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 .
This Office action is in response to the amendment filed 1/30/2026 in which claim 1 was amended.
Claims 1-25 are pending with claims 1-5 and 7-11 presented for examination and claims 6 and 12-25 remaining withdrawn.
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)(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, 5, and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Denison et al (US 2010/0264486 and Denison hereinafter).
As to claims 1, 5, and 7-9: Denison discloses [claim 1] a semiconductor device (Fig. 6H; 600; [0048]), comprising: a semiconductor substrate (comprising 605 and 610; [0048]) having a first main surface (top surface of 610) and a second main surface (bottom surface of 605) opposite the first main surface (top surface of 610); and a trench structure (Fig. 6D; 615; [0049]-[0053]) extending into the semiconductor substrate (comprising 605 and 610) from the first main surface (top surface of 610), wherein the trench structure (615) comprises: an upper section (upper half of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 620 and 630, see inserted Figure below) extending into the semiconductor substrate (comprising 605 and 610) from the first main surface (top surface of 610); a lower section (lower portion of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 640 and is filled completely by 640, see inserted Figure below) at an opposite end (bottom) of the trench structure (615) as the upper section (upper half of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 620 and 630, see inserted Figure below); a first intermediary section (see inserted Figure below) between the upper section (upper half of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 620 and 630, see inserted Figure below) and the lower section (lower portion of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 640 and is filled completely by 640, see inserted Figure below); a field plate (665; [0059]) in the upper section (upper half of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 620 and 630) and dielectrically insulated (by 660; [0058]) from the semiconductor substrate (comprising 605 and 610); and a first dielectric material (640; [0054]) completely filling the lower section (lower portion of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 640 and is filled completely by 640, see inserted Figure below), wherein the lower section (lower portion of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 640 and is filled completely by 640, see inserted Figure below), the upper section (upper half of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 620 and 630, see inserted Figure below), and the first intermediary section (see inserted Figure below) have different geometries (geometry of an object is defined by the shape and size of that object and as the different sections have different sizes and/or cross-sectional shapes, each section has a different geometry) and/or different dielectric materials, wherein the trench structure (615) is devoid of a gate electrode (as shown in Fig. 6H, no gate electrode is formed in the trench); [claim 5] wherein the field plate (665) extends into the first intermediary section (see inserted Figure below); [claim 7] wherein the trench structure (615) further comprises a second intermediary section (see inserted Figure below) between the upper section (upper half of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 620 and 630, see inserted Figure below) and the first intermediary section (see inserted Figure below), and wherein the second intermediary section (see inserted Figure below) has a different geometry (geometry of an object is defined by the shape and size of that object and as the different sections have different sizes and/or cross-sectional shapes, each section has a different geometry) than each of the lower section (lower portion of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 640 and is filled completely by 640, see inserted Figure below), the upper section (upper half of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 620 and 630, see inserted Figure below), and the first intermediary section (see inserted Figure below); [claim 8] wherein the trench structure (615) further comprises a third intermediary section (see inserted Figure below) between the second intermediary section (see inserted Figure below) and the first intermediary section (see inserted Figure below), and wherein the third intermediary section (see inserted Figure below) has a different geometry (geometry of an object is defined by the shape and size of that object and as the different sections have different sizes and/or cross-sectional shapes, each section has a different geometry) than each of the lower section (lower portion of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 640 and is filled completely by 640, see inserted Figure below), the upper section (upper half of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 620 and 630, see inserted Figure below), the first intermediary section (see inserted Figure below), and the second intermediary section (see inserted Figure below); [claim 9] wherein the field plate (665) extends into each of the first intermediary section (see inserted Figure below), the second intermediary section (see inserted Figure below) and the third intermediary section (see inserted Figure below).
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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.
Claims 2-4 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Denison in view of Blanchard et al (US 2017/0069727 and Blanchard hereinafter).
As to claims 2-4 and 11: Denison discloses [claim 2] wherein the first intermediary section (see inserted Figure above) adjoins the lower section (lower portion of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 640 and is filled completely by 640, see inserted Figure above); [claim 3] wherein the average width (greatest width of the trench structure 615) of the upper section (upper half of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 620 and 630, see inserted Figure above) is greater than the average width (width of entire area of first intermediary section in inserted Figure above is less than that of the upper section) of the first intermediary section (see inserted Figure above); [claim 11] wherein the first intermediary section (see inserted Figure above) adjoins the lower section (lower portion of opening in Fig. 6H that is defined in Fig. 6E as the portion that comprises only 640 and is filled completely by 640, see inserted Figure above).
Denison fails to expressly disclose [claim 2] where the first intermediary section has tapered sidewalls, and wherein an average width of the lower section is less than an average width of the first intermediary section; [claim 4] wherein the first intermediary section has tapered sidewalls; [claim 11] wherein the first intermediary section has tapered sidewalls.
Blanchard discloses in Fig. 2 and [0011] and [0021] that a trench for a field plate can have tapered or stepped tapered sidewalls along its entire length. Therefore, applying the tapered or stepped tapered sidewalls as opposed to straight sidewalls to the trench sidewall of a field plate trench was a technique well known in the art that would have resulted in the trench 615 of Denison having tapered sidewalls or stepped tapered sidewalls that taper inwardly as one traverses from the first surface to the second surface (such that each section, including the first intermediary section, would have tapered sidewalls) and would have resulted in the predictable and desirable results in improved breakdown voltage of the device ([0016]-[0018]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10 is 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-5, 7-9, and 11 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, 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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH C NICELY whose telephone number is (571)270-3834. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 am - 4 pm, EST.
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, Steven Gauthier can be reached at (571) 270-0373. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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JOSEPH C. NICELY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2813
/JOSEPH C. NICELY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2813
4/14/2026
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