Appeal No. 1998-1578
Application No. 08/543,827
semiconductor.” (Column 5, lines 26-29.) According to Ho,
this process involves annealing the TiN layer at a temperature
range of 300EC to 650EC for greater than 80 minutes. (Column
6, lines 57-66.) It is important to note that Ho does not
place any particular restriction on the thickness of the
barrier layer. The appellants acknowledge as much. (Appeal
brief, page 9.) Thus, it follows that Ho’s improved process
applies to any typical prior art TiN barrier layer.
From these facts, we determine that one of ordinary skill
in the art would have found it prima facie obvious to modify
the processes described in either Larson or Scott by annealing
the TiN barrier layer at 300EC to 650EC for greater than 80
minutes using Ho’s “atmospheric furnace” process, thus
arriving at a
method encompassed by appealed claims 1 or 14, with the
reasonable expectation of obtaining all of the advantages
described in Ho including the prevention of spike formation or
metal diffusion into the substrate. Any of the annealing
temperatures described in Ho is encompassed by appealed claims
1 or 14.
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