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 .
This Office Action is in response to the application filed October 13, 2023.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because there are no reference characters for the first region and second region. 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.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because “comprising” should have been including in line 1. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested: SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES INCLUDING BACKSIDE AND VERTICAL POWER STRUCTURES.
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 15 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.
It is not understood what actually constitutes the first thickness (T1) of the first region because the curved tip of the alignment insulating layer (120) gradually lessens approaching opening (OP). What part of the curved tip of the alignment insulating layer (120) is the first region? The first region is interpreted as a curved tip on the end of a straight layer and the thickness as the area of the curved tip.
Claims 16-18 are rejected as being dependent upon rejected claim 15.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-14 and 19-20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
In regard to claim 1, The prior art of record (Do et al. (US 2022/0122970 A1) does not disclose, make obvious, or otherwise suggest the structure of the applicant's claimed invention together with the other limitations of the dependent claims 2-14, such as the configuration of substrate, gate structure, source/drain regions, active region, backside insulating layer, vertical power structure, interlayer insulating layer, backside power structure, alignment insulating layer and opening; and
In regard to claim 19, The prior art of record (Do et al. (US 2022/0122970 A1) does not disclose, make obvious, or otherwise suggest the structure of the applicant's claimed invention together with the other limitations of the dependent claim 20, such as the configuration of substrate, gate structure, source/drain regions, active region, vertical power structure, backside power structure, alignment insulating layer and opening.
As best understood, claims 5-18 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
The following patents are cited to further show the state of the art with respect to semiconductor devices:
Chang et al. (US 2023/0343838 A1) Chen et al. (US 2022/0157956 A1)
Do et al. (US 2022/0122970 A1) Dutta et al. (US 2021/0375986 A1)
Zhang et al. (US 2020/0381300 A1) Zhu (US 2020/0328116 A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to IDA M SOWARD whose telephone number is (571)272-1845. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Thursday, 7am to 5:30pm.
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, Leonard Chang can be reached at 571-270-3691. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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IMS
February 10, 2026
/IDA M SOWARD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898