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 .
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.
Claims 1-3 and 5-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over JP 2017-199825 A to Takeuchi et al. (hereinafter “Takeuchi” – previously cited reference) in further view of US 2017/0373173 A1 to Ohta et al (hereinafter “Ohta” – newly cited reference).
Regarding claim 1, Takeuchi discloses a solid oxygen ionic conductor based field-effect transistor, comprising:
a substrate;
a gate dielectric layer located on the substrate, wherein the gate dielectric layer is a solid oxygen ionic conductor thin film (three-terminal element 100B having a conductive substrate 10 with a solid electrolyte layer 40 thereon, where layer 40 may comprise an oxide ion conductive material; Fig. 8; paragraphs [0067], [0083]-[0085]);
a channel layer covered on a part of the gate dielectric layer (first layer 50 forms channel and is disposed over layer 40; Fig; 8; paragraphs [0054], [0071]); and
a source electrode and a drain electrode respectively located on the gate dielectric layer not covered by the channel layer and on a part of the channel layer (source and drain electrodes 20B, 30B on layer 40 and over a portion of layer 50; Fig. 8; paragraph [0083]), wherein the material of the channel layer is an oxide thin film or thin flake (layer 50 may be an oxide having a thickness on the scale of tens of nanometers based upon the thickness of layer 55 being 10 nanometers; Fig. 7; paragraphs [0071]-[0072], [0081]-[0082]); and the thickness of the channel layer is in a range of 5 nm to 30 nm (layer 50 may be shaped to have a thickness that tapers from tens of nanometers to zero; Fig. 9; paragraph [0086]).
Takeuchi fails to disclose wherein the material of the channel layer comprises one of: strontium cobaltate or strontium iridium oxide.
However, Ohta discloses wherein the material of the channel layer is an oxide thin film or thin flake, comprising one of: strontium cobaltate or strontium iridium oxide; and the thickness of the channel layer is in a range of 5 nm to 30 nm (thin film transistor 100 having strontium cobaltate active layer 2 with thickness of 30 nm; Fig. 1; paragraph [0020]).
Takeuchi and Ohta are both considered to be analogous to the claimed invention because they are in the same field of electrochemical transistors. Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Takeuchi to incorporate the teaching of Ohta in order to potentially provide large conductivity modulation via reversible phase transition, compatibility with oxide solid electrolytes, and low-voltage solid-state electrochemical operation.
Regarding claim 2, Takeuchi in view of Ohta discloses the solid oxygen ionic conductor based field-effect transistor according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is a metal conductive substrate, comprising one of niobium-doped strontium titanate or indium tin oxide conductive glass (substrate 10 may be SrTiO3 doped with Nb; paragraph [0064]).
Regarding claim 3, Takeuchi in view of Ohta discloses the solid oxygen ionic conductor based field-effect transistor according to claim 1, wherein the material of the solid oxygen ion conductor thin film is gadolinium-doped ceric oxide; and the thickness of the gate dielectric layer is in a range of 400 nm to 1 µm (layer 40 may comprise gadolinium-doped ceria film, where the layer 40 may be at least 400 nm as shown in Fig. 8 given the disclosed thickness of the electrodes 20B, 30B as being 100 nm or more; Fig. 8; paragraphs [0056], [0060]).
Regarding claim 5, Takeuchi in view of Ohta discloses the solid oxygen ionic conductor based field-effect transistor according to claim 1, wherein both of the source and the drain electrodes are one of the metal elemental films or indium tin oxide conductive films (electrodes 20B, 30B may be made from Au by thin film fabrication; paragraphs [0073], [0094]).
Regarding claim 6, Takeuchi in view of Ohta discloses a method of manufacturing a solid oxygen ionic conductor based field-effect transistor according to claim 1, comprising:
providing a metal conductive substrate as a gate electrode of the solid oxygen ionic conductor based field-effect transistor (see claim 1);
manufacturing a solid oxygen ionic conductor based gate dielectric layer on the surface of the metal conductive substrate (see claim 1);
manufacturing a channel layer on the surface of the gate dielectric layer by using thin film growing and etching process or material mechanical peeling and transferring technology, wherein the channel layer is covered on a part of the gate dielectric layer (layer 50 formed over layer 40 and may be epitaxially grown and etched; Fig. 8; paragraphs [0093]-[0094]); and
manufacturing a source electrode and a drain electrode on the gate dielectric layer not covered by the channel layer and on a part of the channel layer (see claim 1) by using a coating process (source and drain electrodes 20B, 30B may be formed by vapor deposition; paragraph [0094]).
Regarding claim 7, Takeuchi in view of Ohta discloses the method according to claim 6, wherein the process of manufacturing the solid oxygen ionic conductor based gate dielectric layer on the surface of the metal conductive substrate comprises one of magnetron sputtering or pulsed laser deposition (layer 40 may be deposited via RF magnetron sputtering; paragraph [0091]).
Regarding claim 8, Takeuchi in view of Ohta discloses the method according to claim 7, wherein the process of manufacturing the gate dielectric layer comprises: a temperature at which the metal conductive substrate is heated is in a range of 600° C to 750° C (formation of layer 40 may include heating up entire structure including substrate 10 to about 750°; paragraph [0097]).
Takeuchi fails to disclose a power density is in a range of 1.5 W/cm2 to 3.5 W/cm2; a distance between a target and the metal conductive substrate is in a range of 5 cm to 12 cm; and a gas flow ratio of process gas to reaction gas is in a range of 2:1 to 3:1.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Takeuchi in this manner in order to utilize well-known parameters of RF sputtering for ease and efficiency of manufacture. Specifically, RF sputtering commonly operates in the range of 1 to 50 W/cm2 with a distance to target of 3 to 10 cm and ratio of 4:1 to 1:1 of process to reaction gases. Examples of such parameters are disclosed in patents such as US 6,007,685 A to MacChesney et al. See also MEPE 2144.05 I overlapping, approaching, and similar ranges, amounts, and proportions.
Regarding claim 9, Takeuchi in view of Ohta discloses the method according to claim 8.
Takeuchi fails to disclose wherein the process gas is argon and the reaction gas is oxygen.
However, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have modified Takeuchi in this manner in order to utilize well-known process and reaction gases for RF sputtering for ease and efficiency of manufacture. Examples of using such process and reaction gases are disclosed in patents such as US 6,007,685 A to MacChesney et al.
Regarding claim 10, Takeuchi in view of Ohta discloses the method according to claim 6, wherein the thin film growing and etching process comprises one of the argon ion etching process, reactive ion beam etching process or focused ion beam etching process (dry etching process may be performed; paragraphs [0087], [0093]); the material mechanical peeling and transferring technology comprises one of dry transfer or wet transfer (this limitation depends from optional language in claim 6); and the coating process comprises one of electron beam evaporation process or thermal evaporation process (source and drain electrodes 20B, 30B may be formed by vapor deposition; paragraph [0094]).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed April 24, 2026 have been fully considered. Applicant presents amendments and related arguments with respect to amended claim 1 relative to Takeuchi. Applicant asserts that Takeuchi does not disclose amended claim 1 and Examiner agrees. However, after additional search, amended claim 1 has been rejected using Takeuchi in view of Ohta.
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.
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/IAN DEGRASSE/Examiner, Art Unit 2818
/JEFF W NATALINI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2818
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