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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 9-15,21-33 in the reply filed on 10/20/2025 is acknowledged.
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)(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) 9-11,21-26, 28-31,33 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hsu et al (US Patent No. 12261086).
With respect to claim 9, Hsu et al discloses a first trench isolation (32 left,Fig.11); a second trench isolation (32 right,Fig.11) opposite to the first trench isolation (Fig.11); a gate region (the trench where 42 is formed in) disposed between the first trench isolation and the second trench isolation (Fig.11); and a gate oxide (76) disposed over the gate region, wherein the gate oxide protrudes from the first trench isolation and the second trench isolation (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 10, Hsu et al discloses wherein the gate oxide has a first lateral surface adjacent to the first trench isolation (portion of the 76 (specifically it’s right side) vertically protruding from the first trench) and a second lateral surface adjacent to the second trench isolation (portion of the 76 (specifically it’s left side) vertically protruding from the second trench) , wherein a portion of the first lateral surface is exposed from the first trench isolation (Fig.11), and a portion of the second lateral surface is exposed from the second trench isolation (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 11, Hsu et al discloses wherein an upper portion of the first lateral surface (portion of the 76 in left above 42) exposed from the first trench isolation (Fig.11), a lower portion of the first lateral surface is in contact with the first trench isolation (Fig.11), an upper portion of the second lateral surface(portion of the 76 in right above 42) is exposed from the second trench isolation (Fig.11), and a lower portion of the second lateral surface is in contact with the second trench isolation (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 13, wherein the gate region (78,80) has a top surface contacting the gate oxide (on the corner), and the top surface of the gate region is a substantially flat surface (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 21, Hsu et al discloses a first trench isolation (50 left,Fig.11); a second trench isolation (50 right) opposite to the first trench isolation; a gate region disposed between the first trench isolation and the second trench isolation (42,66); a gate oxide disposed over the gate region (42, Col3) wherein top surfaces of the first trench isolation and the second trench isolation are lower than a top surface of the gate oxide (Fig.11); and an oxide layer covering the top surface of the gate oxide (76, col6), a portion of a lateral surface of the gate oxide (Fig.11), and portions of the top surfaces of the first trench isolation and the second trench isolation (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 22, Hsu et al discloses wherein a width of the oxide layer ( in the x direction) is greater than a width of the gate oxide (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 23, Hsu et al discloses a metal gate (78,80) disposed on the oxide layer, wherein the metal gate is separated from the gate oxide by the oxide layer (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 24, Hsu et al discloses wherein one of the first trench isolation and the second trench isolation includes a recess (32 is recessed from bottom of the 70) from the top surface of the one of the first trench isolation and the second trench isolation (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 25, Hsu et al discloses wherein a step structure (step between 42 and 32) with right and left structure(Fig.11) is formed by the top surface of the gate oxide (Fig.11) and the top surface of the one of the first trench isolation (Fig.11) and the second trench isolation (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 26, Hsu et al discloses a first trench isolation (32 left,Fig.11); a second trench isolation (32 right) opposite to the first trench isolation; a gate region (the trench where 42 is located at) disposed between the first trench isolation and the second trench isolation; and a gate oxide (42) disposed over the gate region, wherein a top surface of the gate oxide is higher than uppermost surfaces of the first trench isolation and the second trench isolation (Fig.11), and a bottom interface is between the gate region and the gate oxide (between 42 and 20), and an entire of the bottom interface is substantially flat (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 28, Hsu et al discloses a source region (70 left or right) and a drain region (70 left or right), wherein the gate region is disposed between the source region and the drain region (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 29, Hsu et al discloses wherein the first trench isolation is disposed between the source region and the gate region (Fig.11), and the second trench isolation is disposed between the drain region and the gate region (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 30, Hsu et al discloses wherein the top surface of the first trench isolation (where it meets the bottom of the 70) is lower than a top surface of the source region (where 84 interfaces with 70), and the top surface of the second trench isolation is lower than a top surface of the drain region (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 31, Hsu et al discloses wherein the top surface of the gate oxide is substantially aligned a top surface of the source region or a top surface of the drain region (Fig.11).
With respect to claim 33, Hsu et al discloses further comprising a metal gate disposed over the gate oxide (80, Col 7).
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.
Claim(s) 12,27,32 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu et al (US Patent No. 12261086).
With respect to claim 12, Hsu et al does not explicitly disclose wherein in a cross-sectional view, a length of the lower portion of the first lateral surface is greater than one half of a thickness of the gate oxide. "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Hsu et al such that in a cross-sectional view, a length of the lower portion of the first lateral surface is greater than one half of a thickness of the gate oxide, in order to decrease the size of the device, thereby the cost is decreased.
With respect to 27, Hsu et al does not explicitly disclose wherein a difference between an elevation of a highest point of the bottom interface and an elevation of a lowest point of the bottom interface is less than 1 nm. "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). Furthermore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Hsu et al such that an elevation of a highest point of the bottom interface and an elevation of a lowest point of the bottom interface is less than 1 nm, in order to improve the functionality of the device.
With respect to claim 32, Hsu et al discloses wherein a first interface is between the gate oxide and the first trench isolation (Fig.11), wherein in a cross-sectional view, a length of the first interface is greater than one half of a thickness of the gate oxide (Fig.11). Furthermore, "[W]here the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges by routine experimentation." In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
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/ALI NARAGHI/Examiner, Art Unit 2817