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 § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7-9 11, 12, 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Katz et al US 2021/0035934.
Pertaining to claim 1, Katz teaches a structure comprising:
a first substrate 41 comprising a first layer having at least one electrically conductive first portion 1D and at least one electrically insulative second portion 1i See Figure 2D marked up below;
a second substrate 42 comprising a second layer having at least one electrically conductive third portion 2D and at least one electrically insulative fourth portion 2i; and
an interface layer between the first layer and the second layer, the interface layer comprising at least one electrically conductive oxide material 1KP+2KP [0020][0054], the at least one electrically conductive oxide material comprising:
at least one first region See Figure 2D marked up below / 1KP+2KP between and in electrical communication with the at least one electrically conductive first portion 1D and the at least one electrically conductive third portion 2D; and
at least one second region 1KR+2KR see Figure 2D marked up below between the at least one electrically insulative second portion 1i and the at least one electrically insulative fourth portion 2i, the at least one second region electrically isolated from the at least one first region elements 1ZB/2ZB.
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Pertaining to claim 2, Katz teaches the structure of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrically conductive oxide material is optically transparent. [0020]
Pertaining to claim 3, Katz teaches the structure of claim 2, wherein the at least one electrically conductive oxide material comprises indium tin oxide or zinc oxide. [0009]
Pertaining to claim 4, Katz teaches the structure of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrically conductive oxide material comprises a first electrically conductive oxide material on the first layer 1KP and a second electrically conductive oxide material on the second layer 2KP, the first electrically conductive oxide material directly bonded to the second electrically conductive oxide material See Figure 2D.
Pertaining to claim 7, Katz teaches the structure of claim 1, wherein the at least one first region is electrically isolated from the at least one second region. This claim is not further limiting. This limitation is already present in Claim 1. See rejection of claim 1 above.
Pertaining to claim 8, Katz teaches the structure of claim 7, wherein a portion of the at least one electrically conductive oxide material at a periphery of the first and second substrates hermetically seals a second portion of the at least one electrically conductive oxide material from an ambient environment. See Figure 2D elements 2K/1K and 2KR/1KR are at the periphery and seal those elements horizontally between them.
Pertaining to claim 9, Katz teaches the structure of claim 7, further comprising gaps 1ZB/2ZB between the at least one first region and the at least one second region See Figure 2D marked up above.
Pertaining to claim 11, Katz teaches the structure of claim 7, wherein the interface layer further comprises at least one solid dielectric material between the at least one first region and the at least one second region. 1ZB and 2ZB are dielectric materials that are solid (ie not air or a liquid) [0081]
Pertaining to claim 12, Katz teaches the structure of claim 11, wherein the at least one electrically conductive oxide material is embedded within the at least one electrically insulative second portion and/or the at least one electrically insulative fourth portion. 1D and 2D are embedded in 1i and 2i respectively see Figure 2D
Pertaining to claim 16, Katz teaches the structure of claim 11, wherein the at least one electrically conductive oxide material 1D/2D is embedded in the at least one solid dielectric material 1i/2i (note 1i and 2i can be considered extensions of elements 1ZB/2ZB as they are all connected and of the same material see for example [0059].
Pertaining to claim 26, Katz teaches a method comprising:
providing a first substrate 41 and a second substrate 42 each comprising one or more electrically conductive surface portions 1D/2D and one or more electrically insulative surface portions 1i/2i See Figure 2A, at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate further comprising an electrically conductive oxide layer 1KP/2KP having a first region over and in electrical communication with the one or more electrically conductive surface portions 1D/2D and a second region 1KN/2KN over the one or more electrically insulative surface portions 1i/2i, the second region electrically isolated 12H from the first region See Figure 2B marked up below, and
directly bonding the first substrate and the second substrate with one another without an intervening adhesive See Figure 2B [0070], wherein directly bonding the first substrate and the second substrate comprises contacting the first substrate and the second substrate with one another with the electrically conductive oxide layer therebetween. See Figure 2B [0070]
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Pertaining to claim 35, Katz teaches the method of claim 26, further comprising cleaning at least one of the first and second substrates prior to contacting the first and second substrates with one another. [0067]
Pertaining to claim 36, Katz teaches the method of claim 26, further comprising annealing the first and second substrates after contacting the first and second substrates with one another. [0011] ie thermal treatment
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) 5, 6 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Katz et al as applied to claim 1 and/or 11 above.
Pertaining to claim 5, Katz teaches the structure of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrically conductive first portion and/or the at least one electrically conductive third portion is selected from the group consisting of: copper, tungsten, cobalt, or zinc oxide. Katz discloses the claimed invention except for the specific material for the conductive later. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to select copper, for example as the conductive material, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the base of its suitability, for its intended use involves only ordinary skill in the art. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Pertaining to claim 6, Katz teaches the structure of claim 1, wherein the at least one electrically insulative second portion and/or the at least one electrically insulative fourth portion is selected from the group consisting of: silicon oxide, silicon nitride, copper nitride, and titanium nitride. Katz discloses the claimed invention except for specific insulating material. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to select an oxide/nitride insulating material for the electrically insulative portion, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the base of its suitability, for its intended use involves only ordinary skill in the art. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Pertaining to claim 13, Katz teaches the structure of claim 11, wherein the at least one solid dielectric material comprises silicon oxycarbonitride. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to select an oxide/nitride insulating material for the solid dielectric portion, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the base of its suitability, for its intended use involves only ordinary skill in the art. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 10, 14, 15, 27-34 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.
Pertaining to claim 10: the prior art or record does not teach nor suggest either alone or in combination wherein the at least one electrically conductive oxide material is not embedded within the at least one electrically insulative second portion and/or the at least one electrically insulative fourth portion.
Pertaining to claim 14: the prior art or record does not teach nor suggest either alone or in combination wherein a portion of the at least one solid dielectric material at a periphery of the first and second substrates hermetically seals the at least one first region and the at least one second region from an ambient environment.
Pertaining to claim 27: the prior art or record does not teach nor suggest either alone or in combination wherein providing the first substrate comprises depositing a first electrically conductive oxide layer over the one or more electrically conductive surface portions and the one or more electrically insulative surface portions and patterning the first electrically conductive oxide layer to electrically isolate the first region from the second region.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NICHOLAS J TOBERGTE whose telephone number is (571)272-6458. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:30-4:30.
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/NICHOLAS J TOBERGTE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817