DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Response to Restriction/Election filed 24 December 2025. Claims 1-10 are pending in this application. Claims 8-10 have been withdrawn from consideration and Claims 1-7 are examined in this Office Action.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 the invention of Group 1 in the reply filed on 24 December 2025 is acknowledged.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a(1) as being anticipated by De Raad et. al (Us 2017/0117267 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, De Raad discloses (as shown in Figs. 2, 3) (Note only the embodiment in Fig. 3 is relied upon. However, some portions of the device are only described in relation to Fig. 2)
A protection element ([0041] FIG. 2 shows another example of an electrostatic discharge protection device 10) ([0057] device 20), comprising:
switching elements formed by n-type MOSFETs ([0041] FIG. 2 shows another example of an electrostatic discharge protection device 10 comprising a grounded gate n-channel metal oxide semiconductor transistor (ggNMOST))
and arranged in one direction in a state connected in parallel to each other; ([0042] The ggNMOST of FIGS. 1 and 2 are so-called “folded ggNMOST” devices, in which the device is divided into several smaller ggNMOSTs, which are connected in parallel connected in parallel for conducting an electrostatic discharge current during an electrostatic discharge event.)
and a back gate guard ring ([0057] the body contact regions in this example may include a ring 48 that may extend around a periphery of the device area 50. The body contact regions in this example may also be provided in one or more rows 28, 38) surrounding the switching elements, ([0057] the body contact regions in this example may include a ring 48 that may extend around a periphery of the device area 50)
wherein: the switching elements include a first switching element (See An. Fig. 3 below, First Switching Element 1SE), a second switching element (See An. Fig. 3 below, Second Switching Element 2SE), a third switching element (See An. Fig. 3 below, Third Switching Element 3SE), and a fourth switching element (See An. Fig. 3 below, Fourth Switching Element 4SE) that are arranged in this order; (See An. Fig. 3)
the back gate guard ring (48, 28, 38) includes a first portion (See An. Fig. 3 below, First Portion of Body Contact BC1) located adjacent to the first switching element (1SE) at an opposite side of the second switching element (2SE), (See An. Fig. 3, showing the first portion of the body contact BC1 adjacent to the left side of the first switching element 1SE, and the second switching element 2SE adjacent to the right side of the first switching element 1SE)
a second portion (See An. Fig. 3 below, Second Portion of Body Contact BC2) located between the second switching element (2SE) and the third switching element (3SE), (See An. Fig. 3, showing the second portion of the body contact BC2 between the second switching element 2SE and the third switching element 3SE)
and a third portion (See An. Fig. 3 below, Third Portion of Body Contact BC3) located adjacent to the fourth switching element (4SE) at an opposite side of the second switching element (3SE); (See An. Fig. 3, showing the third portion of the body contact BC3 adjacent to the right side of the fourth switching element 4SE, and the third switching element 3SE adjacent to the left side of the fourth switching element 4SE)
a source ([0057] sources 22) of the first switching element (1SE) is located closer to the first portion (BC1) than a gate ([[0039] A gate 4) (See 24 in Fig. 3, showing the gates) of the first switching element (1SE); ([0041] each finger of the device 10 is provided with its own body contact, which is located near to each source 2) (See An. Fig. 3)
and a source ([0057] sources 22) of the second switching element (2SE) is located closer to the second portion (BC2) than a ([[0039] A gate 4) gate of the second switching element (2SE); ([0041] each finger of the device 10 is provided with its own body contact, which is located near to each source 2) (See An. Fig. 3)
and a source ([0057] sources 22) of the third switching element (3SE) is located closer to the second portion (BC2) than a gate ([[0039] A gate 4) (See 24 in Fig. 3, showing the gates) of the third switching element (3SE). ([0041] each finger of the device 10 is provided with its own body contact, which is located near to each source 2) (See An. Fig. 3)
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Regarding Claim 2, De Raad further discloses (as shown in Fig. 2, 3) wherein a source ([0057] sources 22) of the fourth switching element (4SE) is located closer to the third portion (BC3) than a gate ([[0039] A gate 4) (See 24 in Fig. 3, showing the gates) of the fourth switching element (4SE). ([0041] each finger of the device 10 is provided with its own body contact, which is located near to each source 2) (See An. Fig. 3)
Regarding Claim 4, De Raad further discloses (as shown in Fig. 3) wherein a distance between the source (22) of the first switching element (1SE) and the first portion (BC1), a distance between the source (22) of the second switching element (2SE) and the second portion (BC2), a distance between the source (22) of the third switching element (3SE) and the second portion (BC2), and a distance between the source (22) of the fourth switching element (4SE) and the third portion (BC3) are equal to one another. ([0057] The rows 28, 38 may coextend with the fingers of the device 20) (See An. Fig. 3, showing no spacing between the sources 22 and the first (BC1) second (BC2) and third (BC3))
Regarding Claim 4, De Raad further discloses (as shown in Fig. 2, 3) wherein the second portion (2SE) has the form of a single strip extending in a direction orthogonal to an arrangement direction of the switching elements (ggNMOSTs) in plan view. (See An. Fig 3, showing the ggNMOSTs are arranged in the left-right direction, and the second portion of the body contact BC2 extends in the up-down direction.)
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) 5-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over De Raad as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Wu et. al (US 2005/0082619 A1) (newly cited)
Regarding Claim 5, De Raad fails to disclose wherein the switching elements each include a separate drain.
However, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the application to have the switching elements each have a separate drain based on the teachings of De Raad and Wu. De Raad teaches that the ESD device consists of multiple fingers ([0039] The device 10 includes an array of coextensive, laterally spaced fingers located within a device area on the substrate. Each finger includes a source 2 and a drain 6. A gate 4 separates the source 3 from the drain 6.). De Raad further teaches that some of the transistors share common drains ([0051] Note that at least some of the fingers of the device 20 may share a common source 22 or drain 26. For instance, the two fingers of the device 20 shown on the left-hand side of the device 20 in FIG. 3 share a common drain 26, as do the two fingers of the device 20 shown on the right-hand side of the device 20 in FIG. 3)
Wu is similarly directed to an ESD device composed of multiple fingers. ([0037] In another yet embodiment, a multi-fingered deep submicron ESD protection structure includes at least two fingers.) Wu further teaches that while the fingers share a common drain, it is understood that the fingers may have separate drains ([0037] In the present example, the fingers share a drain, but it is understood that the fingers may each have a separate drain.) Similarly, it would be understood by a person having ordinary skill in the art that the fingers of the transistors in Raad may each have separate drains.
Regarding Claim 6, De Raad in view of Wu further discloses (as shown in Fig. 3) wherein the drain (26), the gate (24), and the source (22) of each of the switching elements are arranged in an arrangement direction of the switching elements. (See An. Fig. 3, showing the drain (26), the gate (24), and the source (22) arranged in the left-right direction, and also showing the transistors arranged in the left-right direction)
Regarding Claim 7, De Raad in view of Wu further discloses (as shown in Fig. 3) wherein: the source (22), the gate (24), and the drain (26) of the first switching element (1SE) are arranged in this order from the first portion (BC1) toward the second portion (BC2) in the arrangement direction of the switching elements; (See An. Fig. 3, showing the source 22 of the first switching element 1SE is closer to the first portion of the body contact BC1; and the drain 26 of the first switching element 1SE is closer to the second portion of the body contact BC2)
the drain (26), the gate (24), and the source (22) of the second switching element (2SE) are arranged in this order from the first portion (BC1) toward the second portion (BC2) in the arrangement direction of the switching elements; (See An. Fig. 3, showing the drain 26 of the second switching element 2SE is closer to the first portion of the body contact BC1; and the source 22 of the second switching element 2SE is closer to the second portion of the body contact BC2)
the source (22), the gate (24), and the drain (26) of the third switching element (3SE) are arranged in this order from the second portion (BC2) toward the third portion (BC3) in the arrangement direction of the switching elements; (See An. Fig. 3, showing the source 22 of the third switching element 3SE is closer to the second portion of the body contact BC2; and the drain 26 of the third switching element 3SE is closer to the third portion of the body contact BC3)
and the drain (26), the gate (24), and the source (22) of the fourth switching element (4SE) are arranged in this order from the second portion (BC2) toward the third portion (BC3) in the arrangement direction of the switching elements. (See An. Fig. 3, showing the drain 26 of the fourth switching element 4SE is closer to the second portion of the body contact BC2; and the source 22 of the fourth switching element 4SE is closer to the third portion of the body contact BC3)
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Other relevant prior art includes Kakuichi (US 2007/0211399 A1). Kakuichi discloses (as shown in An. Fig. 2A):
a distance between the source ([0044] source region 9(10)) of the first switching element (1SE) and the first portion (BC1), a distance between the source (10) of the second switching element (2SE) and the second portion (BC2), a distance between the source (10) of the third switching element (3SE) and the second portion (BC2), and a distance between the source (10) of the fourth switching element (4SE) and the third portion (BC3)
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However, Kakuichi teaches different types of fingered transistors (103 being n-type and 102 being p-type) instead of all being n-type mosfets are required by Claim 1, and also does not teach the spacing from the sources to the guard ring are equal.
Other relevant prior art includes Domanski et. al (US 2012/0176610 A1). Domanski discloses (as shown in Fig. 4b):
A protection element ([033] ESD device layouts) comprising: switching elements ([0033] tacked MOS devices T1a, T2a, T1b and T2b) formed by n-type MOSFETs ([0028] Each transistor has gate region 310 and n-type source/drain regions 308) and arranged in one direction in a state connected in parallel to each other (See Fig. 4b);
a back gate guard ring ([0033] p-type guard ring 370) surrounding the switching elements; ([0028] these guard rings can surround transistors T1a, T1b, T2a and T2b)
the back gate guard ring (370) includes a second portion located between the second switching element (T2a) and the third switching element (T1b); ([0033] each MOS device units is separated by p-type guard ring 370)
However, Domanski does not have the source of the second switching element be closer to the second portion than the gate of the second switching element. Furthermore, because the source is not adjacent to the second portion, it is not the same distance as the distance between the source of the first switching element and the first portion. Similarly, because the source of the fourth switching element is not adjacent to the third portion, it is not the same distance as the distance between the source of the third switching element and the second portion.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JASON JAMES GREAVING whose telephone number is (703)756-5653. The examiner can normally be reached 7:30am - 5:00 pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Britt Hanley can be reached at (571)270-3042. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JASON JAMES GREAVING/Examiner, Art Unit 2893
/Britt Hanley/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2893