Ex Parte BLALOCK et al - Page 17




          Appeal No. 1999-2347                                                        
          Application 08/892,560                                                      

          not teach a metal conductive layer.  (We note that Barber also              
          discloses a BPSG dielectric rather than a silicon dioxide layer             
          as claimed, but this difference is not argued and will not be               
          discussed.2)  The Examiner finds that Erie and Kim teach                    
          metallization interconnects and a silicon dioxide dielectric                
          layer, but do not teach a silicon nitride etch stop layer.  The             
          Examiner concludes that it would have been obvious to one of                
          ordinary skill in the art either: (1) to use metallization                  
          interconnections in Barber because metallization interconnections           
          were conventional as taught in Erie and Kim (FR5; EA7); or,                 
          alternatively, (2) to use silicon nitride as the etch stop layer            
          in Erie or Kim because silicon nitride was a conventional etch              
          stop material and etching can be done with a high degree of                 
          selectivity as taught in Barber (FR5; EA7).                                 
               The rejection focuses on the obviousness of providing the              
          three layers of metal pad, silicon nitride, and silicon dioxide.            


          2  BPSG is a ternary (three component) oxide system                         
          B203-P205-Si02 which includes silicon dioxide.  See Wolf et al.,            
          Silicon Processing for the VLSI Era ) Volume 1: Process                     
          Technology (Lattice Press 1986), pp. 189-190 (copy attached).               
          The reason the silicon dioxide layer is not argued may be because           
          Appellants consider silicon dioxide to cover BPSG.  In any case,            
          however, arguments not raised are considered waived.  Cf.                   
          In re Wiechert, 370 F.2d 927, 936, 152 USPQ 247, 254 (CCPA 1967)            
          ("This court has uniformly followed  the sound rule that an issue           
          raised below which is not argued in this court, even if it has              
          been properly brought here by a reason of appeal, is regarded as            
          abandoned and will not be considered.  It is our function as a              
          court to decide disputed issues, not to create them.").                     
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