Appeal No. 96-2261
Application 08/026,669
then is rinsed and dried (col. 1, lines 12-13; col. 5, line 47
- col. 6, line 41; col. 7, line 56 - col. 8, line 10).
Bardina does not disclose the steps recited in
appellant’s claim 32 of exposing the objects to ultraviolet
radiation, applying resist developer fluid to the objects, and
rinsing the resist developer. For a teaching of these
features, the examiner relies upon Solymar. This reference
discusses the stages in the production of microelectronic
circuits. In one stage, a photoresist is applied on an oxide
layer, a mask is placed over the photoresist, and the
photoresist is exposed to ultraviolet light through
transparent areas in the mask (pages 249-51; figure 9.51(b)).
Solymar teaches that photoresists are organic compounds whose
solubility is affected by exposure to ultraviolet light, and
that the exposed areas of a positive photoresist, which he
uses, can be washed away by a suitable developer (page 249).
Appellant argues that Solymar does not disclose or
suggest a cleaning method in which ultraviolet light and
developer wash are used (brief, page 7). In appellant’s view,
only appellant’s specification, not the applied references,
provides the idea of such a method (brief, page 8).
-4-4
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007