises resins A1 and A2, acid generator I-1, and quenchers C1 and C2 [0235] wherein resin A1 is the following: PNG media_image1.png 151 213 media_image1.png Greyscale [0225] and resin A2 is the following: PNG media_image2.png 142 202 media_image2.png Greyscale [0226] which are equivalent to a resin (A) which is decomposed by action of acid to increase polarity having a reactive moiety (1) of instant claims 1 and 2 , specifically having a dissociable hydrogen atom of instant claim 12 , more specifically a phenolic hydroxyl group of instant claim 13 , specifically a resin having an alcoholic hydroxyl group and an acid-decomposable group of instant claim 7 ; and acid generator I-1 is the following: PNG media_image3.png 160 286 media_image3.png Greyscale [0186] which is equivalent to a compound (B) which generates an acid by irradiation with actinic ray or a radiation which is an ionic compound having a reactive moiety (2) of instant claims 1 and 2 , specifically a partial structural represented by General Formula (1) of instant claims 3, 4, 7, and 8 , more specifically PNG media_image4.png 64 79 media_image4.png Greyscale of instant claims 5, 6, 9, and 10 , does not contain a partial structure represented by any of General Formula (11) to (14) of instant claim 11 and where the acid generated from the compound (B) includes an aromatic ring of instant claim 14 wherein the resin (A) and the acid generated from the compound (B) form a bond by the actinic ray or the radiation or by the action of acid ( claim 1 ). Ichikawa et al. also teaches silicon wafers were each contacted with hexamethyldisilazane at 90°C for 60 seconds on a direct hot plate and each of the photoresist compositions prepared as above was spin-coated over the silicon wafer to give a film thickness after drying of 0.06 pin. After application of each of the photoresist compositions, the silicon wafers thus coated with the respective resist compositions were each prebaked on a direct hotplate at a temperature shown in column "PB" in Table 2 for 60 seconds. Using a writing electron beam lithography system ("HL-800D" manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd., 50 KeV), each wafer on which the respective resist film had been thus formed was exposed to a line and space pattern, while changing stepwise the exposure quantity. After the exposure, each wafer was subjected to post-exposure baking on a hotplate at a temperature shown in column "PEB" in Table 2 for 60 seconds and then to paddle development with an aqueous solution of 2.38% by weight tetramethylammonium hydroxide for 60 seconds [0236-0237] ( claims 15-17 ) . 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Kiriyama et al. (U.S. 2020/0341376) . Kiriyama et al. teaches a radiation-sensitive resin composition in Example 24 comprising resin A-12, acid generating agent B-8, acid diffusion control agent C-2, polymer D-1, and solvents E-1 and E-2 [0303] wherein resin A-12 comprises monomers (M-2), (M-19), and (M-24) [0270] which are the following: PNG media_image5.png 87 215 media_image5.png Greyscale PNG media_image6.png 99 233 media_image6.png Greyscale PNG media_image7.png 92 226 media_image7.png Greyscale [0269] which is equivalent to a resin (A) which is decomposed by action of acid to increase polarity having a reactive moiety (1) of instant claims 1 and 2 , specifically monomer (M-19) has a dissociable hydrogen atom of instant claim 12 , more specifically a phenolic hydroxyl group of instant claim 13 when polymerized, specifically a resin having an alcoholic hydroxyl group and an acid-decomposable group of instant claim 7 ; B-8 is the following: PNG media_image8.png 211 414 media_image8.png Greyscale [page 27] which is equivalent to a compound (B) which generates an acid by irradiation with actinic ray or a radiation which is an ionic compound having a reactive moiety (2) of instant claims 1 and 2 , specifically a partial structural represented by General Formula (3) of instant claims 3, 4, 7, and 8 , more specifically PNG media_image9.png 44 43 media_image9.png Greyscale of instant claims 5, 6, 9, and 10 , does not contain a partial structure represented by any of General Formula (11) to (14) of instant claim 11 and where the acid generated from the compound (B) includes an aromatic ring of instant claim 14 wherein the resin (A) and the acid generated from the compound (B) form a bond by the actinic ray or the radiation or by the action of acid ( claim 1 ). 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 the surface of a 12-inch silicon wafer using a spin-coater (“CLEAN TRACK ACT12” available from Tokyo Electron Limited), and thereafter baking 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 film was exposed using an EUV scanner (“NXE3300”, available from ASML Co.,) with NA of 0.33 under an illumination condition involving 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 developed with an alkali by using a 2.38% by mass aqueous TMAH solution as an alkaline developer solution, followed by washing with water and further drying to form a positive-tone resist pattern (32-nm line-and-space pattern) [0304] and can be suitably used for working processes of semiconductor devices [0310] ( claims 15-17 ). Kiriyama et al. teaches a radiation-sensitive resin composition in Example 25 comprising resin A-13, acid generating agent B-7, acid diffusion control agent C-1, polymer D-1, and solvents E-1 and E-2 [0303] wherein resin A-13 comprises monomers (M-3), (M-5), and (M-20) [0270] which are the following: PNG media_image10.png 77 215 media_image10.png Greyscale PNG media_image11.png 103 217 media_image11.png Greyscale PNG media_image12.png 87 245 media_image12.png Greyscale [0269] which is equivalent to a resin (A) which is decomposed by action of acid to increase polarity having a reactive moiety (1) of instant claims 1 and 2 , specifically monomer (M-19) has a dissociable hydrogen atom of instant claim 12 , more specifically a phenolic hydroxyl group of instant claim 13 when polymerized, specifically a resin having an alcoholic hydroxyl group and an acid-decomposable group of instant claim 7 ; B-7 is the following: PNG media_image13.png 189 411 media_image13.png Greyscale [page 27] which is equivalent to a compound (B) which generates an acid by irradiation with actinic ray or a radiation which is an ionic compound having a reactive moiety (2) of instant claims 1 and 2 , specifically a partial structural represented by General Formula (2) of instant claims 3 and 7 , more specifically PNG media_image14.png 42 58 media_image14.png Greyscale of instant claims 5 and 9 and where the acid generated from the compound (B) includes an aromatic ring of instant claim 14 wherein the resin (A) and the acid generated from the compound (B) form a bond by the actinic ray or the radiation or by the action of acid ( claim 1 ). 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 the surface of a 12-inch silicon wafer using a spin-coater (“CLEAN TRACK ACT12” available from Tokyo Electron Limited), and thereafter baking 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 film was exposed using an EUV scanner (“NXE3300”, available from ASML Co.,) with NA of 0.33 under an illumination condition involving 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 developed with an alkali by using a 2.38% by mass aqueous TMAH solution as an alkaline developer solution, followed by washing with water and further drying to form a positive-tone resist pattern (32-nm line-and-space pattern) [0304] and can be suitably used for working processes of semiconductor devices [0310] ( claims 15-17 ) . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. U.S. 2012/0009520, U.S. 2012/0301829, U.S. 2015/0086911, U.S. 2016/0334702, U.S. 2019/0079399, U.S. 2021/0395195, U.S. 2022/0043347, U.S. 2022/0113626, U.S. 2022/0171284, JP2018115153, JP2015081960, JP2012083385, and JP2006063025 . 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 8:00-4:30 EST M-F. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Huff can be reached at 571-272-1385. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Anna Malloy/Examiner, Art Unit 1737 /MARK F. HUFF/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1737 Application/Control Number: 18/468,245 Page 2 Art Unit: 1737 Application/Control Number: 18/468,245 Page 3 Art Unit: 1737 Application/Control Number: 18/468,245 Page 4 Art Unit: 1737 Application/Control Number: 18/468,245 Page 5 Art Unit: 1737 Application/Control Number: 18/468,245 Page 6 Art Unit: 1737
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