Appeal No. 2006-0313
Application 10/300,276
organic additives as optional ingredients, arguing that since these ingredients need not be
present, then they are not present, and thus, “without the chelating agent, all of the limitations of
the present application are not taught and the Section 102 rejection is without merit” (brief, page
9). Appellants further argue that “[t]he additional [sic, addition] of both phosphorous and boron
are not optional, rather they are a mandatory teaching, and would result in a
cobalt/phosphorous/boron layer, rather than a cobalt layer,” and “both of which are beyond the
limitation of the transitional phase ‘consisting essentially of’ and which would materially affect
the basic and novel characteristic(s) of the claimed invention” (id., pages 9-10).
The examiner responds that Dubin teaches plating solutions that contain chelating agents
with and without organic additives, both of which fall within appealed claim 1 (answer, page 5).
The examiner finds that “[a]mmonium hypophosphite (a phosphorous source) and
dimethylamine borate (a boron source) are well known reducing agents and are not excluded by”
appealed claim 1, and “it is clear from [Dubin] that the phosphorous and boron in the plate
would follow from the oxidation of the hypophosphite and dimethylamine borate reducing
agents” (id., pages 5-6).
We find substantial evidence in Dubin supporting the examiner’s position. We find as a
matter of fact that Dubin provides a pattern of preferences describing electroless cobalt plating
solutions encompassed by appealed claim 1, as we interpreted this claim above, to one skilled in
this art within the meaning of 35 U.S.C. § 102(e). Indeed, the electroless plating solutions
described by Dubin contain the four ingredients specified in claim 1. In this respect, Dubin
discloses to one skilled in this art that shunt material 180 is formed on copper interconnect
material 160, which can be a copper alloy, by electroless plating which involves placing
structure 100 in a bath containing metal ions to be plated and one or more reducing agents (e.g.,
col. 4, ll. 31-35 and 60-62, and col. 5, ll. 12-24; FIGs. 1 and 2). Dubin teaches that the shunt
material can be cobalt and alloys of cobalt, including cobalt phosphorous and cobalt-boron, and
that phosphorous and boron “are added to the shunt material as a result of reducing agent
oxidation” (col. 5, ll. 30-33 and 50-52). Dubin provides direction to an electroless cobalt plating
solution through the following pattern of preferences: “introducing metal ions of cobalt, metal
ions (shunt precursors) such as cobalt chloride, cobalt sulfate, . . . alone” (col. 5, l. 63, to col. 6, l.
1); “[t]o introduce the metal ions onto a conductive surface such as copper . . . one or more
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