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
This action is responsive to application No. 18509050 filed on 11/14/2023.
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgment is made of Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) form PTO-1449. These IDS has been considered.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election with traverse of claims 1, 11, 17-21 in the reply filed on 05/07/2026 is acknowledged.
In regards to the device/method restriction the applicant argues that there is no undue search burden and there is overlapping scope.
The examiner would like to note that the traversal is unpersuasive since the device can be formed by different processes as noted in the restriction requirement and would therefore require separate distinct search strategies for the device and method claims. Additionally, the device and method claims require separate classification searches (e.g. H10D8/60 for device and H10P14/3434 for method) as noted in the restriction requirement. Therefore, there would be a serious search and/or examination burden.
In regards to the species claim the applicant argues that various species have a “foundational member” and the entire search burden rests on this “foundational member” and therefore there would not be any additional search burden. Additionally the applicant argues that examiner has not provided any reasons for search burden.
The examiner would like to note that the species have mutually exclusive features noted in the restriction requirement that the applicant has not rebutted. These mutually exclusive features of the different species require a different field of search (e.g., searching different classes/subclasses or electronic resources or non-patent language, or deploying different search queries); and/or the prior art applicable to one species would not likely be applicable to another species even though they may have some overlapping limitations (e.g. foundational member). For example, species directed towards Schottky diode would require search in classification H10D8/051 and species directed towards MOSFET would require search in classification H10D30/0227.
The restriction requirement is maintained and made FINAL.
Allowable subject matter
Claims 11, 17-21 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim (independent claim 18), but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The closest prior art known to the Examiner is listed on the PTO 892 forms of record.
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Koo et al. (KR 20140065825 A).
With respect to dependent claims 11, 17-21, the cited prior art does not anticipate or make obvious, inter alia, the step of: “wherein the Ga2O3 layer comprises an n-doped Ga2O3 layer on top of a semi-insulating Ga2O3 layer”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Koo et al. (KR 20140065825 A).
Regarding independent claim 1, Koo et al. teach a member comprising:
a silicon base substrate layer (Fig. 5, element 110, specification discloses silicon);
a transition layer (Fig 5, specification discloses “Although not shown, a method of fabricating a nitride-based semiconductor according to another embodiment of the present invention may include forming a transition layer (not shown) between the substrate 110 and the buffer layer 120”) arranged over the silicon base substrate layer; and
a gallium nitride (GaN) buffer layer (Fig. 5, element 120, specification discloses GaN) arranged over the transition layer,
wherein the member further comprises a gallium oxide (Ga2O3) layer (Fig. 5, element 150, specification discloses gallium oxide).
Cited Prior Art
The Examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record within the body of this action for the convenience of the Applicant.
Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SHAHED AHMED whose telephone number is (571)272-3477. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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, Steven Gauthier can be reached on 571-270-0373. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/SHAHED AHMED/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2813
Prosecution Insights