CTNF 18/174,007 CTNF 90678 2814 DETAILED ACTION This action is responsive to the application No. 18/174,007 filed on February 24, 2023. 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 Applicant’s election without traverse of the Group I invention in the reply filed on 05/04/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 18-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a non-elected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Accordingly, pending in this Office action are claims 1-20. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b): (b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention. 07-34-01 Claims 13-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. Claim 13 recites that “ the second layer (i.e., bottom portion of 112) is between the intermediate layer 116 and the second layer (i.e., bottom portion of 112) ”. It is not clear how a layer can be between another layer and itself. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 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, 9, 10, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Zhang (US 2022/0199796) . Regarding Claim 1 , Zhang (see, e.g., Fig. 13), teaches an integrated circuit (IC) structure, comprising: a stack 20 comprising a plurality of nanoribbons 18 above one another (see, e.g., pars. 0032, 0037); a gate electrode material 40 enclosing the nanoribbons 18 in a portion of the stack 20 (see, e.g., par. 0087); a subfin replacement structure 12 comprising an insulator material, wherein the subfin replacement structure 12 is below and substantially aligned with a bottom nanoribbon 18 of the stack 20 (see, e.g., pars. 0032, 0046); and an etch stop layer 34 between the subfin replacement structure 12 and the gate electrode material 40 (see, e.g., par. 0085). Regarding Claim 9 , Zhang teaches all aspects of claim 1. Zhang (see, e.g., Fig. 13), teaches that the etch stop layer 34 is etch-selective with respect to a semiconductor material of the nanoribbons 18 (see, e.g., pars. 0075, 0085). Regarding Claim 10 , Zhang teaches all aspects of claim 1. Zhang (see, e.g., Fig. 13), teaches that the etch stop layer includes aluminum and oxygen (see, e.g., par. 0074). Regarding Claim 12 , Zhang teaches all aspects of claim 1. Zhang (see, e.g., Fig. 13), teaches that the subfin replacement structure 12 is substantially aligned with the bottom nanoribbon 18 of the stack 20 in a direction that is in a plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the bottom nanoribbon 18 of the stack 20 and is perpendicular to a vertical axis along which the nanoribbons 18 are stacked above one another . Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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. 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 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang (US 2022/0199796) . Regarding Claim 1 , Zhang teaches all aspects of claim 1. Zhang is silent with respect to the claim limitation that the etch stop layer has a thickness between about 1 and 10 nanometers. However, this claim limitation is merely considered a change in the thickness of the etch stop layer in Zhang’s the device. The specific claimed thickness, absent any criticality, is only considered to be an obvious modification of the thickness of the etch stop layer in Zhang’s device, as the courts have held that changes in thickness without any criticality, are within the level of skill in the art. According to the courts, a particular thickness is nothing more than one among numerous thicknesses that a person having ordinary skill in the art will find obvious to provide using routine experimentation. See In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). Accordingly, since the applicant has not established the criticality (see next paragraph below) of the claimed thickness, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have the claimed thickness in Zhang’s device. CRITICALITY The specification contains no disclosure of either the critical nature of the claimed thickness or any unexpected results arising therefrom. Where patentability is said to be based upon particular chosen thickness or upon another variable recited in a claim, the applicant must show that the chosen thickness is critical. In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 1578, 16 USPQ2d 1934, 1936 (Fed. Cir. 1990) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 2-8 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. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Nelson Garcés whose telephone number is (571)272-8249. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Wael Fahmy can be reached on (571)272-1705. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /Nelson Garces/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2814 Application/Control Number: 18/174,007 (Non-Final Rejection) Page 2 Art Unit: 2814 Application/Control Number: 18/174,007 (Non-Final Rejection) Page 3 Art Unit: 2814 Application/Control Number: 18/174,007 (Non-Final Rejection) Page 4 Art Unit: 2814 Application/Control Number: 18/174,007 (Non-Final Rejection) Page 5 Art Unit: 2814 Application/Control Number: 18/174,007 (Non-Final Rejection) Page 6 Art Unit: 2814 Application/Control Number: 18/174,007 (Non-Final Rejection) Page 7 Art Unit: 2814
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