Attorney’s Docket Number: 20192743/24061.4127US02
Filing Date: 08/08/2022
Continuity Data: RCE filed on 03/02/2026
Claimed Priority Date: 01/11/2021 (DIV of 16/949,446 now PAT 11,769,820)
02/27/2020 (PRO 62/982,556)
Applicants: Chu et al.
Examiner: Younes Boulghassoul
DETAILED ACTION
This Office action responds to the Request for Continued Examination (RCE) filed on 03/02/2026.
Remarks
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 amendment filed on 03/02/2026 has been entered. The present Office action is made with all the suggested amendments being fully considered. Accordingly, pending in this application are claims 1-20.
Response to Amendment
Applicant’s amendments to the claims have overcome the claim rejections under 35 U.S.C. 102 and 35 U.S.C. 103, as previously formulated in the Final Office action mailed on 12/30/2025. Accordingly, all previous claim rejections are hereby withdrawn. However, applicant’s amendments have raised new issues, as detailed below.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because of the following informalities:
- L. 2: amend to --a substrate including an active region extending…--.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claim 20 recites “The semiconductor device of claim 17, wherein the upper semiconductor portion includes a first region comprising silicon, phosphorous and arsenic and a second region comprising phosphorous and silicon and void of arsenic.”, which is identical to the limitation already recited in claim 17, L. 12-14 “wherein the upper semiconductor portion includes a first region comprising silicon, phosphorous and arsenic and a second region comprising phosphorous and silicon and void of arsenic.”. Therefore, claim 20 fails to further limit independent claim 17, from which it depends.
Applicant may cancel the claim, amend the claim to place the claim in proper dependent form, rewrite the claim in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claim complies with the statutory requirements.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-19 are allowable
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claim 1, the prior art of record fails to disclose or suggest a semiconductor device, wherein the source/drain feature has a lower semiconductor portion and an upper semiconductor portion, wherein a dielectric region interposes the lower semiconductor portion and the upper semiconductor portion, and wherein the lower semiconductor portion includes a first dopant material of phosphorous and a second dopant material of arsenic and the upper semiconductor portion including the first dopant material of phosphorous.
Regarding claim 10, the prior art of record fails to disclose or suggest a semiconductor device, wherein the epitaxial source/drain feature includes: a lower semiconductor portion on the first semiconductor element, a dielectric region on the lower semiconductor portion, a first upper semiconductor portion on the dielectric region, wherein the first upper semiconductor portion includes silicon, a first dopant and a second dopant, wherein the first dopant is arsenic and the second dopant is phosphorous; and a second upper semiconductor portion on the first upper semiconductor portion.
Regarding claim 17, the prior art of record fails to disclose or suggest a semiconductor device, wherein the epitaxial source/drain feature includes: a lower semiconductor portion on the first active region element, a dielectric region on the lower semiconductor portion, the dielectric region including air; an upper semiconductor portion on the dielectric region, wherein the upper semiconductor portion includes a first region comprising silicon, phosphorous and arsenic and a second region comprising phosphorous and silicon and void of arsenic.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Younes Boulghassoul whose telephone number is (571) 270-5514. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9am-6pm EST. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Wael Fahmy can be reached on (571) 272-1705. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/YOUNES BOULGHASSOUL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2814