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
Applicants election without traverse of the invention of Group I, Claims 1 through 12 and 20, in the reply filed on March 2, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 13 through 19 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on March 2, 2026.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: --Fabricating Methods for a Composite Substrate--.
Claim Objections
Claim 5 is objected to because of the following informalities: “depositedon” (line 4) should be changed to –deposited on--.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 1, 4, 9 and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Publication 2018/0034440 to Ruby et al (hereinafter “Ruby”) in view of the teachings of:
1) U.S. Publication 2015/0188032 to Hong et al (hereinafter “Hong”);
2) U.S. Publication 2011/0034440 to Yamane et al (hereinafter “Yamane”); and
3) U.S. Publication 2012/0206216 to Deguet et al (hereinafter “Deguet”).
Claim 1: Ruby discloses a method of fabricating a composite substrate (e.g. Fig. 1B), comprising:
providing a first substrate (e.g. 108);
forming a liner layer (e.g. 109) on the first substrate, wherein the liner layer includes at least a material layer;
forming a piezoelectric sensing film (e.g. 103) for generating acoustic resonance on the polycrystalline material layer (e.g. ¶ [0030]); and
performing a heating process and a cooling process, and the heating process includes heating the piezoelectric sensing film to make the piezoelectric sensing film reach a molten state (e.g. soften, ¶ [0030]).
Claim 4: Ruby discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric sensing film is made of a material including lithium niobate or lithium tantalate (e.g. ¶ [0022]).
Claim 9: Ruby discloses the method according to claim 1, wherein the polycrystalline material layer is made of polycrystalline silicon dioxide (e.g. SiO2, ¶ [0036]).
Claim 20: Ruby discloses a fabricating method of a surface acoustic wave resonator using a composite substrate as all of the limitations in Claim 1 are recited in Claim 20, further including forming a first interdigital transducer (e.g. left 102, Fig. 1B) and a second interdigital transducer (e.g. right 102, Fig. 1B) on the piezoelectric sensing film (e.g. 103).
For Claims 1 and 20, Ruby does not teach: 1) that the material layer of the liner layer is polycrystalline, 2) that the piezoelectric sensing film is formed by a chemical deposition method, 3) that the material layer of the piezoelectric sensing film is polycrystalline, and 4) a recrystallization annealing treatment on the piezoelectric film.
Yamane and Deguet are each analogous to Ruby because all three references manufacture art-recognized equivalent acoustic devices for generating acoustic resonance. Hong is analogous to Ruby as both manufacture art-recognized equivalent piezoelectric sensing films from piezoelectric material.
As stated in Claim 9, Ruby discloses that the material layer of the liner layer is silicon dioxide (SiO2). Yamane teaches in forming acoustic devices, silicon dioxide (SiO2) is polycrystalline (e.g. ¶ [0005]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the liner layer of Ruby is a polycrystalline material layer based on the teaching of Yamane using the same composition as the material layer.
Hong teaches that in forming a piezoelectric sensing film, the piezoelectric sensing film can be formed by a chemical deposition method (e.g. casting, ¶ [0037]) and a recrystallization annealing treatment can be performed on the piezoelectric sensing film, to make the piezoelectric sensing film reach a crystalline state, wherein the recrystallization annealing treatment includes a heating process and a cooling process, and the heating process includes heating the piezoelectric sensing film to make the piezoelectric sensing film reach a molten state (e.g. ¶¶ [0038], [0039]). The benefit of this method improves the electric output of the piezoelectric sensing film (e.g. ¶ [0014]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the method of Ruby in forming the piezoelectric sensing film by deposition and adding a recrystallization annealing treatment, as taught by the method of Hong, to improve the electric output of the piezoelectric sensing film.
Deguet teaches that in making piezoelectric sensing films, it is better to use a polycrystalline film to achieve a polycrystalline state, when the material of the piezoelectric sensing film is to be deposited and annealed (e.g. baked, ¶ [0075]). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified the piezoelectric sensing film of Ruby by utilizing the polycrystalline film of Deguet, to achieve a polycrystalline state when the process includes depositing and annealing.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 3, 5 through 8 and 10 through 12 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
a) Japanese Patent Publication, JP 2010-52999, discloses a method of making a composite substrate by forming a piezoelectric sensing film with an annealing treatment (firing, see SOLUTION).
b) Non-Patent Literature IEEE Publication to Hasegawa et al, entitled "Basic study on lead free bnt piezoelectric film deposited by hydrothermal method", discloses a method of making a composite substrate by depositing a piezoelectric sensing film through a chemical deposition method (e.g. Fig. 3, see entire document).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to A. DEXTER TUGBANG whose telephone number is (571)272-4570. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Fri 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
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/A. DEXTER TUGBANG/Primary Examiner
Art Unit 3729
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