Appeal No. 2000-0037
Application 08/627,631
defined. Moreover, the use of terms of degree often, as in this
instance, raise questions of definiteness under the second
paragraph of the statute.
When a term of degree is used to describe a claim element we
must look to the specification and determine whether the
specification provides some standard for measuring that term of
degree. Seattle Box Company, Inc. v. Industrial Crating &
Packing, Inc., 731 F.2d 818, 826, 221 USPQ 568, 573, 574 (Fed.
Cir. 1984). Thus, we look to appellants' specification to
determine what are the "substantially identical processing
conditions" used in the prior art processes to which appellants
compare the results of their process.
At page 1 of the specification appellants disclose that
their method may be used to form dielectric layers in general and
premetal dielectric layers (PMD), intermetal dielectric layers
(IMD), passivation layers and "other layers." According to
appellants, silicon oxide films may be deposited by thermal
chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and plasma enhanced chemical
vapor deposition (PECVD) by reacting a silicon source with an
oxygen source (see page 1, lines 16 through 29). On page 3 of
their specification, appellants disclose that the prior art
deposition techniques include atmospheric pressure techniques,
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