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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tseng (2005/0035460).
Re claim 1, Tseng discloses providing a substrate (100); forming an impurity region (113) in the substrate; forming a first dielectric layer (120) on the substrate; forming an opening (130) along the first dielectric layer (120) to expose the impurity region (113) (Fig. 2); conformally forming a layer (150) of first material in the opening; forming a layer of filler material (160) on the layer of first material to completely fill the opening (Fig. 3); and performing a planarization process until the top surface of the first dielectric layer is exposed to turn the layer of first material into an intervening film and the layer of filler material into a filler layer (Fig. 3~ [0044]); wherein the intervening film (150) comprises a U-shaped cross-sectional profile and silicon carbide ([0043]).
Re claim 2, Tseng discloses further comprising forming a first barrier film (140) between the impurity region and the intervening film; wherein the first barrier film comprises titanium, tantalum, or a combination thereof ([0041]~ Fig. 2).
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.
Claim(s) 3-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tseng as applied to claims 1 and 2 above, and further in view of Leng (2022/0393105), and further in view of Booth, JR. et al. (2012/0118619).
Re claim 3, Tseng does not disclose further comprising forming a second barrier film between the first barrier film and the intervening film; wherein the second barrier film comprises titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, or a combination thereof.
Leng et al. disclose further comprising forming a second barrier film (259) between the first barrier film (282) and the intervening film; wherein the second barrier film comprises tantalum nitride, or a combination thereof ([0061]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to use a barrier film of the claimed materials, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Re claim 4, the combination does not disclose further comprising forming a third barrier film between the intervening film and the filler layer; wherein the third barrier film comprises titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, or a combination thereof; wherein the intervening film, the first barrier film, the second barrier film, and the third barrier film configure a liner structure on the impurity region.
Booth, JR. et al. disclose further comprising forming a third barrier film (52L) between the intervening film (50L) and the filler layer (70L); wherein the third barrier film comprises titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, or a combination thereof ([0038]); wherein the intervening film, the first barrier film, the second barrier film, and the third barrier film configure a liner structure on the impurity region (in the combination of the references).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine Tseng, Leng et al. and Booth, Jr. to add the barrier of Booth, Jr. in the combination to prevent diffusion of dopant and/or material through the layers.
Re claim 5, Tseng discloses wherein the filler layer comprises copper, tungsten, or a combination thereof ([0044]).
Re claim 6, Tseng discloses wherein the impurity region (113) comprises n-type dopants or p-type dopants ([0037]~ s/d dopants).
Re claim 7, Tseng discloses wherein the impurity region (113) comprises epitaxial material ([0042]).
Re claim 8, Tseng discloses wherein the first dielectric layer comprises silicon dioxide or fluorosilicate glass ([0038]).
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: US 9,202,758 B1 discloses a similar method of fabricating a semiconductor device.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHELLE MANDALA whose telephone number is (571)272-1858. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-5:00 PM.
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, Sue Purvis can be reached on 571-272-1236. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MICHELLE MANDALA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893 October 13, 2026
Prosecution Insights