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 .
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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, filed on 11/26/2025, with respect to independent claim(s) 20 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Kuhn848 teaches a first fin (1123, [0011]) and lengths of 1123 are extending in the Y direction (fig. 1), Kuhn848 teaches a second fin (1122, [0011]) and heights of 1122 are extending in the Z direction (fig. 1), and Z direction is opposite to Y direction and thus Kuhn848 teaches claim 20 (see rejection below, same rejection as set forth in the Non-final office action dated 8/28/2025).
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)(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.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kuhn et al. (US publication 2011/0147848 A1), hereinafter referred to as Kuhn848.
Regarding claim 20, Kuhn848 teaches an apparatus (fig. 1 and related text) including a memory array, the apparatus comprising: a first staircase structure (102/104, [0010-0011]) of a stack of layers having a plurality of levels (fig. 1); a first fin (1123, [0011]) comprising a plurality of gates (1323 [0013]) coupled with the first staircase structure and extending in a first direction (Y direction); and a second fin ((1122, [0011]) comprising a second plurality of gates (1322) coupled with the first staircase structure and extending in a second direction (Z direction) opposite the first direction (fig. 1).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 21 and 22 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The claims contain limitations that none of the prior art of record discloses, teaches or fairly suggests, alone or in combinations when taken in combination with all other limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 1-19 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 1 is allowable because the prior arts of record and considered pertinent to the applicant's disclosure and to the examiner’s knowledge do not teach or render obvious, at least to the skilled artisan, the instant invention regarding: the limitations of claim 1 in its entirety. The individual limitations may be found but not in combination with proper motivation. Hence, claim 1 is allowable.
Kuhn et al. (US publication 2011/0147848 A1) discloses some features of the claimed invention (see rejection of claim 20 above) but there is no motivation/teaching and do not render obvious to combine/modify Shin or any other prior arts of record so that limitations of claim 1 as a whole can be met.
Claim 14 is allowable because the prior arts of record and considered pertinent to the applicant's disclosure and to the examiner’s knowledge do not teach or render obvious, at least to the skilled artisan, the instant invention regarding: the limitations of claim 14 in its entirety. The individual limitations may be found but not in combination with proper motivation. Hence, claim 14 is allowable.
Kuhn et al. (US publication 2011/0147848 A1) discloses some features of the claimed invention (see rejection of claim 20 above) but there is no motivation/teaching and do not render obvious to combine/modify Shin or any other prior arts of record so that limitations of claim 14 as a whole can be met.
Dependent claims are allowable for their dependency to allowable independent claim(s).
Conclusion
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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Mohammed R Alam whose telephone number is 469-295-9205 and can normally be reached between 8:00am-6:00pm (M-F) or by e-mail via Mohammed.Alam1@uspto.gov.
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, Jacob Choi can be reached on 469-295-9060. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMMED R ALAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897