Appeal No. 96-1518
Application No. 08/190,244
According to the examiner (Answer, page 3), "Kimura
teaches an electrostatic screening electrode 31 formed
perpendicular to and surrounding the gate electrode in order
to prevent channels that might occur due to stray charge in
these regions." Although the electrostatic screening
electrode 31 in Kimura may function as a channel stopper, we
agree with the appellants that it is not a pair of channel
stoppers connected to "a source diffusion region, so that they
are driven in synchronism with a gate electrode" (Brief, page
4).
The examiner states (Answer, page 3) that "Yamada in
column 18 lines 35 et. seq. teaches to connect channel stops
to the source electrodes of their adjacent transistors."
Appellants argue (Brief, page 4) that in Yamada "the voltage
levels on the channel stoppers are fixed to the voltage levels
of the power supply, namely, the VSS and VDD, respectively."
We agree with appellants that Yamada discloses connection of
channel stopper 1110 to V and connection of channel stopper
SS
1117 to V (column 18, lines 35 through 40).
DD
In summary, we agree with appellants (Brief, page 4) that
"[n]either of these references suggest connecting channel
4
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