Appeal No. 2004-1436
Application No. 09/583,865
However, the background of Watanabe only teaches that the
ammonium weak acid salts exemplified by JP '630 "can deactivate
acid on the chemically amplified resist surface, also failing to
overcome the above-mentioned PED problem" (sentence bridging
columns 2 and 3). Consequently, we agree with appellants that
the referenced disclosure of Watanabe fails to provide the
requisite teaching or suggestion of including the presently
claimed photo base generator in the overlying layer of JP '630.
As for Winkle, appellants have accurately pointed out that
Winkle only discloses the inclusion of a photo base generator in
the resist composition. Manifestly, such a disclosure also fails
to provide the requisite teaching or suggestion of modifying the
composition of the overlying layer of JP '630 in the manner
required by the appealed claims.
Accordingly, while the examiner reasons that "one of
ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to
incorporate a known photobase generator into the said water
soluble composition of Kazumasa [JP '630] in order to eliminate
the deactivation of the acid on the chemically amplified resist
thereby correcting the known deficiencies of Kazumasa, as
identified by the background teachings of Watanabe" (page 5 of
Answer, second paragraph), we concur with appellants that such
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