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 Objections
Claim 1 objected to because of the following informalities: The phrase “an processing chamber” should be changed to “a processing chamber”. Also, the term “the annealing chamber” should be changed to “the processing chamber”. Annealing chamber was not mentioned in the claims prior to the use if this phrase. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 2 objected to because of the following informalities: The phrase “the annealing ambient” should be changed to “the processing ambient”. Annealing ambient was not mentioned in the claims prior to the use of this phrase. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 6 objected to because of the following informalities: The phrase “an processing chamber” should be changed to “a processing chamber”. Also, the term “the annealing chamber” should be changed to “the processing chamber”. Annealing chamber was not mentioned in the claims prior to the use if this phrase. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 9 objected to because of the following informalities: The phrase “an separate material” should be changed to “a separate material”.
Claim 12 objected to because of the following informalities: The phrase “annealing ambient” should be changed to “processing ambient”. Annealing ambient was not mentioned in the claims prior to the use of this phrase. 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.
Claims 1-16 are 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 1 recites that a method for preventing penetration of hydrogen from an ambient into a material sample during high-temperature processing, comprising:
placing a material sample to be treated into a processing chamber;
placing a high-temperature hydrogen getter into the annealing chamber adjacent to the material sample being processed; and
processing the material sample at a temperature of about 500 to about 2000°C and at a pressure of about 0.1 to about 2000 MPa;
wherein the high-temperature hydrogen getter absorbs hydrogen from the processing ambient and prevents the hydrogen from penetrating into the material sample during processing at the processing temperature.
This is claim is indefinite because the phrase a “temperature of about 500 to about 2000°C” does not distinctly claim a temperature range. This phrase should be changed to “temperature of 500 to 2000°C”. The phase a “pressure of about 0.1 to about 2000 MPa” does not distinctly claim a pressure range. This phrase should be changed to “pressure of 0.1 to 2000 MPa”.
For purposes of examination on the merits, Claim 1 is interpreted to recite that a method for preventing penetration of hydrogen from an ambient into a material sample during high-temperature processing, comprising:
placing a material sample to be treated into a processing chamber;
placing a high-temperature hydrogen getter into the processing chamber adjacent to the material sample being processed; and
processing the material sample at a temperature of 500 to 2000°C and at a pressure of 0.1 to 2000 MPa;
wherein the high-temperature hydrogen getter absorbs hydrogen from the processing ambient and prevents the hydrogen from penetrating into the material sample during processing at the processing temperature.
Claim 5 recites the method according to claim 4, wherein the III-Nitride material sample is GaN; and wherein the annealing temperature is about 800 to about 1500 °C.
This claim is indefinite because the phrase “temperature is about 800 to about 1500 °C” does not distinctly claim a temperature range. This phrase should be changed to “temperature is 800 to 1500°C”.
For purposes of examination on the merits, Claim 5 is interpreted to recite the method according to claim 4, wherein the III-Nitride material sample is GaN; and
wherein the annealing temperature is 800 to 1500°C.
Claim 6 recites that a method for preventing penetration of hydrogen from an ambient into a material sample during high-temperature processing, comprising:
placing a material sample to be treated into an processing chamber;
placing a high-temperature hydrogen-blocking barrier layer into the annealing chamber adjacent to the material sample being processed; and
processing the material sample at a temperature of about 500 to about 2000°C and at a pressure of about 0.1 to about 2000 MPa;
wherein a high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer prevents hydrogen from the processing ambient from penetrating into the material sample during processing at the processing temperature.
This is claim is indefinite because the phrase “temperature of about 500 to about 2000°C” does not distinctly claim a temperature range. This phrase should be changed to “temperature of 500 to 2000°C”. The phase a “pressure of about 0.1 to about 2000 MPa” does not distinctly claim a pressure range. This phrase should be changed to “pressure of 0.1 to 2000 MPa”.
For purposes of examination on the merits, Claim 6 is interpreted to recite that a method for preventing penetration of hydrogen from an ambient into a material sample during high-temperature processing, comprising:
placing a material sample to be treated into a processing chamber;
placing a high-temperature hydrogen-blocking barrier layer into the processing chamber adjacent to the material sample being processed; and
processing the material sample at a temperature of 500 to 2000°C and at a pressure of 0.1 to 2000 MPa;
wherein a high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer prevents hydrogen from the processing ambient from penetrating into the material sample during processing at the processing temperature.
Claim 13 recites the method according to claim 12, wherein the III-Nitride material sample is GaN; and
wherein the annealing temperature is about 800 to about 1500 °C.
This claim is indefinite because the phrase temperature is about 800 to about 1500 °C does not distinctly claim a temperature range. This phrase should be changed to temperature is 800 to 1500 °C.
For purposes of examination on the merits, Claim 13 is interpreted to recite the method according to claim 12, wherein the III-Nitride material sample is GaN; and
wherein the annealing temperature is 800 to 1500 °C.
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 1-6, 8, 12 and 13 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Briere (US8729561B1) and Faye et al (Study of damage formation and annealing of implanted III-nitride semiconductors for optoelectronic device).
With respect to Claim 1, Briere teaches in Fig 2A and Fig 2C, a method for preventing penetration of hydrogen from an ambient into a material sample during high-temperature processing, comprising:
placing a material sample (Fig 2A; 204; Column 2 Line 46-47) to be treated into a processing chamber;
placing a high-temperature hydrogen getter (Fig 2A; 202; Column 2 Line 46-47) into the processing chamber adjacent to the material sample being processed;
and
wherein the high-temperature hydrogen getter absorbs hydrogen from the processing ambient (Fig 2A; 210; Col 2 Line 64-65a and 174; Fig 1) and prevents the hydrogen from penetrating into the material sample during processing at the processing temperature (Fig 2C displays hydrogen carrier gas impurities; 210 Column 3 Line 16-19; absorbing to the hydrogen getter material;202; during the annealing process ;216; The hydrogen molecules in the surrounding open ambient space would also absorb to the hydrogen getter during the annealing process and not penetrate into the material sample) ; and
Briere does not teach processing the material sample at a temperature of 500 to 2000°C and at a pressure of 0.1 to 2000 MPa; and
Faye et al teach processing the material sample at a temperature of 500 to 2000°C (Experimental Details Section ¶ [1] Line 19-22) and at a pressure of 0.1 to 2000 MPa (Experimental Details Section ¶ [1] Line 19-22);
It would be obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of Briere, using a hydrogen getter material to absorb the hydrogen molecules from the ambient in the processing chamber during an annealing process, and the invention of Faye, annealing III-Nitride materials at 1400°C and 1GPa, to design a method to anneal III-Nitride at an obvious and well-known temperature and pressure that are optimized annealing conditions to recover the ion implantation damage in GaN Faye (Experimental Details Lines 20-22) while absorbing hydrogen molecules in the ambient.
However, the ordinary artisan would have recognized the temperature range and the pressure range during the annealing process of the material sample to be a result effective variable affecting the results of the annealing process and the purity of the metal being processed. Thus, it would have been obvious to anneal a metal sample within the claimed range, since optimum or workable ranges of such variables are discoverable through routine experimentation. see MPEP 2144.05 II.B.
With respect to Claim 2, Briere and Faye teach the method according to Claim 1.
Briere teaches in Fig 2B, the high-temperature hydrogen getter comprises:
a getter material (Fig 2B; 202; Column 2 Line 54-67) that absorbs and retains hydrogen from the processing ambient;
a surface material (Fig 2B; 212; Column 3 Line 58-59) that protects the getter material from damage from elements in the annealing ambient at the processing temperature; and
a diffusion-blocking layer situated between the getter material and the surface material (Column 3 Line 58-67), the diffusion-blocking layer preventing diffusion between the getter material and the surface material at the processing temperature.
With respect to Claim 3, Briere and Faye teach the method according to Claim 1.
Briere teaches in Fig 2A the material sample is a III-Nitride material (Fig 2A; 202; Column 2; Line 24-26)
With respect to Claim 4, Briere and Faye teach the method according to Claim 1.
Briere teaches in Column 2 and Column 4, the material sample is an III-Nitride sample implanted with dopant ions (Column 2 Line 39-42); wherein
the high-temperature processing is an annealing to activate the implanted dopant ions (Column 4; Line 36-50); and wherein
the hydrogen getter absorbs hydrogen from the processing ambient at an annealing temperature (Fig 2C; 202; 210(a-e); Column 4; Line 32-34; hydrogen carrier gas inside body of material sample is considered ambient space, and the hydrogen molecules in the surrounding open ambient space would also absorb to the hydrogen getter material).
With respect to Claim 5, Briere and Faye teach the method according to claim 4.
Briere teaches in Column 3, the III-Nitride material sample is GaN (Column 3 Line 13-14);
Briere does not teach that the annealing temperature is 800 to 1500 °C.
Faye teaches in the Experimental Details Section, the annealing temperature is 800 to 1500 °C (Experimental Details Section ¶ [1] Line 19-22).
It would be obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of Briere, annealing a material sample of GaN implanted with dopant ions in a processing chamber in the presence of a hydrogen getter, and Faye, annealing a GaN material implanted with dopant ions at a temperature of 1400°C to design a method to anneal GaN at an obvious and well known temperature that is an optimized annealing condition to recover the ion implantation damage in GaN Faye (Experimental Details Lines 20-22) while using a getter material to absorb hydrogen molecules from the ambient to prevent metal contamination in III Nitride material with dopant ions.
However, the ordinary artisan would have recognized the temperature range during the annealing process of the GaN sample to be a result effective variable affecting the results of the annealing process. Thus, it would have been obvious to anneal the GaN sample within the claimed range, since optimum or workable ranges of such variables are discoverable through routine experimentation. see MPEP 2144.05 II.B.
With respect to Claim 6, Briere teaches in Fig 2A a method for preventing penetration of hydrogen from an ambient into a material sample during high-temperature processing, comprising:
placing a material sample (Fig 2A; 204; Column 2 Line 46-47) to be treated into a processing chamber;
placing a high-temperature hydrogen-blocking barrier layer (Fig 2A; 202; Column 2 Line 46-47) into the processing chamber adjacent to the material sample being processed; wherein
a high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer prevents hydrogen from the processing ambient (Fig 2A; 210; Col 2 Line 64-65a and 174; Fig 1) from penetrating into the material sample during processing at the processing temperature (Fig 2C displays hydrogen carrier gas impurities; 210 Column 3 Line 16-19; absorbing to the hydrogen getter material;202; during the annealing process ;216; The hydrogen molecules in the surrounding open ambient space would also absorb to the hydrogen getter during the annealing process and not penetrate into the material sample).
Briere does not teach processing the material sample at a temperature of 500 to 2000°C and at a pressure of 0.1 to 2000 MPa;
Faye teaches in Experimental Details Section, processing the material sample at a temperature of 500 to 2000°C (Experimental Details Section ¶ [1] Line 19-22) and at a pressure of 0.1 to 2000 MPa (Experimental Details Section ¶ [1] Line 19-22);
It would be obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of Briere, using a hydrogen getter material to absorb the hydrogen molecules from the ambient in the processing chamber during an annealing process, and the invention of Faye, annealing III-Nitride materials at 1400°C and 1GPa, to design a method to anneal III Nitride at an obvious and well-known temperature and pressure while absorbing hydrogen molecules and the temperature is an optimized annealing conditions to recover the ion implantation damage in GaN Faye (Experimental Details Lines 20-22).
However, the ordinary artisan would have recognized the temperature range and the pressure range during the annealing process of the material sample to be a result effective variable affecting the results of the annealing process. Thus, it would have been obvious to anneal a metal sample within the claimed range, since optimum or workable ranges of such variables are discoverable through routine experimentation. see MPEP 2144.05 II.B.
With respect to Claim 8, Briere and Faye teach the method according to claim 6.
Briere teaches in Fig 2A, the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer comprises a layer deposited on an upper surface of the material sample before processing (Fig 2A; 202; Column 2 Lin 54-55).
With respect to Claim 12, Briere and Faye teach the method according to claim 6.
Briere teaches in Fig 2A and Fig 2C, the material sample is an III-Nitride sample implanted with dopant ions (Fig 2a; 208; Column 3 Line 1-3)
wherein the high-temperature processing is an annealing to activate the implanted dopant ions (Fig 2C; 216; Column 4 Line 56-68); and
wherein the hydrogen-blocking layer prevents hydrogen from the processing ambient from penetrating into the III-Nitride sample at an annealing temperature (Fig 2C displays hydrogen carrier gas impurities absorbing to the hydrogen getter material during the annealing process 216; Fig 2C so the hydrogen molecules in the surrounding open ambient space would also absorb to the hydrogen getter and not penetrate into the material sample).
With respect to Claim 13, Briere and Faye teach the method according to Claim 12.
Briere teaches in Fig 2A, the III-Nitride material sample is GaN (Fig 2A; 204; Column 3 Line 12-14); and
Briere does not teach wherein the annealing temperature is about 800 to about 1500 °C.
Faye teaches in Experimental Details Section, wherein the annealing temperature is about 800 to about 1500 °C a (Experimental Details Section ¶ [1] Line 19-22).
It would be obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art to combine the invention of Briere, annealing a material sample of III-Nitride implanted with dopant ions in a processing chamber in the presence of a hydrogen-blocking layer, and Faye, annealing a III-Nitride implanted with dopant ions at a temperature of 1400°C, to design a method to anneal III-Nitride at an obvious and well known temperature to activate the implanted dopant ions while using a hydrogen-blocking layer material to absorb hydrogen molecules and the annealing temperature is optimized to recover the ion implantation damage in GaN Faye (Experimental Details Lines 20-22).
However, the ordinary artisan would have recognized the temperature range and annealing process of the material sample to be a result effective variable affecting the results of the annealing process. Thus, it would have been obvious to anneal a metal sample within the claimed range, since optimum or workable ranges of such variables are discoverable through routine experimentation. see MPEP 2144.05 II.B.
Claims 7 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Briere (US8729561B1) and Faye (Study of damage formation and annealing of implanted III-nitride semiconductors for optoelectronic device) and in further view of Negley (US20050211999A1).
With respect to Claim 7, Briere and Faye teach the method according to claim 6,
Briere and Faye do not teach wherein the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer comprises n-type GaN, AlN, InN, ScN, BN, and/or alloys thereof.
Negley teaches in Fig 4, wherein the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer comprises n-type GaN, AlN, InN, ScN, BN, and/or alloys thereof (Fig 4; 16; ¶ [0057]).
It would be obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art to combine to invention of Briere and Faye, a method to block hydrogen molecules from penetrating a sample material by placing a hydrogen-blocking layer into the annealing chamber, and the invention of Negley, a semiconductor device structure with n-type GaN layer adjacent to a p-type GaN layer during an annealing process, to design a method to anneal the material structure while using a n-type GaN layer being a widely used semiconductor material with a wide bandgap (Negley ¶ [0002]) to block the hydrogen molecules from penetrating the sample material.
With respect to Claim 11, Briere and Faye teach the method according to claim 6.
Briere and Faye does not teach the material sample is p-type and the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer is n-type.
Negley teaches in Fig 4, the material sample is p-type (Fig 4; 31; ¶ [0057]) and the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer is n-type (Fig 4; 16; ¶ [0030]).
It would be obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of Briere and Faye, a method to block hydrogen molecules from penetrating a sample material by placing a hydrogen-blocking layer into the annealing chamber, and the invention of Negley, a semiconductor device structure with n-type GaN layer adjacent to a p-type GaN layer during an annealing process , to design a method to anneal the material sample while using a n-type GaN layer to block the hydrogen molecules from penetrating the sample material. Also, placing a n-type and p-type material adjacent to one another forms a p-n junction (Negley ¶ [0030]) in the device allowing for unique electrical behavior to occur depending on the direction potential is biased.
Claims 9, 10, 14, 15, 16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Briere (US8729561B1) and Faye (Study of damage formation and annealing of implanted III-nitride semiconductors for optoelectronic device) and in further view of Laven (US20140117502A1).
With respect to Claim 9, Briere and Faye teach the method according to claim 6.
Briere and Faye do not teach wherein the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer comprises a separate material layer situated within the material sample being processed.
Laven teaches in Fig 3A and Fig 3G, the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer comprises a separate material layer (315 and 304; Fig 3A; ¶ [0041]) and (334 (part of 304); Fig 3G; ¶ [0051 and ¶ [0065]]) situated within the material sample being processed (313; Fig 3A; ¶ [0041]).
It would be obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of Briere and Faye, a method to block hydrogen molecules from penetrating a sample material by placing a hydrogen-blocking layer into the annealing chamber, and the invention of Laven, a semiconductor device structure with n-type GaN layer situated within a p-type material sample layer, to design a method to anneal the material sample having a hydrogen-blocking layer cover a targeted portion of the material sample and the gettering region being used to prevent contamination (Laven ¶ [0065]) and further controlling of the pathway of the hydrogen molecule diffusion at the interface of the sample material.
With respect to Claim 10, Brier and Faye teach the method according to claim 6.
Briere and Faye do not teach wherein the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer comprises an insitu dopant-implanted region layer within the material sample being processed.
Laven teaches in Fig 3A, wherein the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer comprises an insitu dopant-implanted region layer (315 and 304; Fig 3A; ¶ [0041] ¶ [0057]) within the material sample being processed (313; Fig 3A; ¶ [0041]).
It would be obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of Briere and Faye, a method to block hydrogen molecules from penetrating a sample material by placing a hydrogen-blocking layer into the annealing chamber, and the invention of Laven, a semiconductor device structure with a n-type doped GaN layer situated within a material sample layer, to design a method to anneal the material sample having a hydrogen-blocking layer cover a targeted portion of the sample material with ions implanted and be a gettering centers for heavy metal contamination (Laven ¶ [0057).
With respect to Claim 14, Brier and Faye teach the method according to claim 6.
Briere and Faye do not teach teaches wherein the material sample comprises a III-Nitride material and the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer is a doped layer of the III-Nitride material.
Laven teaches in Fig 3A, wherein the material sample comprises a III-Nitride material (Fig 3A; 313 and 302; ¶ [0034]) and the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer is a doped layer of the III-Nitride material (Fig 3A; 304, 315 and 302; ¶ [0034] and 306; Fig 3A; ¶ [0041]).
It would be obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of Briere and Faye, a method to block hydrogen molecules from penetrating a sample material by placing a hydrogen-blocking layer into the annealing chamber, and the invention of Laven, a semiconductor device structure with a GaN layer situated within a doped GaN material sample layer, to design a method to anneal a device with a GaN material electrical system and allow for each layer to have a unique annealing temperature due to the differences in crystal structure defects. Also, the doped hydrogen blocking layer can be configured to block a pre-determined amount of hydrogen from reaching the material sample due to the attraction hydrogen has to the ions implanted in the hydrogen-blocking to be a gettering centers for heavy metal contamination (Laven ¶ [0057).
With respect to Claim 15, Briere and Faye teach the method according to claim 6.
Faye does not teach wherein the material sample comprises a p-type III-Nitride material -and the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer comprises an n-type material layer deposited on the p-type III-Nitride material layer.
Laven teaches in Fig 3A, wherein the material sample comprises a p-type III-Nitride material (Fig 3a; 313; ¶ [0041]) -and the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer comprises an n-type material layer (Fig 3A; 315; ¶ [0041]) deposited on the p-type III-Nitride material layer (Fig 3A; 313; ¶ [0041]).
It would be obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of Briere and Faye, a method to block hydrogen molecules from penetrating a sample material by placing a hydrogen-blocking layer into the annealing chamber, and the invention of Laven, a semiconductor device structure with n-type GaN layer that is deposited on the p-type lll-Nitride layer, to design a method to anneal a device with a GaN material electrical system and allow for each layer to have a unique annealing temperatures due to the differences in crystal structure defects. Also, p-n junction is rendered at the interface of the hydrogen-blocking layer Laven (Fig 4B; ¶ [0059]) and the material sample, allowing for unique electrical behavior depending on the direction the potential is biased.
With respect to claim 16, Briere and Faye teach the method according to claim 6.
Faye does not teach wherein the material sample comprises a p-type III-Nitride material situated within an n-type drift layer and the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer comprises an insitu doped area of the n-type drift layer.
Laven teaches in Fig 3A wherein the material sample comprises a p-type III-Nitride material (Fig 3a; 313; ¶ [0041]) situated within an n-type drift layer (Fig 3a; 306; ¶ [0041] ¶ [0065]) and the high-temperature hydrogen-blocking layer comprises an insitu doped area of the n-type drift layer (Fig 3A; 315; ¶ [0041]; The hydrogen-blocking material 315 is in the sample material 313 and the sample material 313 is in the drift later so the hydrogen-blocking material is in the drift layer 306).
It would be obvious to one with ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the invention of Briere and Faye, a method to block hydrogen molecules from penetrating a sample material by placing a hydrogen-blocking layer into the annealing chamber, and the invention of Laven, a semiconductor device structure with n-type GaN layer that is doped situated within a p-type GaN material sample layer, to design a structure with the material sample situated in the drift layer and the hydrogen-blocking layer composing an area of the drift layer resulting in a relatively clean drift layer (¶ [0075]) due to the position of the hydrogen-blocking effectively the hydrogen molecules.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure:
Francis (US7485920B2); This reference teaches the method to fabricate a doped semiconductor device for an integrated circuit.
Jullens (WO8201619A1); This reference teaches the method to fabricate bipolar transistor by ion implantation.
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/B.Q.R./Examiner, Art Unit 2817
/RATISHA MEHTA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817