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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of group I, claims 1-17, in the reply filed on 27 February 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 18-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected method, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 27 February 2026.
Information Disclosure Statement
Information disclosure statement filed 14 December 2022 has been fully considered.
Specification
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 4 recites the limitations, “holium,” and, “neodynium.” It is unclear what elements are claimed. As best understood by Examiner, Applicant intends, “holmium,” and “neodymium.”
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.
Claims 1-6, 9, 11, 12, and 14-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hsu et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2022/0093472, hereinafter Hsu ‘472).
With respect to claim 1, Hsu ‘472 teaches (FIGs. 27-36) an integrated circuit (IC) structure as claimed, comprising:
a channel material (215) ([0063-0071]);
a gate electrode material (350) ([0063-0071]); and
a multi-dipole gate structure (216′, 220, 220′, 280, and 282) between the gate electrode material (350) and the channel material (215) ([0063-0071]),
wherein the multi-dipole gate structure (216′, 220, 220′, 280, and 282) includes a first dipole material (216′) having a first material composition and a second dipole material (220 and 220′) having a second material composition, wherein the first material composition is different from the second material composition, and wherein one of the first dipole material and the second dipole material is a P-shifter dipole material (216′) and another one of the first dipole material and the second dipole material is an N-shifter dipole material (220 and 220′) ([0063-0071]).
With respect to claim 2, Hsu ‘472 teaches wherein the P-shifter dipole material (216′) includes one or more of aluminum, vanadium, niobium, titanium, boron, gallium, molybdenum, chromium, cobalt, tantalum, or tungsten ([0071]).
With respect to claim 3, Hsu ‘472 teaches wherein the P-shifter dipole material (216′) includes one or more of aluminum, niobium, or vanadium ([0071]).
With respect to claim 4, Hsu ‘472 teaches wherein the N-shifter dipole material (220 and 220′) includes one or more of lanthanum, molybdenum, strontium, scandium, magnesium, manganese, barium, cerium, erbium, dysprosium, europium, gadolinium, holium, yttrium, lutetium, neodynium, samarium, or terbium ([0066]).
With respect to claim 5, Hsu ‘472 teaches wherein the N-shifter dipole material (220 and 220′) includes one or more of lanthanum, scandium, or yttrium ([0066]).
With respect to claim 6, Hsu ‘472 teaches wherein the multi-dipole gate structure (216′, 220, 220′, 280, and 282) further includes a high-k dielectric (282) ([0070]).
With respect to claim 9, Hsu ‘472 teaches wherein: the multi-dipole gate structure (216′, 220, 220′, 280, and 282) includes an interface layer (280) and a high-k dielectric (282), the interface layer is between the channel material (215) and the high-k dielectric, the high-k dielectric is between the interface layer and the gate electrode material (350), and concentration of atoms of the first dipole material (216′) is highest at an interface between the interface layer and the high-k dielectric, and gradually decreases away from the interface (see examples in FIGs. 15-17 and 26) ([0063-0071]).
With respect to claim 11, Hsu ‘472 teaches (FIGs. 27-36) an integrated circuit (IC) structure as claimed, comprising:
a substrate (202) ([0063-0071]); and
a stack of nanoribbons (215) of one or more semiconductor materials over the substrate (202) ([0063-0071]),
wherein a portion of at least one of the nanoribbons (215) of the stack is a channel region (215) of a transistor (200B) ([0063-0071]), the transistor comprising a transistor gate stack (216′, 220′, 280, 282, and 350) that includes:
a gate electrode material (350) ([0063-0071]),
an interface layer (280) in contact with the channel region (215) ([0063-0071]),
a high-k dielectric (282) between the interface layer (280) and the gate electrode material (350) ([0063-0071]),
atoms of a first dipole material (216′) ([0063-0071]), and
atoms of a second dipole material (220′), different from the first dipole material (216′) ([0063-0071]).
With respect to claim 12, Hsu ‘472 teaches wherein concentration of the atoms of the first dipole material (216′) is highest at an interface between the interface layer (280) and the high-k dielectric (282), and gradually decreases away from the interface (see examples in FIGs. 15-17 and 26) ([0063-0071]).
With respect to claim 14, Hsu ‘472 teaches wherein the first dipole material (216′) is aluminum, niobium, or vanadium ([0071]).
With respect to claim 15, Hsu ‘472 teaches wherein the second dipole material (220′) is lanthanum, scandium, or yttrium ([0066]).
With respect to claim 16, Hsu ‘472 teaches wherein the transistor gate stack (216′, 220′, 280, 282, and 350) wraps around the channel region (215) ([0063-0071]).
With respect to claim 17, Hsu ‘472 teaches wherein: the transistor is a first transistor (200B), and a portion of at least one of the nanoribbons (215) of the stack is a channel region (215) of a second transistor (200A), the second transistor comprising a transistor gate stack that excludes the atoms of the first dipole material, the atoms of the second dipole material, or both the atoms of the first dipole material and the atoms of the second dipole material ([0063-0071]).
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 7, 8, 10, and 13 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hsu ‘472 as applied to claims 6, 9, and 11 above, and further in view of Pao et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2021/0391439, hereinafter Pao ‘439).
With respect to claim 7, Hsu ‘472 teaches the device as described in claim 6 above, including the additional limitation wherein the first dipole material (216′) is diffused in the high-k dielectric (282) ([0171]).
Thus, Hsu ‘472 is shown to teach all the features of the claim with the exception of wherein the second dipole material is diffused in the high-k dielectric.
However, Pao ‘439 teaches (FIGs. 1-15) first (224) and second (230) dipole materials diffused in a high-k dielectric (222) ([0028, 0030, 0032]) to provide transistors with different threshold voltages ([0015]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed the second dipole material of Hsu ‘472 diffused in the high-k dielectric as taught by Pao ‘439 to provide transistors with different threshold voltages.
With respect to claim 8, Hsu ‘472 teaches wherein concentration of the first dipole material (216′) in the multi-dipole gate structure (216′, 220, 220′, 280, and 282) decreases closer to the channel material (215) ([0063-0071]).
With respect to claim 10, Hsu ‘472 teaches the device as described in claim 9 above with the exception of the additional limitation wherein concentration of atoms of the second dipole material is highest at an interface between the interface layer and the high-k dielectric, and gradually decreases away from the interface.
However, Pao ‘439 teaches (FIGs. 1-15) first (224) and second (230) dipole materials diffused in a high-k dielectric (222) ([0028, 0030, 0032]) to provide transistors with different threshold voltages ([0015]). When applied to the device of Hsu ‘472, this would result in a concentration of atoms of the second dipole material being highest at an interface between the interface layer (280 of Hsu ‘472) and the high-k dielectric (282 of Hsu ‘472), and gradually decreasing away from the interface (see examples in FIGs. 15-17 and 26 of Hsu ‘472).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed a concentration of atoms of the second dipole material of Hsu ‘472 highest at an interface between the interface layer and the high-k dielectric, and gradually decreases away from the interface as taught by Pao ‘439 to provide transistors with different threshold voltages.
With respect to claim 13, Hsu ‘472 teaches the device as described in claim 11 above with the exception of the additional limitation wherein concentration of the atoms of the second dipole material is highest at an interface between the interface layer and the high-k dielectric, and gradually decreases away from the interface.
However, Pao ‘439 teaches (FIGs. 1-15) first (224) and second (230) dipole materials diffused in a high-k dielectric (222) ([0028, 0030, 0032]) to provide transistors with different threshold voltages ([0015]). When applied to the device of Hsu ‘472, this would result in a concentration of the atoms of the second dipole material being highest at an interface between the interface layer (280 of Hsu ‘472) and the high-k dielectric (282 of Hsu ‘472), and gradually decreasing away from the interface (see examples in FIGs. 15-17 and 26 of Hsu ‘472).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed a concentration of the atoms of the second dipole material of Hsu ‘472 highest at an interface between the interface layer and the high-k dielectric, and gradually decreases away from the interface as taught by Pao ‘439 to provide transistors with different threshold voltages.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Christopher M. Roland whose telephone number is (571)270-1271. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 10:00AM-7:00PM Eastern.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yara 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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/C.M.R./Examiner, Art Unit 2893
/YARA B GREEN/Supervisor Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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