Appeal No. 2000-0660
Application No. 08/985,278
American Hoist & Derrick Co., 730 F.2d 1452, 1458, 221 USPQ 481,
485 (Fed. Cir. 1984).
Appellants' claim 5 recites the following:
wherein said insulation film comprising a nitride film
and top oxide film on said nitride film, the thickness
of said top oxide film being set to a thickness so that
the amount of transition of the carriers passing
through the top oxide film is almost equal to or larger
than the amount of transition of the carriers passing
through the tunnel film under a read voltage applied to
said gate electrode.
Appellants argues that "Hayabuchi teaches a tunnel film (3)
that is 2 nm thick (col. 3, lines 55-56) and a top oxide layer
(5) which is 4 nm thick (col. 3, lines 67-68). Consequently, the
4 nm top oxide layer taught by Hayabuchi cannot pass charge
carriers in equal or greater quantity than the thinner 2 nm
tunnel film as recited in claim 5." See page 8, lines 25-30 of
the reply brief.
On page 4, lines 1-4 of the answer, the Examiner argues that
Hayabuchi discloses the nonvolatile semiconductor memory with
a tunnel film (3) having a thickness of approximately 2
nm formed on the channel forming region; an insulating
film formed on the tunnel film, the insulating film
including a silicon nitride layer (4) and a top oxide
layer (5) with a thickness approximately 1 nm; [and] a
gate electrode (9) formed on the insulating film.
88
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