CTNF 18/170,121 CTNF 81995 DETAILED ACTION Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 Election/Restrictions 08-06 AIA Claim s 6-8 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention , there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4 May 2026 . 08-25-01 AIA Applicant’s election without traverse of the invention of group I in the reply filed on 4 May 2026 is acknowledged. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-07-aia AIA 07-07 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 – 07-08-aia AIA (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. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1-5 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Teshigahara et al. (US 2016/0064645) . With respect to claim 1, Teshigahara et al. discloses a piezoelectric film, comprising scandium aluminum nitride, carbon, and oxygen, wherein concentration of the carbon is 2.5 atomic percent or less (Abstract) while a concentration of the oxygen is 0.35 atomic percent or less (wherein a concentration of 0 falls within this range). With respect to claim 2, Teshigahara et al. discloses the piezoelectric film according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of the carbon is 2.5 atomic percent or less (Abstract) while the concentration of the oxygen is 0.1 atomic percent or less (wherein a concentration of 0 falls within this range). With respect to claim 3, Teshigahara et al. discloses the piezoelectric film according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of carbon is 1.0 atomic percent or less (Abstract) while the concentration of oxygen is 0.2 atomic percent or less (wherein a concentration of 0 falls within this range). With respect to claim 4, Teshigahara et al. discloses the piezoelectric film according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of the carbon is 0.3 atomic percent or less (Abstract) while the concentration of the oxygen is 0.1 atomic percent or less (wherein a concentration of 0 falls within this range). With respect to claim 5, Teshigahara et al. discloses the piezoelectric film according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of the carbon is 0.7 atomic percent or less (Abstract) while the concentration of the oxygen is 0.1 atomic percent or less (wherein a concentration of 0 falls within this range). With respect to claim 9, Teshigahara et al. discloses the piezoelectric film according to claim 1, wherein a composition of the piezoelectric film is Sc x Al 1-x N, where x is greater than or equal to 0.3 and less than 1 (Paragraph 27) . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 10 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Teshigahara et al. in view of Grosh et al. (US 2015/0350792) . With respect to claim 10, Teshigahara et al. discloses the piezoelectric film according to claim 1. Teshigahara et al. does not disclose that the piezoelectric film is disposed above a diaphragm portion of a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor, the MEMS sensor including a substrate and the diaphragm portion, the diaphragm portion being disposed above the substrate. Grosh et al. teaches a piezoelectric device in which the piezoelectric film is disposed above a diaphragm portion of a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor, the MEMS sensor including a substrate and the diaphragm portion, the diaphragm portion being disposed above the substrate (Paragraph 8). Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the MEMS sensor device of Grosh et al. and the piezoelectric film of Teshigahara et al. for the benefit of providing a commonly used application of piezoelectric films (Paragraph 3 of Grosh et al.). With respect to claim 11, Teshigahara et al. discloses the piezoelectric film according to claim 1. Teshigahara et al. does not disclose that the piezoelectric film is disposed above a substrate of a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor. Grosh et al. teaches a piezoelectric device in which the piezoelectric film is disposed above a substrate of a micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor (Paragraph 8). Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the MEMS sensor device of Grosh et al. and the piezoelectric film of Teshigahara et al. for the benefit of providing a commonly used application of piezoelectric films (Paragraph 3 of Grosh et al.) . 07-21-aia AIA Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Teshigahara et al. in view of Bartzsch et al. (US 2016/0369390) . With respect to claim 12, Teshigahara et al. discloses the piezoelectric film according to claim 1, wherein the concentration of the is greater than 0 atomic percent (Abstract). Teshigahara et al. does not disclose that the concentration of the oxygen is greater than 0 atomic percent. Bartzsch et al. teaches a piezoelectric film including an aluminum nitride based piezoelectric material in which the concentration of oxygen is greater than 0 atomic percent (Paragraph 28). Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the oxygen content of Bartzsch et al. with the piezoelectric film of Teshigahara et al. for the benefit of facilitating the manufacturing process of the piezoelectric thin film, as oxygen is part of the rection environment (Paragraph 28 of Bartzsch et al.). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Derek John Rosenau whose telephone number is (571)272-8932. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7 am to 5:30 pm Central Time. 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, Dedei Hammond can be reached at (571) 270-7938. 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. /DEREK J ROSENAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/170,121 Page 2 Art Unit: 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/170,121 Page 3 Art Unit: 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/170,121 Page 4 Art Unit: 2837 Application/Control Number: 18/170,121 Page 5 Art Unit: 2837
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