DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 9/5/2025 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-4 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1, the limitation “a substrate protrusion and a plurality of nanowires stacked on the upper surface of the substrate,” is unclear as to which element(s) are required to be “on the upper surface of the substrate.”
Regarding claim 1, the limitation “each of the plurality of nanowires comprises a triangle” is unclear because it appears to require each plurality to comprise a triangle, however there is understood to be only a single plurality of nanowires.
Regarding claim 1, the limitations “the plurality of nanowires comprises a plane (a first down-slant face/a second down-slant face)” are unclear as to if the plurality comprises each feature, or if a nanowire/each of the nanowires of the plurality comprise each feature.
Regarding claim 1, the limitation “a total number of the plurality of nanowires” is unclear as to a total number of what element. Specifically, the limitation appears to require a total number of pluralities.
Note the dependent claims necessarily inherit the indefiniteness of the claims on which they depend.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-3 and 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Vellianitis (US 2020/0035840; herein “Vellianitis”)
Regarding claim 1, Vellianitis teaches in Fig. 16C (including features disclosed in association with Figs. 2-12) and related text a semiconductor device, comprising:
a substrate (102/116, bottommost 106/206, see [0020], [0021], and [0028]) having an upper surface (e.g upper surface of bottommost 106/206); and
substrate protrusion (e.g. bottommost 208) and a plurality of nanowires (e.g. the five upper 208, see [0060]; note that one can choose a subset of 208 as the “plurality of nanowires”) stacked on the upper surface of the substrate along a first direction, wherein the substrate protrusion and the substrate are integrally formed (e.g. formed of constituent parts or being an essential part of), and the substrate protrusion is triangular in a cross section (see Fig. 16C);
wherein each of the plurality of nanowires comprise a triangle in the cross section (see Fig. 16C), and the plurality of nanowires comprise a plane extending along a second direction and corresponding to a top surface of a bottom surface of the triangle, a first down-slant facet on a (111) plane and corresponding to a sidewall of the triangle, and a second down-slant facet on an additional (111) plane corresponding to another sidewall of the triangle (see [0061]); and
the substrate protrusion (bottommost 208) is mirror-symmetrical (see Fig. 16C) to a bottommost nanowire (e.g. 208 directly above bottommost 208) in the plurality of nanowires stacked along the first direction ;
a total number of the plurality of nanowires (the five upper 208 as shown in Fig. 16C) stacked along the first direction is an odd number (e.g. five).
Regarding claim 2, Vellianitis further discloses wherein an included angle between the plane extending along the second direction and the first down-slant facet ranges from 54.5 degrees to 55 degrees, and an included angle between the plane extending in the second direction and the second down-slant facet ranges from 54.5 degrees to 55 degrees (Ɵ4 and Ɵ5 equal 54.7˚, see [0062]).
Regarding claim 3, Vellianitis further discloses wherein at least two of the plurality of nanowires are symmetrical to each other about a plane of symmetry extending along the second direction (see Fig. 16C).
Regarding claim 6, Vellianitis further discloses wherein a topmost nanowire and a bottommost nanowire in the plurality of nanowires (the five upper 208) stacked along the first direction are inverted triangles in the cross section (see Fig. 16C; note that the bottommost nanowire of the “plurality of nanowires” is the fifth 208 from the top as shown in Fig. 16C).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Vellianitis, as applied to claim 1 above, and in view of Cea et al. (US 2014/0042386; herein “Cea”).
Regarding claim 4, Vellianitis does not explicitly disclose wherein each of the substrate and the plurality of nanowires comprise a same single crystalline semiconductor material.
In the same field of endeavor, Cea teaches in Figs. 1A-C and related text a semiconductor device wherein each of the substrate (102) and the plurality of nanowires (104) comprise a same single crystalline semiconductor material (see [0039] and [0041]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Vellianitis by having the substrate and the nanowires comprise a same single crystalline semiconductor material, as shown by Cea, in order to improve electrical properties of the nanowires.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 9/5/2025 have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection presented above. Specifically, it is noted that the substrate has been newly interpreted in the rejection above.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Lauren R Bell whose telephone number is (571)272-7199. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8am-5pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, William Kraig can be reached at (571) 272-8660. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAUREN R BELL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896 2/10/2026