CTFR 18/425,115 CTFR 84142 DETAILED ACTION Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 AIA 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. Claim 6, which depends from claim 1, recites the limitation " the second insulating film and the third insulating film ". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Furthermore, for the limitation “ wherein the liner structure and the air gap have a relative lower dielectric layer than the second insulating film and the third insulating film ”, it is unclear what Applicant is considering as “ a relative lower dielectric layer ”. For example, is “ a relative lower dielectric layer ” referring to a comparison of relative permittivity values or physical dispositions for the liner structure, the air gap, the second insulating film, and the third insulating film? Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim s 1 and 7-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 2021/0351187 A1) in view of Cheng et al. (US 2019/0378909 A1; hereinafter “Cheng”) . Regarding claim 1, referring to Fig. 25 and related text, Chen teaches a semiconductor device, comprising: a substrate (a substrate 101) (paragraph 59); a contact (a capacitor contact 403), disposed over the substrate (paragraphs 77-78); a landing pad (a landing pad 810), disposed over the contact, comprising: a plug (a protruding portion 411A), disposed over and in contact with the contact; a first spacer (a first silicide layer 808A), disposed over the plug; and a second spacer (a second silicide layer 808B), sandwiching a protruding portion of the plug (a protruding portion of 411A) (paragraphs 83-84); a bit line (a bit line 409), disposed over the substrate (paragraphs 74). Chen does not further teach the semiconductor device comprising: a liner structure and an air gap enclosed within the liner structure. Cheng teaches a semiconductor device, comprising: a liner structure (a dielectric 66) disposed between a contact (a conducting material directly contacting source/drain regions 12/14) and an additional contact (a gate structure 26), wherein a top surface of the liner structure (a top surface of 66) is coplanar with a top surface of the contact (a top surface of 58); and an air gap (an air gap 68), disposed between the contact and the additional contact, wherein the air gap is sealed and enclosed within the liner structure for reducing parasitic capacitance between conductive contacts (Fig. 18 and paragraphs 48, 75, and 81-82). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the teaching of Chen teaching the contact (403) and the bit line (406) as adjacent conductive contacts (Fig. 25) with that of Cheng teaching the air gap (68) enclosed by the liner structure (66) between adjacent conductive contacts (Fig. 18) in order to reduce the parasitic capacitance between the adjacent conductive contacts. Regarding claim 7, Chen teaches wherein the second spacer is higher than the first spacer (Fig. 25 and paragraphs 83-84). Regarding claim 8, Chen teaches herein a width of the second spacer is greater than a width of the first spacer (Fig. 25 and paragraphs 83-84). Regarding claim 9, Chen teaches wherein the first spacer includes silicide, and the second spacer includes silicide (Fig. 25 and paragraphs 83-84). Regarding claim 10, Chen teaches wherein the contact comprises: a neck portion (403-1); and a head portion (403-2), disposed over the neck portion, wherein an upper width of the head portion is greater than a width of the neck portion (Fig. 25 and paragraphs 77-78). Regarding claim 11, Chen teaches wherein the head portion has a curved sidewall (403-3) (Fig. 25 and paragraphs 77-78). Regarding claim 12, Chen teaches wherein the head portion has tapered profile (Fig. 25 and paragraphs 77-78). Regarding claim 13, Chen teaches further comprises: a bit line contact (405), disposed over the substrate, wherein the bit line is disposed over and electrically coupled to the bit line contact (Fig. 25 and paragraphs 70-71) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 2-5 are 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. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to amended claim 1 have been considered but are moot in view of new ground of rejection as set forth above in this Office Action. Conclusion 07-40 AIA Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL . See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a). A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DANIEL B WHALEN whose telephone number is (571)270-3418. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F: 8AM-5PM. Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Sue Purvis can be reached on (571)272-1236. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /DANIEL WHALEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893 Application/Control Number: 18/425,115 Page 2 Art Unit: 2893 Application/Control Number: 18/425,115 Page 3 Art Unit: 2893 Application/Control Number: 18/425,115 Page 4 Art Unit: 2893 Application/Control Number: 18/425,115 Page 5 Art Unit: 2893 Application/Control Number: 18/425,115 Page 6 Art Unit: 2893
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