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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 1-12 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 03/27/2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 13-25 in the reply filed on 03/27/2026 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claims 14, 15 and 20 are objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 14 line 2 “a least one right angle” should be --at least one right angle--. Claim 15; line 8 and claim 20, line 6-7 “a least one non-right angle” should be --at least one non-right angle--. Appropriate correction is required.
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 21 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 21; line 2 recites the phrase “a same footprint area as”, it is not mention, what is the other footprint area to compare. Therefore, the scope of the limitation is unclear and indefinite. For purpose of prior art rejections below, the phrase “a same footprint area as” is being interpreted as “a same footprint area”, as according to specification; [0019].
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(s) 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by TAKAHASHI – WO 2023/203679.
Regarding claim 13, TAKAHASHI discloses; a device comprising a shadow evaporation mask comprising a first layer (Fig 1-3; mask layer 12 has an upper layer 12a) and a second layer (Fig 1-3; mask layer 12 has a lower layer 2b) disposed over the first layer, and a plurality of uniformly patterned openings (Fig 1-3; opening 22 and the opening 24) that are configured for fabricating respective uniformly shaped tunnel junction devices (Fig 1-3; Josephson junction 30 on substrate 10) on a substrate by double-angle shadow evaporation (Fig 1-3; Mask 12 with openings 22 and 24 allow deposition by arrow 40 and 42 with a overlapping region 28).
Regarding claim 14, TAKAHASHI discloses; each patterned opening comprises a quadrilateral-shaped opening with a least one right angle (Fig 1-3; opening 22, 24 are quadrilateral-shaped with at least one right angle), which is configured to generate shadow images of overlapping electrodes of a respective tunnel junction device (Fig 1-3; Josephson junction 30 on substrate 10 with superconducting film 14 and 18 overlap at region 28).
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) 15-17, 19-23 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAKAHASHI –WO 2023/203679, in view of Li, Zhou- CN 114596890.
Regarding claims 15 and 17, TAKAHASHI discloses in claim 15; a device, comprising: a first metal layer disposed on a substrate (Fig 1-3; superconducting film 14 disposed on substrate 10); an insulating layer disposed (Fig 1-3; insulating film 16 is formed on superconducting film 14) on the first metal layer; and a second metal layer disposed (Fig 1-3; superconducting film 18 formed on the insulating film 16) on the insulating layer; wherein a portion of the second metal layer overlaps a portion of the first metal layer to form a stacked structure comprising an overlapping area of metallization with a portion of the insulating layer disposed therebetween (Fig 1-3; a region 28 is formed in which the superconducting film 14 extending in the X-axis direction and the superconducting film 18 extending in the Y-axis direction overlap with the insulating film 16 interposed therebetween), wherein the stacked structure comprises a tunnel junction device having a quadrilateral-shaped footprint (Fig 1-3; Josephson junction 30 on substrate 10 having a quadrilateral-shaped footprint). TAKAHASHI discloses in claim 17; the quadrilateral-shaped footprint of the tunnel junction device comprises the first metal layer and the second metal layer (Fig 1-3; Josephson junction 30 with the superconducting film 14 and 18 overlap with the insulating film 16 interposed therebetween having a quadrilateral-shaped footprint). TAKAHASHI substantially discloses the invention of tunnel junction device as Josephson junction having a quadrilateral-shaped footprint but is silent about with at least one non-right angle in claim 15 and a parallelogram- shaped footprint with non-right angles; each comprise a parallelogram-shaped area with non-right angles in claim 17. However, Li, Zhou teaches that two magnetic tunnel junctions in the direction parallel to the spin Hall effect layer of the cross section is a parallelogram (Fig 1, 3-8 and Page 2; ¶ 11; 20). It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify TAKAHASHI by providing at least one non-right angle in claim 15 and a parallelogram- shaped footprint with non-right angles; each comprise a parallelogram-shaped area with non-right angles in claim 17, to provide a non-uniform magnetization of the storage unit, so as to solve the problem that the storage unit of the differential storage unit has large area and high cost in the prior art (Page 2; ¶ 4).
Regarding claim 16, TAKAHASHI discloses; the first metal layer and the second metal layer each comprise a superconducting metal (Fig 1-3; Josephson junction 30 with superconducting film 14 and 18 overlap at region 28); and the insulating layer comprises an oxide of the superconducting metal (Fig 1-3; oxygen is introduced into the chamber to oxidize the surface of the superconducting film 14 and insulating film 16 is formed thereon).
Regarding claim 19, TAKAHASHI discloses; the tunnel junction device comprises a Josephson junction of a superconducting quantum bit (Page 4; ¶ 4; qubit chips formed on the wafer-shaped substrate 10).
Regarding claims 20 and 23, TAKAHASHI discloses in claim 20; a device, comprising: a plurality of tunnel junction devices (Fig 1-3; Josephson junction 30 on substrate 10) disposed on a substrate; wherein each tunnel junction device comprises a respective stacked structure which comprises overlapping portions of a first metal layer and a second metal layer, and an insulating layer disposed therebetween (Fig 1-3; a region 28 is formed in which the superconducting film 14 extending in the X-axis direction and the superconducting film 18 extending in the Y-axis direction overlap with the insulating film 16 interposed therebetween); and wherein the respective stacked structure comprises a quadrilateral-shaped footprint (Fig 1-3; Josephson junction 30 on substrate 10 having a quadrilateral-shaped footprint). TAKAHASHI discloses in claim 23; the first metal layer and the second metal layer each comprise a quadrilateral-shaped footprint area (Fig 1-3; Josephson junction 30 with the superconducting film 14 and 18 overlap with the insulating film 16 interposed therebetween having a quadrilateral-shaped footprint); and the overlapping portions of a first metal layer and a second metal layer form the quadrilateral-shaped footprint of the stacked structure (Fig 1-3; Josephson junction 30 with the superconducting film 14 and 18 overlap a region 28 with the insulating film 16 interposed therebetween having a quadrilateral-shaped footprint). TAKAHASHI substantially discloses the invention of tunnel junction device as Josephson junction having a quadrilateral-shaped footprint but is silent about with at least one non-right angle in claims 20 and 23. However, Li, Zhou teaches that two magnetic tunnel junctions in the direction parallel to the spin Hall effect layer of the cross section is a parallelogram (Fig 1, 3-8 and Page 2; ¶ 11; 20). It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify TAKAHASHI by providing at least one non-right angle in claims 20 and 23, to provide a non-uniform magnetization of the storage unit, so as to solve the problem that the storage unit of the differential storage unit has large area and high cost in the prior art (Page 2; ¶ 4).
Regarding claim 21, TAKAHASHI discloses; the quadrilateral-shaped footprints of the stacked structures have substantially a same footprint area as (Fig 1-3; Josephson junction 30 on substrate 10 having a same quadrilateral-shaped footprint area).
Regarding claim 22, TAKAHASHI discloses; the first metal layer and the second metal layer each comprise a superconducting metal (Fig 1-3; Josephson junction 30 with superconducting film 14 and 18 overlap at region 28); and the insulating layer comprises an oxide of the superconducting metal (Fig 1-3; oxygen is introduced into the chamber to oxidize the surface of the superconducting film 14 and insulating film 16 is formed thereon).
Regarding claim 25, TAKAHASHI discloses; the tunnel junction device comprises a Josephson junction of a superconducting quantum bit (Page 4; ¶ 4; qubit chips formed on the wafer-shaped substrate 10).
Claim(s) 18 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAKAHASHI – WO-2023/203679, in view of Li, Zhou- CN 114596890 as applied to claims 15-17, 19-23 and 25 above, and further in view of Wang, US 2007/0064351.
Regarding claims 18 and 24, TAKAHASHI substantially discloses the invention of tunnel junction device with forming overlapping superconducting films with mask but is silent about the first metal layer comprises an extended portion which provides a first contact pad for the tunnel junction device; and the second metal layer comprises an extended portion which provides a second contact pad for the tunnel junction device. However, Wang teaches that for the tunnel junction was grown on a substrate with second electrode was formed by e-beam evaporation of Au contact pads through a shadow mask (Fig. 2 and [0035]). It would have been obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify TAKAHASHI in view of Li, Zhou by providing the first metal layer comprises an extended portion which provides a first contact pad for the tunnel junction device; and the second metal layer comprises an extended portion which provides a second contact pad for the tunnel junction device in claims 18 and 24, to provide tunneling spin filter junctions having contact pads suitable for operation at room temperature and providing high performance [0008].
Conclusion
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/AZM PARVEZ/
Examiner
Art Unit 2892
/NORMAN D RICHARDS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2892
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