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 § 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.
Claims 1-5, 10 and 12-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Glassman et al. (US Pub. No.: 2020/0144496, from hereinafter “Glassman”).
Re Claim 1. Glassman discloses, a resistive random access memory, comprising:
a plurality of unit structures (152-155), disposed on a substrate (121), wherein each of the plurality of unit structures comprises:
a first electrode (122), disposed on the substrate; and
a first metal oxide layer (126), disposed on the first electrode; and
a second electrode (132), disposed on the plurality of unit structures and connected to the plurality of unit structures.
Claim 2. Glassman discloses, wherein in each of the plurality of unit structures, a top width is less than or substantially equal to a bottom width.
Re Claim 3. Glassman discloses, wherein a material of the first electrode comprises titanium, tantalum, titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, aluminum titanium nitride, titanium tungsten, platinum, iridium, tungsten, ruthenium, graphite, or a combination thereof [0032].
Re Claim 4. Glassman discloses, wherein a material of the second electrode comprises titanium, tantalum, titanium nitride, tantalum nitride, aluminum titanium nitride, titanium tungsten, platinum, iridium, tungsten, ruthenium, graphite, or a combination thereof [0034].
Claim 5. Glassman discloses, further comprising a second metal oxide layer (124) disposed on the plurality of unit structures and connected to the plurality of unit structures, wherein the second electrode is located on the second metal oxide layer.
Re Claim 10. Glassman discloses, wherein a material of the first metal oxide layer comprises hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, hafnium zirconium oxide, hafnium aluminum oxide, hafnium oxynitride, hafnium silicon oxide, hafnium strontium oxide, hafnium yttrium oxide, or a combination thereof [0033].
Re Claim 12. Glassman discloses, wherein the plurality of unit structures are arranged in an array.
Re Claim 13. Glassman discloses, comprising a plurality of the second electrodes arranged parallel to each other, wherein each of the second electrodes is connected in series with the unit structures in one row of the array.
Re Claim 14. Glassman discloses in Fig. 5, further comprising a via (530) disposed on the second electrode.
Re Claim 15. Glassman discloses in Fig. 6B, further comprising a circuit layer (4400) disposed on the via and connected to the via.
Re Claim 16. Glassman discloses in Fig. 3A, further comprising a spacer (340) disposed on sidewalls of the first electrode and the first metal oxide layer.
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.
Claims 6-7, 11 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Glassman.
Re Claim 6. Glassman fails to discloses:
wherein a material of the second metal oxide layer comprises hafnium oxide, zirconium oxide, hafnium zirconium oxide, hafnium aluminum oxide, hafnium oxynitride, hafnium silicon oxide, hafnium strontium oxide, hafnium yttrium oxide, or a combination thereof.
However, Glassman discloses:
wherein a material of the second metal oxide layer comprises titanium oxide.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Re Claim 7. Glassman fails to disclose, wherein the second metal oxide layer is an oxygen-rich layer.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Re Claim 11. Glassman fails to disclose, wherein the first metal oxide layer is a metal-rich layer.
However, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Re Claim 17. Glassman fails to disclose, wherein the second electrode is used as a bit line.
However, the claim would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed because a particular known technique was recognized as part of the ordinary capabilities of one skilled in the art, and “a person of ordinary skill has good reason to pursue the known options within his or her technical grasp.” KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1385 (U.S. 2007). See also, Pfizer Inc. v. Apotex Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1852 (Fed. Cir. 2007).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8 and 9 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Re Claim 8. The prior art, individually or in combination, neither anticipates nor renders obvious the claimed limitation for the particular features and arrangement of a RRAM comprising, “a conductive barrier layer disposed between the second electrode and the second metal oxide layer”.
Re Claim 9. Glassman fails to disclose, wherein a material of the conductive barrier layer comprises iridium.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARVIN PAYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7435. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Thursday, Fridays off.
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/MARVIN PAYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899
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