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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 submission filed on 07/22/2026 has been entered.
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) 1 and 5-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by MATSUNO (Pub. No.: US 2023/0275026).
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Re claim 1, MATSUNO, FIG. 17B [as shown above] teaches a microelectronic device, comprising:
a stack structure comprising vertically alternating conductive structures (46) and insulative structures (32) arranged in tiers, each of the tiers individually comprising one of the conductive structures and one of the insulative structures;
a staircase structure (134/146/144, ¶ [0139]) having steps comprising edges of at least some of the tiers of the stack structure, the stack structure comprising sidewalls horizontally bounding the staircase structure and extending upward from the steps of the staircase structure;
a liner material (134) on the steps of the staircase structure and the sidewalls of the stack structure, the liner material comprising horizontally extending portions on the steps of the staircase structure and vertically extending portions on the sidewalls of the stack structure;
an etch stop structure [ESL] extending continuously in a first horizontal direction [FHD] and having a smaller width than the steps in a second horizontal direction [SHD] orthogonal to the first horizontal direction; and
conductive contact structures (85/86, FIG. 19A, [0163]) vertically extending through the etch stop structure [ESL] and the liner material (134) and to the conductive structures (46, FIG. 19A) of the stack structure, the conductive contact structures (85/86) in direct contact with the etch stop structure [ESL].
Re claim 5, MATSUNO, FIG. 19A teaches the microelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the each conductive contact structure (85/86) is substantially horizontally surrounded by the etch stop structure (144).
Re claim 6, MATSUNO, FIG. 19A teaches the microelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the etch stop structure (144) comprises a strip of material spanning multiple steps of the staircase structure in the first horizontal direction.
Re claim 7, MATSUNO, FIG. 12C [as shown below] teaches the microelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the etch stop structure (144) is spaced apart from the vertically extending portions of the liner material (134) in the second horizontal direction by at least some distance [SHD].
Re claim 8, MATSUNO, FIG. 19A teaches the microelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the liner material comprises a dielectric oxide material (134, [0085]).
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) 2-4 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over MATSUNO in view of Haratipour (Pub. No.: US 2024/0373644).
Re claim 2-3, MATSUNO teaches all the limitation of claim 1.
MATSUNO fails to teach the limitation of claims 2-3.
Haratipour teaches wherein the etch stop structure comprises a doped nitride material; and wherein the doped nitride material comprises a carbon-doped nitride material (310/314/318, FIG. 3, [0103]).
It would have been obvious for a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to include the above said teaching for the purpose of preventing the electron migration as taught by Haratipour, [0103].
Re claim 4, in the combination, Haratipour teaches the microelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the etch stop structure comprises a substantially undoped dielectric material, the substantially undoped dielectric material comprising a dopant-free nitride material (silicon nitride, [0103]).
Re claim 9, in the combination, Haratipour teaches wherein only upper regions of the etch stop structure (outermost layer 144, FIG. 17B) is doped with a chemical species.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/22/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive because it had some level of resist along the edge when etching down to form the opening 75C as shown above. Furthermore, it is subjected to a new ground of rejection because the etch stop layer is the lower 144 as shown in FIG. 17B above.
For the above reasons, it is believed that the rejections should be sustained.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TONY TRAN whose telephone number is (571)270-1749. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8AM-5PM, EST.
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/TONY TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
