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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Applicant's amendment of claims 1, 9, 26 in “Claims - 05/06/2026” have been acknowledged.
This office action considers claims 1-19, 26-31 pending for prosecution, and are examined on their merits.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments “Remarks - 05/06/2026 - Applicant Arguments/Remarks Made in an Amendment”, have been fully considered, but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues with respect to claim 1 that Doyle does not disclose “first dielectric material on the substrate and adjacent the first source or drain material.”
Examiner relied on Fig. 3G of Doyle (US 20200235244 A1) to reject claim 1. Examiner equated right bottom 210 as the first dielectric material, 202 as the substrate and 206 as the source or drain material. As is seen in Fig. 3G of Doyle, first dielectric material right bottom 210 is on 202 (with intervening layer 206) and is adjacent to the source or drain material 206.
Applicant further argues that Doyle does not disclose “second dielectric material on the FE material and the gate material”. Examiner equated second dielectric material to Doyle’s top right 210 and top right 212 as the gate material and 218 and FE. Fig. 3G clearly shows the top right 210 is on 212 and 218. Fig. 3G also shows 210 is adjacent to second source or drain material 208.
Therefore, the examiner respectfully contends that the rejection of claim 1 is proper.
For the rejections of claims 5-8, applicant’s argument is persuasive and therefore, the rejections are withdrawn.
Claim Objections withdrawn
Claims 1-10, 26-31 were objected to because of informalities. Applicant’s amendments overcome this objection.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) that forms the basis for the rejection set forth in this Office action:
(a) NOVELTY; PRIOR ART.—A person shall be entitled to a patent unless—
(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;
Notes: when present, semicolon separated fields within the parenthesis (; ;) represent, for example, as (30A; Fig 2B; [0128]) = (element 30A; Figure No. 2B; Paragraph No. [0128]). For brevity, the texts “Element”, “Figure No.” and “Paragraph No.” shall be excluded, though; additional clarification notes may be added within each field. The number of fields may be fewer or more than three indicated above. These conventions are used throughout this document.
Claims 1, 3-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Doyle et al. (US 20200235244 A1 – hereinafter Doyle).
Regarding Claim 1, Doyle teaches a semiconductor device (see the entire document; Fig. 3G along with Figs. 3A-3F; specifically, ([0038] - [0044]), and as cited below), comprising:
a substrate (202 – Fig. 3G – [0038]);
a first source or drain material (206 – [0043]) on the substrate (202);
a semiconductor material (222 – [0044] – also see Fig. 3F) on the first source or drain material (206);
a second source or drain (208 – [0048]) material on the semiconductor material (222);
a first dielectric material (right bottom 210 – [0042]) on the substrate (202) and adjacent the first source or drain material (206);
a ferroelectric (FE) material (right 218 – [0042]) on the first dielectric material (right bottom 210) and adjacent the semiconductor material (222);
a gate material (top right 212 – [0042]) on the on the first dielectric material (right bottom 210) and adjacent the FE material (right 218); and
a second dielectric material (top right 210) on the FE material (right 218) and gate material (top right 212), the second dielectric material (top right 210) adjacent the second source or drain material (208).
Regarding Claim 3, Doyle teaches the device of claim 1, wherein the FE material (218) is a perovskite material ([0047]).
Regarding Claim 4, Doyle teaches the device of claim 1, wherein the FE material includes one or more of Barium, Titanium, Zirconium, Calcium, Strontium, Lanthanum, Bismuth, Iron, Cobalt, Lithium, Niobium, Potassium, and Oxygen ([0047]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 5-10 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 the Examiner’s Reasons for Allowance:
The prior art fails to disclose and would not have rendered obvious:
Regarding claim 2: The device of claim 1, wherein a lattice parameter of the semiconductor material is higher than a lattice parameter of the FE material.
Regarding claim 5: The device of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor material includes one or more of Barium, Tin, Lanthanum, Neodymium, Strontium, Titanium, Indium, Gallium, Zinc, Nickel, and Oxygen.
Regarding claim 6: The device of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises one or more of Strontium, Titanium, Gadolinium, Scandium, Dysprosium, Lanthanum, Aluminum, Barium, Hafnium, Zirconium, Indium, Lutetium, Magnesium, and Oxygen.
Regarding claim 7: The device of claim 1, wherein the first source or drain material and the second source or drain material each comprise one or more of Strontium, Ruthenium, Barium, Lanthanum, Tin, Manganese, Cobalt, Nickel, Yttrium, Copper, Vanadium, Molybdenum, Platinum, Iridium, Palladium, Tungsten, and Oxygen.
Regarding claim 8: The device of claim 1, wherein the gate material comprises one or more of Strontium, Ruthenium, Barium, Lanthanum, Tin, Manganese, Cobalt, Nickel, Yttrium, Copper, Vanadium, Molybdenum, Platinum, Iridium, Palladium, Tungsten, and Oxygen.
Regarding claim 9: The device of claim 1, wherein the FE material is a first FE material and the gate material is a first gate material, and the device further comprises: a third dielectric material on the substrate and adjacent the first source or drain material; a second FE material on the third dielectric material and adjacent the semiconductor material; a second gate material on the on the third dielectric material and adjacent the second FE material; a fourth dielectric material on the second FE material and the second gate material, the fourth dielectric material adjacent the second source or drain material.
Regarding claim 10: The device of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor material is a first semiconductor material, and the device further comprises: a third dielectric material on the second source or drain material; a third source or drain material on the third dielectric material; a second semiconductor material on the third source or drain material; a fourth source or drain material on the second semiconductor material; a second FE material on the second dielectric material and adjacent the second semiconductor material, wherein the gate material is further adjacent the second FE material; and a fourth dielectric material on the second FE material and the gate material.
REASON FOR ALLOWANCE
Claims 11-19, 26-31 are allowed over prior art.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance, which paraphrases and summarizes the claimed invention without intending to be limiting, wherein the legally defined scope of the claimed invention is defined by the allowed claims themselves in view of the written description under 35 USC 112. This statement is not intended to necessarily state all the reasons for allowance or all the details why the claims are allowed and has not been written to specifically or impliedly state that all the reasons for allowance are set forth (MPEP 1302.14).
Regarding claim 11, the reference(s) of the Prior Art of record and considered pertinent to the applicant's disclosure and to the examiner’s knowledge do(es) not teach or render obvious, at least to the skilled artisan, the instant invention regarding a method in their entirety (the individual limitations may be found just not in combination with proper motivation).
The most relevant prior art reference(s) (US 20200235244 A1 to Doyle) substantially teach(es) some of limitations in claim 11 as indicated in the rejection of claim1 above, but not the limitations of “wherein the FE material has a lattice parameter that is less than a lattice parameter of the semiconductor material” as recited in claim 11. Therefore, the claim 11 is deemed patentable over the prior art.
Regarding claims 12-19, they are allowed due to their dependencies on claim 11.
Regarding claim 26, similar to claim 11, Doyle teaches some the limitations of claim 26, but not the limitations of “a second dielectric material on the first FE material and first gate material, the second dielectric material adjacent the second source or drain material; a third dielectric material on the substrate and adjacent the first source or drain material; a second FE material on the third dielectric material and adjacent the semiconductor material; a second gate material on the on the third dielectric material and adjacent the second FE material; a fourth dielectric material on the second FE material and the second gate material, the fourth dielectric material adjacent the second source or drain material” as recited in claim 11. Therefore, the claim 11 is deemed patentable over the prior art.
Regarding claims 27-31, they are allowed due to their dependencies on claim 16.
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 MOHAMMAD A. RAHMAN whose telephone number is (571) 270-0168 and email is mohammad.rahman5@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Julio J. Maldonado can be reached on (571) 272-1864. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMMAD A RAHMAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
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