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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 2/11/2026 has been entered.
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) 1-5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kupnik et al. (US 20090122651) in view of
Regarding claim 1, Kupnik discloses that an ultrasound device, comprising:
ultrasonic transducer cavities 110 (Fig. 1(a-c);
a membrane 118, positioned above the ultrasonic transducer cavities 110, comprising a silicon layer (para. 0086, note: “- - doped silicon - - silicon nitride doped silicon carbide, doped polycrystalline silicon - -“) that seals the ultrasonic transducer cavities (Fig. 1 (a-c));
electrode regions 120, 130, 138, positioned below the ultrasonic transducer cavities 110, configured to control vibration of the membrane (a function of membrane); and
an electronic unit substrate 136, positioned below the electrode regions 120, 130, 138.
Kupnik fails to specify that an electronic unit substrate can be a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) substrate.
However, Lin suggest that an electronic unit substrate can be a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) 114 substrate (Fig. 1, Para. 0013 & 0029).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before effective filing date of applicant(s) claimed invention was made to provide Kupnik with an electronic unit substrate can be a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) substrate as taught by Lin in order to enhance variety of the transistors or variety of controlling elements (para. 0013) and also, the claim would have been obvious because a particular know technique was recognized as part of the ordinary capabilities of one skilled in the art.
Reclaim 2, Kupnik & Lin disclose that isolation regions 108 disposed between the electrode regions 120, 130, 138 of adjacent ultrasound transducer cavities 110 when viewed in the vertical direction, wherein the isolation regions are doped (Kupnik, para. 0106).
Reclaim 3, Kupnik & Lin disclose that an embedded electrical contact between the CMOS substrate 136 and an engineered substrate 101 that includes the ultrasonic transducer cavities 110, wherein ends of the embedded electrical contact 124 directly connect: a bond point between the CMOS substrate 136 and the engineered substrate 101; and an electrical contact disposed on the membrane (Kupnik, Fig. 1 (b-c)).
Reclaim 4, Kupnik & Lin disclose that the embedded electrical contact 124 protrudes though the engineered substrate 101 along the vertical direction (Kupnik, Fig. 1(b-c)).
Reclaim 5, Kupnik & Lin disclose that the embedded electrical contact protrudes though the membrane along the vertical direction (Kupnik, Fig. 1(b-c)).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 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
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/SU C KIM/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899
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