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
Claims 1-6 and 8 are directed to an allowable product. Pursuant to the procedures set forth in MPEP § 821.04(B), claims 9-19, directed to the process of making or using an allowable product, previously withdrawn from consideration as a result of a restriction requirement, are hereby rejoined and fully examined for patentability under 37 CFR 1.104.
Because all claims previously withdrawn from consideration under 37 CFR 1.142 have been rejoined, the restriction requirement as set forth in the Office action mailed on September 24, 2025 is hereby withdrawn. In view of the withdrawal of the restriction requirement as to the rejoined inventions, applicant(s) are advised that if any claim presented in a divisional application is anticipated by, or includes all the limitations of, a claim that is allowable in the present application, such claim may be subject to provisional statutory and/or nonstatutory double patenting rejections over the claims of the instant application. Once the restriction requirement is withdrawn, the provisions of 35 U.S.C. 121 are no longer applicable. See In re Ziegler, 443 F.2d 1211, 1215, 170 USPQ 129, 131-32 (CCPA 1971). See also MPEP § 804.01.
Claim Status
Applicants’ April 22, 2026 response to the January 22, 2026 Non-Final Rejection is acknowledged. Claims 1-6 and 8-19 are pending, claim 1 is independent. Any rejections and/or objections, made in the previous Office Action, and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn.
Claim Objections
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: it is definite that "a nano-twinned ultra-thin metallic film structure" is that of claim 1 as it is followed by "as set forth in claim 1", however, for consistency it should be introduced by "the" or "said" instead of "a". Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 3-5 and 9-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), 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.
Regarding claim 3, it is indefinite how an adhesive layer can be disposed between the substrate and nano-twinned metallic ultra-thin film, if the “nano-twinned metallic ultra-thin film” is “formed directly on a surface of the substrate” (claim 1, from which claim 3 depends) as these are contradictory limitations.
Regarding claims 4-5, these claims are each rejected for their respective incorporation of the above due to their individual dependencies on claim 3.
Regarding claim 9, it is indefinite if “a surface”, “a substrate” (both of line 3) and “a nano-twinned metallic ultra-thin film” (line 4), “a thickness (line 5), “a transition layer” (line 6), “a twin layer” (lines 6-7), and “a thickness” (line 7) are the same elements as introduced in claim 1 from which claim 9 depends (as they are introduced with “a”).
Regarding claim 10, it is indefinite how an adhesive layer can be formed on a surface of the substrate with the nano-twinned metallic ultra-thin film being formed on the adhesive layer away from the substrate, if the “nano-twinned metallic ultra-thin film” is “formed directly on a surface of the substrate” (claim 1, from which claim 10 depends) as these are contradictory limitations. Further claim 10 is rejected for its incorporation of the above due to its dependence on claim 9.
Regarding claims 11-12, these claims are each rejected for their respective incorporation of the above due to their individual dependencies on claims 9 and 10.
Regarding claims 13-17 and 19, these claims are each rejected for their respective incorporation of the above due to their individual dependencies on claim 9.
Regarding claim 18, it is indefinite if “a bare wafer substrate” is the same as that in claim 1, from which claim 18 depends. Further claim 18 is rejected for its incorporation of the above due to its dependence on claim 9.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 2, 6 and 8 are allowed.
Claims 3-5 and 9-19 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is for the indication of allowable subject matter and an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: the closest prior art to the instant claims is Chuang et al. (US 2022/0388092 A1), hereinafter Chuang (of record) as applied in the rejection of claim 1 in the Non-Final Rejection of January 22, 2026. Chuang does not teach, or suggest, alone or in combination with the prior art the substrate is a bare wafer substrate and the nano-twinned metallic ultra-thin film formed directly on a substrate surface.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ amendments and arguments, filed April 22, 2026, with respect to rejections and objections have been fully considered and are persuasive. The rejections and objections of January 22, 2026 has been withdrawn. Specifically, Chuang nor Chen teaches the nano-twinned layer directly on a bare wafer substrate.
For these reasons, and for those reasons as advanced in the rejections above, the present claims are not found to distinguish over the prior art and this action is made FINAL.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KATHERINE CHRISTY whose telephone number is (303)297-4363. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday, 7am-4pm MT.
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, Humera Sheikh can be reached at 571-272-0604. 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.
/KATHERINE A CHRISTY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1784
Prosecution Insights