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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Election/ Restrictions
Applicant's election of group II: claims 1-9, 17-20, in the “Response to Election / Restriction Filed - 10/27/202”, withdrawal of non-elected claim(s) 10-16 is/are acknowledged. This office action considers claims 1-20, in “Claims - 12/08/2025”, pending for prosecution, of which claim(s) 10-16 is/are withdrawn.
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.
Claims 17-20 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 17 recites “wherein the active device region includes a first nanosheet transistor with a first and a second source/drain (S/D) region and includes a second nanosheet transistor with a third and a fourth S/D region, the third and the fourth S/D region of the second nanosheet transistor being separated from the first and the second S/D region, respectively, of the first nanosheet transistor by a first interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer” which renders the claim indefinite.
The main point of ambiguity is related to the phrase “and includes a second nanosheet transistor with a third and a fourth S/D region” as recited. It is not understood whether the “and includes a second nanosheet transistor with a third and a fourth S/D region” is related to “the active device region” or “a first nanosheet transistor”. The applicant may recite the following to overcome this rejection:
“wherein the active device region includes a first nanosheet transistor with a first and a second source/drain (S/D) region and the active device region further includes a second nanosheet transistor with a third and a fourth S/D region, wherein the third and the fourth S/D region of the second nanosheet transistor being separated from the first and the second S/D region of the first nanosheet transistor by a first interlevel dielectric (ILD) layer”.
Claims 18-20 depend from claim 17.
REASON FOR ALLOWANCE
Claims 1-9 are allowed over prior art.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance, which paraphrases and summarizes the claimed invention without intending to be limiting, wherein the legally defined scope of the claimed invention is defined by the allowed claims themselves in view of the written description under 35 USC 112. This statement is not intended to necessarily state all the reasons for allowance or all the details why the claims are allowed and has not been written to specifically or impliedly state that all the reasons for allowance are set forth (MPEP 1302.14).
Regarding claim 1, the references of the Prior Art of record and considered pertinent to the applicant's disclosure and to the examiner’s knowledge do not teach or render obvious, at least to the skilled artisan, the instant invention regarding a method in their entirety (the individual limitations may be found just not in combination with proper motivation).
The most relevant prior art reference(s) (US 20230131382 A1 to Ding) substantially teach(es) some of the limitations in claim 1 as indicated below:
an active device region (LCR – Fig. 1 – [0020]) and a passive device region (DMR – [0051]), but not the limitations of “the active device region and the passive device region being separated by a single diffusion break, wherein the passive device region includes a first passive device and the first passive device includes: a first diffusion region and a second diffusion region, the first and the second diffusion region being vertically connected by a doped region, wherein the first diffusion region is connected to a backside power distribution network (BSPDN) through a first direct backside contact (BSCA) and the second diffusion region is connected to a back-end-of-line (BEOL) structure through a first middle-of-line (MOL) contact” as recited in claim 1. Therefore, the claim 1 is deemed patentable over the prior art.
Regarding claims 2-9, they are allowed due to their dependencies on claim 1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMAD A. RAHMAN whose telephone number is (571) 270-0168 and email is mohammad.rahman5@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00 PM.
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, Julio J. Maldonado can be reached on (571) 272-1864. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMMAD A RAHMAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898