Appeal No. 94-3000
Application 07/914,654
Steck would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the
art.
We find ourselves in agreement with the examiner that it
would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the
relevant art to employ the conventional vapor drying method in
the drying step of Steck with the reasonable expectation of
obtaining dried silicon wafers (dried of the water to less
than 3 nm) having reduced water spots and drops in an
effective manner. In reaching this conclusion, we find that
the advantages of employing the conventional vapor drying
technique far outweigh the disadvantages of employing the
same. As can be seen from the disclosures of both the Kremer
and the Kurokawa references, the conventional vapor drying
technique is one of the few, which is commercially available
for the purpose of drying the wafers after cleaning them with
water. It, like the drying technique of Steck (slowly
withdrawing wafers from a water tank), is useful for removing
water spots and drops from the wafers. When the drying
technique of Steck is used in conjunction with this
conventional vapor drying technique, one of ordinary skill in
the relevant art would have reasonably expected to obtain an
7
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007