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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 4/29/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
This Office Action is in response to Applicant’s Amendment filed on 4/29/2026. Claim 1 has been amended. No claims have been added or canceled. Claims 6-10 were previously withdrawn. Currently, claims 1-5 and 11-20 are pending.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
Claims 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 19 recites “wherein the memory cell further includes a first switching element that is coupled between the second conductor layer and the fourth conductor layer” in lines 1-4 of the claim. As described in claim 1 and shown in present application Fig. 4, the first conductor layer is 21_1 (WBL), the second conductor layer is 26_1 (WL), the third conductor layer is 29_1 (RBL), and the fourth conductor layer is 24_1 (SOTL). The first conductor layer 21_1 (WBL) and third conductor layer 29_1 (RBL) extend in the first direction (x-direction, [0053], [0056]). 26_1 (WL) is the only conductor layer that extends in a second direction (y-direction, [0054]), so it is the second conductor layer.
However, none of the present application’s figures or specification show any switching element between the second conductor layer 26_1 (WL) and the fourth conductor layer 24_1 (SOTL) (see, for example, Fig. 4). Instead, the specification and the present application’s figures (see for example Fig. 4) only show a first switching element SEL1 coupled between the first conductor layer 21_1 (WBL) and the fourth conductor layer 24_1 (SOTL).
Therefore, because of the newly amended language of claim 1, the claim language of claim 12 has been determined to be new matter. This is because this concept is not present in the original disclosure of the specification or claims, as explained above.
Claim 20, because it is dependent on claim 19, inherit the deficiency of claim 19.
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 1-5 and 11-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song et al. (US 20210066580) in view of Ishitani et al. (US 11770978) and Thiele et al. ("Magnetic and structural properties of FePt-FeRh exchange spring films for thermally assisted magnetic recording media." Applied Physics Letters, 82, 2859–2861 (2003), doi: 10.1063/1.1571232.), cited by applicant in the Information Disclosure Statement filed on September 1, 2022.
Regarding claim 1, Song teaches, in Figs. 3A-3B, a magnetic memory device ([0006]) comprising:
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Annotated Song Fig. 3A
a first conductor layer (106, [0023], [0044]) extending in a first direction (z direction, [0027]);
a second conductor layer (102, [0023], [0044]) extending in a second direction (x direction, [0027]) that is perpendicular to the first direction and is above the first conductor layer (106) in a third direction (y direction, see Fig. 3A) that is perpendicular to the first and second directions;
a third conductor layer (116, [0023], [0044]) extending in the first direction (z direction, [0027]) and is above the second conductor layer (102) in the third direction (y direction, see Fig. 3A); and
a three-terminal type memory cell (114/112, [0022], [0044]) having a first terminal that is coupled to the first conductor layer (106), a second terminal that is coupled to the second conductor layer (102), and a third terminal that is coupled to the third conductor layer (116) ([0017], see annotated Fig. 3A above), wherein
the second conductor layer (102) is between the first conductor layer (106) and the third conductor layer (116) in the third direction (y direction, see Fig. 3A);
the memory cell (114/112) includes:
a fourth conductor layer (112, [0022], [0044]) that includes a first portion (“1” in annotated Fig. 3A above) that is coupled to the first conductor layer (106) through the first terminal, a second portion (“2” in annotated Fig. 3A above) that is coupled to the second conductor layer (102) through the second terminal, and a third portion (“3” in annotated Fig. 3A above) that is coupled to the third conductor layer (116) through the third terminal and located between the first portion and the second portion (see annotated Fig. 3A above), and
a magnetoresistance effect element (114, [0022], [0044]) that is a part of the third terminal (see annotated Fig. 3A above) and coupled between the third conductor layer (116) and the fourth conductor layer (112) (see Fig. 3A).
Song does not teach that the fourth conductor layer includes a magnetic layer and a first non-magnetic layer that is provided between the magnetic layer and the magnetoresistance effect element; and that the magnetic layer has a first saturation magnetization during a standby state or a read state of the memory cell, and has a second saturation magnetization larger than the first saturation magnetization during a write state of the memory cell.
In a similar field of endeavor, Ishitani teaches, in Fig. 12, that the fourth conductor layer (20; col. 9, lines 25-35) includes a magnetic layer (20B; col. 13, lines 30-35) and a first non-magnetic layer (top 20A; col. 10, lines 30-35) that is provided between the magnetic layer and the magnetoresistance effect element (10), so that “there is no need to cause a current to flow in the lamination direction of the magnetoresistance effect element, and thus a long lifespan of the magnetoresistance effect element is expected” (col. 1, lines 50-60).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the magnetic memory device of Song with the fourth conductor layer of Ishitani, so that there is no need to cause a current to flow in the lamination direction of the magnetoresistance effect element, and thus a long lifespan of the magnetoresistance effect element is expected (col. 1, lines 50-60).
Song in view of Ishitani does not explicitly teach that the magnetic layer has a first saturation magnetization during a standby state or a read state of the memory cell, and has a second saturation magnetization larger than the first saturation magnetization during a write state of the memory cell.
In a similar field of endeavor, Thiele teaches that the magnetic layer (FeRh/FePt bilayer) has a first saturation magnetization during a standby state (see Fig. 2b at room temperature) or a read state of the memory cell, and has a second saturation magnetization larger than the first saturation magnetization during a write state of the memory cell (see Fig. 2b, at about 200 degrees Celsius) (page 2859, last 2 paragraphs), so that “the ferromagnetic phase of FeRh is exploited to help write the media while the antiferromagnetic phase supports the long-time stability” (Abstract).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the magnetic memory device of Song in view of Ishitani with the magnetic layer of Thiele, so that the ferromagnetic phase of FeRh is exploited to help write the media while the antiferromagnetic phase supports the long-time stability (Abstract).
Regarding claim 2, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 1. Thiele further teaches that the magnetic layer (FeRh/FePt bilayer) exhibits antiferro-magnetic property during the standby state or the read state of the memory cell, and exhibits ferro-magnetic property during the write state of the memory cell (page 2859, Abstract and last 2 paragraphs).
Regarding claim 3, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 2. Thiele further teaches that a temperature of the magnetic layer (FeRh/FePt bilayer) is less than a phase change temperature (TN) of the magnetic layer during the standby state or the read state of the memory cell, and exceeds the phase change temperature (TN) during the write state of the memory cell (page 2859, Abstract and last 2 paragraphs).
Regarding claim 4, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 2. Thiele further teaches that the magnetic layer (FeRh/FePt bilayer) includes an alloy containing iron (Fe) and rhodium (Rh), and a composition of iron (Fe) in the alloy is at 40% or more and at 60% or less (page 2860, Fig. 2b caption).
Regarding claim 5, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 4. Thiele further teaches that the magnetic layer (FeRh/FePt bilayer) further contains at least one element selected from iridium (Ir), palladium (Pd), ruthenium (Ru), osmium (Os), platinum (Pt), gold (Au), silver (Ag), and copper (Cu) (page 2860, Fig. 2a caption; Ir and Pt).
Regarding claim 11, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 1. Ishitani further teaches that the first non-magnetic layer (top 20A, Fig. 12) contains at least one element selected from tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), palladium (Pd), silver (Ag), copper (Cu), osmium (Os), iridium (Ir), platinum (Pt), and gold (Au) (col. 10, lines 40-50; Ta, W, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ir, Pt, or Au).
Regarding claim 12, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 1. Ishitani further teaches that a film thickness of the first non-magnetic layer (top 20A; Fig. 12) is 0.3 nanometers or more and 10 nanometers or less (col. 11, lines 15-20; 0.8 nm to 2 nm).
Regarding claim 13, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 1. Ishitani further teaches that a film thickness of the magnetic layer (20B, Fig. 12) is 2 nanometers or more and 10 nanometers or less (col. 2, lines 30-40, thickness of 20B is equal to or smaller than a spin diffusion length in a material constituting the insertion layer; the spin diffusion length for Fe is about 7 nm).
Regarding claim 14, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 1. Ishitani further teaches, in Fig. 12, that the fourth conductor layer further includes a second non-magnetic layer (bottom 20A; col. 10, lines 30-35) that is provided on an opposite side of the first non-magnetic layer (top 20A) with respect to the magnetic layer (20B) (see Fig. 12).
Regarding claim 15, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 14. Ishitani further teaches that the second non-magnetic layer (bottom 20A) contains at least one element selected from tantalum (Ta), titanium (Ti), and tungsten (W) (col. 10, lines 40-50; Ta or W).
Regarding claim 16, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 14. Ishitani further teaches that a film thickness of the second non-magnetic layer is 0.5 nanometers or more and 5 nanometers or less (col. 11, lines 15-20; 0.8 nm to 2 nm).
Regarding claim 17, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 1. Song further teaches that during the write state of the memory cell, the magnetoresistance effect element (114) has a first resistance value according to a first current flowing from the first portion to the second portion of the fourth conductor layer (112), and a second resistance value different from the first resistance value according to a second current flowing from the second portion to the first portion of the fourth conductor layer (112) ([0015]; the direction of the write current determines whether the resistance value is a logical ‘1’ or ‘0’).
Regarding claim 18, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 17. Ishitani teaches, in Fig. 12, that
the magnetoresistance effect element includes
a first ferromagnetic layer (1; col. 8, lines 15-20),
a second ferromagnetic layer (2; col. 8, lines 15-20) that is provided on an opposite side of the fourth conductor layer (20) with respect to the first ferromagnetic layer (1) (see Fig. 12), and
a third non-magnetic layer (3; col. 8, lines 15-20) that is provided between the first ferromagnetic layer (1) and the second ferromagnetic layer (2) (see Fig. 12), and
magnetization directions of the first ferromagnetic layer (1) and the second ferromagnetic layer (2) are along a stacking direction (vertical direction) of the first ferromagnetic layer (1), the third non-magnetic layer (3), and the second ferromagnetic layer (2) (see Fig. 12).
Regarding claim 19, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 1. Song further teaches, in Fig. 1A, that the memory cell further includes a first switching element (108, [0023]-[0024]) that is coupled between the second conductor layer (102) and the fourth conductor layer (112), and a second switching element (110, [0023]-[0024]) that is coupled between the first conductor layer (106) and the third conductor layer (116).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Song et al. (US 20210066580) in view of Ishitani et al. (US 11770978) and Thiele et al. ("Magnetic and structural properties of FePt-FeRh exchange spring films for thermally assisted magnetic recording media." Applied Physics Letters, 82, 2859–2861 (2003), doi: 10.1063/1.1571232.), cited by applicant in the Information Disclosure Statement filed on September 1, 2022, and further in view of Shiokawa (US 11257533).
Regarding claim 20, Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele teaches the limitations of claim 19. Song further teaches that the second switching element (110) is a two-terminal type switching element ([0037]-[0038]).
Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele does not explicitly teach that the first switching element is a three-terminal type switching element.
In a similar field of endeavor, Shiokawa teaches that the first switching element (130, Fig. 1) is a three-terminal type switching element (transistor; col. 5, lines 30-50), in order to control a flow of a current to the storage element (col. 5, lines 30-50).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the magnetic memory device of Song in view of Ishitani and Thiele with the switching element of Shiokawa, in order to control a flow of a current to the storage element (col. 5, lines 30-50).
Conclusion
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/ERIKA H SON/Examiner, Art Unit 2893
/YARA B GREEN/Supervisor Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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