Appeal No. 2002-1992
Application 09/206,170
or considerable amount, quantity, size, etc.”2 See Allen
Engineering Corp. v. Bartell Industries Inc., 299 F.3d at 1344,
63 USPQ2d at 1772.
Chen discloses a method for forming a semiconductor device
on a wafer, comprising forming a dual damascene via and wire
definition in a dielectric layer, depositing a barrier layer on
exposed surfaces of the dielectric layer including the surfaces
within the dual damascene via and wire definition, filling the
dual damascene via and wire definition with a conductive metal
such as copper or aluminum, and then planarizing, by a method
such as chemical mechanical polishing, the conductive metal,
barrier layer and dielectric layer, thereby defining a conductive
wire which is connected by a via to a lower conducting region
(col. 4, lines 51-63). Chen does not disclose immersing the
wafer in a chemical agent to remove an amount of dielectric
material sufficient to prevent or substantially reduce formation
and/or growth of Cu dendrites from the Cu lines into the
dielectric layer.
2 The Random House College Dictionary, supra note 1 at 1310.
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