Appeal No. 1999-2712 Page 8
Application No. 08/165,082
Declaration by Vikram Joshi (Joshi Declaration), in support of their position that the process of2
Brandmayr could not be applied to an integrated circuit including a capacitor having a dielectric formed
of BST. The examiner asserts (answer, page 7) that appellants attempt “to present some form of
impossibility argument, based primarily on the Declaration submitted 8/29/97.” The Joshi Declaration
states that “[t]he device that was
tested . . . was prepared according to the general process described in the present application, except
that it was annealed at high temperatures corresponding roughly to the anneal temperatures of the
Brandmayr patent.” According to the Joshi Declaration, the BST film had an average thickness of
1450D (i.e, 145 nanometers ), and the substrate including the dried film was annealed under oxygen in
a conventional furnace at 1000EC for one-half hour. The findings were that the thin film BST dielectric
layer failed due to shorting. The Joshi Declaration (pages 1 and 2) states “Exhibit A to this Declaration
is a curve showing the voltage across a device that was intended to be a thin film BST capacitor.”3
From our review of Exhibit A, we find that the linear plot on the graph evidences shorting of the
capacitor having a dielectric made from BST. In addition, the Joshi Declaration states (paragraph 6)
that “we often observed a significant problem that the bottom electrode peeled away from the wafer. . .
2 Declaration filed August 29, 1997.
3 Exhibit A, of record, does not show a “curve” as stated in the Joshi Declaration. At the Oral Hearing,
appellants were requested to fax a copy of Exhibit A. Appellants’ representative so responded. The document
received was identical to the document of record in the application, which we find to show a graph containing a
linear plot. As the document faxed was identical to the document of record, the fax informally submitted has not
been made of record.
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