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 .
This is a Final office action based on application 18/304,533 in response to reply filed July 21, 2026. Claims 1-20 are currently pending and have been considered below.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of First Embodiment (Figs. 7-9) in the reply filed on April 6, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 8-9, 11-13, 17-19 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species/Embodiment, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on April 6, 2026.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 6-7, & 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rose (Pre-Grant Publication 2020/0058854) in view of Slovin (US Patent 10,475,993).
Regarding claim 1, Rose discloses an RF switch comprising:
a heater layer (Fig. 10a, 10b) comprising: a first heater pad (1086);
a second heater pad (1086); and
a heater line (1046) connecting the first heater pad and the second heater pad;
a phase change material (PCM) layer (1056) positioned in a same vertical plane as the heater line; and
a floating spreader layer (1042) including a first portion positioned in the same vertical plane as the heater line and the PCM layer, wherein the first portion has a first width that is less than or equal to a distance between proximate sidewalls of the first heater pad and the second heater pad (Fig. 10a).
Rose does not disclose the floating spreader layer is fully encapsulated by an oxide layer. However Slovin discloses a PCM switch comprising:
A floating spreader layer (Fig. 12, 440) wherein the floating spreader is fully surround/encapsulated by layers (438, 444, & 450) all of which can be an oxide material (Col. 5, Lines 34-36, Col. 5, Lines 59-60, & Col. 6, Lines 47-48) and the oxide layer (450) is between the floating spreader and a heater element (452).
It would have been obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to form the floating spreader fully encapsulated by the oxide layer and having the oxide layer between the floating spreader and heater element because it will bias vertical heat dissipation from the heating element toward the active segment of the PCM layer rather than the heat spreader enabling switch transition between on and off states using lower power and quicker pulses (Col. 11, Lines 14-23).
Regarding claim 4, Rose further discloses:
A first signal pad (1070) and a second signal pad (1070) wherein the floating spreader layer (1042) extends horizontally outward from vertical planes including sidewalls of the PCM layer (Fig. 10a/10b).
Regarding claim 6, Rose further discloses:
a first signal pad (1070); and
a second signal pad (1070), wherein the floating spreader layer is positioned between vertical planes including proximate sidewalls of the first signal pad and the second signal pad (Fig. 10a/10b).
Regarding claim 7, Rose further discloses:
wherein the floating spreader layer includes sidewalls that are parallel to sidewalls of the PCM layer (Fig. 10a).
Regarding claim 10, Rose further discloses:
the floating spreader layer (1042) is positioned vertically beneath the heater line (Fig. 10b).
Claim(s) 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Slovin (US Patent 10,461,253) in view of Slovin (US Patent 10,475,993).
Regarding claim 15, Slovin discloses a RF switch comprising:
Forming a heater layer (Fig. 9a/9b, 944) including a heater line (944) between end portions serving as a first and second heater pad connected to electrodes (not shown) to provide a current source (Col. 6, Lines 27-33).
forming a phase change material (PCM) layer (912) positioned in a same vertical plane as the heater line; and
forming a floating spreader layer (942) including a first portion positioned in the same vertical plane as the heater line and the PCM layer, wherein the floating spreader layer has at least one sidewall overlapping the heater line (Fig. 9b).
Slovin does not disclose the floating spreader layer is fully encapsulated by an oxide layer. However Slovin discloses a PCM switch comprising:
A floating spreader layer (Fig. 12, 440) wherein the floating spreader is fully surround/encapsulated by layers (438, 444, & 450) all of which can be an oxide material (Col. 5, Lines 34-36, Col. 5, Lines 59-60, & Col. 6, Lines 47-48) and the oxide layer (450) is between the floating spreader and a heater element (452).
It would have been obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to form the floating spreader fully encapsulated by the oxide layer and having the oxide layer between the floating spreader and heater element because it will bias vertical heat dissipation from the heating element toward the active segment of the PCM layer rather than the heat spreader enabling switch transition between on and off states using lower power and quicker pulses (Col. 11, Lines 14-23).
Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Rose (Pre-Grant Publication 2020/0058854) in view of El-Hinnawy (US Patent 10,916,585) and Slovin (US Patent 10,475,993).
Regarding claim 20, Rose disclose a RF switch comprising:
A switch comprising a heater layer (Fig. 10a, 10b) comprising: a first heater pad (1086);
a second heater pad (1086); and
a heater line (1046) connecting the first heater pad and the second heater pad;
a phase change material (PCM) layer (1056) positioned in a same vertical plane as the heater line; and
a floating spreader layer (1042) including a first portion positioned in the same vertical plane as the heater line and the PCM layer, wherein the first portion has a first width that is less than or equal to a distance between proximate sidewalls of the first heater pad and the second heater pad (Fig. 10a).
Rose does not explicitly disclose an antenna and a RF components section including a plurality of RF components and a switching module between the antenna and RF components or the floating spreader layer is fully encapsulated by an oxide layer. However El-Hinnawy discloses a PCM RF switch comprising:
A heater (Fig. 1, 106) below a PCM layer (116) to form a PCM RF switch wherein a plurality of PCM switches (Fig. 2a/2b, 100x-100z) can be connected between an antenna (160) and a plurality of RF components such as amplifiers, filter, mixers (162).
It would have been obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to from the switch connected between the antenna and RF components because it will serve to form a RF switching circuit having higher breakdown voltage and improve RF power handling (Abstract and Col. 1, Lines 49-56, Col. 5, Lines 47-57).
Further Slovin discloses a PCM switch comprising:
A floating spreader layer (Fig. 12, 440) wherein the floating spreader is fully surround/encapsulated by layers (438, 444, & 450) all of which can be an oxide material (Col. 5, Lines 34-36, Col. 5, Lines 59-60, & Col. 6, Lines 47-48) and the oxide layer (450) is between the floating spreader and a heater element (452).
It would have been obvious to those having ordinary skill in the art at the time of invention to form the floating spreader fully encapsulated by the oxide layer and having the oxide layer between the floating spreader and heater element because it will bias vertical heat dissipation from the heating element toward the active segment of the PCM layer rather than the heat spreader enabling switch transition between on and off states using lower power and quicker pulses (Col. 11, Lines 14-23).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3, 5, 14, & 16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 2 is considered allowable because none of the prior art either alone or in combination discloses wherein the first width of the first portion is equal to a width of the PCM layer.
Claim 3 is considered allowable because none of the prior art either alone or in combination discloses the floating spreader layer is a diamond shape with respect to a top-down view, the floating spreader layer includes middle corners that are positioned in the same vertical plane as the heater line, and the floating spreader layer includes distal endpoints that are equidistant from the middle corners.
Claim 5 is considered allowable because none of the prior art either alone or in combination discloses wherein distal ends of the floating spreader layer are positioned within same vertical planes as distal sidewalls of the PCM layer.
Claim 14 is considered allowable because none of the prior art either alone or in combination discloses wherein the floating spreader layer includes at least two portions spaced apart from each other.
Claim 16 is considered allowable because none of the prior art either alone or in combination discloses wherein forming the floating spreader layer positioned in the same vertical plane as the heater line and the PCM layer further comprises: forming the floating spreader layer in a diamond shape including middle corners and distal endpoints with respect to a top-down view, wherein the middle corners are positioned in a same vertical plane as the heater line, and the distal endpoints are equidistant from the middle corners.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1, & 15, 20 and respective depending claims have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 BRANDON C FOX whose telephone number is (571)270-5016. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:00AM-6:00PM.
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/BRANDON C FOX/Examiner, Art Unit 2818
/DAVID VU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818
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