Appeal No. 94-0166
Application No. 07/815,316
Appellants’ purpose is to manufacture “integrated circuits having
self-aligned electrical contacts.” See Specification, page 1,
lines 3-4. Thus, we interpret the disputed limitation “forming a
landing pad contacting said substrate” as depositing a metal and
patterning it to define self-aligned electrical contacts.
Having so interpreted the claim language, we agree with
appellants that the examiner has not established that the claimed
subject matter as a whole would have been obvious to one of
ordinary skill in the art within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. § 103.
In this regard, we find that the examiner erred in characterizing
employment of polysilicon layer 61 in Fazan’s Figure 8 as forming
a landing pad inasmuch as polysilicon layer 61 forms the lower
plate of a stacked capacitor, which does not define self-aligned
electrical contacts. See column 5, lines 1-16. The examiner has
not proffered any evidence which would have suggested depositing
a metal and patterning it to define self-aligned electrical
contacts. Accordingly, we reverse the examiner’s decision
rejecting claims 1 through 5 under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
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