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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species A1, B1 and C2 in the reply filed on 6/16/2026 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because the specification refers to multiple figures which do not exist. For example, there is no figure 2 (e.g. [0023]), 10-13 (e.g. [0034]), 14 (e.g. [0038]), 24 (e.g. [0059]), 25-39 (e.g. [0061] and [0078]). Note that the cited paragraphs and figures may not be the only instances of incorrect figure numbering. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objections
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities: “SiO2” should read --SiO2--. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4-6, 10-12 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US20200304087A1) in view of Barber (KR20110005232A).
Kim discloses the claimed subject matter as follows (limitations not disclosed by Kim are crossed out, below):
Claim 1. A method of forming a piezoelectric resonator device, the method comprising:
forming a piezoelectric film (1620, Figs. 16A-16C) on a growth substrate (1610);
forming a first electrode (1710, Fig. 17A-17C) on a first surface of the piezoelectric film;
forming a support layer (2010, Figs. 20A-20C) on the piezoelectric film and on the first electrode;
bonding the support layer to a bond substrate (2210; see Figs. 22A-22C);
removing (compare Figs. 23A-23C with Figs. 22A-22C) the growth substrate to expose a second surface of the piezoelectric film that is opposite the first surface of the piezoelectric film;
forming
29A; see corresponding cross-section in Fig. 29B) on a portion of the second surface of the piezoelectric film designated as the active region of the piezoelectric resonator device, the energy confinement frame including an outer side wall that faces an outer region of the piezoelectric film outside the active region and an including an inner side wall that extends around a permitter of the active region (see Figs. 29A and 29B);
forming a second electrode layer (which is patterned to form electrode 2510/2910; see [0090] and [0094) extending on the active region conformably
forming a second electrode (2910 in Fig. 29A-29C; see 2510 in Figs. 25A-25C and [0094]) on the second surface of the piezoelectric film by removing the second electrode layer
forming a substantially uniform thickness low-impedance acoustic layer (2710 in Figs. 29A-29C; see Figs. 27A to 27C and [0092]) over the active area and onto the side wall of the second electrode and onto the portion of the piezoelectric film in the outer region
Claim 2. The method of Claim 1 wherein forming the support layer is preceded by forming a sacrificial layer (1910, Figs. 19A-19C) on the first electrode, the method further comprising: removing the sacrificial layer to form a cavity (2810, Figs. 29B and 29C; see [0093]) beneath the first electrode opposite the active region.
Claim 4. The method of Claim 1 wherein
Claim 5. The method of Claim 1
Claim 6. The method of Claim 1
Claim 10. The method of Claim 1
Claim 11. The method of Claim 10
Claim 12. The method of Claim 10 wherein the low-density material comprises
Claim 14. The method of Claim 1 where the piezoelectric film comprises a polycrystalline piezoelectric film (see [0011] and claim 3).
Barber teaches multiple ways of forming an energy confinement frame. In Fig. 1a energy confinement frame 108 is formed over the electrode 106. In Fig. 3a/4a, an alternative is shown, in which the energy confinement frame 302/402 is formed on the piezoelectric material 104, the second electrode 106 being formed over the energy confinement frame 302/402. Barber is relevant to the claimed subject matter not disclosed by Kim as follows:
Claim 1. A method of forming a piezoelectric resonator device, the method comprising:
forming an energy confinement layer (“low-density metal layer” in [0039]; “dielectric material layer” in [0051]) on a second surface (126) of a piezoelectric film (104);
patterning the energy confinement layer to form an energy confinement frame (302/402; see [0039] and [0051]) on a portion of the second surface of the piezoelectric film designated as the active region of the piezoelectric resonator device, the energy confinement frame including an outer side wall that faces an outer region of the piezoelectric film outside the active region and an including an inner side wall that extends around a permitter of the active region (see Fig. 3a and 3b; see Figs. 4a and 4b);
forming a second electrode layer (see “high-density metal layer” in [0040] and [0051]) extending on the active region conformably over the energy confinement frame onto the outer side wall and onto a portion of the piezoelectric film in the outer region directly adjacent to the energy confinement frame;
forming a second electrode (106 after patterning; see [0039] and [0040]; see [0051]) on the second surface of the piezoelectric film by removing the second electrode layer and the energy confinement layer from the portion of the piezoelectric film in the outer region directly adjacent to the energy confinement frame so that the outer side wall of the energy confinement frame is aligned with a side wall of the second electrode (see “the outer edge of the low-density metal segment (302) can be self-aligned with the edge of the upper electrode (106) by forming the outer edge of the low-density metal segment (302) simultaneously with the edge of the upper electrode (106)” in [0039] and also see [0040]; see “[t]he high-density metal layer can be usefully patterned by etching the high-density metal layer simultaneously with the base layer of the dielectric material used to form the dielectric segment (402) in order to accurately define the edge of the BAW resonator (400)” in [0051] ).
Claim 4. The method of Claim 1 wherein patterning the energy confinement layer further comprises forming a recess in the energy confinement layer proximate to where a second electrode contact area is to be formed to separate a remaining portion of the energy confinement layer that extends away from the second electrode contact area from the outer side wall of the energy confinement frame.
Claim 5. The method of Claim 1 wherein forming the energy confinement layer further comprises forming the energy confinement layer to a thickness in a range between about 600 Angstroms and about 1000 Angstroms. See “100.0 Å and 3000.0 Å” in [0038] and [0050].
Claim 6. The method of Claim 1 wherein the energy confinement frame comprises SiO2. See “porous silica” in [0049].
Claim 10. The method of Claim 1 wherein the energy confinement frame comprises a low-density material. See “porous silica” (e.g. SiO2) and “silicon nitride” in [0049].
Claim 11. The method of Claim 10 wherein the low-density material has a density in a range between about 2.65 g/cm3 and about 3.26 g/cm3. See silicon nitride, in [0049], which has a density in the claimed range (i.e., 3.17 g/cm3 ; see attached Wikipedia page for silicon nitride, provided as extrinsic evidence).
Claim 12. The method of Claim 10 wherein the low-density material comprises AIN, ScAIN, SiO2, and/or SiN. See “porous silica” (e.g. SiO2) and “silicon nitride” in [0049].
In Kim, the energy confinement frame is defined by forming a thicker second electrode layer 2910 and forming the cavity 2912 in the active region. Other disclosed embodiments don’t have an energy containment frame at all, such as in Figs. 28A to 28C.
Taking into consideration the combined teachings of Kim and Barber, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to implement the energy confinement frame in a manner different from that used by Kim, such as by forming an energy confinement layer(A below) on the piezoelectric film 1620 and patterning it to form an energy confinement frame, forming the second electrode layer conformally on the active region and over the energy confinement frame, and patterning it to form the second electrode. Selecting from among multiple conventional techniques to produce an energy confinement frame in a piezoelectric resonator device would have been obvious and with predictable results.
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Regarding claim 4, Kim removes portion 2911, to separate electrode portion 2920 from the second electrode (see [0094]). One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious that, given the above modified process, removing portion 2911 would entail patterning the energy confinement layer in this region, thereby forming a recess in the energy confinement layer proximate to where a second electrode contact area is to be formed to separate a remaining portion of the energy confinement layer that extends away from the second electrode contact area from the outer side wall of the energy confinement frame.
Regarding claim 5, it is evident from the thickness range disclosed by Barber that the claimed energy confinement layer thickness is conventional. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to set the thickness of the layer A to a suitable value, such as in the claimed range, to obtain a resonator having desired parameters/performance.
Regarding claims 6 and 10-12, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have found it obvious to utilize a material such as SiO2 or SiN for the energy confinement layer, since Barber discloses such low-density materials to be suitable for forming an energy confinement frame for use in a piezoelectric resonator.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: US2017/0054430A1 discloses a multi-layer top electrode wherein a ring region BO is formed as an energy containment frame, the upper electrode layer 74-2 covering a ring 88. See Fig. 3B.
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/LIVIUS R. CAZAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
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