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 claims 1-15 in the reply filed on 06/10/2024 is acknowledged.
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) 1-2, 8-9, 11-12, and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Miyamoto et al. (US 20200161445 A1, hereinafter Miyamoto)
With regards to claim 1, Miyamoto discloses a semiconductor device manufacturing method, (FIGS. 7-20) comprising:
forming a mask material (hard mask HM1) having openings on a surface of a silicon carbide layer; (silicon carbide SB and EP)
performing first processing for implanting at least one substance selected from a group consisting of hydrogen (H), helium (He), and electrons (Paragraph [0093]: “using the plurality of the hard mask HM1 as mask, for example, hydrogen (H) ions are implanted to form the recombination layer REC…”) into a first region of the silicon carbide layer by using the mask material as a mask;
performing a first ion implantation for implanting p-type impurities into a second region shallower than the first region by using the mask material as a mask before the first processing or after the first processing; (Paragraph [0092]: “Next, aluminum ions are implanted using the plurality of the hard mask HM1 as mask to form p-type body regions BR in the epitaxial layer EP…” where the ion implanting occurs before the first processing, see FIG. 8)
removing the mask material after the first processing and the first ion implantation; (See FIG. 10) and
performing a first heat treatment at a temperature equal to or more than 1600°C after the removing the mask material. (See FIG. 11 and paragraph [0104]: “First, a carbon (C) film CF is formed so as to cover an upper surface of the epitaxial layer EP and a back surface of the semiconductor substrate SB. Next, for example, a heat treatment at 1700 to 1800° C….”)
With regards to claim 2, Miyamoto discloses the semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the first processing includes a plurality of processes, and in each of the plurality of processes, the at least one substance is implanted up to different depths of the silicon carbide layer. (Paragraph [0093]: “The ion implantation is performed in a plurality of times…” See also FIG. 8, showing the different depths)
With regards to claim 8, Miyamoto discloses the semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein a depth of the first region is equal to or more than three times a depth of the second region. (see FIG. 8, where the depths of the layers REC and BR are equal in the DR direction)
With regards to claim 9, Miyamoto discloses the semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein a depth of the first region is equal to or more than 5 μm. (Paragraph [0138]: “setting the thickness of the recombination layer REC to 3.4 μm or more…” where the thickness can be more than 5 um)
With regards to claim 11, Miyamoto discloses the semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein a concentration of the at least one substance in the first region is equal to or more than 1 × 1015 cm-3 and equal to or less than 1 × 1021 cm-3. (Paragraph [0093]: ‘a total dose amount is 2×10.sup.16/cm^2…”)
With regards to claim 12, Miyamoto discloses the semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 1 further comprising: forming a carbon film on the surface of the silicon carbide layer before the first heat treatment after the removing the mask material. (Paragraph [0104]: “First, a carbon (C) film CF is formed so as to cover an upper surface of the epitaxial layer EP…”)
With regards to claim 15, Miyamoto discloses the semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 1, wherein the p-type impurities are aluminum (Al) or boron (B). (Paragraph [0092]: “Next, aluminum ions are implanted using the plurality of the hard mask HM1 as mask to form p-type body regions BR in the epitaxial layer EP…” where the ion implanting occurs before the first processing, see FIG. 8)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-7, 10, and 13-14 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. SHIMIZU (US 20220302261 A1) – SiC device doped with hydrogen
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/STEVEN M PAGE/Primary Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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