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 is a Final office action based on application 17/850,078 in response to reply filed October 24, 2025. Claims 1-10, 12-19, & 22-26 are currently pending and have been considered below.
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) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shen (Pre-Grant Publication 2023/0062389) in view of Frougier (US Patent 10,388,732).
Regarding claim 1 & 6, Shen disclose a semiconductor structure comprising:
a plurality of channels (Fig. 17b, 102), wherein each of the plurality of channels is a monolayer (Paragraph [0018]), and wherein the plurality of channels are in a stacked formation;
one or more dielectric layers (104/106), respectively, separating each of the plurality of channels; and
Shen does not explicitly disclose a particle proximate to a surface of one of the one or more dielectric layers adjacent to one of the plurality of channel includes a selected one or more of: fluorine, chlorine, or phosphorus. However Frougier discloses a transistor device comprising:
A plurality of channels (Fig. 9, 44) adjacent to a plurality of dielectric layers (35) wherein the channel material can include a dopant such as phosphorus therefore a particle proximate to a surface of the dielectric layer adjacent to the channels can include phosphorus (Col. 6, Lines 32-46).
Frougier further discloses the material of dielectric layer (35) can be silicon oxide (Col. 5, Lines 14-16) therefore a particle proximate to a surface of one or more dielectric layers adjacent to the one of the plurality of channel includes oxygen.
It would have been obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to form the channel material to include phosphorus because it will form a channel of an n-type electrical conductivity and increase its electrical conductivity (Col. 6, Lines 32-46). Further silicon oxide is a commonly known material for a dielectric layer to provide isolation between the channel and the gate electrode material.
Regarding claim 2, Shen further discloses:
each of the plurality of channels is a transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD) monolayer (Paragraph [0018]).
Regarding claim 3, Shen further discloses:
the plurality of channels overlap each other in a direction perpendicular to a plane of one of the plurality of channels (Fig. 17b).
Regarding claim 4, Shen further discloses:
one or more metal layers (304; Paragraph [0037]) adjacent, respectively, to the one or more dielectric layers.
Regarding claim 5, Shen further discloses:
The channel can be grown using a chemical vapor deposition process (Paragraph [0019]). Further it should be known that even though product-by process claims are limited and defined by the process, determination of patentability is based on the product itself and not on its method of production. If the product in the product-by-process is the same as or obvious from a product of the prior art, the claim is unpatentable even though the prior art product was made by a different process. In re Thorpe, 777 F.2d 695, 698, 227 USPQ 964 (Fed. Cir. 1985) Since claim ** depends from claim 1 which is a structure claim, the method limitations of claim 5 (such as grown using metal oxide chemical vapor deposition process) are not considered germane to the issue or patentability and have not been given any patentable weight.
Regarding claim 7, Shen further discloses:
a width of the each of the plurality of channels is between 5 and 50 nanometers (Paragraph [0018]).
Regarding claim 8, Shen further discloses:
a source (ES1;Paragraph [0070]) at a first end of the plurality of channels and the one or more dielectric layers; and a drain (ES2) at a second end of the plurality of channels and the one or more dielectric layers opposite the first end.
Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Shen (Pre-Grant Publication 2023/0062389) in view of Frougier (US Patent 10,388,732) as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Nguyen (Pre-Grant Publication 2022/0238721).
Regarding claim 9, Shen and Frougier disclose all of the limitations of claim 1 (addressed above). Shen further discloses:
A wafer (302)
One of the plurality of channels (102) is on the wafer.
Shen does not disclose the wafer includes a self assembled monolayer material However Nguyen discloses a semiconductor device comprising:
A wafer (Fig. 5, 110) wherein a 2D transition metal dichalcogenide channel (130;Paragraph [0059]) is formed on the wafer.
An adhesive layer (120; Paragraph [0064 & 0065]) is formed on the wafer, wherein the adhesive layer can be a self assembled monolayer.
It would have been obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to form the adhesive layer as a self assembled monolayer on the wafer because it will serve to improve the adhesive force between the channel and a surface of wafer (Paragraph 0064-0065]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10, 12-19, 22-26 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: Claim 10 is allowed because none of the prior art either alone or in combination discloses a transistor device comprising: a first dielectric layer on a metal layer; a second dielectric layer above the first dielectric layer; and wherein a side of the first dielectric layer has a first area and a second area, wherein the first area and the second area are separate and distinct, and wherein the second area includes oxygen atoms, and wherein a density of oxygen atoms on the second area of the side of the first dielectric layer is greater than a density of oxygen atoms on the first area of the side of the first dielectric layer. Claim 12-17 are also allowed based on its dependency from claim 10.
Claim 18 is allowed because none of the prior art either alone or in combination discloses an apparatus comprising: a first dielectric layer on a metal layer; a gap layer on the first dielectric layer; a second dielectric layer above the gap layer; a seed material on the first dielectric layer, the seed material extending into the gap layer; and a growth promoter on the first dielectric layer surrounding the seed material. Claims 19 & 21 are also allowed based on their dependency from claim 18.
Claim 22 is allowed because none of the prior art either alone or in combination discloses depositing a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) material on the transistor structure, wherein the SAM material is partially deposited on each of the first dielectric layers and extends into each of the gap layers, in combination with the other limitations of claim 22. Claims 23-25 are also allowed based on their dependency from claim 22.
Claim 26 is allowed because none of the prior art either alone or in combination discloses a die comprising: a first dielectric layer on a metal layer; a second dielectric layer above the first dielectric layer; and wherein a side of the first dielectric layer has a first area and a second area, wherein the first area and the second area are separate and distinct, and wherein the second area includes oxygen atoms, wherein a side of the second dielectric layer has a first area and a second area, wherein the first area and the second area are separate and distinct, and wherein the second area includes oxygen atoms, and wherein a density of oxygen atoms on the second area of the side of the second dielectric layer is greater than a density of oxygen atoms on the first area of the side of the second dielectric layer.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
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 BRANDON C FOX whose telephone number is (571)270-5016. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00AM-6:00PM.
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/BRANDON C FOX/Examiner, Art Unit 2818
/DAVID VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818