Appeal No. 1998-0178
Application No. 08/254,854
W.L. Gore and Associates, Inc. v. Garlock, Inc., 721 F.2d
1540, 1554, 220 USPQ 303, 313 (Fed. Cir. 1983), cert. denied,
469 U.S. 851 (1984).
The examiner purports to read the invention of claim
24 on the disclosure of Fujii [final rejection, pages 2-3].
Appellants argue that Fujii clearly discloses a titanium layer
101 within contact holes 6 of the insulating film 5 whereas
the claim specifically recites that the structure does not
include a layer of elemental titanium. Appellants accuse the
examiner of ignoring this claim language. The examiner
responds that the titanium layer 101 in Fujii is not elemental
(unreacted) titanium because titanium layer 101 reacts with
aluminum to form a titanium-aluminum compound and reacts with
silicon to form a titanium-silicon compound [answer, page 6].
Although the examiner is correct that part of the
titanium layer 101 in Fujii reacts with aluminum connection 4
to form a titanium-aluminum compound region 206, the examiner
is incorrect to conclude that Fujii does not include a layer
of elemental titanium as required in claim 24. The titanium
layer 101 only reacts with the aluminum at the interface
between them. The strip of material labeled as 101 in Fujii
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