DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I in the reply filed on July 14, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-12 and 21-28 are pending.
Claims 13-20 have been canceled.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
The limitation “cyclic monomer” par.0023, par.0024, par.0054, par.0056 should be corrected to read “cyclic group” (see group 122 in fig.5A and 5B).
The limitation “C-O bond” in par.0026 and par.0054 should be corrected to read “C-O- bond”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Objections
Claims 5-7 and 21-28 are objected to because of the following informalities:
The limitation “cyclic monomer” in claims 5, 6, 21, 26 should be corrected to read “cyclic group”.
The limitation “C-O bond” in claims 7, 27, and 28 should be corrected to read “C-O- bond”.
The limitation “the backbone of the polymer comprises a methyl methacrylate-based polymer” in claim 23 should be amended to read “the backbone of the polymer comprises a methyl methacrylate-based backbone”.
Claims 22, 24, and 25 are objected to as being dependent on objected claim 21.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 102 that forms 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 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wang et al. (US 2018/0174830).
With regard to claim 1, Wang et al. teach a process comprising the steps of:
-providing a substrate (602) which may include a bulk layer (604) and one or more layers (606), (608) formed thereon, wherein the bulk layer (604) may include a conductive or insulative layer, and the one or more layer (606), (608) may further include various doping configurations depending on design requirements (par.0022, par.0024, fig.5);
-forming a photoresist layer over the substrate (602) (par.0025, fig.5);
-patterning the photoresist layer by exposure, post-exposure bake, and development (par.0026-0028, fig.5);
-depositing a treatment material over the patterned resist layer and optionally performing baking (par.0029, fig.5);
-removing unbounded portions of the treatment material (par.0030, fig.5);
-etching the substrate through the opening of the photoresist pattern using the photoresist pattern as a mask (par.0031).
The treatment material may be represented by the formula in fig. 1B:
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, wherein A1-A3 may be -COO and Xa-Xc may be hydrogen atoms (par.0019-0020).
A polymer of fig.1B wherein A1-A3 is -COO and Xa-Xc are hydrogen atoms is an acrylate polymer, which is a hydrophobic polymer (see par.0024 of Vo et al. (US 2015/0275078)).
The step of providing a substrate (602) which may include a bulk layer (604) and one or more layers (606), (608) formed thereon of Wang et al. is equivalent to the step of “forming a target layer over a substrate” in claim 1.
The step of forming a photoresist layer over the substrate (602) of Wang et al. is equivalent to the step of “applying a photoresist composition over the target layer to form a photoresist layer” in claim 1.
The step of patterning the photoresist layer by exposure, post-exposure bake, and development of Wang et al. comprises the step of “exposing the photoresist layer” in claim 1.
The step of depositing a treatment material over the patterned resist layer and performing baking, wherein the treatment material is the polymer in fig.1B, A1-A3 are -COO groups, and Xa-Xc are hydrogen atoms of Wang et al. is equivalent to the steps of “forming a hydrophobic material over the photoresist layer” and “performing a reflow process to the photoresist layer and the hydrophobic material” in claim 1 (see par.0022 of the specification of the instant application which implies a heating step as reflow step).
The step of -removing unbounded portions of the treatment material of Wang et al. is equivalent to the step of “removing the hydrophobic material” in claim 1.
The step of etching the substrate through the opening of the photoresist pattern using the photoresist pattern as a mask of Wang et al. is equivalent to the step of “patterning the target layer using the photoresist layer as a mask” in claim 1.
Therefore, the process of Wang et al. anticipates the process of claim 1 of the instant application.
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 2018/0174830).
With regard to claim 2, Wang et al. teach the method of claim 1 (see paragraph 6 above), but fail to teach that the polymer in fig.1B, wherein A1-A3 are -COO- groups, and Xa-Xc are hydrogen atoms of Wang et al. (hydrophobic material) has a glass transition temperature greater than a glass transition temperature of the photoresist layer.
However, there are only three possible choices: the polymer and the photoresist have the same glass transition temperature, the polymer has a glass transition temperature greater than the glass transition temperature of photoresist layer, and the polymer has a glass transition temperature lower than the glass transition temperature of the photoresist layer.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to use a polymer having a glass transition temperature greater than the glass transition temperature of the photoresist layer in the process of Wang et al. with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claims 3-10, 12, 21, 22, and 24-28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 2018/0174830) in view of Ho et al. (US 2021/0063888) and in further view of Hoshino et al. (US 2008/0241742).
With regard to claim 3, Wang et al. teach the process of claim 1 (see paragraph 6 above). Wang et al. teach the treatment material of the formula in fig. 1B (par.0019-0020), which is a polymer.
Wang et al. fail to teach that the treatment material comprises a plasticizer and a solvent.
Ho et al. teach a method comprising the steps of: forming a patterned photoresist on a substrate, forming a molding layer covering the patterned photoresist, reflowing the patterned photoresist in the molding layer, and removing the molding layer from the reflowed patterned photoresist (abstract). The molding layer may be made of a polymer (par.0027), and a plasticizer may be added to adjust the glass transition temperature of the polymer layer (par.0047).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to include a plasticizer in the treatment material of Wang et al., in order to adjust the glass transition temperature of the treatment material.
Ho et al. further teach that molding layer may be applied as a solution (par.0024), but Wang et al. and Ho et al. fail to teach that the treatment material comprises a solvent.
Hoshino et al. teach a surface-treating agent that is used on a first resist pattern (par.0039-0040). The surface-treating agent comprises a compound (par.0015-0016) and a solvent (par.0026-0028).
Additionally, it is known that a solvent is added to a composition to optimize its coating properties. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to include a solvent in the composition of Wang modified by Ho in order to optimize the coating properties of the composition.
With regard to claims 4-6, Wang et al. teach the polymer of fig. 1B:
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, wherein A1-A3 may be -COO and Xa-Xc may be hydrogen atoms (par.0019-0020). A polymer of fig.1B wherein A1-A3 is -COO and Xa-Xc are hydrogen atoms is an acrylate polymer in claim 4.
Wang et al. further teach that the segment of formula:
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may be poly(benzyl acrylate) or poly(cyclohexyl acrylate)(par.0019). A polymer including a poly(benzyl acrylate) block or a poly(cyclohexyl acrylate) block is a polymer comprising a backbone, a linker moiety, and cyclic moieties of formulas
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or
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bonded to the backbone through the linker moiety.
With regard to claims 7 and 8, Ho et al. teach that the plasticizer may be di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (par.0047). This a compound comprising C=O bonds, and has a molecular weight of 391g/mol.
Wang et al. teach that the polymer of the treatment material has a molecular weight of less than 20,000 (par.0020). It would be expected that the molecular weight of the polymer is higher than the molecular weight of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate.
With regard to claims 9 and 10, Hoshino et al. teach that the solvent may be butyl acetate (par.0091), and butyl acetate has logP=1.82 (see the “Properties” in the attached “Butyl acetate”). This value is within the range in claim 10.
Wang et al. a step of development after exposure (par.0026-0028, fig.5), and this is equivalent to the step of “after exposing the photoresist layer, developing the photoresist layer using a developer” in claim 10.
Wang et al., Ho et al., and Hoshino et al. fail to teach that butyl acetate is more hydrophilic than the developer.
However, there are only three possible choices: butyl acetate and the developer have the same hydrophilicity, butyl acetate is less hydrophilic than the developer, or butyl acetate is more hydrophilic than the developer.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to use a developer less hydrophilic than butyl acetate in the process of Wang modified by Ho and Hoshino, with a reasonable expectation of success.
With regard to claim 12, Wang et al. teach that the polymer of the treatment material has a molecular weight of less than 20,000 (par.0020). This range overlaps the claimed range.
With regard to claims 21 and 22, Wang et al. teach a process comprising the steps of:
-providing a substrate (602) which may include a bulk layer (604) and one or more layers (606), (608) formed thereon, wherein the bulk layer (604) may include a conductive or insulative layer, and the one or more layer (606), (608) may further include various doping configurations depending on design requirements (par.0022, par.0024, fig.5);
-forming a photoresist layer over the substrate (602) (par.0025, fig.5);
-patterning the photoresist layer by exposure, post-exposure bake, and development (par.0026-0028, fig.5);
-depositing a treatment material over the patterned resist layer and optionally performing baking (par.0029, fig.5);
-removing unbounded portions of the treatment material (par.0030, fig.5);
-etching the substrate through the opening of the photoresist pattern using the photoresist pattern as a mask (par.0031).
Wang et al. teach that the treatment material may be represented by the formula in fig. 1B:
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, wherein A1-A3 may be -COO and Xa-Xc may be hydrogen atoms or methyl groups (par.0019-0020).
A polymer of fig.1B wherein A1-A3 is -COO and Xa-Xc are hydrogen atoms is an acrylate polymer, which is a hydrophobic polymer (see par.0024 of Vo et al. (US 2015/0275078)).
Wang et al. further teach that the segment of formula:
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may be poly(cyclohexyl acrylate)(par.0019). A polymer including a poly(cyclohexyl acrylate) block is a polymer comprising a backbone, a linker moiety, and a cyclic moiety of formula
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bonded to the backbone.
The polymer including a poly(cyclohexyl acrylate) block meets the limitations for an acrylate-based polymer in claim 22.
The step of providing a substrate (602) which may include a bulk layer (604) and one or more layers (606), (608) formed thereon of Wang et al. is equivalent to the step of “forming a target layer over a substrate” in claim 21.
The step of forming a photoresist layer over the substrate (602) of Wang et al. is equivalent to the step of “applying a photoresist composition over the target layer to form a photoresist layer” in claim 21.
The step of patterning the photoresist layer by exposure, post-exposure bake, and development of Wang et al. comprises the step of “exposing the photoresist layer” in claim 21.
The step of depositing a treatment material over the patterned resist layer and performing baking, wherein the treatment material is the polymer in fig.1B, A1-A3 are -COO groups, and Xa-Xc are hydrogen atoms of Wang et al. is equivalent to the steps of “forming a hydrophobic material over the photoresist layer” and “performing a reflow process to the photoresist layer and the hydrophobic material” in claim 21 (see par.0022 of the specification of the instant application which implies a heating step as reflow step).
The step of removing unbounded portions of the treatment material of Wang et al. is equivalent to the step of “removing the hydrophobic material” in claim 21.
The step of etching the substrate through the opening of the photoresist pattern using the photoresist pattern as a mask of Wang et al. is equivalent to the step of “patterning the target layer using the photoresist layer as a mask” in claim 21.
Wang et al. fail to teach that the treatment material comprises a plasticizer and a solvent.
Ho et al. teach a method comprising the steps of: forming a patterned photoresist on a substrate, forming a molding layer covering the patterned photoresist, reflowing the patterned photoresist in the molding layer, and removing the molding layer from the reflowed patterned photoresist (abstract). The molding layer may be made of a polymer (par.0027), and a plasticizer may be added to adjust the glass transition temperature of the polymer layer (par.0047).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to include a plasticizer in the treatment material of Wang et al., in order to adjust the glass transition temperature of the treatment material.
Ho et al. further teach that molding layer may be applied as a solution (par.0024), but Wang et al. and Ho et al. fail to teach that the treatment material comprises a solvent.
Hoshino et al. teach a surface-treating agent that is used on a first resist pattern (par.0039-0040). The surface-treating agent comprises a compound (par.0015-0016) and a solvent (par.0026-0028).
Additionally, it is known that a solvent is added to a composition to optimize its coating properties. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to include a solvent in the composition of Wang modified by Ho in order to optimize the coating properties
With regard to claim 24, Hoshino et al. teach that the solvent may be butyl acetate (par.0091), and butyl acetate has logP=1.82 (see the “Properties” in the attached “Butyl acetate”). This value is within the claimed range.
With regard to claim 25, Wang et al, Ho et al. and Hoshino et al. fail to teach that the treatment material has a glass transition temperature greater than a glass transition temperature of the photoresist layer.
However, there are only three possible choices: the treatment material and the photoresist have the same glass transition temperature, the treatment material has a glass transition temperature greater than the glass transition temperature of the photoresist layer, and the treatment material has a glass transition temperature lower than the glass transition temperature of the photoresist layer.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to use a treatment material having a glass transition temperature greater than the glass transition temperature of the photoresist layer in the process of Wang modified by Ho and Hoshino with a reasonable expectation of success.
With regard to claim 26, Wang et al. teach a process comprising the steps of:
-providing a substrate (602) which may include a bulk layer (604) and one or more layers (606), (608) formed thereon, wherein the bulk layer (604) may include a conductive or insulative layer, and the one or more layer (606), (608) may further include various doping configurations depending on design requirements (par.0022, par.0024, fig.5);
-forming a photoresist layer over the substrate (602) (par.0025, fig.5);
-patterning the photoresist layer by exposure, post-exposure bake, and development (par.0026-0028, fig.5);
-depositing a treatment material over the patterned resist layer and optionally performing baking (par.0029, fig.5);
-removing unbounded portions of the treatment material (par.0030, fig.5);
-etching the substrate through the opening of the photoresist pattern using the photoresist pattern as a mask (par.0031).
Wang et al. teach that the treatment material may be represented by the formula in fig. 1B:
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, wherein A1-A3 may be -COO and Xa-Xc may be hydrogen atoms or methyl groups (par.0019-0020).
A polymer of fig.1B wherein A1-A3 is -COO and Xa-Xc are hydrogen atoms is an acrylate polymer, which is a hydrophobic polymer (see par.0024 of Vo et al. (US 2015/0275078)).
Wang et al. further teach that the segment of formula:
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may be poly(cyclohexyl acrylate)(par.0019). A polymer including a poly(cyclohexyl acrylate) block is a polymer comprising a backbone, and a cyclic moiety of formula
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bonded to the backbone.
The step of providing a substrate (602) which may include a bulk layer (604) and one or more layers (606), (608) formed thereon of Wang et al. is equivalent to the step of “forming a target layer over a substrate” in claim 26.
The step of forming a photoresist layer over the substrate (602) of Wang et al. is equivalent to the step of “applying a photoresist composition over the target layer to form a photoresist layer” in claim 26.
The step of patterning the photoresist layer by exposure, post-exposure bake, and development of Wang et al. comprises the step of “exposing the photoresist layer” in claim 26.
The step of depositing a treatment material over the patterned resist layer and performing baking, wherein the treatment material is the polymer in fig.1B, A1-A3 are -COO groups, and Xa-Xc are hydrogen atoms of Wang et al. is equivalent to the steps of “forming a hydrophobic material over the photoresist layer” and “performing a reflow process to the photoresist layer and the hydrophobic material” in claim 21 (see par.0022 of the specification of the instant application which implies a heating step as reflow step).
The step of removing unbounded portions of the treatment material of Wang et al. is equivalent to the step of “removing the hydrophobic material” in claim 26.
The step of etching the substrate through the opening of the photoresist pattern using the photoresist pattern as a mask of Wang et al. is equivalent to the step of “patterning the target layer using the photoresist layer as a mask” in claim 26.
Wang et al. fail to teach that the treatment material comprises a plasticizer and a solvent.
Ho et al. teach a method comprising the steps of: forming a patterned photoresist on a substrate, forming a molding layer covering the patterned photoresist, reflowing the patterned photoresist in the molding layer, and removing the molding layer from the reflowed patterned photoresist (abstract). The molding layer may be made of a polymer (par.0027), and a plasticizer may be added to adjust the glass transition temperature of the polymer layer (par.0047).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to include a plasticizer in the treatment material of Wang et al., in order to adjust the glass transition temperature of the treatment material.
Ho et al. further teach that molding layer may be applied as a solution (par.0024), but Wang et al. and Ho et al. fail to teach that the treatment material comprises a solvent.
Hoshino et al. teach a surface-treating agent that is used on a first resist pattern (par.0039-0040). The surface-treating agent comprises a compound (par.0015-0016) and a solvent (par.0026-0028).
Additionally, it is known that a solvent is added to a composition to optimize its coating properties. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the filing date of the claimed invention to include a solvent in the composition of Wang modified by Ho in order to optimize the coating properties of the composition.
Ho et al. teach that the plasticizer may be di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (par.0047), with a molecular weight of 391g/mol.
Wang et al. teach that the polymer of the treatment material has a molecular weight of less than 20,000 (par.0020). It would be expected that the molecular weight of the polymer is higher than the molecular weight of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate.
With regard to claims 27 and 28, Ho et al. teach that the plasticizer may be di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (par.0047). This a compound comprising C=O bonds, and it may be considered that the bods are in the backbone of the compound or in a side chains of the compound.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 11 is 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.
Wang et al. (US 2018/0174839) fail to teach a process wherein the hydrophobic material comprises a polymer, a solvent, and a plasticizer, wherein the polymer has a glass transition temperature greater than about 130oC.
There are no prior art teachings that would motivate one of ordinary skill to modify Wang et al. and obtain the method in claim 11 of the instant application.
Claim 23 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the objections set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Wang et al. (US 2018/0174839) fail to teach a process wherein the hydrophobic material comprises a polymer comprising a backbone and a cyclic group bonded to the backbone, and the backbone comprises a methyl methacrylate-based backbone.
There are no prior art teachings that would motivate one of ordinary skill to modify Wang et al. and obtain the method in claim 23 of the instant application.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Chang et al. (US 2007/0048675) teach a method comprising steps of: forming a photoresist layer on a substrate, exposing and developing to form a photoresist pattern, forming a polymer-containing layer over the photoresist pattern and thermally treating so that the polymer is substantially diffused into the photoresist pattern to enhance the etch resistance of the photoresist pattern, and removing the polymer-containing layer (abstract).
Shiobara et al. (US 2009/0117498) teach a pattern-forming method wherein a shrink material is applied on a developed resist layer, the resist layer and the shrink material are heated, and a part of the heat-processed shrink material is removed (abstract).
Koh et al. (US Patent 6,599,844) teach a process comprising the steps of:
-providing a film (10) to be patterned on a semiconductor substrate;
-forming a photoresist film (20a) on the film (10);
- exposing the photoresist film (20a);
-forming a silylation layer (30) on the top portion of the exposed photoresist film (20a); and
-performing a dry development process (column 2, line 56-column 3, line 17).
Koh et al. teach that the silylation agents are silazanes (column 3, lines 10-15), and silazanes are hydrophobic compounds, as evidenced in claim 11 of Smith et al. (US Patent 9,260,629).
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/ANCA EOFF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1722
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