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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to application No. 18238269 filed on 08/25/2023.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-17 in the reply filed on 12/5/2025 is acknowledged.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-17 are allowed.
The following is an examiner' s statement of reasons for allowance:
Claims 10-17: The primary reason for the allowance of the claims is the inclusion of the limitation “a second data line, the first data line formed over at least a portion of the second data line”, in all of the claims in combination with the remaining features of independent claim 10.
Karda et al. (US 2020/0211615) an apparatus comprising: a first data line (Fig. 5, element 221’, paragraph 0031); a second data line (Fig. 5, element 222’, paragraph 0031), the first data line separated from the second data line by a first dielectric structure (Fig. 5, element 591, paragraph 0072) adjacent the first and second data lines; and a memory cell (Fig. 5, elements 210/211, paragraph 0021) coupled to the first and second data lines, the memory cell including: a first material formed over (Fig. 5, element 510, paragraph 0083) and electrically coupled to the first data line; a second material (Fig. 5, element 511, paragraph 0086) formed over and electrically coupled to the second data line; a memory element (Fig. 5, element 503A & 503B, paragraph 0073) formed over and electrically coupled to the second material and electrically separated from the first material and the first data line; and a second dielectric structure (Fig. 5, element 526, paragraph 0063) separating the first material from the second material and the memory element.
However, Karda et al. do not teach or render obvious the above-quoted features recited in independent claim 10.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 7 is 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “wherein the memory element includes a piece of titanium nitride”. The metes and bounds of the claimed limitation can not be determined for the following reasons: The highlighted element has not been defined before and lacks proper antecedent basis. Also, it is unclear what element this limitation is referring to.
For the purpose of the examination, the term “the memory element” as recited in claim 7 will be treated as "a memory cell" as recited in claim1.
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.
Claims 1-6, 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Karda et al. (US 2020/0211615).
Regarding independent claim 1, Karda et al. teach an apparatus comprising:
a first data line (Fig. 5, element 221’, paragraph 0031);
a second data line (Fig. 5, element 222’, paragraph 0031) adjacent the first data line and separated from the first data line by a first dielectric structure (Fig. 5, element 591, paragraph 0072); and
a memory cell (Fig. 5, elements 210/211, paragraph 0021) formed over the first and second data lines, the memory cell including:
a first transistor (Fig. 5, element T1, paragraph 0022) including a first channel region (Fig. 5, element 510, paragraph 0083) formed over and coupled to the first data line, and a charge storage structure (Fig. 5, elements 503A & 503B, paragraph 0073) separated from the first channel region;
a second transistor (Fig. 5, element T2, paragraph 0022) including a second channel region (Fig. 5, element 511, paragraph 0086) formed over and coupled to the second data line,
wherein the charge storage structure is formed over and coupled to the second channel region (Fig. 5); and
a second dielectric structure (Fig. 5, element 526, paragraph 0063) between the first channel region and each of the second channel region and the charge storage structure.
Regarding claim 2, Karda et al. teach wherein the charge storage structure includes: a first portion (Fig. 5, element 503A, paragraph 0073) formed over a first portion of the second channel region and electrically separated from a first side of the first channel region; and a second portion (Fig. 5, element 503B, paragraph 0073) formed over a second portion of the second channel region and electrically separated from a second side of the first channel region.
Regarding claim 3, Karda et al. teach wherein the second channel region includes: a first portion formed over a first portion of the second data line; and a second portion formed over a second portion of the second data line (Fig 5).
Regarding claim 4, Karda et al. teach wherein the first channel region and the second channel region have different conductivity types (paragraph 0076-0081).
Regarding claim 5, Karda et al. teach wherein the first channel region includes a piece of semiconductor material (paragraph 0083).
Regarding claim 6, Karda et al. teach wherein the second channel region includes a piece of semiconducting oxide material (paragraph 0076-0081).
Regarding claim 9, Karda et al. teach further comprising a conductive region (Fig. 5, element WL1, paragraph 0026-0028) separated from the first channel region and the second channel region, wherein the conductive region forms a gate of the first transistor and a gate of the second transistor.
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 of this title, 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.
Claims 7-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Harada Karda et al. (US 2020/0211615) in view of Kim et al. (KR 20040076554 A).
Regarding claim 7, Karda et al. teach all of the limitations as discussed above.
Karda et al. do not explicitly disclose wherein the memory element includes a piece of titanium nitride.
Before the effective filling date of the invention it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to select titanium nitride for a memory element as disclosed by Kim et al. , since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the base of its suitability, for its intended use involves only ordinary skill in the art. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Regarding claim 8, Karda et al. teach wherein the first and second dielectric structures have different dielectric materials (paragraph 0063, 0072 disclose silicon oxide and silicon dioxide. However, before the effective filling date of the invention it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to use different dielectric materials, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the base of its suitability, for its intended use involves only ordinary skill in the art. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHAHED AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-3477. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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/SHAHED AHMED/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2813