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 § 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 and 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over O’Brien et al (PG Pub 2021/0013397 A1).
Regarding claim 1, O’Brien teaches a magnetic device comprising: a magnetic layer (116, fig. 1A, paragraph [0036]) having a ferromagnetic phase to support magnetic skyrmions and an antiferromagnetic phase to annihilate magnetic skyrmions (fig. 1B, paragraph [0034]), the magnetic layer being capable of transiting between the ferromagnetic phase and the antiferromagnetic phase (paragraph [0036]); a ferroelectric layer (104) adapted to magnetoelectrically couple (paragraphs [0042] to [0044] and abstract) with the magnetic layer to cause the magnetic layer to transit between the ferromagnetic phase and the antiferromagnetic phase in response to a polarization state of the ferroelectric layer, the polarization state includes a first polarization state corresponding to the ferromagnetic state and a second polarization state corresponding to the antiferromagnetic state (paragraphs [0042] to [0044] and abstract); and a first electrode and a second electrode (120/102) sandwiching the magnetic layer and the ferroelectric layer; electron current causes switching the polarization state of the ferroelectric layer to control a phase transition of the magnetic layer between the ferromagnetic phase and the antiferromagnetic phase to create or annihilate magnetic skyrmions in the magnetic layer (paragraphs [0043][0044]).
Although O’Brien does not explicitly teach a voltage is being applied to the electrodes to create/annihilate the skyrmions, paragraph [0044], for example, teaches electron current changes the magnetization of the free layer 104; and paragraph [0043] teaches that the skyrmions is coupled to the free layer 104 and can be switched with current. The two paragraphs imply that electron current creates and annihilates the skyrmions.
Thus, it would have been obvious to the skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adapt the first electrode and the second electrode to receive an applied voltage for the benefit of creating electron current.
Regarding claim 9, O’Brien teaches (see claim 1) a method for forming a magnetic device, the method comprising: forming a magnetic layer having a ferromagnetic phase to support magnetic skyrmions and an antiferromagnetic phase to annihilate magnetic skyrmions, the magnetic layer being capable of transiting between the ferromagnetic phase and the antiferromagnetic phase; forming a ferroelectric layer adapted to magnetoelectrically couple with the magnetic layer to cause the magnetic layer to transit between the ferromagnetic phase and the antiferromagnetic phase in response to a polarization state of the ferroelectric layer, the polarization state includes a first polarization state associated with the ferromagnetic state and a second polarization state associated with the antiferromagnetic state; and forming a first electrode and a second electrode sandwiching the magnetic layer and the ferroelectric layer, the first electrode and the second electrode being adapted to receive an applied voltage for altering the polarization state of the ferroelectric layer to control a phase transition of the magnetic layer between the ferromagnetic phase and the antiferromagnetic phase to create or annihilate magnetic skyrmions in the magnetic layer.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-8 and 10-17 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Prior art does not teach
“wherein the magnetic layer includes a (La,Ba)MnO3 (LBMO) layer” (claims 2 and 10); nor
“the magnetic layer is formed immediately adjacent to the ferroelectric layer” (claims 8 and 17).
Conclusion
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/FEIFEI YEUNG LOPEZ/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899