Appeal 2007-2494
Application 10/161,134
material-supporting" layer 50 between the photoresist layer 24 and the
silicon nitride layer 22 as depicted in Figure 6, reproduced below
(Specification at 8:14-18; 9:4-6; 12:5-13).
{Figure 6 is said to show a fragment of a wafer during processing.}
[12] Imagable-material-supporting layer 50 is made of a different material
than silicon nitride layer 22 (Specification at 9:6-7).
[13] In particular, imagable-material-supporting "layer 50 can comprise
silicon, oxygen and nitrogen, but comprises less nitrogen (by atom
percent) than does layer 22" (Specification at 11:17-19).
[14] For example, a silicon or conductively doped silicon imagable-
material-supporting layer 50 may be formed by chemical vapor
deposition of silicon or polysilicon over layer 22 (Specification at 9:7-
18).
[15] According to the specification, when photoresist pattern 26a is used as
a mask to transfer the pattern to the underlying imagable-material-
supporting 50, silicon nitride 22, metal-containing 20, conductively-
doped silicon 18, and silicon dioxide 16 layers, the laterally extending
portions 42 seen in prior art methods is said to be lacking as depicted
in Figure 7, below (Specification at 12:14-13:12).
6
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