Appeal No. 2001-2540
Application No. 09/240,395
contact with the dielectric layer, e.g., 224. Thus, according to
appellants, applying Thomas to Lur, one would obtain a gate stack
structure having a gate oxide layer, a transition boride layer
directly over a portion of, and in contact with, the gate oxide
layer, a polysilicon gate, a diffusion barrier layer over the
polysilicon gate, and a conductor over the diffusion barrier
layer, which is not the instant claimed subject matter comprising
a transition metal boride layer provided in a gate stack between
a layer comprising silicon and a conductive layer.
Therefore, conclude appellants, if one were to apply the
teachings of Lur and Thomas in combination, it would lead to
either no protective layer over the Lur gate stack or a
protective barrier layer between the gate oxide and a polysilicon
layer, neither of which is the claimed invention.
Further, appellants argue that since Thomas teaches that the
protective barrier layer can be etched by a fluorine plasma, at
column 7, lines 43-45, this would teach away from using such a
barrier in Lur since Lur seeks to prevent fluorine atoms from
reaching the gate oxide. Appellants state that “A material which
is etchable by fluorine would not provide a good barrier to
fluorine” [principal brief-page vii].
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