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 Group I, claims 1-18 in the reply filed on 4/24/26 is acknowledged.
Claims 2, 4, 14, and 18-20 are cancelled from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected method, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 4/24/26.
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, 3, and 5-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hwang et al. (US PGPub 2020/0144270).
Claim 1: Hwang teaches (Fig. 3) an apparatus, comprising: a memory cell (MC) [0022] comprising a first thin-film transistor (first TFT) (AP1) and a second TFT(AP2); and a channel material (CH); the channel material located in the first TFT and in the second TFT; wherein the channel material comprises oxygen and one or more of indium, gallium, zinc, tin, and copper [0024].
Claim 3: Hwang teaches [0024] the channel material is characterized by a mobility that is higher than 20 centimeters squared per volt second (cm2/(V⋅s)). Hwang teaches the same material as the instant specification therefore it would have the same properties.
Claim 5: Hwang teaches [0024] the mobility is between 100 cm2/(V⋅s) and 700 cm2/(V⋅s). Hwang teaches the same material as the instant specification therefore it would have the same properties.
Claim 6: Hwang teaches [0024] the channel material includes one or more of tin oxide, cobalt oxide, copper oxide, antimony oxide, ruthenium oxide, tungsten oxide, zinc oxide, gallium oxide, titanium oxide, indium oxide, titanium oxynitride, indium tin oxide, indium zinc oxide, nickel oxide, niobium oxide, copper peroxide, indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), indium telluride, molybdenite, molybdenum diselenide, tungsten diselenide, tungsten disulfide, and black phosphorus.
Claim 7: Hwang teaches [0024] the channel material is characterized by a bandgap voltage above 1.14 electron volts (eV) at 302 degrees Kelvin. Hwang teaches the same material as the instant specification therefore it would have the same properties.
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) 8-9, 11, 13, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US PGPub 2020/0144270), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Gnomes et al. (US PGPub 2021/0125990).
Regarding claim 8, as described above, Hwang substantially reads on the invention as claimed, except Hwang does not teach a back end of line substrate (BEOL substrate) having an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface of the BEOL substrate including solder bumps; the memory cell located between the upper surface and the lower surface of the BEOL substrate; a logic component (522) having a top surface and a bottom surface; and a silicon-germanium layer (SiGe layer), the SiGe layer located between the top surface of the logic component and the lower surface of the BEOL substrate. Gnomes teaches (Fig. 5H) a back end of line substrate (BEOL substrate) [0022] having an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface of the BEOL substrate including solder bumps (536); the memory cell (528) located between the upper surface and the lower surface of the BEOL substrate; a logic component (522) having a top surface and a bottom surface; and a silicon-germanium layer (SiGe layer), the SiGe layer located between the top surface of the logic component and the lower surface of the BEOL substrate [0065] to improve the density of the device (ABS).Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the invention taught by Hwang to have included the limitations of claim 8 to provide a more dense device as taught by Gomes (ABS).
Claim 9: Gnomes teaches (Fig. 5H) [0081] a through silicon via (TSV) (520) that electrically couples the logic component to the memory cell.
Claim 11: Gnomes teaches (Fig. 5H) [0080] a printed circuit board attached to the solder bumps.
Claim 13: Gnomes teaches (Fig. 5H) [0081] an integrated circuit component attached to the printed circuit board.
Claim 15: Gnomes teaches one or more of a power supply and an antenna [0035].
Claim(s) 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US PGPub 2020/0144270) in view of Gnomes et al. (US PGPub 2021/0125990), as applied to claim 8 above, and further in view of Gnomes et al. (US PGPub 2022/0375916)
Regarding claim 10, as described above, Hwang and Gnomes (990) substantially read on the invention as claimed, except Hwang and Gnomes (990) do not teach the logic component comprises multiple ribbons in a substantially parallel orientation with gate material around individual ribbons of the multiple ribbons. Gnomes (916) teaches using nanoribbon based transistors in logic devices used in conjunction with DRAM cells in BEOL structure, easing integration [0026]. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the invention taught by Hwang and Gnomes (990) to have had the logic component comprises multiple ribbons in a substantially parallel orientation with gate material around individual ribbons of the multiple ribbons to ease integration as taught by Gnomes (916).
Claim(s) 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US PGPub 2020/0144270), in view of Gnomes et al. (US PGPub 2021/0125990), as applied to claim 112 above, and further in view of Majhi et al. (US PGPub 2023/0022167)
Regarding claim 12, as described above, Hwang and Gnomes (990) substantially read on the invention as claimed, except Hwang and Gnomes (990) do not teach a heat spreader component attached above the upper surface of the BEOL substrate. Majhi teaches the optional use of a heat spreader to draw heat away from the dies. This is a common practice in the art of semiconductors. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the invention taught by Hwang and Gnomes (990) to have had a heat spreader component attached above the upper surface of the BEOL substrate as taught by Majhi.
Claim(s) 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US PGPub 2020/0144270) in view of Gnomes et al. (US PGPub 2021/0125990).
Claim 16: Hwang teaches (see claim 1) a system comprising: a memory cell the memory cell comprising a first thin-film transistor (first TFT) and a second TFT, the first TFT and the second TFT comprising a channel material, the channel material including one or more of: (a) oxygen and one or more of tin, cobalt, copper, antimony, ruthenium, tungsten, zinc, gallium, titanium, indium, nickel, and niobium; (b) oxygen, nitrogen, and titanium; (c) indium and tellurium; (d) one or more of molybdenum and tungsten, and one or more of sulfur and selenium; or (e) phosphorus. Hwang does not teach a back end of line substrate (BEOL substrate) having an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface of the BEOL substrate including solder bumps; a memory cell located between the upper surface and the lower surface of the BEOL substrate, a logic component having a top surface and a bottom surface; and a silicon-germanium layer (SiGe layer), the SiGe layer located between the top surface of the logic component and the lower surface of the BEOL substrate. Gnomes teaches (Fig. 5H) a back end of line substrate (BEOL substrate) [0022] having an upper surface and a lower surface, the upper surface of the BEOL substrate including solder bumps (536); the memory cell (528) located between the upper surface and the lower surface of the BEOL substrate; a logic component (522) having a top surface and a bottom surface; and a silicon-germanium layer (SiGe layer), the SiGe layer located between the top surface of the logic component and the lower surface of the BEOL substrate [0065] to improve the density of the device (ABS).Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the invention taught by Hwang to have included the limitations of claim 8 to provide a more dense device as taught by Gomes (ABS).
Claim 17: Hwang teaches [0024] the channel material is characterized by a bandgap voltage above 1.14 electron volts (eV) at 302 degrees Kelvin. Hwang teaches the same material as the instant specification therefore it would have the same properties.
Claim(s) 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US PGPub 2020/0144270), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Tsubuku et al. (US Patent 9,825,181).
Regarding claim 21, as described above, Hwang substantially reads on the invention as claimed, except Hwang does not teach the channel material further comprises aluminum and nitrogen. Tsubuku teaches adding hafnium and oxygen [0026] to metal oxide channels to adjust channel characteristics as required by the application (ABS). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the invention taught by Hwang to have had hafnium and oxygen in the channel to control the properties of the channel as taught by Tsubuku.
Claim(s) 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US PGPub 2020/0144270), as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Hoffman (US PGPub 2005/0017302)
Regarding claim 22, as described above, Hwang substantially reads on the invention as claimed, except Hwang does not teach the channel material further comprises aluminum and nitrogen. Hoffman teaches adding aluminum and nitrogen [0026] to metal oxide channels to adjust the fixed charge density and threshold voltage as required by the application (ABS). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the invention taught by Hwang to have had aluminum and nitrogen in the channel to control the properties of the channel as taught by Hoffman.
Claim(s) 23, 25 and 26 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US PGPub 2020/0144270) in view of Gnomes et al. (US PGPub 2021/0125990), as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Hoffman (US PGPub 2005/0017302)
Regarding claim 25, as described above, Hwang and Gnomes substantially read on the invention as claimed, except Hwang and Gnomes do not teach the channel material further comprises aluminum and nitrogen. Hoffman teaches adding aluminum and nitrogen [0026] to metal oxide channels to adjust the fixed charge density and threshold voltage as required by the application (ABS). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the invention taught by Hwang to have had aluminum and nitrogen in the channel to control the properties of the channel as taught by Hoffman.
Claim 26: Hoffman teaches the channel material comprises oxygen and one or more of indium and zinc, and the channel material is doped with gallium and oxygen [0026].
Claim 23: Hoffman teaches the channel material further comprises an insulating material [0026]. The channel has insulating elements such as oxygen and nitrogen.
Claim(s) 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang et al. (US PGPub 2020/0144270) in view of Gnomes et al. (US PGPub 2021/0125990), as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Tsubuku et al. (US Patent 9,825,181).
Regarding claim 24, as described above, Hwang and Gnomes substantially read on the invention as claimed, except Hwang and Gnomes do not teach the channel material further comprises aluminum and nitrogen. Tsubuku teaches adding hafnium and oxygen [0026] to metal oxide channels to adjust channel characteristics as required by the application (ABS). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the invention taught by Hwang and Gnomes to have had hafnium and oxygen in the channel to control the properties of the channel as taught by Tsubuku.
Conclusion
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/SARAH K SALERNO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2814
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