Appeal No. 2004-0999
Application No. 09/997,086
In another embodiment shown in Figs. 4 and 5, an etching
technique is used to form the first trench 118 and the second
trench 118'. First, a resist material 122 is applied and
patterned on the interconnect layer 108 such that openings 124
are created in areas where a trench is desired as shown in FIG.
4. As the entire thickness of the interconnect layer 108 is
preferably removed, a relatively thick resist layer will need to
be applied unless the etching selectivity is very high. As shown
in FIG. 5, the interconnect layer 108 is then etched to form the
first trench 118 and the second trench 118' through the
semiconductor wafer 114. See Appellants' specification, page
8, lines 8-19.
After the formation of the first trench 118 and the second
trench 118' and, if an etching process is used, after the
removal of the resist material, a wafer saw 117 (see Fig. 6)
cuts a channel 126 between the first trench 118 and the
second trench 118', through the interconnect layer 108, and
through the semiconductor wafer 114 as shown in Figs. 7 and
8. See Appellants' specification, page 9, lines 12-16.
Figs. 9-14 illustrate another embodiment of
Appellants' invention. Instead of forming two individual
4
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