Appeal No. 97-4091
Application 08/382,701
appellants do not purport to use the term in any manner contrary
to its usual and customary meaning. We note that claim terms are
properly and reasonably construed not in a vacuum but always in
light of the context of the specification.
The specification describes that the silicon carbide layer
is applied over the metal wiring (spec. at 4, lines 9-10). The
specification describes that the silicon carbide layer functions
as a diffusion barrier which keeps metal atoms from migrating
between adjacent conductors (spec. at 1, lines 3-6). The sole
Figure illustrates that the silicon carbide layer is immediately
adjacent to all surfaces of the metal wiring through which
diffusion of metal atoms can take place, even when there are
multiple layers of metal wiring. The specification describes at
8, lines 1-3, that a layer of silicon carbide should be deposited
between the dielectric and the metal to prevent diffusion of the
metal into the dielectric.
In the proper context of the appellants’ specification,
"cover" or "covering" does not mean merely a partial overlap in
any direction, or even in a specific direction. In our view,
that would be an unreasonable interpretation in light of the
specification. Here, the broadest reasonable interpretation of
"covering" in the context of these claims, would still require
that there be sufficient coverage of amorphous silicon carbide
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