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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species I (claims 1-5, 8-16, and 18-20) in the reply filed on 6/2/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 6, 7, and 17 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 6/2/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Objections
Claim 11 is objected to because of the following informalities: in line 2, "is further" should be amended to read -further-. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 1 and 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Tomioka et al (US 2015/0069549 and Tomioka hereinafter).
As to claims 1 and 8-11: Tomioka discloses [claim 1] a magnetic memory device (Fig. 7; [0003] and [0030]), comprising: a reference magnetic pattern (11 can be the reference magnetic layer as either 11 or 13 is the reference magnetic layer; [0034]) and a free magnetic pattern (13 can be the free/variable magnetic layer as either 11 or 13 is the free/variable magnetic layer; [0034]) stacked on a substrate (lower portion of LE is interpreted to be a substrate; [0031]); a tunnel barrier pattern (12; [0031]) between the reference magnetic pattern (11) and the free magnetic pattern (13); a first non-magnetic pattern (14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL); [0031]) on the free magnetic pattern (13), wherein the free magnetic pattern (13) is between the tunnel barrier pattern (12) and the first non-magnetic pattern (14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL)); a second non-magnetic pattern (second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM, HM materials listed are non-magnetic materials; [0048]) on the first non-magnetic pattern (14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL)), wherein the first non-magnetic pattern (14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL)) is between the free magnetic pattern (13) and the second non-magnetic pattern (second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM); a metal pattern (CAP; [0048]) between the first non-magnetic pattern (14) and the second non-magnetic pattern (second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM); and a conductive layer (14 on sidewalls of 14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL), SCL, CAP, and HM; [0061]) on a side surface (sidewalls) of the first non-magnetic pattern (14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL)); [claim 8] wherein the metal pattern (CAP) comprises a non-magnetic metal element, a ferromagnetic element, or an alloy comprising at least one of the non-magnetic metal element or the ferromagnetic element (CAP can comprise non-magnetic metal elements like W or Ta; [0048]); [claim 9] further comprising: a first electrode (top half of LE; [0050]) spaced apart from the tunnel barrier pattern (12) with the reference magnetic pattern (11) therebetween; and a second electrode (Fig. 31; 25; [0154]) spaced apart from the tunnel barrier pattern (Fig. 7; 12) with the free magnetic pattern (13) therebetween, wherein the first non-magnetic pattern (14, first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL), the second non-magnetic pattern (second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM), and the metal pattern (CAP) are between the free magnetic pattern (13) and the second electrode (25), and the conductive layer (14 on sidewalls of 14, SCL, CAP, and HM) comprises a same material (14 can be Ru; [0049]) as at least one of the first electrode or the second electrode (second electrode 25 can be the upper half of HM, which can comprise Ru; [0048] and [0154]); [claim 10] wherein the conductive layer (14 on sidewalls of 14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL), SCL, CAP, and HM) extends from the side surface of the first non-magnetic pattern (14, first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL) to a region on a side surface of the metal pattern (CAP), and wherein a side surface of the tunnel barrier pattern (12) is free of the conductive layer (14 on sidewalls of 14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL), SCL, CAP, and HM); [claim 11] wherein the conductive layer (14 on sidewalls of 14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL), SCL, CAP, and HM) is further extends to a region on a side surface of the second non-magnetic pattern (second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 2-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tomioka in view of Kang et al (US 2016/0035696 and Kang hereinafter).
As to claims 2-5: Tomioka discloses [claim 3] wherein the second non-magnetic pattern (Fig. 7; second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM) comprises an oxide material of a second metal or a nitride material of the second metal (HM can be TaN, which is a nitride of a second metal Tantalum (Ta); [0050]); [claim 5] wherein a thickness of the second non- magnetic pattern (second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM) in a first direction (vertical direction) perpendicular to a top surface of the substrate (lower half of LE) is greater than a thickness of the first non-magnetic pattern (14) in the first direction (as shown in the Figure, 14 is much smaller in thickness than HM).
Tomioka fails to expressly disclose [claim 2] wherein the first non-magnetic pattern comprises an oxide material of a first metal or a nitride material of the first metal, and an atomic mass of the first metal is greater than or equal to an atomic mass of a metal element in the tunnel barrier pattern; [claim 3] the second metal is different from the first metal; [claim 4] wherein an atomic mass of the second metal is greater than the atomic mass of the first metal.
Kang discloses in Fig. 9 an MTJ structure [claim 2] wherein the first non-magnetic pattern (47, which is formed from 46, can be AlO, which is a non-magnetic material; [0064]) comprises an oxide material of a first metal or a nitride material of the first metal (47 can be AlO, which is an oxide of a first metal Aluminum (Al)), and an atomic mass of the first metal (Al has an atomic mass of ~27 amu) is greater than or equal to an atomic mass of a metal element in the tunnel barrier pattern (12 in Tomioka can be MgO ([0049]) and 42 in Kang can be MgO, Magnesium (Mg) has an atomic mass of ~24 amu, which is smaller than the ~27 amu of Al); [claim 3] the second metal (the second metal of Tomioka is Ta from TaN) is different from the first metal (the first metal of Kang is Aluminum from AlO); [claim 4] wherein an atomic mass of the second metal (Ta has an atomic mass of ~181 amu) is greater than the atomic mass of the first metal (Al has an atomic mass of ~27 amu).
Therefore, the claimed invention would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art because, as stated in KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007), a person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp, in the instant case choosing the first non-magnetic pattern to be AlO from the list of materials of Kang while TaN and MgO are used from the material lists of Tomioka; if this leads to the anticipated success, in the instant case a layer that can produce a residue or by-product during etching (as desired by Tomioka and Kang teaches that AlO can produce a by-product during etching (see [0068])),it is likely the product not of innovation but of ordinary skill.
Claims 12-16, 18, and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tomioka in view of Kang.
As to claims 12-16, 18, and 19: Tomioka discloses [claim 12] a magnetic memory device (Figs. 7 and 31; [0003] and [0030]), comprising: a reference magnetic pattern (11 can be the reference magnetic layer as either 11 or 13 is the reference magnetic layer; [0034]) and a free magnetic pattern (13 can be the free/variable magnetic layer as either 11 or 13 is the free/variable magnetic layer; [0034]) stacked on a substrate (lower portion of LE is interpreted to be a substrate; [0031]); a tunnel barrier pattern (12; [0031]) between the reference magnetic pattern (11) and the free magnetic pattern (13); an electrode (Fig. 31; 25, which is the upper half of HM; [0154]) spaced apart from the tunnel barrier pattern (Fig. 7; 12) with the free magnetic pattern (13) therebetween; a first non-magnetic pattern (14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL); [0031]) between the free magnetic pattern (13) and the electrode (25, which is the upper half of HM); a second non-magnetic pattern (second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM, HM materials listed are non-magnetic materials; [0048]) between the first non-magnetic pattern (14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL)) and the electrode (25, which is the upper half of HM), the second non-magnetic pattern (second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM, HM materials listed are non-magnetic materials) comprising a second metal (HM can be TaN, which is a nitride of a second metal Tantalum (Ta); [0050]); a metal pattern (CAP; [0048]) between the first non-magnetic pattern (14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL)) and the second non-magnetic pattern (second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM); and a conductive layer (14 on sidewalls of 14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL), SCL, CAP, and HM; [0061]) on a side surface (sidewalls) of the first non-magnetic pattern (14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL)), and the conductive layer (14 on sidewalls of 14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL)) is spaced apart from a side surface of the tunnel barrier pattern (12); [claim 13] wherein the second non-magnetic pattern (Fig. 7; second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM) comprises an oxide material of the second metal or a nitride material of the second metal (HM can be TaN, which is a nitride of a second metal Tantalum (Ta); [0050]); [claim 16] wherein a thickness of the second non- magnetic pattern (second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM) in a first direction (vertical direction) perpendicular to a top surface of the substrate (lower half of LE) is greater than a thickness of the first non-magnetic pattern (14) in the first direction (as shown in the Figure, 14 is much smaller in thickness than HM); [claim 18] wherein the conductive layer (14 on sidewalls of 14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL), SCL, CAP, and HM; [0061]) is in contact with the side surface (sidewalls) of the first non-magnetic pattern (14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL)); [claim 19] wherein the metal pattern (CAP) comprises a non-magnetic metal element, a ferromagnetic element, or an alloy comprising at least one of the non-magnetic metal element or the ferromagnetic element (CAP can comprise non-magnetic metal elements like W or Ta; [0048]), and the conductive layer (14 on sidewalls of 14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL), SCL, CAP, and HM) extends from the side surface of the first non-magnetic pattern (14, first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL) to a region on a side surface of the metal pattern (CAP).
Tomioka fails to expressly disclose [claim 12] the first non-magnetic pattern comprising a first metal; wherein an atomic mass of the first metal is greater than or equal to an atomic mass of a metal element in the tunnel barrier pattern; [claim 13] wherein the first non-magnetic pattern comprises an oxide material of the first metal or a nitride material of the first metal; [claim 14] wherein the second metal is different from the first metal; [claim 15] wherein an atomic mass of the second metal is greater than the atomic mass of the first metal.
Kang discloses in Fig. 9 an MTJ structure [claim 12] the first non-magnetic pattern (47, which is formed from 46, can be AlO, which is a non-magnetic material; [0064]) comprising a first metal (47 can be AlO, which is an oxide of a first metal Aluminum (Al)); wherein an atomic mass of the first metal (Al has an atomic mass of ~27 amu) is greater than or equal to an atomic mass of a metal element in the tunnel barrier pattern (12 in Tomioka can be MgO ([0049]) and 42 in Kang can be MgO, Magnesium (Mg) has an atomic mass of ~24 amu, which is smaller than the ~27 amu of Al); [claim 13] wherein the first non-magnetic pattern (47, which is formed from 46, can be AlO, which is a non-magnetic material; [0064]) comprises an oxide material of the first metal or a nitride material of the first metal (47 can be AlO, which is an oxide of a first metal Aluminum (Al)); [claim 14] wherein the second metal (the second metal of Tomioka is Ta from TaN) is different from the first metal (the first metal of Kang is Aluminum from AlO); [claim 15] wherein an atomic mass of the second metal (Ta has an atomic mass of ~181 amu) is greater than the atomic mass of the first metal (Al has an atomic mass of ~27 amu).
Therefore, the claimed invention would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art because, as stated in KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007), a person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp, in the instant case choosing the first non-magnetic pattern to be AlO from the list of materials of Kang while TaN and MgO are used from the material lists of Tomioka; if this leads to the anticipated success, in the instant case a layer that can produce a residue or by-product during etching (as desired by Tomioka and Kang teaches that AlO can produce a by-product during etching (see [0068])),it is likely the product not of innovation but of ordinary skill.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Tomioka in view of Marchack et al (US 2020/0220072 and Marchack hereinafter).
Tomioka discloses a magnetic memory device (Figs. 7 and 31; [0003] and [0030]), comprising: a reference magnetic pattern (11 can be the reference magnetic layer as either 11 or 13 is the reference magnetic layer; [0034]) and a free magnetic pattern (13 can be the free/variable magnetic layer as either 11 or 13 is the free/variable magnetic layer; [0034]) stacked on a substrate (lower portion of LE is interpreted to be a substrate; [0031]); a tunnel barrier pattern (12; [0031]) between the reference magnetic pattern (11) and the free magnetic pattern (13); an electrode (Fig. 31; 25, which is the upper half of HM; [0154]) spaced apart from the tunnel barrier pattern (Fig. 7; 12) with one of the free magnetic pattern (13) or the reference magnetic pattern (11) therebetween; a first non-magnetic pattern (14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL); [0031]) between the free magnetic pattern (13) and the electrode (25, which is the upper half of HM); a second non-magnetic pattern (second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM, HM materials listed are non-magnetic materials; [0048]) between the first non-magnetic pattern (14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL)) and the electrode (25, which is the upper half of HM); a metal pattern (CAP; [0048]) between the first non-magnetic pattern (14 (first non-magnetic pattern 14 is defined as portion of 14 that is entirely in contact with a bottom surface of SCL)) and the second non-magnetic pattern (second non-magnetic pattern can be the lower half of HM).
Tomioka fails to expressly disclose wherein the first non-magnetic pattern comprises a first metal having a greater binding energy to a conductive material of the electrode than a second metal of the tunnel barrier pattern.
Tomioka discloses that the first non-magnetic pattern should be made of a material that can redeposit during etching, [0049]. Tomioka further discloses that the electrode can comprise the hard mask HM, which can comprise W, Ta, and Ru, [0048], and that the tunnel barrier pattern 12 can comprise MgO, [0049].
Marchack discloses in Fig. 2B an MTJ structure that comprises a non-magnetic layer 155 that when etched forms redeposition layer 171, [0044]-[0046]. The layer 155 can comprise W, Ta, or Ru.
The materials of the tunnel barrier pattern 12 (MgO) and the electrode HW (W, Ta, and Ru) of Tomioka are the same materials as that disclosed for the same layers in the instant application, see [0022] for TE (the electrode, which can be Ta, W, or Ru) and [0027] for the tunnel barrier pattern TBP (TBP can be MgO). The material for the first non-magnetic layer 155 of Marchack (W, Ta, or Ru) are the same materials as disclosed for the same layer in the instant application, see [0030] for 140 (140 can be W or Ta when TBP is MgO).
Therefore, as the same materials in Tomioka in view of Marchack are used as in the instant application, the same properties as claimed are inherently provided, i.e. that the first metal of the first non-magnetic pattern has a greater binding energy to the conductive material of the electrode than the second metal of the tunnel barrier pattern, see MPEP 2112.01(I).
Hence, the claimed invention would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art because, as stated in KSR Int’l Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 550 U.S. 398 (2007), a person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp, in the instant case choosing the first non-magnetic pattern to be W or Ta from the list of materials of Marchack while W, Ta, or Ru and MgO are used from the material lists of Tomioka; if this leads to the anticipated success, in the instant case a layer that can produce a residue or by-product during etching (as desired by Tomioka and Marchack teaches that W or Ta can produce a by-product during etching (see [0044]-[0045])),it is likely the product not of innovation but of ordinary skill.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH C NICELY whose telephone number is (571)270-3834. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 am - 4 pm, EST.
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JOSEPH C. NICELY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2813
/JOSEPH C. NICELY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2813
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