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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
This office acknowledges receipt of the following items from the applicant: Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed on 12 July 2024. The references cited on the PTOL 1449 form have been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claims 17-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee (U.S. Patent Application Publication 2020/0035796).
Referring to Claim 17, Lee teaches in Fig. 2A, 3Q and 4B (X1-X1' left side) a semiconductor device, comprising: a substrate (110); a source/drain region (120) disposed on the substrate (110); a first contact structure (CP1; at least 214) disposed on the source/drain region (120); a first nitride layer (174; side cover layer; silicon nitride; par. 84; it's also noted that 212 may be a nitride layer of TiN or TaN) disposed on a sidewall of the first contact structure (CP1; at least 214); a second nitride layer (262; barrier TiN or TaN; par. 53) disposed on a top surface of the first contact structure (CP1; at least 214); and a carbide layer (222 from 220; SiC, SiOCN, SiCN or combinations thereof; par. 89) disposed on the second nitride layer (262).
Referring to Claim 18, Lee further teaches wherein the first nitride layer (174) comprises a semiconductor nitride layer (silicon nitride).
Referring to Claim 19, Lee further teaches wherein the second nitride layer (262) comprises a metal nitride layer (TiN or TaN).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-16 are allowable.
Claim 20 is 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 allowance:
Regarding Claim 1, the prior art of record alone or in combination neither teaches nor makes obvious the invention of the method, comprising depositing a carbon-based layer on the cap liner; and forming a contact structure in the cap structure in combination with all of the limitations of Claim 1. Claims 2-10 include the limitations of claim 1.
Regarding Claim 11, the prior art of record alone or in combination neither teaches nor makes obvious the invention of the method, comprising: depositing a carbon-based layer on the cap liner; forming a conductive cap on a gate structure formed adjacent to the source/drain region; forming an insulating cap on the conductive cap; and forming a second contact structure in the conductive cap and the insulating cap in combination with all of the limitations of Claim 11. Claims 12-16 include the limitations of claim 11.
Referring to Claim 20, the prior art of record alone or in combination neither teaches nor makes obvious the invention of the semiconductor device wherein the carbon atom concentration is greater than the oxygen atom concentration in combination with all of the limitations of Claim 17.
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.”
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EARL N TAYLOR whose telephone number is (571)272-8894. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 9:00am-5:00pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William Kraig can be reached on (571) 272-8660. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/EARL N TAYLOR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896
EARL N. TAYLOR
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2896
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