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 .
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 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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election without traverse of Invention I (claims 1-18) in the reply filed on May 18th, 2026 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.
(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.
Claims 1, 6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by HAMMA et al. (Pub. No.: US 2025/0037992 A1), hereinafter as Hamma.
Regarding claim 1, Hamma discloses a semiconductor processing method in Figs. 4A-4C comprising: providing deposition precursors (silane or TEOS and nitrogen-containing reactant) to a processing region of a semiconductor processing chamber (CVD process chamber), wherein the deposition precursors comprise a silicon-containing precursor (silane or TEOS) and a nitrogen-containing precursor (nitrogen-containing reactant) (see Fig. 4A-4B and [0070]), wherein a substrate (substrate 400) comprising one or more materials (semiconductor material) is disposed within the processing region (see Fig. 4A and [0041-0042], [0048]), and wherein the substrate is characterized by a first bowing of the substrate (300um ≤warpage ≤ -300 um) (see [0048]); generating plasma effluents of the deposition precursors (plasma from PECVD) (see Fig. 4A-4B and [0050], [0059]); and forming a layer of silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material (silicon nitride film 410) on the substrate, wherein the layer of silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material is characterized by a tensile stress, and wherein, subsequent forming the layer of silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material, the substrate is characterized by a second bowing of the substrate that is less than the first bowing of the substrate (mitigate bowing of substrate 400 where there are tensile regions) (see Fig. 4B and [0069-0071]).
Regarding claim 6, Hamma discloses the semiconductor processing method of claim 1, wherein the first bowing of the substrate is greater than or about 200 um (300 um ≤warpage ≤ -300 um) (see [0048]).
Regarding claim 8, Hamma discloses the semiconductor processing method of claim 1, wherein a thickness of the layer of silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material is greater than or about 50 nm (thickness of 300nm) (see [0066] and [0083]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-5, 7 and 9-11 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.
The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The cited art, whether taken singularly or in combination, especially when all limitations are considered within the claimed specific combination, fails to disclose or suggest the claimed invention having:
Wherein the one or more materials comprise alternating pairs of a silicon-containing material and a silicon- and-germanium-containing material as in claim 2. Claims 3-5 depend on claim 2, and therefore also include said claimed limitation.
Further comprising: treating the layer of silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material with a treatment plasma to increase the tensile stress of the layer of silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material as recited in claim 7.
Further comprising: depositing one or more additional layers of material on the layer of silicon-and- nitrogen-containing material, wherein the one or more additional layers of material define a patterning stack, and wherein the patterning stack comprises a second layer of silicon-and- nitrogen-containing material as recited in claim 9. Claims 10 depend on claim 9, and therefore also include said claimed limitation.
Further comprising: etching one or more features through the one or more materials on the substrate, wherein the etching consumes the layer of silicon-and-nitrogen-containing material, and wherein the etching reduces a compressive stress of the substrate and the one or more materials as recited in claim 11.
Claims 12-18 are allowed over prior art of record.
The following is an examiner' s statement of reason for allowance: the prior art made of record does not teach or fairly suggest the following:
Etching one or more features through the alternating pairs of the silicon- containing material and the silicon-and-germanium-containing material, wherein the etching removes at least a portion of the patterning stack, and wherein, subsequent to etching, the substrate is characterized by a third bowing of the substrate that is less than the first bowing of the substrate as recited in claim 12. Claims 13-18 depend on claim 12, and therefore also include said claimed limitation.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CUONG B NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1509 (Email: CuongB.Nguyen@uspto.gov). The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM-5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven H. Loke can be reached on (571) 272-1657. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CUONG B NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818
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