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Claim 20 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 08/12/26.
Applicant’s election without traverse of group I in the reply filed on 08/12/26 is acknowledged.
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 1-2, 4-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lingyun Jia et al (U. S. Patent Application: 2018/0350587, here after Jia), further in view of Feng Wang et al (U. S. Patent: 9257302, here after Wang).
Claims 1-2 are rejected. Jia teaches a method of forming a film on a substrate comprising a patterned structure, comprising:
providing the substrate in a reaction chamber; and
forming the film on the substrate by repeating a cycle(PEALD), comprising:
supplying a first silicon source (first reactant) [abstract, 0034, 0062]; and
supplying a hydrogen source (second reactant) [0008], wherein the film formed on the substrate comprises a silicon oxycarbonate (SiOC)[abstract] and teaches the second reactant (hydrogen source) reacts with the species group of the first silicon source to form an adsorption site [0010]. Jia does not teach silicon source comprising acetoxy group. Wang teaches depositing a film on a patterned substrate comprising silicon oxygen and carbon [claim 11] by ALD [column 3 lines 50-54], where silicon precursor is triacetoxysilane or tetraacetoxysilane [column 11 lines 9-13]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a method of forming a SiOC film when silicon precursor is triacetoxysilane or tetraacetoxysilane, because it is suitable precursor for depositing SiOC film from vapor phase. The hydrogen source inherently reacts with the acetoxy group to form an adsorption site reactive to the acetoxy group.
Claim 4 is rejected as Jia teaches the hydrogen source comprises at least one of
atomic hydrogen, and dihydrogen, or a mixture thereof [0008].
Claim 5 is rejected as Jia teaches the adsorption site comprises a hydroxyl group(-OH) [0010, 0288].
Claim 6 is rejected. Jia teaches power is applied to the reaction chamber while supplying the hydrogen source, wherein the power may be applied to activate the hydrogen source with an intensity of 200W [0086, 0027]. Jia teaches the power is RF [0090], therefore the frequency is 20 kHz to 300 GHz. Although it does not teach frequency of about 10MHz and about 100MHz. However, overlapping ranges are prima facie evidence of obviousness. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have selected the portion of [overlapping range] that corresponds to the claimed range. In re Malagari, 182 USPQ 549 (CCPA 1974). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a method of Jia where the power frequency is 10MHz and about 100MHz, because an ordinary skill in the art can select the portion of overlapping range that corresponds to the claimed range in absence of criticality.
Claim 7 is rejected as Jia teaches power is applied remotely [0086].
Claim 8 is rejected as Jia teaches the power is applied to the reaction chamber in pulse [0089].
Claim 9 is rejected as Jia teaches the method is performed at a temperature
between about 100°C and about 450°C [0095].
Claim 10 is rejected as Jia teaches the method is performed at a pressure of 0.1-10 Torr [0102]. Overlapping ranges are prima facie evidence of obviousness. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to have selected the portion of [overlapping range] that corresponds to the claimed range. In re Malagari, 182 USPQ 549 (CCPA 1974).
Claim 11 is rejected as Jia teaches a film growth rate of the film is more than 0.15 A/cycle [0238].
Claim 12 is rejected as Jia teaches purging the reaction chamber at least
one of after supplying the first silicon source, and after supplying the hydrogen source (an RF) [0078, 0341].
Claim 13 is rejected. Jia teaches purging the reaction chamber after supplying
the first silicon source is performed by evacuating(vacuum) the reaction chamber [0059] (also chamber pressure is less than atmospheric pressure therefore the chamber is under evacuating).
Claims 14-15 are rejected. Jia teaches supplying silicon source comprising combination of silicon precursors[0198], and also teaches using alkoxy silyl group(bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane) as silicon source [0062]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a method of Jia, and Wang where silicon precursor(reactant) comprising a first silicon source, and a second silicon source, because it is suitable to have combination of silicon source as silicon source for depositing SiOC film. Here the first silicon source is acetoxysilane and the second silicon source is bis(triethoxysilyl)ethane. Since the process is PEALD, and cycle repeats it can be considered that the second silicon source supplies before or after the first silicon source (depends on what cycle to consider).
Claim 16 is rejected. Jia teaches the film is a low K film (the film comprises a pore) [0260, 0301, 0346]. Wang also teaches the film has void [fig. 1].
Claim 17 is rejected. Jia teaches a film growth rate of the film is more than 0.15 A/cycle [0238].
Claim 18 is rejected. Jia teaches purging the reaction chamber at least one of after supplying the first silicon source (and after supplying the second silicon source), and after supplying the hydrogen source [0078, 0341].
Claim 19 is rejected. Jia teaches purging the reaction chamber (after supplying the first silicon source and after supplying the second silicon source is performed by evacuating(vacuum) the reaction chamber [0059] (also chamber pressure is less than atmospheric pressure therefore the chamber is under evacuating).
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lingyun Jia et al (U. S. Patent Application: 2018/0350587, here after Jia), Feng Wang et al (U. S. Patent: 9257302, here after Wang), further in view of Kang-hun Moon et al (U. S. Patent Application: 2017/0186603, here after Moon).
Claim 3 is rejected. Wang does not teach the acetoxysilane is diacetoxydimethylsilane. Moon teaches a method of depositing silicon oxide carbon film via PEALD where the silicon precursor is diacetoxydimethylsilane [0057]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention was made to have a method of forming a SiOC film when silicon precursor is diacetoxydimethylsilane, because it is suitable precursor for depositing silicon oxide carbide film from vapor phase.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TABASSOM TADAYYON ESLAMI whose telephone number is (571)270-1885. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-6.
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/TABASSOM TADAYYON ESLAMI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1718
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