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 .
Considering the amendment filed 12/10/25, claims 2,7,13,14,22 and 24-28 have been canceled. Claims 15-21,23 and 29 have been withdrawn from consideration as being directed toward a non-elected invention detailed in paper filed 3/26/25. In conclusion, claims 1 and 3-12 remain in the application for prosecution thereof.
Applicants’ election to a specie of the claimed volatile organo silyl compound has been selected to be tBuMe2SiLi also recited in claim 3. The other volatile organo silyl compounds have been withdrawn from consideration.
Considering the amendment filed 12/10/25, the 35 USC 112 rejections have been withdrawn.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
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.
Claims 1,3,4 and 9-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) in combination with KR 2014-0136146.
Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) teaches atomic layer deposition of metal phosphates and lithium silicates. Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) teaches forming the lithium silicates using ALD deposition comprising a plurality of deposition cycles including pulses of a first vapor phase reactant, purging and pulses of a second vapor reactant in a flow type reactor [0019]. Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) teaches forming lithium silicates to include a two-metal reactant including silicon (si) and lithium (li) and a second reactant including oxygen [0024]. Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) teaches the oxygen reactant can include ozone (O3) [0026]. Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) teaches coating on a substrate placed in a reactor chamber [0058].
Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) fails to teach the claimed two metal phase reactant being tBuMe2SiLi (t-butyl dimethyl silyl).
KR 2014-0136146 teaches using tBuMe2 as a vapor precursor of ALD using silyl reactions in forming metal silicate coatings.
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) process to include the claimed tBuMe silyl as the precursor as evidenced by KR 2014-0136146 in forming the lithium silicate coating
Regarding claim 4, Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) teaches coating silicon wafers (which are known to be semiconductor materials) [0166].
Regarding claims 9-11, Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) teaches a reaction chamber [0029] and deposition temperatures of 150C-400C [0103] which would meet the claimed organo silyl compound being greater than 145C and the vacuum reactor being greater than 85C.
Regarding claim 12, Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) teaches pulsing of reactants of from 0.05-10 seconds and purging of 0.05-20 seconds which would also include the claimed dwell time when switching from pulsing reactants to purging [0111]-[0112]. Furthermore, dwell times between purging is commonplace in ALD processing to ensure formation of the monolayer and/or removal of the reactant when purging and hence would have been within the skill of one practicing in the art absent a showing of criticality thereof.
Claims 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) in combination with KR 2014-0136146 further in combination with Yang et al. (10,312,501).
Features detailed above concerning the teachings of Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) in combination with KR 2014-0136146 are incorporated here.
Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) in combination with KR 2014-0136146 fails to teach the claimed substrate.
Yang et al. (10,312,501) teaches a method for making a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer on a surface of a lithium electrode and HE-NMC which protects the lithium metal electrode form additional reactions with the electrolyte (col. 6, lines 10-50 and abstract).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one skilled in the art to have modified Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) in combination with KR 2014-0136146 process to coat a He-NMC material as evidenced by Yang et al. (10,312,501) with the expectation of providing a protective layer thereon.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) in combination with KR 2014-0136146 further in combination with Kawada et al. (2021/0057722).
Features detailed above concerning the teachings of Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) in combination with KR 2014 are incorporated here.
Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) in combination with KR 2014-0136146 fails to teach the claimed substrate.
Kawada et al. (2021/0057722) teaches coating a lithium silicate by ALD of metal foils including titanium and copper (abstract and [0031]-[0039] and [0072]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious for one skilled in the art to have modified Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) in combination with KR 2014-0136146 process to coat a copper or titanium foil as evidenced by Kawada et al. (2021/0057722) with the expectation of providing a lithium coating layer thereon.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 12/10/25 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argued the Examiner applied the rejection base don improper hindsight analysis as well as KR 2014-0136146 teaching a genus of tBuMe2 but fails to provide for the species of tBuMe2SiLi.
The Examiner disagrees. As detailed above, Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) teaches forming lithium silicates to include a two-metal reactant including silicon (si) and lithium (li) and a second reactant including oxygen [0024] and hence would be suggestive of SiLi precursor and when in combination with KR 2014-0136146 which teaches using tBuMe2 as a vapor precursor of ALD using silyl reactions in forming metal silicate coatings, one skilled in the art would at least be suggested that the use of tBuMe2SiLi would be suggestive in forming Hamalainen et al. (2012/0276305) lithium silicates as detailed above.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 BRIAN K TALBOT whose telephone number is (571)272-1428. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Thurs 6:30-5PM - Fri OFF.
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/BRIAN K TALBOT/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1715
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