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 Objections
Claim 13 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 13 should be amended as follows to correct an apparent typographic error.
13. (New) The semiconductor component according to claim 7, wherein the semiconductor layer structure has at least one gallium nitride layer or is produced based on gallium nitride.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 7-8, 10-11 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Saitoh et al. (PG Pub. No. US 2014/0203329 A1).
Regarding claim 7, Saitoh teaches a vertical semiconductor component (figs. 1, 6), comprising:
a vertically lower drain electrode (¶ 0057: 33);
a semiconductor layer structure (¶ 0050: 15) arranged vertically above the drain electrode (fig. 1: 14 arranged above 33), wherein the semiconductor layer structure has at least one drift layer (¶ 0050: 25) and a trench- shaped conduction channel (¶¶ 0051, 0088 19, 69), wherein a vertically lower end region of the conduction channel adjoins the drift layer (fig. 1: lower end of 19 adjoins 25), and wherein a gate electrode (¶ 0049: 23) is formed vertically above the conduction channel (fig. 1: 23 formed above 19) and the conduction channel is conductively connected to a source electrode (fig. 1: 19 conductively connected to source electrode 31);
wherein the conduction channel has, in an at least partially vertically extending wall portion (figs. 1, 6: sloped portion of 19/69), a gradation, which is delimited by an upper and a lower boundary surface of the conduction channel (figs. 1, 6: 19/69 includes upper and lower surfaces) such that the wall portion has a lateral outer portion (figs. 1, 6: portion of 19/69 connected to 31) and a lateral inner portion (figs. 1, 6: portion of 19/69 connected to 25) which are connected to one another via a lateral intermediate portion (portion of 19/69 extending between 31 and 25), wherein the intermediate portion has a reduced cross-section compared with the outer portion and the inner portion (fig. 6: sloped portion of 19/69 thinner than end portions of 19/69, meeting the broadest reasonable interpretation of “reduced cross-section”).
Regarding claim 8, Saitoh teaches the semiconductor component according to claim 7, wherein the semiconductor component is a vertical transistor (¶ 0109).
Regarding claim 10, Saitoh teaches the semiconductor component according to claim 7, wherein, in the lateral region of the intermediate portion, a lower boundary surface of the conduction channel adjoins a p- doped shielding layer (¶ 0050 & fig. 1: end of sloped portion of 19 adjoins p-doped blocking layer 27).
Regarding claim 11, Saitoh teaches the semiconductor component according to claim 7, wherein the intermediate portion has a maximum layer thickness of 0.7 um (¶ 0032: 20 nm).
Regarding claim 13, Saitoh teaches the semiconductor component according to claim 7, wherien the semiconductor layer structure has at least one gallium nitride layer or is produced based on gallium nitride (¶ 0050).
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 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Saitoh as applied to claim 7 above, and further in view of Shibata et al. (PG Pub. No. US 2021/0167061 A1).
Regarding claim 12, Saitoh teaches the semiconductor component according to claim 7, wherein the conduction channel is contacted on a lateral side of the gate electrode with a source electrode or a portion of a source electrode (¶ 0056, fig. 1: 19 contacted on a lateral side of 23 with source electrode 31).
Saitoh does not teach the conduction channel is contacted on both lateral sides of the gate electrode with a source electrode.
Shibata teaches a semiconductor component (¶ 0108 & fig. 3: 10) including a conduction channel (¶ 0144: 30) contacted on both lateral sides of a gate electrode (¶ 0109 & fig. 3: both lateral sides of 30 with respect to gate electrode 44) with a source electrode (¶ 0110 & fig. 3: both lateral sides of 30 contact a source electrode 40).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to configure the semiconductor component of Saitoh with the lateral source connections of Shibata, as a means to increase contact area between the source electrode(s) and the channel layer, reducing parasitic resistance, increasing channel conduction, and enhancing device performance.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 9 is 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. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Saitoh teaches a semiconductor component comprising an intermediate portion (sloped portion of channel layer 19/69).
However, Saitoh does not teach wherein the intermediate portion is configured so as to be planar in a lateral direction, perpendicular to a vertical direction.
Conclusion
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/BRIAN TURNER/Examiner, Art Unit 2818