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 .
This application has been assigned to a new examiner. Rejections of the previous action not repeated below are withdrawn based upon the amendment and arguments of the applicant. Response to the arguments are presented after the first rejection they are directed to.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 30 and 40-47 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claims 41, the metal nitride layer should be - - on a core of the pellicle - - , rather than “at the core of the pellicle” The nitride layer is a layer on the core to protect it and not part fo the core. see prepub of the specification at [0100-0101].
Claim 44 should be dependent upon claims 43 and refer to ruthenium, molybdenum, boron or zirconium, rather than metals broadly. (the formation of silicides of Ru, Mo, B and Zr is the function of the nitride layer). Claim 44 recites “slow or prevent formation of a metal silicide”, claim 41 does not recite a metal layer. Claim 43 recites a layer of ruthenium, molybdenum, boron or zirconium which are metals, but not described as metals in the claims. Perhaps the applicant could explain how metal nitride layer acts as a barrier to slow or prevent the formation of metal silicides is prevented without a metal layer being recited in the claim.
Claims 30, 40 and 44 do not make sense as the core layer recited in the independent claims is carbon nanotubes, not a silicon based material (the specification does not seem to support the combination) Perhaps the applicant could explain how metal nitride layer acts as a barrier to slow or prevent the formation of metal silicides is prevented without a silicon (containing) layer being recited in the claim 21,30,37, 40,41 or 44 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
(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.
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.
Claims 41,42 and 44-47 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by Ohkubo et al. TW 201631199
Ohkubo et al. TW 201631199 (machine translation attached) teaches the pellicle film is not limited to a single layer, and may have a laminated structure. For example, a three-layer laminated structure of a first tantalum nitride layer, a polygermanium layer, and a second tantalum nitride layer. When the pellicle film has a three-layered structure of a first tantalum nitride layer, a polysilicon layer, and a second tantalum nitride layer, tantalum nitride can be formed to be 1 nm or more and 5 nm or less, and polycrystalline germanium can be formed to 30 nm or more and 60. Below nm, tantalum nitride can be formed to be 1 nm or more and 5 nm or less. More preferably, the tantalum nitride is formed to be 1.5 nm or more and 3 nm or less, the polycrystalline germanium is formed to be 30 nm or more and 50 nm or less, and the tantalum nitride is formed to be 1.5 nm or more and 3 nm or less [0037]. 7(a) and 7(b) are schematic views showing a state in which the pellicle film 202 is formed on the substrate 200. In the present embodiment, first, a 5 nm tantalum nitride 204 is formed by a CVD method (Chemical Vapor Deposition) on a 725 μm thick, 8 inch germanium wafer 200, and a 60 nm polysilicon 206 is formed thereon. And 5 nm of tantalum nitride 208 is formed thereon, thereby forming a pellicle film 202 (S201) [0070].
At some point during the deposition of the second TaN layer, that layer has a thickness of less than 1.5 nm.
The applicant argued that Nikipelov et al. did not teach the nitride of Mo, Ru, B, Ti or Ta.
Ohkubo et al. TW 201631199 teaches TaN
In the response of 7/27/2026, the applicant argues that Ohkubo et al. does not teach a TaN “at the core” the examiner has interpreted the claim in light of the specification which describes the nitride layer as on the core [0100-0101] as including directly in contact with the core of the pellicle.
Claims 41,42 and 44-47 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohkubo et al. TW 201631199.
Ohkubo et al. TW 201631199 does not exemplify an embodiment where the nitride is less than 1.5 nm thick.
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to modify the TaN/Ge/TaN or TaN/Si/TaN pellicles by forming the TaN layer to be between 1.0 and 1.5 nm with a reasonable expectation of forming a useful pellicle based upon the disclosure of 1-5 nm as useful thicknesses at [0037]
In the response of 7/27/2026, the applicant argues that Ohkubo et al. does not teach a TaN “at the core” the examiner has interpreted the claim in light of the specification which describes the nitride layer as on the core [0100-0101] as including directly in contact with the core of the pellicle.
Claims 21,22,24,29,30,31,35-38 and 40-49 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Gallagher et al. 20180329289.
Gallagher et al. 20180329289 teaches coating over carbon nanotubes which may include bonding between coatings formed on CNTs [0018]. The coating can be a conformal coating with a thickness of 1-30 nm [0026-0027]. The coatings may be of a materials selected from B, B4C, ZrN, Mo, Ru, SiC, TiN or a-C or combination of these. The coating may be of multiple layers of the materials of the group. Further, the coating may protect the CNTs of the membrane from the potentially adverse process environments during its use as a pellicle in EUV lithography, for instance during hydrogen plasma cleaning processes. Moreover, by forming a coating the free-standing CNT pellicle membrane being formed may exhibit a low absorption of extreme ultraviolet light, rendering the membrane suitable for EUV applications [0028]
Gallagher et al. 20180329289 does not exemplify a pellicle with a nitride layer or a pellicle with a 0.1-6 nm nitride layer and overlying metal capping layer.
With respect to claims 41,42,44 and 46-47, It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to form CNT pellicle with a TiN coating to protect the pellicle form being etched when used in EUV based upon the teachings at [0028]. This applies to claim 42 as the TiN coating will be less than 1.5 nm during its deposition.
With respect to claims 41,42,44 and 46-47, It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to form CNT pellicle with a 1 to 1.5 nm TiN coating to protect the pellicle form being etched when used in EUV based upon the teachings at [0028].
With respect to claims 41 and 43-47, It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to form CNT pellicle with a TiN coating, followed by a Mo, B or Ru coating to protect the pellicle form being etched when used in EUV based upon the teachings at [0028], noting the disclosure of the use of multiple layers.
With respect to claims 21,22,24,29-31,35-38 and 40-49, It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to form CNT pellicle with a 1-1.5 nm TiN coating, followed by a Mo, B or Ru coating to protect the pellicle form being etched when used in EUV based upon the teachings at [0028], noting the disclosure of the use of multiple layers.
With respect to claims 21,22,24,29-31,35-38 and 40-49, It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to form CNT pellicle with a 1-1.5 nm TiN coating, followed by two layers of Mo, B or Ru coating to protect the pellicle form being etched when used in EUV based upon the teachings at [0028], noting the disclosure of the use of multiple layers.
With respect to claims 30,40 and 44, the nitride layers inherently act as a barrier to reaction, but the claims do not recite a silicon layer.
In the response of 7/27/2026, the applicant argues that the order of the nitride and metal layers is not taught. the nitrided (TiN or ZrN) layers can only be paired with metal (Ru or Mo) as the intermediate layer or the outer layer, so there are only two choices in the order of forming these multiple layers. The applicant argues the nitride layer acts as a seeding layer preventing or reducing dewetting The position of the examiner is that the any nitride layer inherently fulfills this function. The applicant has not shown any criticality in the nitride layer.The argument is not pursuasive. With respect to claim 41, the examiner has interpreted the claim in light of the specification which describes the nitride layer as on the core [0100-0101] as including directly in contact with the core of the pellicle.
Claims 21,22,24,29,30,31,35-38 and 40-49 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shin et al. 20180259844.
Shin et al. 20180259844 teaches carbon based pellicle membranes which include passivation members. The carbon based material may include at least one of graphene, nanocrystalline graphene, reduced graphene oxide (rGO), carbon nanotube (CNT), fullerene, or amorphous carbon. The defects of the carbon-based material may include at least one of a grain boundary, a vacancy, an sp3 carbon (C) atom, an oxygen (O) atom, or a nitrogen (N) atom [0011-0013]. the passivation layer may include a first passivation layer and a second passivation layer. The first passivation layer may be between the frame and the pellicle membrane. The second passivation layer may be on top of the pellicle membrane and the frame. In some example embodiments, the inorganic material may include at least one of Mo, Ti, Ru, MoO.sub.x, TiN, SiN.sub.x, Ge, ZrSi.sub.2, or a transition metal chalcogenide [0023-0028,0045-0046]. The defects, at least one selected from an oxygen (O) atom, a nitrogen (N) atom, and a hydrogen (H) atom. In the case of synthesizing the CNT, acid treatment may be performed in a refining process after synthesis, and defects may be generated by the acid treatment. Since such defects of the carbon-based material have good reactivity, the protection provided by the passivation member may be advantageous in limiting and/or preventing degeneration and degradation. The passivation members PS11 and PS22 may include the same material or may include at least one different material from each other [0114]. FIGS. 13A to 13E are merely examples and other types of defects may also be present. For example, the defects may include a nitrogen (N) atom. In this case, the nitrogen atom may be bonded to the sp3 carbon in the form of NH.sub.2. In other words, in FIG. 13A, NH.sub.2 instead of OH may be bonded to the sp3 carbon. At least two of the nitrogen atom and the various types of defects described with reference to FIGS. 13A to 13E may be included in one nanocrystalline graphene or one crystal grain. Also, defects other than the above-described defects may be present. Defects of the nanocrystalline graphene may include at least one selected from an sp3 carbon atom, an oxygen atom, a nitrogen atom, and a carbon vacancy. Herein, the oxygen atom may be the oxygen atom included in OH of FIG. 13A, the oxygen atom of FIG. 13B, or the oxygen atom included in COOH of FIG. 13D, or may also be present in various forms. The nitrogen atom may be included in the form of, for example, NH.sub.2, or may also be included in various forms [0125-0126]. In a case where the nanocrystalline graphene includes nitrogen (N), an amount (content) of nitrogen (N) in the nanocrystalline graphene may be in a range of about 1 at % to about 30 at %. For example, an amount of nitrogen (N) in the nanocrystalline graphene may be in a range of about 1 at % to about 20 at % [0127].
Shin et al. 20180259844 does not exemplify a pellicle with a nitride layer.
With respect to claims 41-47, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to form a pellicle with a graphene, or fullerene, amorphous carbon or carbon nanotube core as taught at to introduce nitrogen containing defects as taught at [0011-0013] with a concentration of nitrogen defects being 1-30 at% as taught at [0127], followed by the formation of Mo or Ti passivation layers. The nitrogen on the surface is held to react with the Mo or Ti to form nitrides of these.
With respect to claims 21,24,29-31,35-37,40-49, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to form a pellicle with a carbon nanotube core as taught at to introduce nitrogen containing defects as taught at [0011-0013] with a concentration of nitrogen defects being 1-30 at% as taught at [0127], followed by the formation of Mo passivation layers. The nitrogen on the surface is held to react with the Mo to form nitrides of these.
With respect to claims 21,24,29-31,35-37,40 and 48-49, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to form a pellicle with a carbon nanotube core as taught at to introduce nitrogen containing defects as taught at [0011-0013] with a concentration of nitrogen defects being 1-30 at% as taught at [0127], followed by the formation of Ru passivation layers. The nitrogen on the surface is held to react with the Ru to form nitrides of these.
With respect to claims 21,22,24,30-31,35-37,40-42 and 44-48, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to form a pellicle with a carbon nanotube core as taught at to introduce nitrogen containing defects as taught at [0011-0013] with a concentration of nitrogen defects being 1-30 at% as taught at [0127], followed by the formation of Ti passivation layers. The nitrogen on the surface is held to react with the Ti to form nitrides of these.
The applicant argued that Nikipelov et al. did not teach the nitride of Mo, Ru, B, Ti or Ta.
Shin et al. 20180259844 teaches TiN formed in situ. Shin et al. 20180259844 also teaches multiple coatings and carbon nanotubes.
In response the response of 7/27/2026, the applicant argues that the applicant argues that the nitrogen treatment of the CNTs, followed by the deposition of the Mo, Ti or Ru layer does not yield a nitride layer. The examiner disagrees, pointing out that the nitrogen is reactive with the metals and will inherently bond with the deposited metal and that this interfacial layer is bounded by the 0.1 to 6 nm thicknesses recited in the claims. As discussed above with respect to claim 41, the examiner has interpreted the claim in light of the specification which describes the nitride layer as on the core [0100-0101] as including directly in contact with the core of the pellicle.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Martin J Angebranndt whose telephone number is (571)272-1378. The examiner can normally be reached 7-3:30 pm EST.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ching-Yu (Coris) Fung can be reached at 571-270-5713. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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MARTIN J. ANGEBRANNDT
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 1737
/MARTIN J ANGEBRANNDT/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1737 September 10, 2026
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