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 .
Examiner’s Note
The applicant acts as his or her own lexicographer to specifically define the terms “without exposing the coating film” in the claims to mean “that an exposure treatment at an exposure amount equal to or more than a minimum exposure amount at which a residual film (a cured film after the coating film is exposed) is observed is not performed. That is, the exposure treatment of exposing the coating film to form a pattern is not performed in the step 2.” As found in [0021] of the specification.
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) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kamimura et al (WO 2020/179418 A1) hereinafter ‘418 in view of Kamimura et al (WO 2019/150967 A1) hereinafter ‘967.
Regarding Claim 1, ‘418 teaches a step of applying a photosensitive composition onto a substrate to form a coating film ([0011] “ step of forming a film on a substrate using a photosensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition”); a step of removing the coating film from the substrate without exposing the coating film to obtain a coating film-removed substrate ( [0021] “In immersion lithography, the surface of the resist film may be washed with an aqueous chemical solution before exposure and/or after exposure (before heat treatment).” And [0012] “Furthermore, after applying the photosensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition, a drying treatment may be performed to remove the solvent, if necessary.”).
‘418 does not teach step of measuring the number of metal atoms per unit area on the coating film-removed substrate by a total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis method to obtain a measured value.
‘967 teaches step of measuring the number of metal atoms per unit area on the coating film-removed substrate by a total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis method to obtain a measured value ([0007] “measuring the number of the metal atoms per unit area on the coated substrate by using a total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis method and obtaining a measured value.”; [0041]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, combining x-ray fluorescence analysis in ‘967 to the resistance pattern forming method of ‘418 for the purpose of measuring the metal atoms after the solution is put on film. This is advantageous because it gives a measurement to verify that the resist pattern formation exhibits excellent pattern formation properties and produces minimal residue (‘967, [0005]).
Regarding Claim 2, ‘418 and ‘967 teaches the limitations of claim 1.
‘418 does not teach a step of bringing a gas containing a hydrogen fluoride gas into contact with the coating film-removed substrate.
‘967 teaches a step of bringing a gas containing a hydrogen fluoride gas into contact with the coating film-removed substrate ([0036] “a step of bringing hydrogen fluoride gas into contact with the coated substrate”).
‘967 teaches a step of bringing a gas containing a hydrogen fluoride gas into contact with the coating film-removed substrate
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, combining contacting the film with hydrogen fluoride gas in ‘967 to the resistance pattern forming method of ‘418 for the purpose of measuring the metal atoms after the solution is put on film. This is advantageous because it gives a measurement to verify that the resist pattern formation exhibits excellent pattern formation properties and produces minimal residue (‘967, [0005]).
Regarding Claim 3 and 15, ‘418 and ‘967 teaches the limitations of claim 1 and 2, respectively.
‘418 does not teach a step of scanning the coating film-removed substrate with a solution containing hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen peroxide to collect metal atoms in the coating film-removed substrate in the solution.
‘967 teaches a step of scanning the coating film-removed substrate with a solution containing hydrogen fluoride and hydrogen peroxide to collect metal atoms in the coating film-removed substrate in the solution ([0205] “Next, an aqueous solution containing 2% by mass of hydrogen peroxide and 2% by mass of hydrogen fluoride was dropped onto the coated substrate, and after being scanned across the substrate to allow it to aggregate near the center, it was evaporated and dried. For this substrate, the number of metal atoms on the substrate was measured by total internal reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis in the same manner as described above, and the measured values were obtained. Furthermore, the above measured values were divided by the concentration ratio to obtain calculated values.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, combining contacting the film with hydrogen peroxide and hydrogen fluoride in ‘967 to the resistance pattern forming method of ‘418 for the purpose of measuring the metal atoms after the solution is put on film. This is advantageous because it gives a measurement to verify that the resist pattern formation exhibits excellent pattern formation properties and produces minimal residue (‘967, [0005]).
Regarding Claim 4 and 16, ‘418 and ‘967 teaches the limitations of claim 1 and 15, respectively.
‘418 further teaches the coating film is removed using a solution ([0033] “The cleaning method is not particularly limited and includes, for example, a method of continuously discharging a chemical solution onto a substrate rotating at a constant speed (rotary coating method), a method of immersing the substrate in a tank filled with a chemical solution for a certain period of time (dip method), and a method of spraying a chemical solution onto the surface of the substrate (spray method).”).
Regarding Claim 5 and 17, ‘418 and ‘967 teaches the limitations of claim 4 and 16, respectively.
‘418 further teaches wherein the solution is selected from the group consisting of an aqueous solution containing tetramethylammonium hydroxide ([0024] “tetrapentylammonium hydroxide,”), an ester-based organic solvent ([0293] “PGMEA (propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate)”), an alcohol-based organic solvent ([0007] “chemical solution containing an alcohol-based solvent”), and a ketone-based organic solvent ([0293] “Cyclohexanone”).
Regarding Claim 6 and 18, ‘418 and ‘967 teaches the limitations of claims 4 and 5, respectively.
‘418 further teaches wherein the solution is selected from the group consisting of propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate ([0293] “PGMEA (propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate)”), propylene glycol monomethyl ether ([0263] “the solvent (F) preferably contains (M1) propylene glycol monoalkyl ether”), methyl amyl ketone ([0265] “methyl amyl ketone” where [0263] “ the solvent may further contain components other than components (M1) and (M2).”), cyclohexanone ([0293] “Cyclohexanone”), ethyl lactate ([0265] “ethyl lactate,” where [0263] “ the solvent may further contain components other than components (M1) and (M2).”), butyl acetate ([0265] “butyl lactate,” where [0263] “ the solvent may further contain components other than components (M1) and (M2).”), and γ-butyrolactone ([0293] “γ-butyrolactone”).
Regarding Claim 7, 11 and 19, ‘418 and ‘967 teaches the limitations of claim 4, 9, and 5, respectively.
‘418 further teaches a removal time of the coating film is 300 seconds or less ([0283] “rinsed for 30 seconds with the chemical solution shown in each example and comparative example in Table 1.” Less than 300 seconds).
Regarding Claim 8, 12 and 20, ‘418 and ‘967 teaches the limitations of claim 7, 11 and 19, respectively.
‘418 further teaches wherein the removal time of the coating film is 180 seconds or less ([0283] “rinsed for 30 seconds with the chemical solution shown in each example and comparative example in Table 1.” Less than 180 seconds)..
Regarding Claim 9, ‘418 and ‘967 teaches the limitations of claim 1.
‘418 does not teach the coating film is removed using a gas.
‘967 teaches the coating film is removed using a gas, ([0041] “Process E is a process in which fluorine gas is brought into contact with the coated substrate. In this analytical method, it is preferable that step E occurs after step B and before step C. When this analysis method includes step E, the morphology of metal impurities present on the coated substrate is homogenized, and oxide films and the like are removed from the coated substrate (i.e., oxide coating film is removed), thus improving the measurement sensitivity by the TXRF method.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, combining contacting the film with a gas in ‘967 to the resistance pattern forming method of ‘418 for the purpose of measuring the metal atoms after the solution is put on film. This is advantageous because it gives a measurement to verify that the resist pattern formation exhibits excellent pattern formation properties and produces minimal residue (‘967, [0005]).
Regarding Claim 10, ‘418 and ‘967 teaches the limitations of claim 9.
‘418 does not teach wherein the gas is selected from the group consisting of a fluorine-based gas, an oxygen-based gas, and a rare gas.
‘967 teaches wherein the gas is selected from the group consisting of a fluorine-based gas ([0042] “bringing the fluorine gas into contact with the substrate”), an oxygen-based gas, and a rare gas ([0017] “Furthermore, the concentration is preferably carried out under the presence of at least one inert gas selected from the group consisting of Ar gas (i.e., rare gas), He gas, and N<sub>２</sub> gas, or under reduced pressure (i.e., environment with minimal but existent oxygen.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, combining contacting the film with a gas in ‘967 to the resistance pattern forming method of ‘418 for the purpose of measuring the metal atoms after the solution is put on film. This is advantageous because it gives a measurement to verify that the resist pattern formation exhibits excellent pattern formation properties and produces minimal residue (‘967, [0005]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, combining washing the film with a gas for a specific duration of time in ‘967 to the resistance pattern forming method of ‘418 for the purpose of measuring the metal atoms after the solution is put on film. This is advantageous because it gives a measurement to verify that the resist pattern formation exhibits excellent pattern formation properties and produces minimal residue (‘967, [0005]).
Regarding Claim 13, ‘418 and ‘967 teaches the limitations of claim 1.
‘418 further teaches a step of preparing a photosensitive composition([0012] “is a step of forming a film on a substrate using an active photosensitive or radiation-sensitive resin composition containing a resin whose polarity increases due to the action of an acid and a photoacid generator.”).
‘418 does not teach a step of performing the analysis method
‘967 teaches a step of performing the analysis method ([0145] “As a method for measuring the number of metal atoms per unit area on a coated substrate using total internal reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis, the same method as already described in step C of the analysis method can be used.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, combining x-ray fluorescence analysis in ‘967 to the resistance pattern forming method of ‘418 for the purpose of measuring the metal atoms after the solution is put on film. This is advantageous because it gives a measurement to verify that the resist pattern formation exhibits excellent pattern formation properties and produces minimal residue (‘967, [0005]).
Regarding Claim 14, ‘418 and ‘967 teaches the limitations of claim 1.
‘418 further teaches a manufacturing method of an electronic device ([0008] “Furthermore, the present invention can also provide a method for manufacturing semiconductor chips.”).
Conclusion
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/EMMA ALEXANDER/Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2857
/LAL CE MANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2857
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