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
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species I of Figs. 10A-10B in the reply filed on 06/29/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 10, 12, 15, 17-21 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 06/29/2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/05/2023 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
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.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 13, 16 and 22-25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a(1)/a(2) as being anticipated by Hwang et al. (US 2011/0180941 A1).
Regarding claim 13, Hwang et al. teaches in Figs. 19A, 19B, 25A and 25B (a modified embodiment of the embodiment 2; [0134, 0097]), a semiconductor device (3D semiconductor devices; [0005]) comprising: a first support (105; Fig. 25B, [0046]) including a first inclined surface (the left side surface of 105; Fig. 25B, [0046]); a first gate structure (175/135; [0101, 0076]) including first insulating layers (135 of silicon oxide; [0076]) and first conductive layers (175; [0101]) alternately stacked along the first inclined surface (the left side surface of 105); a second support (205; Fig. 25B, [0064]) positioned over or on the first support (105) and including a second inclined surface (the left side surface of 205; Fig. 25B); a second gate structure (275/235; [0108, 0076]) including second insulating layers (235 of silicon oxide; [0076]) and second conductive layers (275; [0108]) alternately stacked along the second inclined surface (the left side surface of 205); a channel structure (150/250/P1; Fig. 19B, [0071, 0083]) extending through the second gate structure (275/235) and the first gate structure (175/135); a first contact plug (the P1s connecting to 175; Fig. 19B, [0083]) including a top surface (the top surface of the P1s connecting to 175) positioned at substantially the same level as a top surface of the channel structure (the top surface of 150/250/P1; see Fig. 19B), on the first gate structure (175/135); and a second contact plug (the P1s connecting to 275; Fig. 19A, [0083]) connected to at least one second conductive layer (275) among the second conductive layers (275), on the second gate structure (275/235).
Regarding claim 16, Hwang et al. teaches the semiconductor device of claim 14, further comprising: a third contact plug (M1; Fig. 19B, [0083]) positioned over or on the first contact plug (the P1s connecting to 175) and connected to the first contact plug (the P1s connecting to 175; Fig. 19B).
Regarding claim 22, Hwang et al. teaches the semiconductor device of claim 13, wherein the first gate structure (175/135) includes a first cell region (175/135 in CAR; Fig. 19B, [0046]) in which the first conductive layers (175) extend in a first direction (the horizontal direction in Fig. 19B) and a first contact region (175/135 in CNR; Fig. 19B, [0046]) extending along the first inclined surface (the left side surface of 105; see Fig. 25B), wherein the second gate structure (275/235) includes a second cell region (275/235 in CAR; Fig. 19B, [0046]) in which the second conductive layers (275) extend in the first direction (the horizontal direction in Fig. 19B) and a second contact region (275/235 in CNR; Fig. 19B, [0046]) extending along the second inclined surface (the left side surface of 205; see Fig. 25B), wherein the first contact region (175/135 in CNR) and the second contact region (275/235 in CNR) overlap in a third direction (the vertical direction in Fig. 19B) crossing the first direction (the horizontal direction in Fig. 19B).
Regarding claim 23, Hwang et al. teaches the semiconductor device of claim 22, wherein a top surface of the first conductive layers (175) is positioned at substantially the same level, in the first contact region (175/135 in CNR).
Regarding claim 24, Hwang et al. teaches the semiconductor device of claim 22, wherein a top surface of the second conductive layers (275) is positioned at substantially the same level, in the second contact region (275/235 in CNR).
Regarding claim 25, Hwang et al. teaches the semiconductor device of claim 13, wherein the first inclined surface (the left side surface of 105) and the second inclined surface (the left side surface of 205) have an inclination of an acute angle (see Fig. 25B).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-9 and 11 are allowed.
Claim 14 is 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record does not teach or suggest, singularly or in combination, at least the limitations of "a first contact plug extending through the second gate structure and connected to at least one first conductive layer among the first conductive layers" as recited in claim 1 and “wherein the first contact plug extends through the second gate structure and is connected to at least one first conductive layer among the first conductive layers” of claim 14.
Conclusion
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/HSIN YI HSIEH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899 7/11/2026
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