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 .
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) 1-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tohoku University Press Release, April 14, 2022 in view of Bando et al. [JP 04-152507] or Hirohashi [JP 06-112047 A].
Regarding claims 1-2, Tohoku University Press Release discloses a spin inductor [spin-orbit emergent inductor] comprises a heavy metal thin film [wiring layer] and a magnetic thin film [ferromagnetic layer] wherein the inductor utilizing spintronics technology.
Tohoku University disclose the instant claimed invention except for the specific of the layer(s).
Bando et al. discloses a laminated inductor comprising two metal thin film layers [2, 3] and a spacer layer [1] arranged between the thin film layers.
Hirohashi discloses a laminated inductor comprising a spacer layer [5] arranged between at least two coil layers [figure 1].
It would have been an obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to use a spacer layer arrangement in Tohoku University Press Release, as suggested by Bando et al. or Hirohashi, for the purpose of providing spacing or insulating between the coil.
Regarding claim 4, Hirohashi further discloses the use of Ag [8].
Regarding claims 3 and 5, the specific material and/or thickness of the spacer layer would have been an obvious design consideration based on the intended applications and/or environments.
Regarding claims 6-7, Tohoku University Press Release discloses, in figure 1, the orientation direction of magnetization of the magnetic thin film intersects the direction of flow of the current and the direction orthogonal to the thickness direction of the heavy metal thin film. Tohoku University Press Release also discloses, in figure 1, when the heavy metal thin film and the magnetic thin film are viewed in a plan view from the thickness direction, the length in a first direction is longer than the length in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction.
Regarding claims 8-11, Bando et al. and/or Hirohashi disclose different patterns for the coil layers.
The specific pattern(s) arranged/formed for the coil layer(s) and/or current flow would have been an obvious design consideration based on the intended applications/environments and/or specific desired inductances or magnetic flux/field.
Regarding claim 12, Tohoku University Press Release discloses the use of iron or cobalt as the magnetic material.
Regarding claim 13, Tohoku University Press Release discloses that spin-orbit emergent inductor [spin inductor] having a strength is inversely proportional to size and is advantageous for miniaturization therefore a maximum width of the laminated body when seen in a plan view in a thickness direction is 0.003 mm or less, and an inductance is 0.1 μH or more and 10 μH or less would have been an obvious matter of design choice for the purpose of providing a smaller size and high strength.
Regarding claim 14, Tohoku University Press Release discloses, in figure 1, the magnetic thin film covers the entire first surface of the heavy metal thin film.
Regarding claim 15, Tohoku University Press Release discloses, in figure 1, spin is injected into the magnetic thin film and the magnetization of the magnetic thin film is processed.
Regarding claim 16, Tohoku University Press Release should have the heavy metal thin film contain d electrons or f electrons.
Conclusion
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/TUYEN T NGUYEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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