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 .
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) 1-9, and 18-20, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by U. S. Patent No. 5,612,303 (hereinafter referred to as Takayanagi).
Takayanagi, in the abstract, in col 1, lines 8-12, and lines 15-29, discloses the solvent composition that is used for uniformly coating polymer coating on the substrates such as resist (see col 4, lines 36-38) and removing the resist in desired areas (includes edge, backside etc., see col 11, lines 51-60), wherein the solvent composition includes as its main (active component) component (claimed B1) as alkyl α-hydroxyisobutyrate, and Takayanagi, in col 4, lines 24-35, discloses that the alkyl α-hydroxyisobutyrate includes methyl α-hydroxyisobutyrate or ethyl α-hydroxyisobutyrate or i-propyl α-hydroxyisobutyrate or butyl α-hydroxyisobutyrate and is the same claimed compound (B1) recited in claims 1-3, 18. Takayanagi, in the abstract, and in col 4, lines 14-16, discloses that the solvent composition also includes a compound different than the active component (claimed B1) and the other compound included in the solvent composition includes methyl α-methoxyisobutyrate and is the same claimed compound recited as (B2) in claims 4-5, 19. Takayanagi, in col 12, lines 7-9, discloses that the mixture of methyl α-methoxyisobutyrate and methyl α-hydroxyisobutyrate can be present in the solvent composition in a ratio of about 30:70 (Table 11, col 20, lines 50-51) or in a content of 50:50 (Table 5, col 14, lines 43-44) and is the same claimed content recited in claims 6-9, and 20.
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)(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.
Claim(s) 1-5, and 10-19, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U. S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0059345 (hereinafter referred to as Koh).
Koh, in the abstract, and in [0029], [0032], and lines 1-4 of [0033], discloses a thinner composition that comprises an organic solvent composition that includes the claimed B1 compound such as ethyl-2-hydroxy-2-methyl propionate and can include solvent such as methyl hydroxyisobutyrate (claimed B2) in the combination of the organic solvent that can be used as the thinner composition (claims 1-5, 18-19). Koh, in the abstract and in [0003], discloses the manufacturing of the semiconductor device (IC) , and Koh, in [0006], and [0029], discloses the claimed thinner composition with the same claimed compound (B1). Koh, in lines 9-12, of [0005], discloses that the impurities from the surface of the substrate (substrate to be subsequently coated with photoresist or any underlying film after removing impurities) is initially removed by supplying a second organic solvent of the main treatment composition and Koh, in [0070], discloses that the second organic solvent is the same as the organic solvent in the thinner composition and is the same claimed solvent disclosed in [0029], that includes ethyl-2-hydroxy-2-methyl propionate i.e., Koh teaches prior to applying the photoresist composition the applying of the claimed solvent composition on the substrate surface (claim 10). Koh, in [0029], and [0032], discloses the thinner composition used in the IC manufacturing process ([0003]) and in [0038], Koh teaches applying the thinner composition after the forming of the photoresist layer on the substrate that includes a film to be processed underlying the photoresist layer ([0103]), and prior to exposure (figure 2C) (claim 11). Koh, in [0031], and in figures 2B-2D, discloses that the thinner composition removes the photoresist layer by contacting the thinner composition with photoresist layer at the edge portion resulting in removing the photoresist film and the underlying film to be processed at the edge portions and the back surface of the substrate (see figure 4A[Wingdings font/0xE0] 4B). Koh, in figure 2B-2D, and in [0064]-[0066], discloses that the thinner composition is spray-coated onto the edge portions of the photoresist layer and the applying of the thinner onto the photoresist coated substrate is performed while rotating the substrate positioned on the spin plate (claims 12-14, 17). Koh, in [0082], discloses that the photoresist-coated substrate that has been subjected to the thinner composition treatment for removing the photoresist from the edge portion/backside is then subjected to a drying process to remove the thinner composition that resides on the substrate (claim 15). Koh, in [0086], discloses that the substrate with the photoresist (after edge bead removal [0069]) is subjected to a soft-bake process, and Koh, in [0088], discloses that the photoresist layer is then partially exposed to light through a photomask. Koh, in [0091]-[0092], discloses that after the exposure process the photoresist is subjected to a developing process to form a photoresist pattern (claim 16).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Daborah Chacko-Davis whose telephone number is (571) 272-1380. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:30AM-6:00PM EST Mon-Fri. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sally A. Merkling can be reached on (571) 272-6297. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-272-8300. 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.
/DABORAH CHACKO-DAVIS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737 June 24, 2026.
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