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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group III (Claims 15 and 16) in the reply filed on 06/25/26 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-14 and 17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 06/25/26.
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(s) 15 and 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20190085452 (Lei et al) in view of WO 2012067455 A1 (Kim, English translation provided) and KR20140029136 A (Lee et al, English translation provided).
Concerning claim 15, Lei discloses a composition for forming a silicon-containing film, which comprises a silicon precursor compound ([0017] and [0028]) represented by the following Formula 1:
[Formula 1]
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in Formula 1, . . .R3 to R7 are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a linear or branched C1-C4 alkyl group, and a linear or branched C2-C6 alkenyl group, provided that at least one of R3 and R4 is not hydrogen; and that at least one of R5 to R7 is not hydrogen ([0020]-[0021], note that the silicon precursor can be a trisilylamine derivative including a group represented by Formula A:
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wherein R.sup.1 is selected from the group consisting of a C.sub.3 to C.sub.10 cyclic alkyl group, a branched C.sub.4 to C.sub.10 cyclic alkyl group, a C.sub.3 to C.sub.10 cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C.sub.4 to C.sub.10 cyclic alkenyl group, a C.sub.3 to C.sub.6 cyclic alkynyl group, and a branched C.sub.3 to C.sub.6 cyclic alkynyl group; R and R.sup.2-8 are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, a linear or branched C.sub.1 to C.sub.10 alkyl group, a linear or branched C.sub.3 to C.sub.10 alkenyl group, a linear or branched C.sub.3 to C.sub.10 alkynyl group, a C.sub.1 to C.sub.6 dialkylamino group, a C.sub.1 to C.sub.6 alkylamino group, a C.sub.6 to C.sub.10 aryl group, a C.sub.3 to C.sub.10 cyclic alkyl group, a branched C.sub.4 to C.sub.10 cyclic alkyl group, a C.sub.3 to C.sub.10 cyclic alkenyl group, a branched C.sub.4 to C.sub.10 cyclic alkenyl group, a C.sub.3 to C.sub.6 cyclic alkynyl group, a branched C.sub.3 to C.sub.6 cyclic alkynyl group, and a C.sub.4 to C.sub.10 aryl group; lending to the structural compounds
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)
Lei does not teach Cy is a ring in which N, R', and R2 are directly or indirectly linked to each other and refers to a substituted or unsubstituted C4-Cs heterocyclic ring, R' and R2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), and carbon (C). Lei teaches Cy are cyclic amino variants (i.e. pyrrolidine, piperidine, etc). However Kim teaches the preparation of a silicon precursor compound having a heterocyclic amine group in which ring strain exists for application to the synthesis of silicon oxide thin films via atomic layer deposition or chemical vapor deposition (page 1, abstract). Of particular note, Kim teaches an aminosilane precursor compound formula containing a cyclic amino group with 3-10 carbon atoms wherein at least one atom is a heteroatom including oxygen, nitrogen, or phosphorous and that positions other than the amino group may be optionally substituted with alkyl groups as depicted by Formula 1 (page 2 para. 3-5 translation provided ). These heterocycles may be selected from pyrrolidine, piperidine represent similarly described aminosilane substructures. Kim teaches that since these heterocyclic aminosilanes possess cyclic strain, the amine is more easily separated from the Si atom and it is thus advantageous to react highly reactive oxidants to form a silicon oxide thin film (SiO₂) or silicon nitride thin film (SiN)x at a low deposition temperature of 100-500 °C (page 5 paras. 3 and 6 of the machine translation provided).
Additionally, Lee teaches the preparation of silicon precursor compounds having cyclic aminosilane groups that possess excellent affinity towards silicon and metal atoms and their application to the manufacture of semiconductor devices containing silicon oxide thin films via atomic layer deposition or chemical vapor deposition (pages 1 Abstract and [0092] translated document). Specifically, Lee teaches aminosilane precursor compounds that possess a heterocyclic amino group, including morpholine (Formulas 5-7 and [0078]-[0080]) and N-methylpiperazine and that teaches that these cyclic aminosilane precursor compounds are advantageous over previously reported acyclic aminosilane precursor compounds due to their high bonding strength to underlying structures, including silicon or metal atoms; these properties impart desirable benefits for the synthesis of thin silicon oxide films, such as high deposition uniformity, a high silicon film deposition rate, and low pore density in the deposited silicon film ([0086] ) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify to introduce heterocyclic amines such as pyrrolidine, piperidine, 2,6- dimethylpiperidine, N-methylpiperazine, and morpholine groups into the design of their silicon- containing precursor compounds (silicon precursor can be a trisilylamine derivative including a group represented by Formula A of Kim) to provide superior precursor compounds for compositions used for forming silicon-containing films and achieve lower deposition temperatures, high deposition uniformity, a high silicon film deposition rate, and low pore density in the deposited silicon films.
Continuing to claim 16, Lei in view of Kim and Lee disclose the silicon precursor compound represented by any one of the following Formulae:
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(The circled compound in the annotated drawing above).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20150087139 discloses precursors suitable for atomic layer deposition of films (Abstract).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VALERIE N NEWTON whose telephone number is (571)270-5015. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
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/VALERIE N NEWTON/Examiner, Art Unit 2897 09/03/26
/CHAD M DICKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2897
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