DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is sent in response to Applicant’s Communication received 06 Jan 2026 for application number 18/203,654. The Office hereby acknowledges receipt of the following and placed of record in file: Applicant Arguments/Remarks, and Claims.
Claims 1-17 are presented for examination. Elected claims 10-17 are examined below; non-elected claims 1-9 have been withdrawn.
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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 16 Mar 2026 was filed before the mailing of this Office Action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Response to Arguments
Regarding claim 10, Applicant contends that the prior art does not teach, “wherein the STI is adjacent to two sides of the first divot”; Examiner respectfully disagrees. Firstly, the language, “is adjacent to two sides of the first divot” can be interpreted broadly. The current claim language does not provide further description as to what constitutes, “adjacent,” beyond the common meaning of the term. As such, Li teaches, wherein the STI [20] is adjacent to two sides of the first divot [136]. As can be seen in Fig. 22 of Li, the STI 20 is adjacent to two sides of the first divot 136, as portions of STI 20 are “next to,” i.e. adjacent, the sides of first divot 136. As express before, as no further description of “adjacent” is presented, Li reasonably teaches, “wherein the STI is adjacent to two sides of the first divot.”
Dependent claims 15-17 are rejected for these reasons and for reasons as expressed in the rejection below.
Dependent claims 11-14 are rejected for these reasons and for reasons as expressed in the rejection below.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 10 and 15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Li et al. [hereinafter as Li] (US 2016/0133524 A1).
In reference to claim 10, Li teaches A semiconductor device, comprising:
a substrate [substrate 12; Fig. 23, para 0046] comprising a first active region [active region 22; Fig. 23, para 0048];
a shallow trench isolation (STI) [isolation regions 20; Fig. 20, para 0043] around the substrate [12];
a first divot [void 136; Figs. 22-23, para 0046] adjacent to one side of the first active region [22], wherein the STI [20] is adjacent to two sides of the first divot [136];
a second divot [136 on other side of 22] adjacent to another side of the first active region [22]; and
a gate structure [gate oxide layer 144; Fig. 23, para 0048] on the first active region [22].
In reference to claim 15, Li teaches The semiconductor device of claim 10, wherein the first active region [22] is extending along a first direction [22 extends along horizontal direction] on the substrate [12].
In reference to claim 16, Li teaches The semiconductor device of claim 15, wherein the first divot [136] is extending along the first direction [136 is positioned in the horizontal direction on one side of 22] adjacent to one side of the first active region [22] in a top view.
In reference to claim 17, Li teaches The semiconductor device of claim 15, wherein the second divot [136 on other side of 22] is extending along the first direction [136 are positioned on either side of 22] adjacent to another side of the first active region [22] in a top view.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 11-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li in view of Huang et al. [hereinafter as Huang] (US 2023/0246030 A1).
In reference to claim 11, Li teaches the invention of claim 10.
Li teaches The semiconductor device of claim 10, wherein the substrate comprises a medium-voltage (MV) region [medium voltage device area 16; Fig. 20, para 0043] and a low-voltage (LV) region [low voltage device area 14; Fig. 20, para 0043], the semiconductor device comprising:
the first active region [22] on the MV region [16] and a second active region [22 in 14] on the LV region [14];
the shallow trench isolation (STI) [isolation regions 20; Fig. 20, para 0043] between the first active region [22] and the second active region [22 in 14];
However, Li does not explicitly teach:
a liner in the first divot and the second divot; and
a dielectric layer on the liner and the substrate.
Li and Huang teach:
a liner [masking layer 706 of Huang; Fig. 7, para 0022] in the first divot [136 of Li] and the second divot [136 on other side of 22 of Li]; and
a dielectric layer [hard mask layer 714 of Huang; Fig. 7, para 0022] on the liner [706 of Huang] and the substrate [12 of Li].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art, absent unexpected results, having the teachings of Li and Huang before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to include the liner and dielectric layer as disclosed by Huang into the semiconductor device of Li in order to obtain a semiconductor device with multiple regions of varying voltage with a liner and dielectric layer.
One of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to obtain a semiconductor device with multiple regions of varying voltage with a liner and dielectric layer to provide the predictable result of providing mechanical support, electrical insulation, ensuring reliability, thereby optimizing device performance.
In reference to claim 12, Li and Huang teach the invention of claim 11.
Huang teaches The semiconductor device of claim 11, wherein the liner [706] and the dielectric layer [714] comprise different materials [para 0022 discloses that 706 may be silicon nitride and 714 may be silicon dioxide].
In reference to claim 13, Li and Huang teach the invention of claim 11.
Huang teaches The semiconductor device of claim 11, wherein the liner [706] comprises silicon nitride [para 0022 discloses that 706 may be silicon nitride].
In reference to claim 14, Li and Huang teach the invention of claim 11.
Huang teaches The semiconductor device of claim 11, wherein the dielectric layer [714] comprises silicon oxide [para 0022 discloses that 714 may be silicon dioxide, a type of silicon oxide].
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 extension fee 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 ANDREW CHUNG whose telephone number is (571)272-5237. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5pm.
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/ANDREW CHUNG/
Examiner, Art Unit 2898
/JESSICA S MANNO/SPE, Art Unit 2898
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