DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 9/9/2025 has been entered.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-15 have been considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 recites in the newly amended portion the limitation “a plurality of third conductive lines in a third conductive layer at an elevation above that of the second conductive layer and running in the second direction; wherein the plurality of second conductive segments and the plurality of interlayer vias are formed at locations corresponding to where the plurality of third conductive lines overlap with the first conductive line.” The second conductive lines appear to be 1318A-C, therefore the specification lacks support for an additional conductive layer above 1318A-C and their dispositions.
Claim 10 recites in the newly amended portion the limitation “a plurality of fifth conductive lines in a third conductive layer above the second conductive layer and running in the second direction, wherein the plurality of second conductive lines and the via are formed at locations corresponding to where the plurality of fifth conductive lines overlaps with the first conductive line.” The second conductive layer appears to be 1318A-C, therefore the specification lacks support for an additional fifth conductive layer above 1318A-C and their dispositions.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 16-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Allowable subject matter has been indicated because the closest prior art references of record, Guo et al. (US PGPub 2017/0141029), either alone or in combination, fails to teach or fairly suggest the feature:
“generating a first conductive line in a first conductive layer, wherein a longitudinal side of the first conductive line is in parallel to a first direction;
generating a plurality of second conductive lines parallel to each other in a second conductive layer above the first conductive layer, wherein a longitudinal side of the second conductive line is in parallel to a second direction, wherein the second direction is substantially perpendicular to the first direction; and
generating a seventh conductive line in a third conductive layer below the first conductive layer, wherein a longitudinal side of the seventh conductive line is in parallel to the first direction, wherein a dimension of the seventh conductive line is greater than a dimension of the first conductive line along the second direction, and the first conductive line is within an overlapping area of the seventh conductive line”.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JESSE Y MIYOSHI whose telephone number is (571)270-1629. The examiner can normally be reached M-F, 8:30AM-5:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jessica Manno can be reached on 571-272-2339. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JESSE Y MIYOSHI/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898