Appeal No. 2001-1697 Page 6
Application No. 09/059,718
part per million (ppm) of the gaseous oxidizing atmosphere. See
numbered paragraphs 10 and 13 at pages 6 and 7 of Yamasaki.
While Fujishiro seemingly suggests that HCl and water may be
employed in conventional amounts, such as 2.5 volume percent HCl
in the gaseous mixture of Fujishiro for forming a silicon dioxide
layer on a semiconductor device at relatively high temperatures
of at least 850 /C, such an amount of water or other hydrogen
compounds is contraindicated by the teachings of Yamasaki with
respect to their process. Also, Yamasaki conducts the oxidation
at temperatures of 400-700/C and the examiner has not explained
how the teachings of Fujishiro regarding a higher temperature
oxidation process would have been perceived as relevant to the
Yamasaki process by one of ordinary skill in the art. Hence, the
examiner’s assertion that one of ordinary skill in the art would
have included HCl and water in the gaseous oxidizer of Yamasaki
in amounts effective to increase oxidation rates while also
taking into account the disadvantages of including as little as 1
ppm hydrogen containing compounds in the gas (answer, page 8)
falls short in establishing that such a modification of Yamasaki
would have been suggested to one of ordinary skill in the art
based on the combined teachings of Yamasaki and Fujishiro. In
this regard, the examiner has not established that Fujishiro
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