Appeal No. 2001-0430
Application No. 08/697,699
Cain provides a bilayer conformal dielectric layer inapposite to applicant’s single layer conformal
dielectric layer as disclosed and claimed . . .” (brief, page 15).
Turning to the obviousness rejection of claims 1, 2, 4 through 6, 8 through 10 and 24 based
upon the combined teachings of Dawson, and either one of Machida or Jain, appellants
acknowledge (brief, pages 16 and 17) that Machida discloses a sandwich composite dielectric layer
construction formed, in part, by employing “a first conformal dielectric layer formed employing a
plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method employing silane as a silicon source
material and oxygen as an oxidant source material, at a prescribed silane oxygen flow rate ratio . . .
,” and that “[a]t col. 14, lines 5-45, Machida also discloses that the sandwich composite dielectric
layer construction may also employ a second conformal dielectric layer formed employing a second
plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method employing tetraethylorthosilicate
(TEOS) as a second silicon source material, such as to promote within the sandwich composite
dielectric layer construction moisture permeation through the second conformal dielectric layer . . .
.” Appellants likewise acknowledge (brief, page 17) that Jain uses PECVD to form the adjacent
dielectric layers 60 and 80 (prior art Figure 2B; column 1, lines 54 through 61; column 3, lines 37
through 42). Appellants argue (brief, page 19) that neither Machida nor Jain provides a disclosure
of optimizing radio frequency power when forming a conformal dielectric layer within a gap filling
sandwich composite dielectric layer construction. We agree. The obviousness rejection of claims 1,
2, 4 through 6, 8 through 10 and 24 is, therefore, reversed because of the silence of Dawson,
Machida and Jain as to power used when forming the conformal dielectric layers.
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