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 .
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.
Claims 1-7 and 9-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ryuzaki et al. (JP 2010153781 A, Machine Translation) in view of Kato et al. (US 20140154884 A1).
As to claim 1, Ryuzaki discloses a polishing liquid for CMP [Abstract; claim 1], comprising:
abrasive grains [claim 1, claim 3];
a cationic polymer [claims 9-11; claims 16-18]; and
water [claim 1].
Ryuzaki fails to explicitly disclose:
an additive A;
wherein the additive A comprises a compound having an ethylenediamine structure bonded to a hydroxyalkyl group or an alkoxide group.
However, Kato teaches a polishing slurry comprising abrasive grains [Abstract, claim 1], and an additive A comprising a compound having an ethylenediamine structure bonded to a hydroxyalkyl group or an alkoxide group [para. 0050, compound (d)], which improves polishing uniformity [para. 0050-52].
Therefore it would have been prima facie obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the polishing liquid, of Ryuzaki, to include the additive comprising a compound having an ethylenediamine structure bonded to a hydroxyalkyl group or an alkoxide group, e.g., compound (d), of Kato, in order to improve polishing uniformity, as taught by Kato [para. 0050-52].
As to claim 2, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing liquid for CMP according to claim 1, wherein the abrasive grains comprise at least one selected from the group consisting of cerium hydroxide, ceria, silica, and alumina [claim 3].
As to claim 3, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing liquid for CMP according to claim 1, wherein the abrasive grains comprise cerium hydroxide [claim 3, “tetravalent cerium hydroxide particles”].
As to claim 4, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing liquid for CMP according to claim 1, wherein the additive A comprises 2,2',2'",2" '-ethylenedinitrilotetraethanol [Kato, para. 0050].
As to claim 5, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing liquid for CMP according to claim 1, wherein the additive A comprises 1,1',1",1"'-ethylenedinitrilotetra-2-propanol [Kato, para. 0050].
As to claim 6, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing liquid for CMP according to claim 1, wherein a content of the additive A is 0.001 to 5 mass% [Kato, para. 0050-52].
As to claim 7, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing liquid for CMP according to claim 1, wherein the cationic polymer comprises a polymer having a quaternary ammonium salt structure or a polymer having an amino group [claims 9-11; claims 16-18].
As to claim 9, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing liquid for CMP according to claim 1, further comprising polyether [claims 10-11, “polyethylene glycol”].
As to claim 10, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing liquid for CMP according to claim 1, wherein pH is 4.0 to 10.0 [pg. 9 “[PH]…3.5 or more and 8.5 or less”].
As to claim 11, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing liquid for CMP according to claim 1, wherein pH is higher than 6.0 and lower than 9.0 [pg. 9 “[PH]…3.5 or more and 8.5 or less”].
As to claim 12, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing liquid for CMP according to claim 1 is used for polishing a surface to be polished comprising silicon oxide, silicon nitride, polysilicon, and amorphous silicon [pg. 13-14, “[Polished Film]”].
As to claim 13, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing liquid set for CMP, comprising:
a first liquid [pg. 10, “[Abrasive storage method]”]; and
a second liquid [Id.],
wherein components of the polishing liquid for CMP according to claim 1 are separately stored in the first liquid and the second liquid, the first liquid comprises the abrasive grains and water [Id.]., and the second liquid comprises the additive A, the cationic polymer, and water [Id.].
Here, Ryuzaki teaches separating out the abrasive from the composition as a separate liquid (abrasive grain in water), and therefore would include the additive A, of Kato, with the other components of the polishing agent in the additive solution.
As to claim 14, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing method comprising a step of polishing a surface to be polished by using the polishing liquid for CMP according to claim 1 [pg. 13-14, “[Polished Film]”].
As to claim 15, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing method according to claim 14, wherein the surface to be polished comprises silicon oxide, silicon nitride, polysilicon, and amorphous silicon [pg. 13-14, “[Polished Film]”].
As to claim 16, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing method comprising a step of polishing a surface to be polished by using a polishing liquid for CMP obtained by mixing the first liquid and the second liquid of the polishing liquid set for CMP according to claim 13.
As to claim 17, modified Ryuzaki discloses the polishing method according to claim 16, wherein the surface to be polished comprises silicon oxide, silicon nitride, polysilicon, and amorphous silicon [pg. 13-14, “[Polished Film]”].
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 8 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The closest prior art of record teaches, as to the cationic polymer, a concentration of 0.001 to 20% mass of the polishing solution [Ryuzaki, claim 8], and, as to the additive A, a concentration of less than 1% mass [para. 0052].
The prior art of record therefore fails to teach or suggest the feature of claim 8, “wherein a content of the cationic polymer is 2 to 20 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the additive A.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: The additionally cited references are cited to show polishing compositions comprising derivatives of ethylenediamine, and polyethylene, polyallylamine, and/or polydialyllamine [Abstracts].
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/CHRISTOPHER REMAVEGE/Examiner, Art Unit 1713
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