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 .
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.
(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 9, 11-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Coppens et al., US Pub. No. 2022/0262940 A1.
Re claim 9. Coppens et al. disclose a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT), comprising: a buffer layer 104 on a substrate (e.g., fig. 1); a barrier layer 106 (e.g., fig. 1) on the buffer layer; a p-type semiconductor layer 112 (e.g., fig. 1) on the barrier layer; and a gate electrode 116 or 118 or 116/118 on the p-type semiconductor layer (e.g., fig. 1), wherein the gate electrode comprises a Schottky metal (e.g., metal-semiconductor junction, fig. 1, paragraph 26), an inclined sidewall and a width of a bottom surface of the gate electrode is less than a width of a top surface of the p-type semiconductor layer 112 (e.g., fig. 1), see figs. 1-22 and pages 1-6 for more details.
Re claim 11. The HEMT of claim 9, wherein a bottom surface of the gate electrode is less than a top surface of the gate electrode (e.g., fig. 1).
Re claim 12. The HEMT of claim 9, wherein the buffer layer comprises gallium nitride (GaN) (e.g., paragraph 21).
Re claim 13. The HEMT of claim 9, wherein the barrier layer comprise AlxGavxN (e.g., paragraph 21).
Re claim 14. The HEMT of claim 9, wherein the p-type semiconductor layer comprises p-type gallium nitride (pGaN) (e.g., paragraph 25).
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 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Coppens et al., US Pub. No. 2022/0262940 A1.
Although the exact recitation “trapezoid” of the instant claim is not explicitly stated by Coppens et al. in the related text, it appears that the gate electrode in fig. 1 of the cited prior art appears to have trapezoid shape. Therefore, the instant claim appears to be Prima Facie obvious over Coppens et al.; Furthermore, the shape of the gate electrode, The court held that the configuration of the claimed container was a matter of choice which a person of ordinary skill in the art would have found obvious absent persuasive evidence that the particular configuration of the claimed container was significant. In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA 1966).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/23/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive for reasons herein above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACK CHEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1689. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yara J. Green can be reached at (571)270-3035. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JACK S CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
