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 group I in the reply filed on 10/20/25 is acknowledged.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Korea on 03/02/23. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the KR10-2023-0027589 application as required by 37 CFR 1.55 (see the failure to receive priority document of 08/02/24).
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.
Claims 3, 5, 13, and 18 are 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
In claim 3-line 2, claim 5-line 2, claim 13-line 2, and claim 18-line 2, the use of the word “substantially” renders the claim indefinite because the specification does not provide some standard for measuring or quantifying what the word substantially means and one of ordinary skill in the art would not have been able to ascertain the scope of the claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-2, 4, 6-12, 14-17, and 19-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art, either singly or in combination, particularly US 2021/0104545, fails to anticipate or render obvious, the claimed invention having the following limitations, in combination with the remaining claimed limitations: an insulating layer disposed within the source structure, the insulating layer comprising a first edge that extends in a first direction and a second edge that extends in a second direction, the second direction intersecting the first direction; a first contact structure disposed within the insulating layer, the first contact structure having a second width in the second direction and a first width in the first direction, the first width being greater than the second width; and a second contact structure disposed on the insulating layer and connected to the first contact structure, the second contact structure having a fourth width in the second direction and a third width in the first direction, the third width being greater than the fourth width, as required by independent claims 1 and 11.
Claims 3, 5, 13, and 18 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Zhu et al., US 2021/0143174 discloses the formation of a source contact 228 of varying widths (see fig. 2) and Nagashima, US 2020/0091181 discloses forming a source structure 13 in an insulating layer 11 (see fig. 1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to RICHARD A BOOTH whose telephone number is (571)272-1668. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 5:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Christine Kim can be reached at 571-272-8458. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/RICHARD A BOOTH/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
February 13, 2026
Prosecution Insights