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 the first embodiment in the reply filed on 12/30/25 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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)(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.
Claim(s) 1, 8, and 11-13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Hu, US 2022/0140071.
Hu shows the invention as claimed including a semiconductor memory device comprising:
A substrate 201;
An interlayer insulating layer 201 formed on the substrate (note that the base 201 may include a semiconductor substrate and an overlying interlayer insulating layer---see paragraphs 0020-0023);
A plurality of first contact pads 202 embedded in the interlayer insulating layer;
A plurality of first work function adjustment patterns 203 embedded in the interlayer insulating layer and respectively disposed on the plurality of first contact pads, the plurality of first work function adjustment patterns configured to adjust a work function of structures that include the plurality of first contact pads;
A plurality of lower electrodes (205,209) respectively disposed on the plurality of first work function adjustment patterns;
An upper electrode 212 covering the plurality of lower electrodes; and
A dielectric layer 211 disposed between the upper electrode and the plurality of lower electrodes (see figs. 1-14 and paragraphs 0019-0059).
As to dependent claim 8, note that the work function adjustment pattern 203 can be formed from more than one type of material (see paragraph 0027).
With respect to dependent claim 11, note that Hu discloses wherein the plurality of lower electrodes extend in a first direction perpendicular to a top surface of the substrate (see, for example, figs. 5, 7, and 11).
Concerning dependent claim 12, note that the plurality of lower electrodes and the upper electrode form a plurality of capacitors.
As to dependent claim 13, note that top surfaces of the plurality of first work function adjustment patterns 203 are at or below a bottom-most surface of the plurality of lower electrodes 209.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 4, 6-7, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu, US 2022/0140071.
Hu is applied as above but does not expressly disclose wherein a work function of a material included in the plurality of first work function adjustment patterns is greater than a work function of a material included in the plurality of first contact pads. However, Hu discloses where the work function of one of the first contact pads (aluminum) is less than a material of the first work function adjustment patterns (titanium) (see paragraphs 0026-0027). In view of this disclosure, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to select aluminum as the material of the first contact pads and titanium as the material of the work function adjustment patterns because a person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within their technical grasp.
Regarding dependent claims 6 and 10, Hu is applied as above but does not expressly disclose wherein the first work function adjustment patterns have a thickness from 1 nm to 10nm. However, a prima facie case of obviousness exists because it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to determine through routine experimentation the optimum thickness of the work function patterns depending upon a variety of factors including the desired protection against diffusion, reducing contact resistance, and adhesion enhancement and such limitation would not lend patentability to the instant invention absent a showing of unexpected results.
As to dependent claim 7, note that Hu is applied as above but does not expressly disclose the device comprising a plurality of second contact pads respectively disposed on the plurality of work function adjustment patterns, wherein the plurality of second contact pads comprises the same material as a material of the plurality of first contact pads. However, Hu does disclose that the work function adjustment patterns 203 can be formed by more than one material (see paragraph 0027) where the upper material can be considered the second contact pads and the material can be the same as the first contact pads (titanium—see paragraphs 0026-0027). In view of this disclosure, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to select titanium as the material of the first and second contact pads because a person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within their technical grasp.
Claim(s) 5 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hu, US 2022/0140071 in view of Chu et al., US 2020/0335602.
Hu is applied as above and additionally discloses where the plurality of first conductive pads comprises tungsten (see paragraph 0026) and also discloses the work function pattern comprising titanium nitride (see paragraph 0027) but does not expressly disclose the first work function adjustment patterns having a work function equal to or greater than 4.6 eV. However, Chu et al. discloses forming a titanium nitride layer with a work function of between 4.9-5.2 eV (see paragraph 0028). In view of this disclosure, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify the primary reference of Hu so as to use as the barrier film a titanium nitride with the claimed work function because a person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within their technical grasp.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3 are 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art, either singly or in combination, particularly US 2022/0140071, fails to anticipate or render obvious, the following limitations in addition to the claimed limitations: wherein each work function adjustment pattern of the plurality of first work function adjustment patterns comprises a metal chalcogenide, as required by dependent claim 2. Additionally, the prior art, particularly US 2022/0140071, fails to disclose one of the claimed first work function adjustment patterns, as required by dependent claim 3.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. KR 100623590 discloses the formation of contact pads 45a on a conductive plug (see abstract).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD A BOOTH whose telephone number is (571)272-1668. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 5:00.
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/RICHARD A BOOTH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
April 23, 2026
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