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 Species III in the reply filed on 12/1/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 11-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to nonelected Species I-II, IV-V claims, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed. In addition, claims 2-4 are also withdrawn as claim 2 and 4 are directed to Species V, Fig. 13.
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.
1. Claim(s) 1,5-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20210057524 A1 (Lin) in view of US 9147824 B1 (Cao).
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Regarding claim 1, Lin shows (Fig. 8B) a semiconductor device, comprising:
a channel region (110CH, para 22) on a substrate (100, para 22), said channel region including a semiconducting 2-dimensional material (para 15,22);
a contact layer (160A, para 24) contacting a side of the channel region, said contact layer including a metallic 2-dimensional material (MoS.sub.2, para 31), which comprises a first transition metal (Mo) and a first chalcogen element (S) bonded to the first transition metal (TMD, para 15);
a gate structure (180 gate electrode on gate dielectric 170, para 44) on the channel region; and
a source/drain layer (110SD, para 22) contacting the contact layer (para 31);
the source/drain layer comprising a metal (since 110SD is part of 110, 2-D material’s metal, para 15).
Lin does not show the source/drain layer comprising a metal that forms a covalent bond with the first transition metal within the contact layer.
Cao shows (Fig. 9) the source/drain layer (LMDC) comprising a metal that forms a covalent bond with the first transition metal within the contact layer (col 5, ln 23-26, also shown in col 7, ln 66, col 8, ln 1-3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at or before the effective filing date of the invention was made, to add the invention of Cao, with covalent bond source drain contact, to the invention of Lin.
The motivation to do so is that the combination produces the predictable result of strong electron orbital coupling of covalent bonds between metal and (LMDC) semiconductors facilitating the carrier transport through the interface by significant increase of carrier collection efficiency (Col 5, ln 31-35).
Regarding claim 5, Lin shows (Fig. 8B) wherein the channel region (110CH, para 22) includes the first transition metal and the first chalcogen elements (S, para 16), which are bonded to lower and upper portions of the first transition metal (Mo).
Regarding claim 6, Lin as previously modified by Cao shows wherein the contact layer (160A of Lin as modified by LMDC of CAO) includes first and second contact layers (Lin with 160A left and 160A right) at respective first and second opposing sides of the channel region (Lin 110CH); and
wherein the source/drain layer (110SD, Lin) includes first and second source/drain layers (left and right 110SD, Lin) on the first and second contact layers, respectively.
Regarding claim 7, Lin as previously modified by Cao shows wherein the source/drain layer contacts an upper surface of the contact layer (bottommost surface of 160A, Lin as modified by LMDC of CAO).
Regarding claim 8, Lin as previously modified by Cao shows wherein a sidewall of the contact layer contacts the source/drain layer (160A, Lin as modified by LMDC of CAO where the source/drain contact layer 702 has its sidewall contacting the source/drain layer).
2. Claim(s) 9-10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin in view of Cao as applied to claim 1 above, further in view of US 20210296445 A1 (Lee).
Regarding claim 9, Lin as previously modified by Cao shows the channel region, the substrate and the contact layer.
Lin as previously modified by Cao does not show wherein the channel region is one of a plurality of channel regions that are spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction orthogonal to an upper surface of the substrate; and
wherein the contact layer is disposed at a side of each of the plurality of channel regions.
Lee shows (Fig. 2) wherein the channel region (121, 122, para 58) is one of a plurality of channel regions that are spaced apart from each other in a vertical direction orthogonal to an upper surface of the substrate (110); and
wherein the contact layer (180,190, para 58) is disposed at a side of each of the plurality of channel regions.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, at or before the effective filing date of the invention was made, to add the invention of Lee, with stacked transistors, to the invention of Lin as previously modified by Cao.
The motivation to do so is that the combination produces the predictable result of having multichannel transistor.
Regarding claim 10, Lin as previously modified with Cao and Lee shows wherein a sidewall of the contact layer (180,190, Lee) contacts the source/drain layer (edge of channels 121,122, Lee).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to WASIUL HAIDER whose telephone number is (571)272-1554. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9 a.m. - 6 p.m..
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/WASIUL HAIDER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812