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 .
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 1-4 and 7-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Oxygen Transport During Annealing of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 Thin Films on O2 Gas and its Effect on Their Conductivity by Ayguavives et al.
Ayguavives et al. clearly teaches Oxygen Transport During Annealing of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 Thin Films on O2 Gas and its Effect on Their Conductivity, comprising:
a lower electrode layer (Si 16O2 layer in Figure 2); and
a piezoelectric film (PZT 18Ox) containing a Pb-containing perovskite-type oxide,
wherein the piezoelectric film contains an oxygen atom 18O having a mass number of 18 in oxygen as a constituent element in excess of a natural abundance ratio.
With regards to claim 2, Ayguavives et al. discloses:
in the oxygen as the constituent element of the piezoelectric film, a ratio of the oxygen atom 18O to a sum of an oxygen atom 16O having a mass number of 16 and the oxygen atom 18O is 1% or more.
With regards to claim 3, Ayguavives et al. discloses:
in the oxygen as the constituent element of the piezoelectric film, a ratio of the oxygen atom 18O to a sum of an oxygen atom 16O having a mass number of 16 and the oxygen atom 18O is 5% or more and 15% or less (see Figure 2).
With regards to claim 4, Ayguavives et al. discloses:
the Pb-containing perovskite-type oxide contains Zr, Ti, and O, in addition to Pb (see Figure 2).
With regards to claim 7, Ayguavives et al. discloses:
the piezoelectric film is a sputter (see page 3005, lines 15 and 41; see page 3006, lines 10 and 19) film.
With regards to claim 8, Ayguavives et al. discloses:
an upper electrode layer (Ru 16O2 layer in Figure 2) provided on the piezoelectric film of the piezoelectric laminate.
With regards to claim 9, Ayguavives et al. discloses manufacturing method for a piezoelectric laminate, which is the manufacturing method for the piezoelectric laminate according to claim 1, said method comprising the following step:
a sputtering (see page 3005, lines 15 and 41; see page 3006, lines 10 and 19) step of forming the piezoelectric film through sputter film formation on the lower electrode layer formed on the substrate,
wherein in the sputtering step, oxygen including an oxygen atom 18O having a mass number of 18 at a ratio larger than a natural abundance ratio is allowed to flow as a part of a film forming gas.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Oxygen Transport During Annealing of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 Thin Films on O2 Gas and its Effect on Their Conductivity by Ayguavives et al. in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0243439 A1 to Furukawa et al.
Ayguavives et al. clearly teaches Oxygen Transport During Annealing of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 Thin Films on O2 Gas and its Effect on Their Conductivity as described in paragraph 4 above.
However, it fails to disclose the Pb-containing perovskite-type oxide contains Nb.
Furukawa et al. discloses ___ comprising:
a Pb-containing perovskite-type oxide that contains Nb (see Abstract; see paragraphs [0008], [0014], [0041], and [0052]).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to use the Nb disclosed by Furukawa et al. on the Pb-containing perovskite-type oxide disclosed by Ayguavives et al., for the purpose of increasing the displacement of the oxide.
With regards to claim 6, Ayguavives et al. in view of Furukawa et al. disclose (see paragraphs [0016]-[0019] of Furukawa et al.):
the Pb-containing perovskite-type oxide is a compound represented by General Formula (1),
Pb{(ZrxTi1-x)y-1Nby}O3 (1)
0 < x <1, 0.1 ≤ y ≤ 0.4.
Conclusion
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/PEDRO J CUEVAS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896 January 28, 2026