Appeal No. 1997-3635
Application No. 08/498,357
A rejection for anticipation under section 102 requires
that each and every limitation of the claimed invention be
disclosed in a single prior art reference. In re Paulsen, 30
F.3d 1475, 1478-79, 31 USPQ2d 1671, 1673 (Fed. Cir. 1994),
citing In re Spada, 911 F.2d 705, 708, 15 USPQ2d 1655, 1657
(Fed. Cir. 1990).
We find that Wong teaches a method of forming low
resistance interconnects and contacts by sputter depositing an
amorphous silicon layer over a refractory metal layer upon a
semiconductor substrate. Wong in col. 3, lines 44 through 48,
specifically discloses that:
The deposition of first the metal 26 and then
the silicon 25 can be accomplished during a
single pump down cycle in a sputtering system by
providing both a metal target and a silicon target
within the sputtering machine [emphasis added].
Therefore, Wong’s sputtering system is pumped down once and
uses the silicon and the metal targets within the machine to
sequentially deposit the metal and silicon layers without
breaking the vacuum. We find that such arrangement results in
deposition of silicon over the barrier metallization layer
without exposing the metal layer to ambient oxygen, as recited
in Appellant’s claim 1. Wong in col. 3, lines 58 through 66,
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