DETAILED ACTION
This is in response to communication received on 11/25/25.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The text of those sections of AIA 35 U.S.C. code not present in this action can be found in previous office actions dated 9/25/25.
Election/Restrictions
Claims 20 and 21 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Groups II and III, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 11/25/25.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-8, 13-14, and 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatani et al. US PGPub 2020/0135455 hereinafter NAKATANI in view of Nakamura et al. US Patent Number 10,229,829 hereinafter NAKAMURA.
As for claim 1, NAKATANI teaches “As an example of a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, a substrate processing process of forming a film by supplying a precursor to a substrate on which a concave portion, such as a trench or a hole, is formed on its surface so as to fill the concave portion is often carried out” (paragraph 3), i.e. A substrate processing method.
NAKATANI teaches “According to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a technique that includes filling a concave portion formed on a surface of a substrate with a first film and a second film by performing: (a) forming the first film having a hollow portion using a first precursor so as to fill the concave portion formed on the surface of the substrate; (b) etching a portion of the first film which makes contact with the hollow portion, using an etching agent” (paragraph 5, lines 1-9), wherein the first film of NAKATANI is analogous to the second film of the claims, i.e. b) forming a second film… in the concave portion by supplying a second film-forming agent to the substrate;
(c) modifying a part of the second film by supplying a modifying agent containing fluorine to the substrate; and (d) removing a modified portion of the second film by supplying an etching agent… to the substrate.
NAKATANI further teaches “As an etching agent, for example, a hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas containing hydrogen (H) and fluorine (F)” (paragraph 21, lines 1-2). Examiner notes that fluorine is a known halogen, thus, NAKATANI teaches an etching agent containing halogen
NAKATANI is silent on (a) forming a first film in a concave portion by supplying a first film-forming agent to a substrate on a surface of which the concave portion is provided and the second film having a chemical composition different from a chemical composition of the first film on the first film formed.
However, NAKATANI does teach that its process “may also be suitably applied to cases
where the concave portion formed on the surface of the wafer 200 may be filled with a Si-based film (Si-containing film) such as a silicon nitride film (SiN film), a silicon carbonitride film (SiCN film), a silicon oxycarbonitride film (SiOCN film), a silicon oxynitride film (SiON film), a silicon oxycarbide film (SiOC film), or the like” (paragraph 101, lines 5-11).
NAKAMURA teaches “There is provided a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device” (abstract, lines 1-6) and further shows in Figures 13A-C filling a concave portion of a substrate with a SiO film and an SiN film.
NAKAMURA further teaches “In the film forming sequence illustrated in FIG. 4, there are performed: a step of providing a wafer 200 as a substrate 12 on which a silicon oxide film (SiO film) as an oxide film is 5 formed (in a substrate providing step), a step of pre-processing a surface of the SiO film (in a pre-processing step)” (column 11, lines 2-7) and “As described above, the SiO film as an oxide film is formed in advance on at least a portion of the surface of the wafer 200. This film functions as a supply source of O added to a seed layer” (column 12, lines 6-9), i.e. forming a first film in a concave portion by supplying a first film-forming agent to a substrate on a surface of which the concave portion is provided.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include forming a first film in a concave portion by supplying a first film-forming agent to a substrate on a surface of which the concave portion is provided in the process of NAKATANI such that the second film having a chemical composition different from a chemical composition of the first film on the first film formed because NAKAMURA teaches that applying such a layer provides a seed layer and source of oxygen for layer later formations.
As for claim 2, NAKATANI teaches “( c) forming the second film on the first film of which the portion is etched, using a second precursor, wherein (b) includes performing, a predetermined number of times: (b-1) modifying a portion of the first film using a modifying agent; and (b-2) selectively etching the modified portion of the first film using the etching agent” (paragraph 5, lines 9-14), i.e. comprising: (e) forming a third film on the second film after removing the modified portion by supplying a third film-forming agent to the substrate.
As for claim 3, NAKATANI is silent on the first film.
NAKAMURA further teaches “In the film forming sequence illustrated in FIG. 4, there are performed: a step of providing a wafer 200 as a substrate 12 on which a silicon oxide film (SiO film) as an oxide film is 5 formed (in a substrate providing step), a step of pre-processing a surface of the SiO film (in a pre-processing step)” (column 11, lines 2-7) and “As described above, the SiO film as an oxide film is formed in advance on at least a portion of the surface of the wafer 200. This film functions as a supply source of O added to a seed layer” (column 12, lines 6-9), i.e. forming a first film… wherein the first film is an oxide film.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include forming a first film… wherein the first film is an oxide film in the process of NAKATANI because NAKAMURA teaches that applying such a layer provides a seed layer and source of oxygen for layer later formations.
As for claim 4, NAKATANI is silent on the first film.
NAKAMURA further teaches “In the film forming sequence illustrated in FIG. 4, there are performed: a step of providing a wafer 200 as a substrate 12 on which a silicon oxide film (SiO film) as an oxide film is 5 formed (in a substrate providing step), a step of pre-processing a surface of the SiO film (in a pre-processing step)” (column 11, lines 2-7) and “As described above, the SiO film as an oxide film is formed in advance on at least a portion of the surface of the wafer 200. This film functions as a supply source of O added to a seed layer” (column 12, lines 6-9), i.e. forming a first film… wherein the first film is a silicon oxide film.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to include forming a first film… wherein the first film is a silicon oxide film in the process of NAKATANI because NAKAMURA teaches that applying such a layer provides a seed layer and source of oxygen for layer later formations.
As for claim 5, NAKATANI teaches that its process “may also be suitably applied to cases
where the concave portion formed on the surface of the wafer 200 may be filled with a Si-based film (Si-containing film) such as a silicon nitride film (SiN film), a silicon carbonitride film (SiCN film)… or the like” (paragraph 101, lines 5-11), i.e. wherein the second film is a film other than a silicon oxide film.
As for claim 6, NAKATANI teaches that its process “may also be suitably applied to cases
where the concave portion formed on the surface of the wafer 200 may be filled with a Si-based film (Si-containing film) such as a silicon nitride film (SiN film), a silicon carbonitride film (SiCN film)… or the like” (paragraph 101, lines 5-11), i.e. wherein the second film contains silicon and nitrogen.
As for claim 7, NAKATANI teaches “The bottom portion of the concave portion is made of single crystal Si, and the side portion and upper portion of the concave portion are formed by an insulating film 200a such as a silicon oxide film (SiO film), a silicon nitride (SiN film), a silicon oxycarbonitride (SiOCN film), or the like” (paragraph 39, lines 5-10), i.e. wherein a surface of the concave portion is formed of a material other than a silicon oxide film.
As for claim 8, NAKATANI teaches “The bottom portion of the concave portion is made of single crystal Si, and the side portion and upper portion of the concave portion are formed by an insulating film 200a such as a silicon oxide film (SiO film), a silicon nitride (SiN film), a silicon oxycarbonitride (SiOCN film), or the like” (paragraph 39, lines 5-10), i.e. a surface of the concave portion is formed of a material
containing silicon.
As for claim 13, NAKATANI shows in Figures 5A-5E, (c), a part of a region of the second film from a surface of the second film to a site in contact with a substrate is modified.
NAKATANI is silent on the first film, but as shown above, it would hav been obvious to include on in view of NAKAMURA.
However, NAKATANI further teaches “ However, in this film-forming process, the surface side of the concave portion is closed by the first Si film grown to overhang from the side portion and upper portion of the concave portion. A non-filled region extending in a depth region (direction), i.e., a hollow portion, is formed in the concave portion. The hollow portion is generated when the surface side of the concave portion is closed before the inside of the concave portion is completely filled with the first Si film, the MS gas does not reach the inside of the concave portion and the growth of the first Si film in the concave portion stops. The hollow portion is formed inside the first Si film, and becomes a closed space having no opening in its upper portion. Due to these factors, the first Si film becomes a film having a hollow portion therein. The hollow portion is likely to be generated when the aspect ratio of the concave portion (the depth of the concave portion/the width of the concave portion) is increased, specifically, when the aspect ratio is 1 or more, e.g., 20 or more, and further 50 or more” (paragraph 21), i.e. wherein the hollow portion extends through the first film physically applied onto the surface.
With this in mind, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to design the depth of the etch such that the desired hollow portion is opened for later filling. Discovery of optimum value of result effective variable in known process is ordinarily within the skill of the art. In re Boesch, CCPA 1980, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ215.
As for claim 14, NAKATANI shows in Figures 5A-5E and further teaches “(a) forming the first film having a hollow portion using a first precursor so as to fill the concave portion formed on the surface of the substrate; (b) etching a portion of the first film which makes contact with the hollow portion, using an etching agent; and ( c) forming the second film on the first film of which the portion is etched” (paragraph 5, lines 5-10), i.e. wherein the second film includes a seam or a void, in (c), a region of the second film from a surface of the second film to at least a site in contact with at least a part of the seam or the void is modified, and in (d), at least a part of the seam or the void is eliminated.
As for 17, NAKATANI further teaches “As an etching agent, for example, a hydrogen fluoride (HF) gas containing hydrogen (H) and fluorine (F)” (paragraph 21, lines 1-2), i.e. the etching agent is a substance containing at least one selected from the group of fluorine.
As for 18, NAKATANI teaches “Step B-2 of selectively etching the modified portion of the first Si film using a HF gas as an etching agent are performed a predetermined number of times ( one or more times, here, twice as an example)” (paragraph 36, lines 3-6), wherein the reactivity is tailored for the modified portion, i.e. reactivity between the etching agent and the first film is lower than reactivity between the etching agent and the modified portion of the second film.
As for 19, NAKATANI teaches “As an example of a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device” (paragraph 3, line 1-2), i.e. further comprising manufacturing a semiconductor device.
Claim(s) 9-11 and 15-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatani et al. US PGPub 2020/0135455 hereinafter NAKATANI in view of Nakamura et al. US Patent Number 10,229,829 hereinafter NAKAMURA as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Guo US 10,629,451 hereinafter GUO.
As for claim 9, NAKATANI is silent on wherein the modifying agent contains fluorine and oxygen.
However, NAKATANI does teach “The effects mentioned above can be similarly achieved in the case where the aforementioned first precursor other than the MS gas is used, or in the case where the
aforementioned second precursor other than the MS gas is used, or in the case where a modifying agent other than the O2 gas is used, or in the case where an etching agent other than the HF gas is used, or in the case where an inert gas other than the N2 gas is used” (paragraph 91).
GUO teaches “Cyclic etch methods comprise the steps of: i) exposing a SiN layer covering a structure on a substrate in a reaction chamber to a plasma of hydro fluorocarbon (HFC) to form a polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer that modifies the surface of the SiN layer… ii) exposing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer to a plasma of an inert gas, the plasma of the inert gas removing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer and the modified surface of the SiN layer on an etch front” (abstract, lines 1-11).
GUO teaches “The thin layer of polymer is formed by a plasma of a HFC gas or a plasma of a gas mixture of a HFC gas and an inert gas, such as N2” (column 10, lines 9-11) and “An oxygen-containing gas may be introduced into the reaction chamber in order to eliminate high polymer deposition or reduce the thickness of the high polymer deposition” (column 11, lines 56-59), i.e. the modifying agent contains fluorine and oxygen.
GUO further teaches that its process provides “less to no excess material left proximate the SiN layer and the substrate; no fluoride residuals left on the vertically straight SiN spacers and the etch front; surface roughness on the surface of the vertically straight SiN spacers and the surface of the etch front after the cyclic etch being improved comparing to those before the cyclic etch” (column 4, lines 58-65).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to use the etching of SiN as taught by GUO in the process of NAKATANI and NAKAMURA such that it includes the modifying agent contains fluorine and oxygen because GUO teaches that such a process have improved results over cyclic etch processes.
As for claim 10, NAKATANI is silent on wherein the modifying agent contains fluorine, nitrogen, and oxygen.
However, NAKATANI does teach “The effects mentioned above can be similarly achieved in the case where the aforementioned first precursor other than the MS gas is used, or in the case where the
aforementioned second precursor other than the MS gas is used, or in the case where a modifying agent other than the O2 gas is used, or in the case where an etching agent other than the HF gas is used, or in the case where an inert gas other than the N2 gas is used” (paragraph 91).
GUO teaches “Cyclic etch methods comprise the steps of: i) exposing a SiN layer covering a structure on a substrate in a reaction chamber to a plasma of hydro fluorocarbon (HFC) to form a polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer that modifies the surface of the SiN layer… ii) exposing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer to a plasma of an inert gas, the plasma of the inert gas removing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer and the modified surface of the SiN layer on an etch front” (abstract, lines 1-11).
GUO teaches “The thin layer of polymer is formed by a plasma of a HFC gas or a plasma of a gas mixture of a HFC gas and an inert gas, such as N2” (column 10, lines 9-11) and “An oxygen-containing gas may be introduced into the reaction chamber in order to eliminate high polymer deposition or reduce the thickness of the high polymer deposition” (column 11, lines 56-59), i.e. wherein the modifying agent contains fluorine, nitrogen, and oxygen.
GUO further teaches that its process provides “less to no excess material left proximate the SiN layer and the substrate; no fluoride residuals left on the vertically straight SiN spacers and the etch front; surface roughness on the surface of the vertically straight SiN spacers and the surface of the etch front after the cyclic etch being improved comparing to those before the cyclic etch” (column 4, lines 58-65).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to use the etching of SiN as taught by GUO in the process of NAKATANI and NAKAMURA such that it includes wherein the modifying agent contains fluorine, nitrogen, and oxygen because GUO teaches that such a process have improved results over cyclic etch processes.
As for claim 11, NAKATANI is silent on the modifying agent is… a fluorine, nitrogen, and oxygen-containing gas.
However, NAKATANI does teach “The effects mentioned above can be similarly achieved in the case where the aforementioned first precursor other than the MS gas is used, or in the case where the
aforementioned second precursor other than the MS gas is used, or in the case where a modifying agent other than the O2 gas is used, or in the case where an etching agent other than the HF gas is used, or in the case where an inert gas other than the N2 gas is used” (paragraph 91).
GUO teaches “Cyclic etch methods comprise the steps of: i) exposing a SiN layer covering a structure on a substrate in a reaction chamber to a plasma of hydro fluorocarbon (HFC) to form a polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer that modifies the surface of the SiN layer… ii) exposing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer to a plasma of an inert gas, the plasma of the inert gas removing the polymer layer deposited on the SiN layer and the modified surface of the SiN layer on an etch front” (abstract, lines 1-11).
GUO teaches “The thin layer of polymer is formed by a plasma of a HFC gas or a plasma of a gas mixture of a HFC gas and an inert gas, such as N2” (column 10, lines 9-11) and “An oxygen-containing gas may be introduced into the reaction chamber in order to eliminate high polymer deposition or reduce the thickness of the high polymer deposition” (column 11, lines 56-59), i.e. the modifying agent is… a fluorine, nitrogen, and oxygen-containing gas.
GUO further teaches that its process provides “less to no excess material left proximate the SiN layer and the substrate; no fluoride residuals left on the vertically straight SiN spacers and the etch front; surface roughness on the surface of the vertically straight SiN spacers and the surface of the etch front after the cyclic etch being improved comparing to those before the cyclic etch” (column 4, lines 58-65).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to use the etching of SiN as taught by GUO in the process of NAKATANI and NAKAMURA such that it includes modifying agent is… a fluorine, nitrogen, and oxygen-containing gas because GUO teaches that such a process have improved results over cyclic etch processes.
As for claim 15, NAKATANI teaches “Furthermore, at Step B, Step B-1 of modifying a portion of the first Si film using an Oz gas as a modifying agent” (paragraph 36), i.e. wherein in (c), a part of the second film is modified to a… oxygen containing layer.
NAKATANI is silent on a fluorine…-containing layer.
GUO teaches “The HFC gas reacts with the material SiN on the surface of the SiN layer, forming the thin layer of polymer which is a C rich polymer (C:F>1) and also called a modified surface layer on the surface of the SiN layer where chemical bonds are formed at an interlayer between the thin layer of polymer and the surface of the SiN layer” (column 10, lines 12-18) and “An oxygen-containing gas may be introduced into the reaction chamber in order to eliminate high polymer deposition or reduce the thickness of the high polymer deposition” (column 11, lines 56-59), i.e. wherein a fluorine…-containing layer is deposited.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have in (c), a part of the second film is modified to a fluorine…-containing layer in the process of NAKATANI because GUO teaches that such a process have improved results over cyclic etch processes.
As for claim 16, NAKATANI teaches “Furthermore, at Step B, Step B-1 of modifying a portion of the first Si film using an Oz gas as a modifying agent” (paragraph 36), i.e. wherein in (c), a part of the second film is modified to a silicon… and oxygen-containing layer.
NAKATANI is silent on a fluorine…-containing layer.
GUO teaches “The HFC gas reacts with the material SiN on the surface of the SiN layer, forming the thin layer of polymer which is a C rich polymer (C:F>1) and also called a modified surface layer on the surface of the SiN layer where chemical bonds are formed at an interlayer between the thin layer of polymer and the surface of the SiN layer” (column 10, lines 12-18) and “An oxygen-containing gas may be introduced into the reaction chamber in order to eliminate high polymer deposition or reduce the thickness of the high polymer deposition” (column 11, lines 56-59), i.e. wherein a fluorine…-containing layer is deposited.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to have in (c), a part of the second film is modified to a silicon, fluorine, and oxygen-containing layer in the process of NAKATANI because GUO teaches that such a process have improved results over cyclic etch processes.
Claim(s) 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakatani et al. US PGPub 2020/0135455 hereinafter NAKATANI in view of Nakamura et al. US Patent Number 10,229,829 hereinafter NAKAMURA as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Suk US20180366411 hereinafter SUK.
As for claim 12, NAKATANI and NAKAMURA are silent on reactivity between the modifying agent and the first film is lower than reactivity between the modifying agent and the second film.
SUK teaches “A method of fabricating a semiconductor package includes forming a capping pattern on a chip pad of a semiconductor device” (abstract, lines 1-3).
SUK further teaches “For example, according to exemplary embodiments, reactivity between the capping pattern CP and the reactive materials 1205 is less than reactivity between the chip pad 150 and the reactive materials 1205. Thus, in exemplary embodiments, the capping pattern CP is not damaged by the reactive materials 1205. As a result, reliability and durability of the semiconductor module 1 according to exemplary embodiments of the inventive concept is improve” (paragraph 128, lines 4-12), i.e. wherein the increased reactivity of layers with reactants in other reactions can damage those layers.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to design the reactivity of the underlying such that the desired integrity of that layer is achieved. Discovery of optimum value of result effective variable in known process is ordinarily within the skill of the art. In re Boesch, CCPA 1980, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ215.
Conclusion
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/KRISTEN A DAGENAIS/Examiner, Art Unit 1717