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 .
Status of Claims
Claims 1-18 and 24-25 are pending in this application. Acknowledgement is made of the amendment received 8/18/22 cancelling claims 19-23.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species 2 (Claims 1-14, 17-18 and 24-25) in the reply filed on 10/6/25 is acknowledged. Claims 15-16 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected inventions, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Claims 1-14, 17-18 and 24-25 are examined in this Office action.
Foreign Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgment is made that the information disclosure statement has been received and considered by the examiner. If the applicant is aware of any prior art or any other co-pending applications not already of record, he/she is reminded of his/her duty under 37 CFR 1.56 to disclose the same.
Drawings
There are no objections or rejections to the drawings.
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 lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant's cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 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)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(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.
Claims 1, 3 and 8 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kan et al. (US Patent Application Pub. No 2018/0061467) hereinafter referred to as Kan.
Per Claim 1 Kan discloses a magnetic memory device, comprising (see figures 6-8
a write word line (WWL) and a read word line (RWL) that extend in a first direction on a substrate (812), and the write word line and the read word line are spaced apart from each other in a second direction (as shown in figs 6-8), the first direction and the second direction intersecting each other and parallel to a bottom surface of the substrate (see figs 7-8);
a plurality of first source/drain contacts on one side of the write word line and spaced apart from each other in the first direction (S/D left transistor; as shown in figure 7 there are two transistors per cell (one each on the left and right sides of the MTJ) and each has source/drain contacts);
a plurality of second source/drain contacts on one side of the read word line and spaced apart from each other in the first direction (S/D right transistor; as shown in figure 7 there are two transistors per cell (one each on the left and right sides of the MTJ (712/714/716)) and each has source/drain contacts);
a plurality of magnetic tunnel junction patterns (712/714/716), each of the plurality of magnetic tunnel junction patterns correspondingly connected to a one of the plurality of second source/drain contacts (as shown in figure 7); and
a plurality of spin-orbit torque lines (720), each of the plurality of spin-orbit torque lines correspondingly on a one of the plurality of magnetic tunnel junction patterns (as shown in figure 7) and correspondingly connected to a one of the plurality of first source/drain contacts (as shown in figure 7),
wherein the plurality of magnetic tunnel junction patterns are spaced apart from each other in a third direction that is parallel to the bottom surface of the substrate and intersects the first direction and the second direction, (as shown in figure 7) and
the plurality of spin-orbit torque lines are spaced apart from each other in the third direction (as shown in figure 7)
Per Claim 3 Kan discloses the device of claim 1, including where (see figures 6-8) each of the plurality of spin-orbit torque lines has one of a bar shape or an elliptical shape, the bar shape or the elliptical shape elongated in the second direction. (as shown in figures 6-8)
Per Claim 8 Kan discloses the device of claim 3, including where (see figures 6-8) each of the plurality of spin-orbit torque lines includes: a first (left) edge portion and a second (right) edge portion that are opposite to each other in the second direction (as shown in figure 6-8); and a middle portion between the first edge portion and the second edge portion, wherein each of the plurality of magnetic tunnel junction patterns vertically overlaps the middle portion of one of the plurality of spin-orbit torque lines. (as shown in figure 6-8)
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4-7 and 9-10 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. Claims 11-14, 17 and 24-25 are allowed.
Cited Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Applicants are directed to consider additional pertinent prior art included on the Notice of References Cited (PTOL 892) attached herewith.
The Examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record within the body of this action for the convenience of the Applicant.
Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAMI VALENTINE MILLER whose telephone number is (571)272-9786. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday 7am-5pm.
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, Eva Montalvo can be reached on (571) 270-3829. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Jami Valentine Miller/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818