Appeal No. 2000-0160
Application 08/595,150
to be a silicon nitride etch stop layer and a silicon oxide
interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer. However, Woo discloses
silicon nitride as an etch stop layer (e.g. col. 4, line 13) and
discloses silicon-oxide based materials for the ILD layer
(col. 4, lines 36-41). Woo does not mention silicon dioxide as a
silicon-oxide based ILD material. Presumably, the Examiner was
just careless in stating "silicon oxide" in the rejection instead
of "silicon dioxide." Therefore, we assume that Kalnitsky is
applied mainly to show silicon dioxide as an ILD material.
Appellant does not challenge the obviousness of using
silicon dioxide as an ILD material in Woo.
Appellant argues (Br6) that neither Woo nor Kalnitsky
teaches or suggests "said contiguous etch stop cap layer covering
said electrically conducting edge surfaces" (claim 19).
We interpret "covering said electrically conducting edge
surfaces" to require only partly covering the conducting edge.
This interpretation is consistent with Appellant's figures 8
and 9, which show the etch stop cap layer 54 partially exposing
the electrically conducting coating 34 which forms part of the
electrically conducting edge surface. Because claim 19 does not
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: November 3, 2007