Appeal No. 1998-2671
Application No. 08/480,543
claimed method, would of course result in the
claimed process, nothing in the references
suggest such a combination.
After reviewing the arguments of record, we are in general
agreement with the Examiner’s position as stated in the Answer to
which we add amplifying comments which follow. Initially,
contrary to Appellants’ contention, we find clear suggestion in
the cited references for the Examiner’s proposed combination. It
is clear from the disclosure of Schilling, especially the
illustration in Figure 1b, that full coverage of the contact hole
24 with deposited metal is contemplated, although Schilling is
silent as to any particular deposition temperature for which to
achieve such full coverage. We are convinced, however, that the
skilled artisan using Schilling’s technique, and seeking guidance
as to the proper deposition temperature to achieve the desired
full contact hole coverage, would have been led to the teachings
of Tracy which suggests the proper deposition temperature to
achieve the desired full coverage result.
Further, from all of the evidence of record, we are of the
opinion that the application of the 400°-500° C deposition
temperature range teaching of Tracy to the full coverage metal
deposition process of Schilling would necessarily result in the
alloying of the aluminum and refractory metal layers, thereby
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