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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Status of the Claims
Claims 1-20 are pending in the current application.
Claim 20 is withdrawn as being directed towards a non-elected invention.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-19) in the reply filed on 6/19/26 is acknowledged.
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.
Claim(s) 1-5, 8-13, 18-19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chiba (US 20170253989).
As to claim 1, Chiba discloses a method of processing a substrate comprising:
Supplying a first gas containing a group 14 element to the substrate including a recess (figure 1: S1: substrate with recess; S2: forming Si film to not fill recess; paragraph 21: silicon formation with Si gas [group 14 element]);
Supplying a second gas, at a first concentration, containing a group 15 or 13 element to the substrate (paragraph 22: providing As [group 15], B [group 13] or P [group 15] gas);
Forming a film containing the group 14 element in the recess by supplying the first and second gases, and stopping before filling the recess (figure 1, S2; paragraphs 21-22: formation of Si film);
After forming the film, heat treating the substrate with the second gas at a second concentration (figure 1: step S4: annealing; paragraph 29: annealing in hydrogen inert/nitrogen atmosphere [therefore a different concentration, close to zero, of the group 13/15 second gas]).
As to claim 2, Chiba discloses a different concentration for the first and second concentrations of the second gas (paragraph 22, and 29, as discussed above – providing the gas in the film formation step [first concentration] and not providing the gas at the heating/annealing step [second concentration], therefore having different first and second concentrations).
As to claim 3, Chiba discloses the second concentration is lower than the first concentration (paragraph 22 and 29: heating step without providing second gas and therefore a lower second concentration than the first concentration where the gas is provided).
As to claims 4-5, Chiba discloses providing hydrogen gas during the annealing step (paragraph 29).
As to claim 8, Chiba discloses providing inert gas during the heating step (paragraph 29).
As to claim 9, Chiba discloses forming a second film by supplying a third gas containing a Group 14 element (figure 1: second film formation step S5; paragraph 42-43: providing Ge [group 14] containing gas for step S5).
As to claim 10 Chiba discloses the third gas is a hydrogen compound (paragraph 43: Ge gases including GeH4 and Ge2H6).
As to claim 11, Chiba discloses the hydrogen compound does not contain halogen (paragraph 43: Ge-H compounds without further halogens).
As to claim 12, Chiba discloses the second film is formed with the second gas being supplied (paragraph 42: Si-Ge film formed).
As to claim 13, Chiba discloses the second film is formed discontinuously (figure 1: showing ‘loop’ of step S5, with S6-7, until desired film thickness obtained [S8]).
As to claim 18, Chiba discloses manufacturing a semiconductor device by the method of claim 1 (paragraph 3).
As to claim 19, Chiba discloses a non-transitory computer-readable medium to perform the method of claim 1 (paragraph 10:semiconductor device, including electrode, formation).
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) 6-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chiba.
As to claims 6-7, Chiba discloses a pressure during the heating step (d) of 10-10-1 Torr and a pressure during the film formation (c) of 0.1-10 Torr (paragraph 22-23: film formation, paragraph 29 annealing/heating conditions), the ranges overlapping but containing a lower range portion for the heating than for the film formation. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to select pressures in which the pressure is lower during the heating than the film formation because such a selection is inferred by the disclosure of lower pressure ranges for the heating step than the film formation step of Chiba.
Claim(s) 14-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chiba, as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Maeda (US 20190206679).
As to claim 14, Chiba discloses CVD Si/SiGe film formation within a recess of a substrate (paragraphs 20-22, figure 2), but is silent as to formation of a seed layer with a group 14 containing gas.
Maeda discloses a method of forming a SiGe containing film within a substrate recess by a gas deposition process (abstract; figure 5). Maeda also discloses knowledge in the art of providing a seed layer for the SiGe layer, the seed layer formed by providing a Si [group 14] containing gas and allowing for control of the crystal structure of subsequently formed layers (paragraph 22: DCS gas composition; paragraph 46-51: formation of seed layer from DCS gas and control of subsequent Si containing layer’s crystal structure).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide a Si seed layer, as disclosed by Maeda, in the method of Chiba, because this allows for control over the crystal properties of the functional Si layer formed.
As to claim 15, Maeda discloses the temperature during the seed deposition (f) is lower than a second deposition step (e) (figure 4: seed layer temperature lower than second Si deposition step).
As to claim 16, Maeda discloses a different gas composition for the seed than the subsequent layers deposited (paragraph 46-51: DCS gas for seed deposition, paragraph 71: MS/MG gas for SiGe deposition, paragraph 91: MS gas for Si deposition).
As to claim 17, Maeda discloses a halogen gas for the seed forming step (f) (paragraph 22: DCS containing Cl) and a halogen-free gas for the subsequent Si layer (paragraph 64: MS gas of Si:H, silane free).
Correspondence Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON BERMAN whose telephone number is (571)270-5265. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Thursday 8-4.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, James Lin can be reached on (571) 272-8902. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JASON BERMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1794
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