Appeal No. 2005-1668
Application 09/920,891
step after completion of the separate substrate cooling step; and a separate step of providing a
second gaseous mixture for the HDP-CVD step after completion of the separate etching step.
We agree with appellants that the examiner has not identified a disclosure of a separate
cooling step in any of the applied references (supplemental reply brief, page 2). In this respect,
we further agree with appellants (supplemental reply brief, pages 3-4) that Kholodenko (col. 1,
l. 56, to col. 2, l. 3) and Sherstinsky (col. 2, ll. 15-27) would have disclosed that the substrate
should be cooled during the etching step to maintain the substrate within a narrow temperature
range, while Papasouliotis (col. 8, ll. 6-45) would have disclosed that the temperature can be
modulated during etching by cooling or heating the substrate. We note here that the examiner
relies on Orczyk to show that “chemical vapor deposition typically requires elevated
temperature” (supplemental answer, page 5). We find that Hong is silent with respect to etch
temperature (e.g., col. 5, l. 40, to col. 6, l. 35, col. 10, l. 40, to col. 11, l. 3 and col. 12 ll. 13-28).
The examiner attempts to fill the gap between the evidence provided in the combined
teachings of the references and the invention encompassed by the appealed claims by alleging
that the “[r]elationship of deposition and etch to temperature is well known to people of ordinary
skill in the art,” and in this respect, relies on the teachings of Kholodenko and Sherstinsky to
support the conclusion that a separate cooling step before the etch step “to be able to control the
substrate temperature properly for etch” was within the ordinary skill in the art (supplemental
answer, page 5). The examiner further alleges that the “general” teachings in Papasouliotis,
Hong and Orczyk establish that “it would have been obvious that in general a cooling step after
deposition may be needed in preparation for etching, at least in case, change of temperature in
Papasouliotis turns out to be cooling for a specific purpose,” and that, in view of the teachings in
Sherstinsky and Kholodenko, “[a]s plasma and ion bombardment is the cause of substrate heat
during etch, it would be obvious and prudent to make sure that the cooling system is ready
before the plasma is turned on for etching since, [sic] cooling is never instantaneous” (id., pages
7-8).
We find no evidence in the record establishing the actual temperature range(s) at which
etching steps are conducted in the vapor deposition arts or the relationship of actual etch
temperature range(s) to actual deposition temperature range(s) in this art, even though the
examiner alleges that such information is well known to those of ordinary skill in this art. In the
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