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 .
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 first and second reflectors being connected to the IDT electrode of claim 6 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 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.
Claim 6 is 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.
With respect to claim 6, the language “wherein the first reflector and the second reflector are connected to the IDT electrode”. As the disclosure does not appear to disclose any direct connection between the reflectors and the IDT electrode, it is unclear what is meant by this language.
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.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwamoto (US 2018/0152170) in view of Kishimoto (US 2020/0127636).
With respect to claim 1, Iwamoto et al. discloses an acoustic wave device (Fig 1A) comprising: a piezoelectric layer (item 4) including a first main surface and a second main surface opposing each other (Fig 1A); an Interdigital Transducer electrode (item 5) on the first main surface of the piezoelectric layer (Fig 1A); a dielectric layer (item 3) on the second main surface of the piezoelectric layer (Fig 1A); and when a film thickness of the piezoelectric layer is represented as Tp [λ] and a film thickness of the dielectric layer is represented as Td [λ], the Formula (1) is satisfied or Td = 0, where λ is a wavelength determined by an electrode finger pitch of the IDT electrode, and Tp[λ] ≥ about 0.025: Td [λ] ≤ -2.369 × (Tp [λ])4 +2.721 × (Tp [λ])3 -1.049 × (Tp [λ])2 +0.076 × (Tp [λ]) +0.095 (Paragraphs 14 and 17, wherein for the disclosed Tp being between 0.05 and 3.5, and Td being less than 1.2, formula 1 is satisfied for at least some values with these ranges).
Iwamoto does not disclose a conductive material layer on a surface of the dielectric layer on a side opposite to the piezoelectric layer; wherein the conductive material layer is provided in at least a portion of a region overlapping the IDT electrode in a plan view.
Kishimoto teaches a piezoelectric acoustic wave device (Fig 2) that includes a conductive material layer (item 54) on a surface of the dielectric layer on a side opposite to the piezoelectric layer (Fig 2); wherein the conductive material layer is provided in at least a portion of a region overlapping the IDT electrode in a plan view (Fig 2).
Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the conductive material layer of Kishimoto with the acoustic wave device of Iwamoto for the benefit of improving confinement of the main mode (Paragraph 60 of Kishimoto).
With respect to claim 2, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1. Iwamoto discloses that the IDT electrode includes a first busbar, a second busbar, a plurality of first electrode fingers connected to the first busbar, and a plurality of second electrode fingers connected to the second busbar (Fig 4); and the acoustic wave device further includes a first reflector and a second reflector (items 6) on two sides in a propagation direction of an acoustic wave (Fig 1B).
With respect to claim 3, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 2. Kishimoto discloses that the conductive material layer is provided at a position overlapping, in the plan view, an intersecting region overlapping in the propagation direction of the acoustic wave (Fig 2).
With respect to claim 4, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 3. Kishimoto discloses that the conductive material layer extends to a region adjacent to at least a portion of the first reflector and the second reflector in the plan view in addition to the intersecting region (Fig 2).
With respect to claim 5, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 3. Iwamoto discloses that the first reflector and the second reflector are not connected to the IDT electrode (Fig 1B).
With respect to claim 6, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 3. Iwamoto discloses that the first reflector and the second reflector are connected to the IDT electrode (Figs 1A-1B, wherein the reflectors and the IDT electrode are indirectly connected via the piezoelectric layer).
With respect to claim 7, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 3. Kishimoto discloses that the conductive material layer extends to a region overlapping at least a portion of the first busbar and the second busbar in the plan view (Fig 2).
With respect to claim 8, Iwamoto discloses an acoustic wave device (Fig 1A) comprising: a piezoelectric layer (item 4) including a first main surface and a second main surface opposing each other (Fig 1A); an Interdigital Transducer electrode (item 5) on the first main surface of the piezoelectric layer (Fig 1A); wherein the IDT electrode includes first and second busbars (Fig 4) , a plurality of first electrode fingers electrically connected to the first busbar (Fig 4), and a plurality of second electrode fingers electrically connected to the second busbar (Fig 4); an area of the conductive material layer in a first overlapping region that overlaps at least a portion of the first busbar in a plan view is represented as an area S1 (Figs 1 and 4); an area of the conductive material layer in a second overlapping region that overlaps at least a portion of the second busbar in the plan view is represented as an area S2 (Figs 1 and 4).
Iwamoto does not disclose a conductive material layer on a side of the second main surface of the piezoelectric layer; the first overlapping region and the second overlapping region of the conductive material layer are electrically connected, and a wavelength determined by an electrode finger pitch of the IDT electrode is represented as λ; and a total area S, which represents a sum of the area S1 and the area S2, is equal to or less than about λ × 104 μm2.
Kishimoto teaches a piezoelectric acoustic wave device (Fig 2) that includes a conductive material layer (item 54) on a side of the second main surface of the piezoelectric layer (Fig 2), the first overlapping region and the second overlapping region of the conductive material layer are electrically connected, and a wavelength determined by an electrode finger pitch of the IDT electrode is represented as λ (Fig 2)
In combination, a total area S, which represents a sum of the area S1 and the area S2, is equal to or less than about λ × 104 μm2. While Iwamoto does not disclose the specifics of the surface areas of the IDT electrodes or their busbars, it is clear from the drawings that their combined surface area is less than 10,000 times the spacing of the electrode fingers (which corresponds to the wavelength). Even if the relative dimensions shown in the drawings are assumed to not be an actual representation of the actual dimension, it has been held that a mere change in relative dimensions is obvious (Gardner v TEC Systems, 220 USPQ 777).
Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the conductive material layer of Kishimoto with the acoustic wave device of Iwamoto for the benefit of improving confinement of the main mode (Paragraph 60 of Kishimoto).
With respect to claim 9, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 8. Iwamoto discloses a first reflector and a second reflector (items 6) on two sides of the IDT electrode in a propagation direction of an acoustic wave (Fig 1B).
With respect to claim 10, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 8. Kishimoto discloses a dielectric layer (item 53a) between the second main surface of the piezoelectric layer and the conductive material layer (Fig 2).
With respect to claim 11, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1. Kishimoto discloses a support substrate (item 51) stacked on a surface of the conductive material layer on a side opposite to the piezoelectric layer (Fig 2).
With respect to claim 12, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1. Iwamoto discloses that the dielectric layer is made of silicon oxide (Paragraph 33).
With respect to claim 13, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 11. Kishimoto discloses a dielectric layer (item 53b) between the support substrate and the conductive material layer (Fig 2).
With respect to claim 14, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1, wherein the piezoelectric layer is made of LiTaO3 or LiNbO3 (Paragraphs 59 and 76).
With respect to claim 15, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1. Iwamoto discloses that the piezoelectric layer is LiTaO3 and a thickness thereof is about 0.05λ or more and about 0.25λ or less (Paragraph 59).
With respect to claim 16, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1. Iwamoto discloses that the piezoelectric layer is LiNbO3 and a thickness thereof is equal to or less than about 0.2λ (Paragraphs 59 and 76).
With respect to claim 17, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1. Iwamoto discloses that the piezoelectric layer is LiNbO3 and a thickness thereof is equal to or less than about 0.1λ (Paragraphs 59 and 76).
With respect to claim 18, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1. Kishimoto discloses that the conductive material layer is made of metal (Paragraph 52).
With respect to claim 19, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1. Kishimoto discloses that the conductive material layer is a floating electrode (Fig 2).
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Iwamoto in view of Kishimoto and Daimon (US 2020/0127638).
With respect to claim 20, the combination of Iwamoto and Kishimoto discloses the acoustic wave device according to claim 1. Iwamoto discloses that the IDT electrode includes a first busbar, a second busbar, a plurality of first electrode fingers connected to the first busbar, and a plurality of second electrode fingers connected to the second busbar (Fig 4); and the IDT electrode includes an intersecting region where the first and second electrode fingers overlap in a propagation direction of an acoustic wave (Fig 4).
Iwamoto does not disclose that the intersecting region includes a central region and a low acoustic velocity region located on both sides of the central region in a direction in which the first and second electrode fingers extend, and a high acoustic velocity region is provided in an outer side portion of the low acoustic velocity region.
Daimon teaches a piezoelectric acoustic wave device in which the intersecting region includes a central region and a low acoustic velocity region located on both sides of the central region in a direction in which the first and second electrode fingers extend, and a high acoustic velocity region is provided in an outer side portion of the low acoustic velocity region (Fig 6, wherein the low velocity regions Ca and Cb are provided to the outside of the central region B, and the high velocity regions Da and Db are provided to the outside of the low velocity regions)
Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the low and high velocity regions of Daimon with the acoustic wave device of Iwamoto for the benefit of reducing spurious modes (Paragraph 74 of Daimon).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Derek John Rosenau whose telephone number is (571)272-8932. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7 am to 5:30 pm Central Time.
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/DEREK J ROSENAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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