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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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.
Claims 1, 2, 7-12, 14, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (U.S. 2021/0116802).
Lee et al. teaches a pellicle (assembly) for a reflective mask includes a pellicle body (membrane), a pellicle frame (border) below the pellicle body to support the pellicle body, and a pattern structure in at least a part of a surface of the pellicle body, wherein the pattern structure includes a plurality of patterns [abstract] seen in the following figure 8:
PNG
media_image1.png
353
452
media_image1.png
Greyscale
wherein the pellicle 300-3 for the reflective mask may include the pellicle body 304, the pattern structure 310-3, and/or the pellicle frame 318. The pattern structure 310-3 may include the plurality of patterns 306 and 308 and at least one ventilation penetration pattern 307 placed within the patterns 306 and 308 and penetrating the pellicle body 304. The patterns 306 and 308 may be concavo-convex patterns having a plurality of concave patterns 306 and convex patterns 308. The ventilation penetration pattern 307 may be formed in the recess patterns 306 and the convex patterns 308 to reduce or prevent the pellicle body 304 from bending [0067] and the pellicle frame 318 supporting the pellicle body 304 may be placed below the pellicle body 304 in the peripheral region PR [0052] in which the pellicle body 304 may be formed of a material having high transmittance for the EUV light [0049] which is equivalent to a pellicle assembly comprising a pellicle membrane including an upper surface and a lower surface that face each other and are spaced apart from each other by a first depth, a plurality of recesses extending from the upper surface by a second depth, the second depth being smaller than the first depth, spaced apart from each other by a second gap which is smaller than the first gap, and a plurality of openings penetrating from the upper surface to the lower surface spaced apart from each other by a first gap at an edge region adjacent to the pellicle border which is configured to support the pellicle membrane (claims 1, 2, 7, and 9).
Lee et al. also teaches the pattern structure 310 may include a plurality of patterns 306 and 308. The patterns 306 and 308 may be concavo-convex patterns having a plurality of concave portion patterns 306 and convex patterns 308. In some embodiments, pitches P of the patterns 306 and 308 may be less than 10 nm, for example, 2 nm to 10 nm. In some embodiments, a thickness of the convex pattern 308 configuring the pattern structure 310 may be one tenth the thickness of the pellicle body 304. In some embodiments, the thickness T2 of the convex pattern 308 configuring the pattern structure 310 may be less than 10 nm, for example, 7 nm to 8 nm [0050-0051] (claim 8), and referring to FIG. 11, the first patterns PA3 may be penetration patterns penetrating the pellicle body 304. The second patterns PB3 may be non-penetration patterns that do not penetrate the pellicle body 304 [0088] (i.e. openings and recesses) and FIGS. 12A to 12D are cross-sectional views illustrating various shapes of concavo-convex patterns configuring a pattern structure of a pellicle for a reflective mask according to example embodiments of the inventive concepts [0090]:
PNG
media_image2.png
821
483
media_image2.png
Greyscale
wherein concavo-convex patterns 310a of a pattern structure 310-7 of FIG. 12A may be sawtooth patterns formed in a direction higher than a surface of the pellicle body 304. Concavo-convex patterns 310b of a pattern structure 310-8 of FIG. 12B may be sawtooth patterns formed in a direction lower than the surface of the pellicle body 304. Concavo-convex patterns 310c of a pattern structure 310-9 of FIG. 12C may be ladder patterns formed in the direction lower than the surface of the pellicle body 304. Concavo-convex patterns 310b of a pattern structure 310-10 of FIG. 12D may be peak patterns formed in the directions higher and lower than the surface of the pellicle body 304. As illustrated in FIGS. 12A to 12D, the concavo-convex patterns 310a to 310d configuring the pattern structures 310-7 to 310-10 of the pellicle for the reflective mask are variously formed, and thus, transmittance of the pellicle for the reflective mask may increase, and thermal and mechanical stability may also increase [0091-0093] which is equivalent to a lower recess extending from the lower surface to toward the upper surface having an outer hole and an inner hole such that the diameter of the outer hole is different from the diameter of the inner hole and decreasing towards the upper surface in which the inverse can also be true, i.e. am upper recess extending from the upper surface toward the lower surface such that the diameter of the upper surface decreases towards the lower surface (claims 10-12).
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (U.S. 2021/0116802).
With regard to claim 3, Lee et al. teaches the above pellicle having one light transmission layer.
Lee et al. does not teach a plurality of light transmission layers which are stacked and having substantially the same thickness and material.
However, Lee et al. teaches while the inventive concepts have been particularly shown and described with reference to embodiments thereof, it will be understood that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the following claims [0123] and when the pellicle 300 for the reflective mask included in the reflective mask assembly 500 has high transmittance for EUV light and has thermal and mechanical stability, the EUV exposure apparatus (100 of FIG. 1) may perform a reliable exposure process by using the EUV light [0045].
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Lee et al. to include multiple stacked pellicle bodies 304 through routine experimentation in the art of duplicating application steps and arrive at the instant claims with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claims 4-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (U.S. 2021/0116802) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kim (WO2023101330). U.S. 2025/0028234 is being used as the English translation.
With regard to claims 4-6, Lee et al. teaches the above pellicle having one light transmission layer in which the pellicle body 304 is formed on the frame substrate 302. The pellicle body 304 may be configured by a silicon layer [0101].
Lee et al. does not teach a plurality of light transmission layers which are stacked and at least one of the layers comprises a material different from the remaining layers, specifically, the central layer comprises a carbon-containing layer.
However, Kim et al. teaches a pellicle film to have a large area while simplifying process conditions when the pellicle film in which a graphene layer and a crystallized silicon (c-Si) layer are heterojunctioned is manufactured so as to heighten an EUV transmittance while maintaining excellent mechanical properties of the graphene. As a result, a new method capable of making a stacked structure of c-Si/graphene or c-Si/SiC/graphene has been developed through forming of the graphene layer, silicon crystalline, and diffusion of a Si-C interface through electron beam irradiation after forming a precursor layer for manufacturing the respective layers [0021] as seen in the following figure 2:
PNG
media_image3.png
140
319
media_image3.png
Greyscale
wherein a pellicle 80 (assembly) has a shape in which a pellicle film 33, a frame 60 (border) that supports the pellicle film 33 (membrane), and a binder layer 50 that attaches them to each other are combined together [0086] and the pellicle film 33 has a multilayer thin film structure that is a structure in which the crystallized silicon (c-Si) 22 and a graphene layer 42 are heterojunctioned [0091]. Kim et al. also teaches since the pellicle film 33 has a high EUV transmittance and rises to a high temperature during transmission of the EUV, it should have an excellent high-temperature durability and film strength enough to endure a pressure difference that occurs through a vacuum process in a EUV exposure system [0087]. Further, the selection of a known material based on its suitability for its intended use supported a prima facie obviousness determination in Sinclair & Carroll Co. v. Interchemical Corp., 65 USPQ 297 (1945). See MPEP 2144.07. In the instant case, both Lee and Kim are directed to pellicles using silicon membranes. Kim et al. further teaches adding a graphene layer between two silicon layers improves the pellicles effectiveness.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teaching of Lee et al. to include multiple pellicle bodies (membranes) in which the core comprises graphene and arrive at the instant claims through routine experimentation of combining suitable components for the sought invention in order to improve temperature durability and film strength when exposed to EUV.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (U.S. 2021/0116802) in view of Nam et al. (U.S. 2019/0146324).
Lee et al. teaches a pellicle (assembly) for a reflective mask includes a pellicle body (membrane), a pellicle frame (border) below the pellicle body to support the pellicle body, and a pattern structure in at least a part of a surface of the pellicle body, wherein the pattern structure includes a plurality of patterns [abstract] seen in the following figure 8:
PNG
media_image1.png
353
452
media_image1.png
Greyscale
wherein the pellicle 300-3 for the reflective mask may include the pellicle body 304, the pattern structure 310-3, and/or the pellicle frame 318. The pattern structure 310-3 may include the plurality of patterns 306 and 308 and at least one ventilation penetration pattern 307 placed within the patterns 306 and 308 and penetrating the pellicle body 304. The patterns 306 and 308 may be concavo-convex patterns having a plurality of concave patterns 306 and convex patterns 308. The ventilation penetration pattern 307 may be formed in the recess patterns 306 and the convex patterns 308 to reduce or prevent the pellicle body 304 from bending [0067] and the pellicle frame 318 supporting the pellicle body 304 may be placed below the pellicle body 304 in the peripheral region PR [0052] and referring to FIG. 11, the first patterns PA3 may be penetration patterns penetrating the pellicle body 304. The second patterns PB3 may be non-penetration patterns that do not penetrate the pellicle body 304 [0088] (i.e. openings and recesses). Lee et al. also teaches the pattern structure 310 may be formed by using a photolithography process. The photolithography process may be performed by using a method such as nanoimprint lithography (NIL), directed self-assembly (DSA), or emulsion lithography (IL). Referring to FIG. 16, the frame substrate 302 is inverted, and then a mask pattern 314 is formed on a part of the rear surface of the frame substrate 302. The mask pattern 314 may be formed as a photoresist pattern. The mask pattern 314 is formed to etch a part of the rear surface of the frame substrate 302. Referring to FIG. 17, the pellicle frame 318 is formed by etching the frame substrate 302 of FIG. 16 by using the mask pattern 314 as an etching mask. The pellicle frame 318 may be formed near edges of the pellicle body 304. Etching of the frame substrate 302 may be performed by using a dry etching method or a wet etching method [0103-0105].
Lee et al. does not explicitly teach the pattern is formed by etching, i.e. etching the body to form at least one recess and etching to form at least one opening.
However, Nam et al. teaches referring to FIG. 2, the pellicle for EUV lithography according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as that of the foregoing first embodiment in light of including the frame layer 110 having the support layer pattern 102a and the etching stop layer pattern 103a, and the pellicle layer 120 having the frame layer 110, the lower reinforcing layer 104, the core layer 105 and the upper reinforcing layer 106. The pellicle according to this embodiment additionally includes auxiliary reinforcing layers 201 and 202 formed on both surfaces or either surface of the pellicle layer 120 [0046]:
PNG
media_image4.png
423
444
media_image4.png
Greyscale
wherein the core layer 105 may be made of polycrystalline silicon advantageous to a microfabrication process and excellent in optical, thermal and mechanical characteristics. Further, as described above, the surface of the core layer 105 is fabricated to have nano-sized porosity to improve thermal characteristics of the core layer 105. To form fine pores on the surface, a dry etching method and a wet etching method are possible [0058], the upper reinforcing layer 106 is deposited on the top surface of the upper core layer 105, and at the same time the same layer as the upper reinforcing layer 106 is formed on the bottom surface of the lower core layer 105 [0059], and Referring to FIG. 3G, a photoresist film pattern 108a is formed on a bottom surface of a substrate, and the photoresist film pattern 108a is used as an etching mask to sequentially etch the etching mask layer 107, the upper reinforcing layer 106, the core layer 105, the lower reinforcing layer 104 and the etching stop layer 103 below the support layer 102 through the dry or wet etching process, thereby forming the lower thin-film layer pattern 130a through which the support layer 102 is exposed [0062] and after removing the photoresist film pattern 108a, the support layer 102 is etched by the dry etching process using a deep etcher, a XeF.sub.2 etcher or the like, or by the wet etching process using potassium hydroxide (KOH), tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) or the like, thereby forming the support layer pattern 102a through which the etching stop layer 103 is exposed [0063] such that etching is a known photolithographic process to create patterns.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Lee et al. to include etching as the means for obtaining the penetrating and non-penetrating patterns because Nam et al. teaches etching is a known photolithographic process to create patterns and arrive at the instantly claimed method of forming at least one light transmission layer on a substrate, etching the layer to form at least one recess, etching the layer to form at least one opening, and etching the substrate to form a pellicle border of instant claim 20 through routine experimentation with a reasonable expectation of success.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13 and 16-19 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 prior art of record does not teach or provide motivation to make/use a pellicle wherein a ratio of a total area occupied by the at least one opening to an entire area of one of the upper surface and the lower surface is in a range from 1% to 9%. Closest prior art Lee et al. is silent to any ratio of area occupied by openings to upper surface and lower surface. The prior art of record also does not teach a second light transmission layer interposed between the first recess and second recess of the first light transmission layer. Closest prior art Kim et al. and Nam et al. teach multiple layers uniformly stacked prior to any recess formation.
Conclusion
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 6:30-3:00 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, 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.
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
/KEITH WALKER/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 1735
Prosecution Insights