Appeal No. 2005-0323 Page 7
Application No. 09/577,835
regions. However, appellants argue to the effect that (brief,
page 8) Mogami does not disclose a composite sidewall structure
that extends from a bottom to a top of the continuously vertical
sidewalls. It is argued (id.) that there is no motivation to
combine the teachings of Gardner and Mogami because Gardner
already includes a mechanism (figure 9) for avoiding short
circuits between the gate electrode and the source/drain regions.
It is further argued (id.) that if the oxide portion of Gardner
were lengthened, there would be no need for the nitride portion
of the spacer in Gardner. Additionally, appellants argue that
combining the teachings of Gardner and Mogami would not result in
the claimed invention because the resultant structure would have
an oxide layer that runs from at least a bottom of the stack to
above a top of the sidewall.
The examiner responds (answer, page 5) that with regard to
appellants' assertion that there is no motivation to combine the
teachings of Gardner and Mogami, that in Mogami, the spacer
structure extends above the top surface of the gate stack, and
that therefore, the silicide material on top of the gate
conducting layer cannot bridge between the gate stack and the
source/drain region, resulting in prevention of a short circuit
between the gate stack and the source/drain region. With regard
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