Appeal 2005-2100
Application 09/826,038
Each of the other embodiments also involves the use of the feed forward
technique by measuring the thickness of a film, and the measured thickness value is
then transmitted to the main computer which is used to set optimal requirements for
future processing. In this way, variations in thickness of a film can be reflected in the
requirements for processing (e.g., etching) thereafter. The common benefit is each
embodiment resulting from the use of this feed forward technique is improved
uniformity/accuracy of the resultant formation during processing.
Our dissenting colleague focuses on embodiment 5 of Appellant’s specification
because it is this embodiment that supports the subject matter of claim 6. This
embodiment is depicted in Figs. 7A- 7E of the drawings. This embodiment involves
the processing technique of the formation of a miniaturized interconnection pattern.
Appellant uses the feed forward technique to this technique for improved accuracy of
formation of such a structure.
The technique of formation of a miniaturized interconnection pattern involves the
layering as shown in Fig. 7A having interconnect layer 46 and oxide film 48. Oxide
film 48 is dry etched while the resist film 50 is used as a mask. Resist film 50 is
removed, and then oxide film 48 is reduced by means of wet etching, as shown in Fig.
7C. The reduced oxide film 48 is then used as a mask while interconnection layer 46
is dry-etched, resulting in the structure shown in Fig. 7D (Specification, p. 16, ll. 10-
29).
Appellant states that the reasons for dimensional errors in making the above
structure occur from (1) dimensional errors in the resist film 50 formed by
photolithography and (2) dimensional errors in the oxide film 48 caused by side
etching, which etching would arise during the dry etching process (Specification p. 16,
6
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