Appeal No. 95-3936
Application 08/135,324
comprising the steps of:
coating a wafer with a photoresist, said
photoresist producing a photoacid when irradiated
with radiation of a predetermined range of
wavelengths, said photoacid catalyzing a chemical
reaction when said photoresist is baked to increase
the solubility of said photoresist in the irradiated
areas with respect to the solubility of said
photoresist in the non irradiated areas;
irradiating said photoresist on said wafer with
said radiation of a predetermined wavelength to
generate said photoacid defining a latent image in
said photoresist on said wafer, said irradiating
step following said coating step;
preventing said photoacid from being
neutralized; and
baking said latent image in
photoresist on said wafer, said baking step
following said preventing step.
The examiner has not relied on any prior art to
reject the appealed claims.
Claims 10 and 12 through 14 stand rejected under 35
U.S.C. § 112, first paragraph, on the grounds that the
appealed claims are based on a disclosure which is only
"enabling" for nitrogen or water as the agent which prevents
the photoacid from being neutralized. We affirm.
OPINION
The question before us is whether appellants'
disclosure would have enabled the hypothetical person of
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