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 .
This Office Action is in response to the Applicant’s amendment filed September 17, 2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 1-2 and 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee et al. (US 2021/0280720 A1).
In regard to claim 1, Lee et al. teach an artificial two-dimensional material, comprising: a layered atomic structure 200 including a middle atomic layer 210, a lower atomic layer 230, and an upper atomic layer 220; wherein the lower and upper atomic layers 230/220 are disposed on lower and upper surfaces of the middle atomic layer 210 respectively; the middle atomic layer 210 is a two-dimensional (2D) planar atomic structure formed of a transition metal; the lower and upper atomic layers 230/220 are a 2D planar atomic structure formed of heterogeneous atoms; and atoms of the layered atomic structure 200 are bound by chemical bonding (Figure 1, pages 304, paragraphs [0053]-[0073]).
In regard to claim 2, Lee et al. teach the transition metal selected from the group consisting of tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), titanium (Ti), platinum (Pt), indium (In), tin (Sn), niobium (Nb), and tantalum (Ta) (Figure 1, pages 304, paragraphs [0053]-[0124]).
In regard to claim 8, Lee et al. teach a chemical element of the upper atomic layer 220 selected from the group consisting of carbon (C), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), and phosphorus (P) (Figure 1, pages 304, paragraphs [0053]-[0073]).
In regard to claim 9, Lee et al. teach an outer atomic layer A disposed on the upper atomic layer 220, the outer atomic layer A including a plurality of metal atoms (Figure 1, pages 304, paragraphs [0053]-[0073]).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
Claim(s) 3-7 and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee et al. (US 2021/0280720 A1) as applied to claims 1-2 and 8-9 above.
Lee et al. teach all mentioned in rejection above.
In regard to claim 4, Lee et al. teach the upper atomic layer 220 including a plurality of metal atoms (Figure 1, pages 304, paragraphs [0053]-[0073]).
In regard to claim 6, Lee et al. teach an outer atomic layer A disposed on the upper atomic layer 220, the outer atomic layer A being bound by metallic bonding and the outer atomic layer A including a plurality of metal atoms (Figure 1, pages 304, paragraphs [0053]-[0124]).
However, Lee et al. fail to teach the lower atomic layer formed of sulfur (S), selenium (Se), or tellurium (Te).
In regard to claim 3, discovering the desired material is within the level of ordinary skill and requires only routine experimentation.
Therefore. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective date of the claimed invention to obtain the desired material of the lower atomic layer to provide easy adjustment to device parameters (page 1, paragraph [0006]).
In regard to claims 5, 7 and 10, discovering the desired metal atoms of the upper atomic layer is within the level of ordinary skill and requires only routine experimentation.
Response to Arguments
The allowance of claims 1-4, 6 and 9 has been withdrawn due to the newly applied Lee et al. (US 2021/0280720 A1) reference.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The following patents are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to atomic layered structures:
Jeon (US 6,607,973 B1) Ma et al. (US 9,012,333 B2)
Sundaram e al. (US 2017/0213718 A1) Yamamoto et al. (US 2002/0058161 A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IDA M SOWARD whose telephone number is (571)272-1845. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday, 7am to 5:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Ajay Ojha can be reached on 571-272-8936. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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IMS
October 22, 2025
/IDA M SOWARD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898