Appeal No. 1998-0077
Application No. 08/247,910
proper. In particular, the Examiner alleges on pages 3-4 that
Ning teaches simultaneous patterning of the insulating and
polycrystalline layers to obtain the polycrystalline layer in
the desired final configuration, followed by patterning of the
overlaying insulating layer. The Examiner asserts that "it
would have been within the scope of one of ordinary skill in
the art to pattern [the insulating layer] to obtain the
configuration of [the insulating layer] shown in Figure 3c [of
Ning] prior to patterning of [the polysilicon layer] because
this amounts to essentially a mere reversal of steps."
As pointed out by our reviewing court, we must first
determine the scope of the claim. "[T]he name of the game is
the claim." In re Hiniker Co., 150 F.3d 1362, 1369, 47 USPQ2d
1523, 1529 (Fed. Cir. 1998).
Turning first to Appellants' claim 21, we note that the
claim recites a method for fabricating a polysilicon resistor
comprising the steps of: "forming a polysilicon layer; doping
said polysilicon layer to obtain a first resistivity; forming
an insulating layer over said polysilicon layer; removing a
portion of said insulating layer such that said resistor body
7
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