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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 13-20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The primary reason for the allowance of the claim is the inclusion of the limitation “forming trenches in the sacrificial layer;
forming conductive layers corresponding to supporting arms on the trenches and connecting the conductive layers to the legs” as recited in independent claim 13, in all of the claims which is not found in the prior art references.
Claims 14-20 are allowed for the same reasons as claim 13, from which they depend.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Claim 5 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 primary reason for the allowance of the claims is the inclusion of the limitation, along with the other claimed features, “wherein the absorption layer is on the conductive layer, and wherein the plurality of valley portions are partially exposed from the absorption layer ”, as recited in claim 5.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6, 10, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keenan (U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,649, hereinafter refer to Keenan) in view of Yang et al. (U.S. 2011/0049366 A1, hereinafter refer to Yang).
Regarding Claim 1: Keenan discloses a discloses a thermal image sensor (see Keenan, Fig.10 as shown below and col.1, lines 5-10) comprising:
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a substrate (122) (see Keenan, Fig.10 as shown above);
a row electrode (126) and a column electrode (128) on the substrate (122) (see Keenan, Fig.10 as shown above);
a multi-layer stack comprising an absorption layer (132) and a temperature sensor (136) (see Keenan, Fig.10 as shown above, col.4, lines 64-67, and col.5, lines 1-22);
wherein the supporting arms (138) have a concave-convex shape comprising a plurality of concave portions and a plurality of convex portions (see Keenan, Fig.10 as shown above); and
legs (152) protruding from the row electrode (126) and the column electrode (126), wherein the legs (152) are connected to extended ends of the supporting arms (138) to allow the multi-layer stack (132/136) to float above the substrate (122) (see Keenan, Fig.10 as shown above, Fig.2, and col.8, lines 15-27).
Keenan is silent upon explicitly disclosing wherein supporting arms that extend from diagonal corners of the multi-layer stack and that are spaced apart from both sides of the multi-layer stack.
Before effective filing date of the claimed invention the disclosed supporting arms were known to extend from diagonal corners of the multi-layer stack and that are spaced apart from both sides of the multi-layer stack in order to obtain a bolometer for an infrared detector, which has superior properties.
For support see Yang, which teaches wherein supporting arms (b) that extend from diagonal corners of the multi-layer stack (130/a) and that are spaced apart from both sides of the multi-layer stack (130/a) (see Yang, Figs.1-2 as shown below, ¶ [0012]- ¶ [0013], and ¶ [0052]- ¶ [0057]).
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Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Keenan and Yang to enable the supporting arms of Keenan to extend from diagonal corners of the multi-layer stack and that are spaced apart from both sides of the multi-layer stack as taught by Yang in order to obtain a bolometer for an infrared detector, which has superior properties.
Regarding Claim 2: Keenan as modified teaches a discloses a thermal image sensor as set forth in claim 1 as above. The combination of Keenan and Yang further teaches wherein a supporting arm (138) from among the supporting arms (138) comprises a conductive layer electrically connected to a leg (124) from among the legs (124), and has an undulating shape comprising a plurality of valley portions and a plurality of peak portions, wherein the plurality of valley portions are closer to the substrate (122) than the plurality of peak portions (see Keenan, Fig.10 as shown above and Fig.2).
Regarding Claim 3: Keenan as modified teaches a discloses a thermal image sensor as set forth in claim 2 as above. The combination of Keenan and Yang further teaches wherein the conductive layer (138) comprises a material having a thermal conductance determined based on at least one from among a size, shape, and a number of the plurality of valley portions and the plurality of peak portions (see Keenan, Fig.10 as shown above and Fig.2).
Note: the discovery of a previously unappreciated property of a prior art composition, or of a scientific explanation for the prior art’s functioning, does not render the old composition patentably new to the discoverer.
Regarding Claim 4: Keenan as modified teaches a discloses a thermal image sensor as set forth in claim 2 as above. The combination of Keenan and Yang further teaches wherein a height of the plurality of peak portions is greater than or equal to a height of the legs (124) (see Keenan, Fig.10 as shown above and Fig.2).
Regarding Claim 6: Keenan as modified teaches a discloses a thermal image sensor as set forth in claim 2 as above. The combination of Keenan and Yang further teaches wherein the plurality of valley portions comprise a hole (see Keenan, Fig.10 as shown above).
Regarding Claim 10: Keenan as modified teaches a discloses a thermal image sensor as set forth in claim 1 as above. The combination of Keenan and Yang is silent upon explicitly disclosing wherein the supporting arms are equal to half of a length of the multi-layer stack.
However, the combination of Keenan and Yang teaches wherein the supporting arms (b) are lease than a length of the multi-layer stack (130/a) (see Yang, Figs.1-2 as shown above).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art of making semiconductor devices to determine the workable or optimal value for the length of the supporting arms and the multi-layer stack through routine experimentation and optimization to obtain optimal or desired device performance because the length of the supporting arms and the multi-layer stack is a result-effective variable and there is no evidence indicating that it is critical or produces any unexpected results and it has been held that it is not inventive to discover the optimum or workable ranges of a result-effective variable within given prior art conditions by routine experimentation. See MPEP § 2144.05
Regarding Claim 12: Keenan as modified teaches a discloses a thermal image sensor as set forth in claim 1 as above. The combination of Keenan and Yang further teaches wherein the temperature sensor comprises a thermal resistance layer (136) (see Keenan, Fig.10 as shown above).
Claim(s) 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keenan (U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,649, hereinafter refer to Keenan) and Yang et al. (U.S. 2011/0049366 A1, hereinafter refer to Yang) as applied to claim 6 above, and further in view of Lee (U.S. 2007/0262256 A1, hereinafter refer to Lee).
Regarding Claim 7: Keenan as modified teaches a discloses a thermal image sensor as applied to claim 6 above. The combination of Keenan and Yang is silent upon explicitly disclosing wherein thermal isolation holes are patterned in the absorption layer of the multi-layer stack.
Before effective filing date of the claimed invention the disclosed thermal isolation holes were known to be patterned in the absorption layer of the multi-layer stack in order to provide thermal isolation.
For support see Lee, which teaches wherein thermal isolation holes (216) are patterned in the absorption layer (214) of the multi-layer stack (214/212) (see Lee, Fig.5 and ¶ [0045]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Keenan, Yang, and Lee to enable the thermal isolation holes to be patterned in the absorption layer of the multi-layer stack as taught by Lee in order to provide thermal isolation.
Claim(s) 8-9 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Keenan (U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,649, hereinafter refer to Keenan) and Yang et al. (U.S. 2011/0049366 A1, hereinafter refer to Yang) as applied to claims 1 and 2 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (U.S. 2023/0213390 A1, hereinafter refer to Kim).
Regarding Claims 8, 9, and 11: Keenan as modified teaches a discloses a thermal image sensor as applied to claims 1 and 2 above. The combination of Keenan and Yang is silent upon explicitly disclosing wherein the supporting arms comprise an additional temperature sensor (as claimed in claim 8);
wherein the additional temperature sensor comprises Magnetic Tunnel Junctions (MTJ) elements, wherein the MTJ elements are on the plurality of peak portions of the conductive layer (as claimed in claim 9);
wherein the temperature sensor comprises an MTJ element array comprising the MTJ elements connected to each other (as claimed in claim 11).
Before effective filing date of the claimed invention the disclosed supporting arms were known to comprise an additional temperature sensor, wherein the additional temperature sensor comprises Magnetic Tunnel Junctions (MTJ) elements, wherein the MTJ elements are on the plurality of peak portions of the conductive layer in order to obtain a long wavelength infrared sensor in which heat is effectively transferred to magnetoresistive elements having an antiparallel state.
For support see Kim, which teaches wherein the supporting arms (126) comprise an additional temperature sensor (LM/UM) (see Kim, Fig.17 and ¶ [0005]) (as claimed in claim 8);
wherein the additional temperature sensor comprises Magnetic Tunnel Junctions (MTJ) elements (LM/UM), wherein the MTJ elements (LM/UM) are on the plurality of peak portions of the conductive layer (126) (see Kim, Fig.17 and ¶ [0005]) (as claimed in claim 9);
wherein the temperature sensor comprises an MTJ element array (LM/UM) comprising the MTJ elements (LM/UM) connected to each other (see Kim, Fig.17 and ¶ [0005]) (as claimed in claim 11).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before effective filing date of the claimed invention to combine the teachings of Keenan, Yang, and Kim to enable the supporting arms of the combination of Keenan and Yang to comprise an additional temperature sensor, wherein the additional temperature sensor comprises Magnetic Tunnel Junctions (MTJ) elements, wherein the MTJ elements are on the plurality of peak portions of the conductive layer as taught by Kim in order to obtain a long wavelength infrared sensor in which heat is effectively transferred to magnetoresistive elements having an antiparallel state.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BITEW A DINKE whose telephone number is (571)272-0534. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7 a.m. - 5 p.m..
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Davienne Monbleau can be reached at (571)272-1945. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BITEW A DINKE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812