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 Status
Claims 13-21 are under consideration
Claims 1-12 are withdrawn
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of group II in the reply filed on 07/22/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 1-12 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 07/22/2026.
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.
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 13-14 and 17-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Shiu (US20170365561A1, published 2017).
Regarding claims 13-14 and 17-21,
Shiu teaches a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device [abstract] including an EUV exposure step [0040].
Shiu teaches forming an etch stop layer (instant hard mask) over a substrate that may include one or more target layers (layers to be patterned), forming an overlying low-k dielectric layer (which may comprise of an organic material, instant first lithography stack layer), forming an overlying first and second insulating film (which may be silicon oxide (silicon dioxide) films, aligning with the instant dielectric material, instant second lithography stack layer), forming an overlying metal hard mask film, forming an overlying middle layer (which may contain a metal such as Ti or Al, instant third lithography stack layer), forming an overlying photoresist layer (which may include a carbon backbone polymer, an organic photoresist, instant fourth lithography stack layer), and exposing and developing the photoresist layer to form a pattern [0018, 0020, 0022-0023, 0028-0030, 0033, 0037, 0040-41, fig 2, 6-7, 11-12], reading on instant claims 13-14 and 17-20.
Shiu teaches transferring the photoresist pattern into the underlying layers using conventional etching and resist removal operations to exposure the underlying substrate [0042-0043, fig 13-17]. Shiu further teaches the substrate may include one or more target layers disposed on a semiconductor substrate [0020], implying the pattern may be further transferred into the target layers, reading on instant claim 21.
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.
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.
Claims 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shiu (US20170365561A1, published 2017) as applied to claim 13 above, and further in view of Chang (US20170271150A1, published 2017).
Regarding claims 15-16,
Shiu teaches the above limitations set forth.
Shiu teaches a multilayer resist structure include bottom layer [0024], where the entire multilayer resist structure aligns with the instant fourth lithography stack layer and their metal hard mask film aligns with the instant third lithography stack layer. Shiu teaches forming an a third insulating film (instant fifth photoresist layer) formed over the metal hard mask film with an overlying multilayer resist structure [0031-0032], where the third insulating film may be oxide films such as silicon oxides.
Shiu fails to explicitly disclose their third insulating film with antireflective properties.
Chang, analogous art, teaches a method for semiconductor device fabrication [0016], where anti-reflection coatings (back-scattering anti-reflective material) include materials such as silicon oxide [0023].
As both Chang and Shiu teach methods for manufacturing a semiconductor device, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art that the silicon oxide containing third insulating film of Shiu would function as and have the inherent properties of an anti-reflective coating as disclosed by Chang, reading on instant claims 15-16.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US20230203354A1 teaches a similar patterning process comprising of a multilayer lithography stack, including an adhesive layer formed under the upper photoresist layer. US20110129781A1 teaches forming an etching object layer formed over a substrate with an overlying photoresist film, where the etching object layer may include a mask layer, a hard mask layer, an insulation layer, a conductive layer, an oxide layer, a nitride layer, an oxynitride layer, a metal layer, a metal nitride layer, a semiconductor layer or a polymer layer, etc.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Alexander Lee whose telephone number is (571)272-2261. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th 7:30-5:30 EST.
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, Keith Walker can be reached at (571) 272-3458. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Alexander N. Lee/Examiner, Art Unit 1737
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