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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 7/24/26 has been entered.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “the first vertical arrangement of semiconductor nanowires having a greater number of nanowires than the second vertical arrangement of semiconductor nanowires” and “the first vertical arrangement of semiconductor nanowires having a bottommost semiconductor nanowire below a semiconductor bottommost nanowire of the second arrangement of nanowires” in combination with “the first and second vertical arrangements of semiconductor nanowires having uppermost semiconductor nanowires in a same horizontal plane” (from at least claims 1 and 14) as well as “a second oxide structure vertically beneath the first oxide structure, wherein the first oxide structure is vertically overlapping with the second oxide structure along the vertical axis, and the second oxide structure is in a same horizontal plane as the bottommost semiconductor nanowire of the first vertical arrangement of semiconductor nanowires” (from at least claims 1 and 14) must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
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 1, 3-4, and 6-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 1 and 14 are amended to state “a second oxide structure vertically beneath the first oxide structure, wherein the first oxide structure is vertically overlapping with the second oxide structure along the vertical axis, and the second oxide structure is in a same horizontal plane as the bottommost semiconductor nanowire of the first vertical arrangement of semiconductor nanowires”.
The subject matter of claims 1 and 14 generally appears to coincide with the Fig. 7(e) of the Drawings its associated text from the Specification since only Fig. 7 illustrates at least two vertical arrangements of nanowires having uppermost semiconductor nanowires “in a same horizontal plane”. Corresponding the first oxide structure to 799B since it is vertically beneath the second arrangement of semiconductor nanowires would result in the second oxide structure being 741 since it is beneath the first oxide structure 799B. However, the first oxide structure 799B then does not vertically overlap the second oxide structure 741 (Fig. 7). Furthermore, the second oxide structure 741 is not in a same horizontal plane as the bottommost semiconductor nanowire (799A or 712A, Fig. 7) of the first vertical arrangement of semiconductor nanowires. Therefore, the subject matter of the second oxide structure is vertically beneath the first oxide structure, wherein the first oxide structure is vertically overlapping with the second oxide structure along the vertical axis, and the second oxide structure is in a same horizontal plane as the bottommost semiconductor nanowire of the first vertical arrangement of semiconductor nanowires as required by the respective claims 1 and 14 in combination with the other elements of those claims were not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 3-4 and 6-13 inherit the 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, rejections based on their dependencies on claim 1. Claims 15-20 inherit the 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, rejections based on their dependencies on claim 14.
Claims 1, 3-4, and 6-20 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.
Claims 1 and 14 state “the first vertical arrangement of semiconductor nanowires having a bottommost semiconductor nanowire below a bottommost semiconductor nanowire of the second arrangement of semiconductor nanowires”. The subject matter of claims 1 and 14 generally appears to coincide with the Fig. 7(e) of the Drawings its associated text from the Specification since only Fig. 7 illustrates at least two vertical arrangements of nanowires having uppermost semiconductor nanowires “in a same horizontal plane”. However, paragraph [0107] of the Specification discloses “The first and second vertical arrangements of nanowires have co-planar uppermost nanowires and co-planar bottommost nanowires.” Therefore, it is unclear how the first vertical arrangement of semiconductor nanowires has a bottommost nanowire below a bottommost nanowire of the second arrangement of semiconductor nanowires when the Specification states when the first and second vertical arrangements of nanowires have co-planar uppermost semiconductor nanowires, they also have co-planar bottommost nanowires. Said another way, if the bottommost nanowires are co-planar according to paragraph [0107], how can the first vertical arrangement of semiconductor nanowires have a bottommost semiconductor nanowire below a bottommost nanowire of the second arrangement of nanowires, as required by claims 1 and 14?
Claims 3-4 and 6-13 inherit the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, rejections based on their dependencies on claim 1. Claims 15-20 inherit the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, rejections based on their dependencies on claim 14.
Claims 1 and 14 are amended to state “a second oxide structure vertically beneath the first oxide structure, wherein the first oxide structure is vertically overlapping with the second oxide structure along the vertical axis, and the second oxide structure is in a same horizontal plane as the bottommost semiconductor nanowire of the first vertical arrangement of semiconductor nanowires”.
The subject matter of claims 1 and 14 generally appears to coincide with the Fig. 7(e) of the Drawings its associated text from the Specification since only Fig. 7 illustrates at least two vertical arrangements of nanowires having uppermost semiconductor nanowires “in a same horizontal plane”. Corresponding the first oxide structure to 799B since it is vertically beneath the second arrangement of semiconductor nanowires would result in the second oxide structure being 741 since it is beneath the first oxide structure 799B. However, the first oxide structure 799B then does not vertically overlap the second oxide structure 741 (Fig. 7). Furthermore, the second oxide structure 741 is not in a same horizontal plane as the bottommost semiconductor nanowire (799A or 712A, Fig. 7) of the first vertical arrangement of semiconductor nanowires. Therefore, it is unclear how the second oxide structure is vertically beneath the first oxide structure, wherein the first oxide structure is vertically overlapping with the second oxide structure along the vertical axis, and the second oxide structure is in a same horizontal plane as the bottommost semiconductor nanowire of the first vertical arrangement of semiconductor nanowires as required by the respective claims 1 and 14.
Claims 3-4 and 6-13 inherit the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, rejections based on their dependencies on claim 1. Claims 15-20 inherit the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, rejections based on their dependencies on claim 14.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1, 3-4, and 6-20 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
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/REEMA PATEL/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812 8/21/2026
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