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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1, 4, 6, 9-11,13, 14 and 22-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takagi et al. (US 6377138) in view of Goto et al. (US 202300336153) or vice versa.
As to claim 1, Takagi et al.’s figure 34 shows an acoustic wave device comprising: a piezoelectric layer (341); and at least one pair of comb-shaped electrodes (344) provided on the piezoelectric layer, each of the comb-shaped electrodes including electrode fingers each having a first layer and a second layer provided on the first layer (col. 1, lines 59-61 and col. 2, lines 7-10), the first layer (lower layer) being a titanium nitride layer and the second layer (upper layer) being an aluminum layer, an aluminum alloy layer, a copper layer, or a copper alloy layer (col. 2, lines 7-10, teaches that “upper and lower layers are formed of aluminum and titanium nitride, respectively”). The figure fails to show that the thickness of the first layer is greater than 50 nm and 60nm or less. However, Goto et al.’s figure 1 shows a similar device that its comb-shaped electrodes (12, further see figure 6B) including electrode fingers each having a first layer (14) and a second layer (16) provided on the first layer, the first layer being a titanium, the like or any suitable combination (¶0074) with a thickness greater than 50 nm and 60 nm or less (Figure 4A shows L = 4mm to 6 mm. 0084 teaches the ranges of thickness t1 of first layer 14. i.e., for L = 4mm and t1 is ranged from 0.0025L to 0.04L, t1 is ranged from 10 nm to 160 nm. Therefore, selecting the thickness to be greater than 50 nm and 60 nm or less is seen as an obvious design preference to ensure optimum performance, MPEP 2144.05) and the second layer being an aluminum layer, an aluminum alloy layer, a copper layer, or a copper alloy layer (¶0074). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one ordinary kill in the art to select the thickness of Takagi’s first layer to be equal or greater than 50 nm and 60 nm or less in order to reduce insertion loss, MPEP 2144.05, or it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to use titanium nitrate for Goto et al.’s first layer for the purpose of improve electrode migration or stress migration problem.
As to claim 4, Takagi or Goto et al.’s figure shows that the first layer is in contact with the piezoelectric layer and the second layer.
As to claim 6, selecting the claimed relationship is seen as an obvious design preference to ensure optimum performance, MPEP 2144.05.
As to claim 9, Goto et al.’s figure 1 shows a support substate (20) located under the piezoelectric layer (10). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to further include a support substrate under Takagi et al.’s piezoelectric layer for the purpose of reducing loss.
As to claim 10, Takagi’s figure 34 or Goto et al.’s figures 8A-12B show a filter comprising the acoustic wave device as claimed.
As to claim 11, acoustic wave filter used in a multiplexer is well known in the art (Goto’s figure 12B). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to use Takagi’s filter or Goto et al.’s filter in a multiplexer for the purpose of providing more precise signal.
As to claim 13, Goto et al.’s ¶0075 and Table 1 in ¶0079 teach that the thickness of the first layer can be equal to or less than 1/5 times a thickness of the second layer. Therefore, selecting the thickness relationship as claimed is seen as an obvious design preference to ensure optimum performance, MPEP 2144.05.
As to claim 14, selecting the sum of the thicknesses of the first layer and the second layer to be equal to or greater than 0.05 times and equal to or less than 0.15 times the distance corresponding to two times the pitch D of the comb-shaped electrodes is seen as an obvious design preference to ensure optimum performance, see Goto et al.’s ¶0075 and ¶0079.
As to claim 22, selecting the thickness of the first layer to be greater than 50 nm and 60 nm or less and not greater than one-half of a thickness of the second layer is seen as an obvious design preference to ensure optimum performance, MPEP 2144.05 and see Goto al.’s ¶0075 and ¶0079.
As to claim 23, selecting the thickness of the first layer is not greater than 1/5 times the thickness of the second layer is seen as an obvious design preference to ensure optimum performance.
As to claim 24, Takagi’s figure 34 or Goto et al.’s figures 8A-12B shows a filter comprising the acoustic wave device as claimed.
As to claim 25, acoustic wave filter used in a multiplexer is well known in the art (Goto’s figure 12B). It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to use Takagi’s filter or Goto et al.’s filter in a multiplexer for the purpose of providing more precise signal.
Claim(s) 2, 5, 7, 8 and 15-21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takagi et al. (US 6377138) in view of Goto et al. (US 20230336153) and Miura et al. (US 20190207583).
As to claim 2, Takagi et al. or Goto et al.’s figure fails to show that the piezoelectric layer is a rotated Y-cut X-propagation lithium tantalate substrate or a rotated Y-cut X-propagation substrate. However, Miura et al.’s figure 3 shows a similar device that its piezoelectric layer is a rotated Y-cut X-propagation lithium tantalate substrate or a rotated Y-cut X-propagation substrate (¶0068). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to form Takagi et al. or Kodama et al.’s substrate with a rotated Y-cut X-propagation lithium tantalate substrate or a rotated Y-cut X-propagation substrate for the purpose of ensuring optimum performance (reducing loss. Further see Goto et al.’s ¶0070).
As to claim 5, Miura et al.’s figure 3 shows that a thickness of its first layer (12a) is equal to or less than its thickness of the second layer (12b, ¶0069). Kodama et al.’s col 9 also teaches that the thickness of the second layer is greater than the thickness of the first layer. Therefore, selecting the thickness relationship as claimed for Takagi et al.’s device is seen as an obvious design preference to ensure optimum performance (further see Goto et al. ¶0075).
As to claim 7, the modified Takagi et al. or Goto et al.’s figure shows that the first layer is in contact with the piezoelectric layer and the electrode fingers, wherein a thickness of the first layer is equal to or less than a thickness of the second layer, and wherein a ratio of a content percentage of nitrogen in the first layer in atomic% to a sum of a content percentage of titanium in the first layer in atomic% and a content percentage of nitrogen in the first layer in atomic% is 0.3 or greater and 0.6 or less (see the rejection of claims 5 and 6).
As to claim 8, the modified Takagi et al. or Goto et al.’s figure shows that the piezoelectric layer is a rotated Y-cut X-propagation lithium tantalate substrate, and wherein the second layer is an aluminum layer or an aluminum alloy layer.
Claims 15-21 recite similar limitations in claims above. Therefore, they are rejected for the same reasons.
Conclusion
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.
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/QUAN TRA/
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2843
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