Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 18, 2026
Application No. 18/104,605

EPITAXIAL STRUCTURE ON OFFCUT SIC SUBSTRATE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME

Non-Final OA §103
Filed
Feb 01, 2023
Examiner
DUREN, TIMOTHY EDWARD
Art Unit
2817
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Globalwafers Co. Ltd.
OA Round
3 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
3-4
OA Rounds
3y 5m
To Grant
85%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
22 granted / 27 resolved
+13.5% vs TC avg
Minimal +3% lift
Without
With
+3.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
3y 5m
Avg Prosecution
54 currently pending
Career history
81
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§103
51.0%
+11.0% vs TC avg
§102
32.3%
-7.7% vs TC avg
§112
16.7%
-23.3% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 27 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
DETAILED ACTION 1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . General Remarks 2. 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. 3. When responding to this office action, applicants are advised to provide the examiner with paragraph numbers in the application and/or references cited to assist the examiner in locating appropriate paragraphs. 4. Per MPEP 2111 and 2111.01, the claims are given their broadest reasonable interpretation and the words of the claims are given their plain meaning consistent with the specification without importing claim limitations from the specification. Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 5. A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 1/08/2026 has been entered. Response to Arguments 6. Applicant’s arguments, see Claim Rejections under 35 U.S.C. § 103, filed 1/08/2026, with respect to the rejections of claims 1 and 10 have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Omori, Noriko et al. (Pub No. US 20160293710 A1) (hereinafter, Omori) in view of Ohta, Masataka et al. (Pub No. US 20120049156 A1) (hereinafter, Ohta) in view of Yoshida, Takehiro (Pub No. US 20210292931 A1) (hereinafter, Yoshida). 7. In response to applicant’s argument that there is no teaching, suggestion, or motivation to combine the references, the examiner recognizes that obviousness may be established by combining or modifying the teachings of the prior art to produce the claimed invention where there is some teaching, suggestion, or motivation to do so found either in the references themselves or in the knowledge generally available to one of ordinary skill in the art. See In re Fine, 837 F.2d 1071, 5 USPQ2d 1596 (Fed. Cir. 1988), In re Jones, 958 F.2d 347, 21 USPQ2d 1941 (Fed. Cir. 1992), and KSR International Co. v. Teleflex, Inc., 550 U.S. 398, 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). In this case, re claims 1 and 10, Applicant argues Ohta and Omori are directed to solving different problems, i.e. Ohta teaches a positive effect of the off-angle of the substrate while Omori teaches depositing the nitride layer by MOCVD to mitigate the negative impact of the off-angle of the substrate. Although Ohta and Omori have different motivations, at least one of the motivations between each prior art reference may have been used to produce the claimed invention. Further, Applicant recites on page 2 of Remarks, “The problem to be solved in the present application is to mitigate the negative impact of the off-angle of the SiC substrate.” Omori has a similar motivation of the present application, such that poor epitaxial quality of the first and second group III nitride layers may relieve the negative impact of the off-angle of the SiC substrate. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 8. 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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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. 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. 9. Claims 1-2, 4, 10-11 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Omori, Noriko et al. (Pub No. US 20160293710 A1) (hereinafter, Omori) in view of Ohta, Masataka et al. (Pub No. US 20120049156 A1) (hereinafter, Ohta), and further in view of Yoshida, Takehiro (Pub No. US 20210292931 A1) (hereinafter, Yoshida). Figs 1 and 2, Omori: Nitride semiconductor substrate and enlarged part of the same PNG media_image1.png 495 418 media_image1.png Greyscale PNG media_image2.png 386 683 media_image2.png Greyscale Re Claim 1, (Currently Amended) Omori teaches a method of manufacturing an epitaxial structure, comprising steps of: A: providing a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate (Single-crystal substrate (may be SiC); 10; Fig 1; ¶[0023]), wherein a silicon face (Si-face) (Si single crystal substrate; ¶[0024]) of the SiC substrate is taken as a growth face (Reference plane; K; Fig 2; ¶[0029]), and the growth face has an off-angle (Off angle; ¶[0024]) relative to the Si- face of the SiC substrate; B: depositing a nitride angle adjustment layer (First layer; 20; Fig 1; ¶[0026]) on the growth face of the SiC substrate; C: depositing a first group III nitride layer (Second layer; 31; Fig 1; ¶[0039]) on the nitride angle adjustment layer; and D: depositing a second group III nitride layer (Third layer; 32; Fig 1; ¶[0039]) on the first group III nitride layer. wherein in the step C, the first group III nitride layer (Second layer; 31; Fig 1; ¶[0039]) is deposited on the nitride angle adjustment layer (First layer; 20; Fig 1; ¶[0026]) through metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) (MOCVD method of nitride semiconductor layer 30, wherein 30 includes second layer 31; Fig 1; ¶[0040]). wherein the method further comprises analyzing the second group III nitride layer through X-ray diffraction analysis, and wherein a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the nitride angle adjustment layer (First layer; 20; Fig 1; ¶[0026]) is between 1500 arcsec and 10000 arcsec (1900 arcsec or less; ¶[0013]). However, Omori does not teach depositing a nitride angle adjustment layer through physical vapor deposition (PVD). wherein in the step D, the second group III nitride layer is deposited on the first group III nitride layer through metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), wherein the second group III nitride layer is gallium nitride and has a root mean square (RMS) roughness less than 1.5 nm. wherein the method further comprises analyzing the second group III nitride layer through X-ray diffraction analysis, wherein a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the second group III nitride layer is less than 200 aresec, wherein a thickness of the nitride angle adjustment layer is between 5 nm and 50 nm. In the same field of endeavor, Ohta teaches depositing a nitride angle adjustment layer (Nitride semiconductor layer; 20; Fig 3; ¶[0084]) through physical vapor deposition (PVD) (Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), e.g. a form of physical vapor deposition (PVD); ¶[0110]). Accordingly, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have deposited a nitride angle adjustment layer through physical vapor deposition (PVD), as taught by Ohta, and combined it with depositing the nitride angle adjustment layer of Omori. One would have been motivated to do this with a reasonable expectation of success because MBE, which is a form of PVD, allows for the epitaxial growth of the nitride angle adjustment layer to be grown with the highest possible crystalline precision corresponding to the off-angle cuts in the substrate below. However, Omori in view of Ohta does not teach the second group III nitride layer has a root mean square (RMS) roughness less than 1.5 nm, wherein a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the second group III nitride layer is less than 200 arcsec, and the second group III nitride layer is gallium nitride (GaN). wherein in the step D, the second group III nitride layer is deposited on the first group III nitride layer through metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Fig 6(b), Yoshida: Semiconductor substrate including second group nitride layer PNG media_image3.png 230 372 media_image3.png Greyscale In the same field of endeavor, Yoshida teaches the second group III nitride layer (GaN substrate; 50; Fig 6(b); ¶[0227]) has a root mean square (RMS) roughness (RMS roughness of GaN substrate 50; ¶¶[0326-0328]) less than 1.5 nm (0.7 nm; ¶[0328]). wherein a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the second group III nitride layer is less than 200 arcsec (More preferably 32 arcsec or less; ¶[0282]), and the second group III nitride layer is gallium nitride (GaN) (GaN; ¶[0227]). wherein in the step D, the second group III nitride layer is deposited on the first group III nitride layer (Second layer; 40; Fig 6; ¶[0161]) through metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) (A Vapor Deposition method is used to form the group III nitride layers; ¶[0394]). Accordingly, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have used the second group III nitride layer has a root mean square (RMS) roughness less than 1.5 nm, wherein a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the second group III nitride layer is less than 200 arcsec, and the second group III nitride layer is gallium nitride (GaN), wherein in the step D, the second group III nitride layer is deposited on the first group III nitride layer through metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), as taught by Yoshida, and combined it with depositing the epitaxial structure of Omori in view of Ohta. One would have been motivated to do this with a reasonable expectation of success in order to prevent the surface morphology of the semiconductor functional layer may deteriorate in a part of the substrate. Further, the RMS roughness of the upper GaN layer (GaN substrate) having a threshold of less than 1.5 nm may contribute to preventing a withstand voltage and reliability from decreasing in a semiconductor device cut out from a portion where the surface morphology of the semiconductor functional layer has deteriorated, as suggested by Yoshida (¶[0070]). Further, with a FWHM of the second group III nitride layer being 200 arsec, it is possible to change a stable crystal plane appearing on the surface the surrounding layers and prevent excessive dislocations from generating due to the crystal strain on the main surface of the GaN substrate, as suggested by Yoshida (¶[0109]). Finally, a vapor deposition method is used to deposit the second group III nitride layer because it enables high-throughput, large-area production of high-quality crystalline films with atomic-level precision. However, Omori in view of Ohta and Yoshida does not teach wherein a thickness of the nitride angle adjustment layer is between 5 nm and 50 nm. However, the ordinary artisan would have recognized the thickness of the nitride angle adjustment layer to have a range of about 5 nm to 50 nm, to be a result effective variable affecting the crystallinity of the above nitride semiconductor layer to be optimum, due to the dimensions of 5 nm to 50 nm being required to correspond with the reduced dimensions of increasingly smaller-scale nanotechnology. Thus, it would have been obvious to modify the thickness of the nitride angle adjustment layer within the claimed range, since optimum or workable ranges of such variables are discoverable through routine experimentation. (See MPEP 2144.05 II.B) Re Claim 2, (Original) Omori teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the nitride angle adjustment layer (First layer; 20; Fig 1; ¶[0026]) is aluminum nitride (AlN) or aluminum-gallium nitride (AlxGai-xN) (AlN; ¶[0026]). Re Claim 4, (Original) Omori teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first group III nitride layer (Second layer; 31; Fig 1; ¶[0039]) is aluminum nitride (AlN) or aluminum-gallium nitride (AlxGai-xN) (AlGaN; ¶[0039]). Re Claim 10, (Currently Amended) Omori teaches an epitaxial structure, comprising: a silicon carbide (SiC) substrate (Single-crystal substrate (may be SiC); 10; Fig 1; ¶[0023]), wherein a silicon face (Si-face) (Si single crystal substrate; ¶[0024]) of the SiC substrate is taken as a growth face (Reference plane; K; Fig 2; ¶[0029]), and the growth face has an off-angle (Off angle; ¶[0024]) greater than zero degree relative to the Si-face of the SiC substrate; a nitride angle adjustment layer (First layer; 20; Fig 1; ¶[0026]) located on the growth face of the SiC substrate, connected to the growth face, and deposited to form on the growth face of the SiC substrate; a first group III nitride layer (Second layer; 31; Fig 1; ¶[0039]) located on the nitride angle adjustment layer; and a second group III nitride layer (Third layer; 32; Fig 1; ¶[0039]) located on the first group III nitride layer. wherein the first group III nitride layer (Second layer; 31; Fig 1; ¶[0039]) is deposited on the nitride angle adjustment layer (First layer; 20; Fig 1; ¶[0026]) through metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) (MOCVD method of nitride semiconductor layer 30, wherein 30 includes second layer 31; Fig 1; ¶[0040]). However, Omori does not teach a nitride angle adjustment layer is deposited through physical vapor deposition (PVD). wherein a thickness of the nitride angle adjustment layer is between 5 nm and 50 nm. wherein the second group III nitride layer is deposited on the first group III nitride layer through metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), wherein the second group III nitride layer is gallium nitride (GaN) and has a root mean square (RMS) roughness less than 1.5 nm, and wherein a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the nitride angle adjustment layer is between 1500 arcsec and 10000 arcsec. In the same field of endeavor, Ohta teaches a nitride angle adjustment layer (Nitride semiconductor layer; 20; Fig 3; ¶[0084]) is deposited through physical vapor deposition (PVD) (Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), e.g. a form of physical vapor deposition (PVD); ¶[0110]). wherein a thickness of the nitride angle adjustment layer is between 5 nm and 50 nm. Accordingly, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have deposited a nitride angle adjustment layer through physical vapor deposition (PVD), as taught by Ohta, and combined it with depositing the nitride angle adjustment layer of Omori. One would have been motivated to do this with a reasonable expectation of success because MBE, which is a form of PVD, allows for the epitaxial growth of the nitride angle adjustment layer to be grown with the highest possible crystalline precision corresponding to the off-angle cuts in the substrate below. However, Omori in view of Ohta does not teach wherein a thickness of the nitride angle adjustment layer is between 5 nm and 50 nm. wherein the second group III nitride layer is deposited on the first group III nitride layer through metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), wherein the second group III nitride layer is gallium nitride (GaN) and has a root mean square (RMS) roughness less than 1.5 nm, and wherein a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the nitride angle adjustment layer is between 1500 arcsec and 10000 arcsec. In the same field of endeavor, Yoshida teaches the second group III nitride layer (GaN substrate; 50; Fig 6(b); ¶[0227]) has a root mean square (RMS) roughness (RMS roughness of GaN substrate 50; ¶¶[0326-0328]) less than 1.5 nm (0.7 nm; ¶[0328]). wherein a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the second group III nitride layer is less than 200 arcsec (More preferably 32 arcsec or less; ¶[0282]), and the second group III nitride layer is gallium nitride (GaN) (GaN; ¶[0227]). wherein in the step D, the second group III nitride layer is deposited on the first group III nitride layer (Second layer; 40; Fig 6; ¶[0161]) through metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) (A Vapor Deposition method is used to form the group III nitride layers; ¶[0394]). Accordingly, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have used the second group III nitride layer has a root mean square (RMS) roughness less than 1.5 nm, wherein a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the second group III nitride layer is less than 200 arcsec, and the second group III nitride layer is gallium nitride (GaN), wherein in the step D, the second group III nitride layer is deposited on the first group III nitride layer through metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), as taught by Yoshida, and combined it with depositing the epitaxial structure of Omori in view of Ohta. One would have been motivated to do this with a reasonable expectation of success in order to prevent the surface morphology of the semiconductor functional layer may deteriorate in a part of the substrate. Further, the RMS roughness of the upper GaN layer (GaN substrate) having a threshold of less than 1.5 nm may contribute to preventing a withstand voltage and reliability from decreasing in a semiconductor device cut out from a portion where the surface morphology of the semiconductor functional layer has deteriorated, as suggested by Yoshida (¶[0070]). Further, with a FWHM of the second group III nitride layer being 200 arsec, it is possible to change a stable crystal plane appearing on the surface the surrounding layers and prevent excessive dislocations from generating due to the crystal strain on the main surface of the GaN substrate, as suggested by Yoshida (¶[0109]). Finally, a vapor deposition method is used to deposit the second group III nitride layer because it enables high-throughput, large-area production of high-quality crystalline films with atomic-level precision. However, Omori in view of Ohta and Yoshida does not teach wherein a thickness of the nitride angle adjustment layer is between 5 nm and 50 nm. However, the ordinary artisan would have recognized the thickness of the nitride angle adjustment layer to have a range of about 5 nm to 50 nm, to be a result effective variable affecting the crystallinity of the above nitride semiconductor layer to be optimum, due to the dimensions of 5 nm to 50 nm being required to correspond with the reduced dimensions of increasingly smaller-scale nanotechnology. Thus, it would have been obvious to modify the thickness of the nitride angle adjustment layer within the claimed range, since optimum or workable ranges of such variables are discoverable through routine experimentation. (See MPEP 2144.05 II.B) Re Claim 11, (Original) Omori teaches the epitaxial structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein the nitride angle adjustment layer (First layer; 20; Fig 1; ¶[0026]) is aluminum nitride (AlN) or aluminum-gallium nitride (AlxGai-xN) (AlN; ¶[0026]). Re Claim 13, (Original) Omori teaches the epitaxial structure as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first group III nitride layer (Second layer; 31; Fig 1; ¶[0039]) is aluminum nitride (AlN) or aluminum-gallium nitride (AlxGai-xN) (AlGaN; ¶[0039]). 10. Claims 7-8 and 15-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Omori, Noriko et al. (Pub No. US 20160293710 A1) (hereinafter, Omori) in view of Ohta, Masataka et al. (Pub No. US 20120049156 A1) (hereinafter, Ohta) in view of Yoshida, Takehiro (Pub No. US 20210292931 A1) (hereinafter, Yoshida) as applied to claims 1 and 10 above, and further in view of Kiyosawa, Tsutomu et al. (Pub No. US 20170170288 A1) (hereinafter, Kiyosawa). Fig 11, Kiyosawa: Epitaxial growth process with off-angles on two surfaces PNG media_image4.png 363 516 media_image4.png Greyscale Re Claim 7, (Original) Omori teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step A comprises depositing a silicon carbide layer (Cubic SiC crystal substrate (not shown); ¶[0024]; Note: Per ¶[0024] the Si single crystal substrate or the cubic SiC layer is formed on the Si single crystal substrate) on the growth face of the SiC substrate (Single-crystal substrate (may be SiC); 10; Fig 1; ¶[0023]); the silicon carbide layer is located between the nitride angle adjustment layer (First layer; 20; Fig 1; ¶[0026]) and the SiC substrate. However, Omori in view of Ohta and Yoshida does not teach an off-angle of a growth face of the silicon carbide layer relative to a silicon face of the silicon carbide layer is the same as the off-angle of the growth face of the SiC substrate relative to the silicon face of the SiCsubstrate In the same field of endeavor, Kiyosawa teaches an off-angle (Off-angle; theta; Fig 11; ¶0106]) of a growth face (Upper surface of SiC layer 2; Fig 11) of the silicon carbide layer relative to a silicon face (Si (Silicon) surface, adjacent to SiC substrate 1; ¶[0211]) of the silicon carbide layer is the same as the off-angle (Off-angle; theta; Fig 11; ¶[0106]) of the growth face of the SiC substrate (SiC substrate; 1; Fig 11; ¶[0106]) relative to the Si-face of the SiC substrate. Accordingly, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have used an off-angle of a growth face of the silicon carbide layer relative to a silicon face of the silicon carbide layer is the same as the off-angle of the growth face of the SiC substrate relative to the silicon face of the SiCsubstrate, as taught by Kiyosawa, for the epitaxial structure as taught by Omori in view of Ohta and Yoshida. One would have been motivated to do this with a reasonable expectation of success in order to promote "step-flow" growth mode helps to reduce surface defects and improve the uniformity of the epitaxial layer. Further, maintaining an even off-angle on each of the surfaces of the SiC layer and SiC substrate can suppress deterioration of device characteristics caused by the {0001} facet plane, as suggested by Kiyosawa (¶[0010]). Re Claim 8, (Original) Omori teaches the method as claimed in claim 7, wherein a breakdown voltage (Withstand voltage; ¶[0048]) of the silicon carbide layer (Cubic SiC crystal substrate (not shown); ¶[0024]; Note: Per ¶[0024] the Si single crystal substrate or the cubic SiC layer is formed on the Si single crystal substrate) is greater than 600 V (650 V or more; ¶[0048]). Re Claim 15, (Original) Omori teaches the epitaxial structure as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a silicon carbide layer a silicon carbide layer (Cubic SiC crystal substrate (not shown); ¶[0024]; Note: Per ¶[0024] the Si single crystal substrate or the cubic SiC layer is formed on the Si single crystal substrate) located between the nitride angle adjustment layer (First layer; 20; Fig 1; ¶[0026]) and the SiC substrate (Single-crystal substrate (may be SiC); 10; Fig 1; ¶[0023]), However, Omori in view of Ohta and Yoshida does not teach wherein an off-angle of a growth face of the silicon carbide layer relative to a silicon face of the silicon carbide layer is the same as the off-angle of the growth face of the SiC substrate relative to the Si-face of the SiC substrate. In the same field of endeavor, Kiyosawa teaches wherein an off-angle (Off-angle; theta; Fig 11; ¶0106]) of a growth face (Upper surface of SiC layer 2; Fig 11) of the silicon carbide layer relative to a silicon face (Si (Silicon) surface, adjacent to SiC substrate 1; ¶[0211]) of the silicon carbide layer is the same as the off-angle (Off-angle; theta; Fig 11; ¶[0106]) of the growth face of the SiC substrate (SiC substrate; 1; Fig 11; ¶[0106]) relative to the Si-face of the SiC substrate. Accordingly, it would have been obvious for a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have used an off-angle of a growth face of the silicon carbide layer relative to a silicon face of the silicon carbide layer is the same as the off-angle of the growth face of the SiC substrate relative to the silicon face of the SiCsubstrate, as taught by Kiyosawa, for the epitaxial structure as taught by Omori in view of Ohta and Yoshida. One would have been motivated to do this with a reasonable expectation of success in order to promote "step-flow" growth mode helps to reduce surface defects and improve the uniformity of the epitaxial layer. Further, maintaining an even off-angle on each of the surfaces of the SiC layer and SiC substrate can suppress deterioration of device characteristics caused by the {0001} facet plane, as suggested by Kiyosawa (¶[0010]). Re Claim 16, (Original) Omori teaches the epitaxial structure as claimed in claim 15, wherein a breakdown voltage (Withstand voltage; ¶[0048]) of the silicon carbide layer (Cubic SiC crystal substrate (not shown); ¶[0024]; Note: Per ¶[0024] the Si single crystal substrate or the cubic SiC layer is formed on the Si single crystal substrate) is greater than 600 V (650 V or more; ¶[0048]). Conclusion The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. [1] Miyashita Kohei (Pub No. JP 2023034052 A) discloses a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device that can reduce crystal defects. A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device has the steps of: forming a first AlN layer on the first main surface of a single-crystal substrate; forming a plurality of AlN seed crystals from the first AlN layer onto the first main surface by etching a portion of the first AlN layer; and forming a second AlN layer on the first main surface using the AlN seed crystals as growth nuclei. [2] Pierce, Jonathan et al. (Pub No. EP 2423990 A1) discloses a substrate is provided including a growth surface that is offcut relative to a plane defined by a crystallographic orientation of the substrate at an offcut angle of about 5 degrees to about 45 degrees. A thermoelectric film is epitaxially grown on the growth surface. A crystallographic orientation of the thermoelectric film may be tilted about 5 degrees to about 30 degrees relative to the growth surface. The growth surface of the substrate may also be patterned to define a plurality of mesas protruding therefrom prior to epitaxial growth of the thermoelectric film. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TIMOTHY EDWARD DUREN whose telephone number is (703)756-1426. The examiner can normally be reached 07:30 - 17:00 PST. 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, Eliseo Ramos-Feliciano can be reached at (571) 272-7925. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /T.E.D./ Examiner Art Unit 2817 /ELISEO RAMOS FELICIANO/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2817
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Prosecution Timeline

Feb 01, 2023
Application Filed
Jul 17, 2025
Non-Final Rejection — §103
Aug 15, 2025
Response Filed
Sep 22, 2025
Final Rejection — §103
Nov 13, 2025
Response after Non-Final Action
Jan 08, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Jan 24, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Mar 17, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §103 (current)

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3-4
Expected OA Rounds
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Grant Probability
85%
With Interview (+3.3%)
3y 5m
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High
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