CTNF 18/764,779 CTNF 73018 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 08-25-01 AIA Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I in the reply filed on May 19, 2026 , is acknowledged. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-2, 4-10 and 12-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Wu et al (US 2022/0375762 A1) . Wu discloses a substrate-processing method (abstract), comprising: providing a substrate including a silicon oxide film 11 on a surface of the substrate (“to-be-processed wafer” [0041], Fig. 1); supplying a first gas to the surface of the substrate, the first gas containing a hydrogen fluoride gas and containing no basic gas (during the “etching process” [0044], during the time that HF is continuously supplied [0085] and NH 3 , a basic gas, is not supplied, when the NH3 is pulsed off, times that are “in absence of NH 3 catalyst” [0085]); after (b), supplying a second gas to the surface of the substrate, the second gas containing both a hydrogen fluoride gas and a basic gas (during the “etching process” [0044], during the times that HF is continuously applied and the NH 3 gas is pulsed on [0085]). Wu discloses etching with HF continuously supplied, but pulsing NH3, which reads on steps b and c. As to claim 2, see the rejection of claim 1, HF is continuously supplied [0085]. As to claim 4, Wu discloses the same steps as are conducted as in the instant invention, and therefore the same results are expected. As to claim 5, Wu discloses that the etching process, i.e., steps b and c, are conducted at 120 °C [0017], which is a same temperature as cited. As to claim 6, Wu discloses to supply the second gas along the surface of the substrate (as depicted in Figure 7). As to claim 7, Wu discloses the same steps as are conducted as in the instant invention, and therefore the same results are expected. As to claim 8, Wu discloses to provide a basic gas of ammonia gas (see rejection of claim 1). As to claims 9-10, 12-16, Wu discloses (d) after (c), heat-treating the substrate at a temperature higher than in (c) (sublimation at 180 °C [0019], [0089], [0096]) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-20-02-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 3 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu et al (US 2022/0375762 A1) . The discussion of Wu from above is repeated here. As to claim 3, Wu fails to disclose the duration of (b) compared to (c). Wu teaches that process parameters can be optimized [0085]. The amount of time that an etching species is present is a parameter that can be optimized for best results of etching. It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the cited times in the method of Wu in order to optimize the times for etching to produce the best results. As to claim 11, Wu discloses (d) after (c), heat-treating the substrate at a temperature higher than in (c) (sublimation at 180 °C [0019], [0089], [0096]) . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Li et al (US 2019/0067028 A1) is cited for its discussion of the chemical reactions (Fig. 3B) and an exemplary process for supplying ammonia and HF (Table 1A). Sako (US 2018/0286695) is cited to show a first COR process with HF and ammonia, and then a second COR process without ammonia [0058], [0061], adjusting times [0063], inert gas [0072]. Narushima et al (US 2015/0187593 A1) is cited to show continuously supplying HF, while intermittently supplying ammonia [0050] . Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANITA K ALANKO whose telephone number is (571)270-0297. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9 am-5pm. 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, Joshua Allen can be reached at 571-270-3176. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /ANITA K ALANKO/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1713 Application/Control Number: 18/764,779 Page 2 Art Unit: 1713 Application/Control Number: 18/764,779 Page 3 Art Unit: 1713 Application/Control Number: 18/764,779 Page 4 Art Unit: 1713 Application/Control Number: 18/764,779 Page 5 Art Unit: 1713 Application/Control Number: 18/764,779 Page 6 Art Unit: 1713
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