DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention II (method of making semiconductor device), reflected in claims 1-16 in the reply filed on 12/17/2025 is acknowledged. Claim 17 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142 (b), as being drawn to the nonelected group.
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.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore elements, “a vertical direction” in line 6 of claim 1, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites “a vertical direction” in line 6. However, it is not understood from the claim language which direction it means. Is it vertical to a surface e.g., substrate? Is it vertical to any or both of the other two directions cited in the instant claim i.e., first direction (X) and second direction (Y) etc.? Thus, the limitation “a vertical direction” is indefinite.
For examination, the ‘vertical direction’ will be considered as the second direction described in claim 1.
As claims 2-16 depend on the above rejected claim 1, they are also being rejected on the same reason.
Examiner’s Note
The applicant is suggested to look at the below prior arts, which are related to claimed novelty:
REBOH; Shay et al. (US 20180175167 A1),
Ok; Injo et al. ( US 10615257 B2),
Frougier; Julien et al. (US 9947804 B1),
Mochizuki; Shogo et al. (US 10453824 B1),
Lai; Erh-Kun (US 9324731 B1).
In the case of amending the claimed invention, Applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and also to verify and ascertain the metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-16 will be allowed after the above drawing objection is withdrawn and the above 35 USC § 112 rejection is withdrawn/overcome.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding independent claim 1, the prior arts of record do not anticipate or make obvious, inter alia, the steps of:
wherein in a second direction, a bottom width of the through-hole is greater than a top width of the through-hole, and wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction; and
performing a lateral etching on exposed first sacrificial layers along the through-hole, removing a portion of the first sacrificial layers to expose top surfaces and bottom surfaces of the semiconductor columns.
The closest prior art REBOH; Shay et al. (US 20180175167 A1) teaches a similar method for fabricating a semiconductor structure, comprising: providing a substrate (104, fig. 1A); forming stacked structures (fig. 1B) on the substrate (104), wherein the stacked structures are arranged at intervals along a first direction (X), wherein each of the stacked structures comprises first sacrificial layers (116) and semiconductor columns (114) stacked alternately along a vertical direction (Z); forming an isolation structure (118, fig. 1C), wherein the isolation structure (118) is disposed between adjacent stack structures along the first direction; etching the isolation structure (118, fig. 1D) to form a through-hole, wherein the through-hole exposes a part of a surface of the substrate (114), and also exposes at least a side surface of the stacked structures, but are silent on the limitations, wherein in a second direction, a bottom width of the through-hole is greater than a top width of the through-hole, and wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction; and performing a lateral etching on exposed first sacrificial layers along the through-hole, removing a portion of the first sacrificial layers to expose top surfaces and bottom surfaces of the semiconductor columns.
Claims 2-16 will be allowed as they depend on independent claim 1.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMAD M HOQUE whose telephone number is (571)272-6266 and email address is mohammad.hoque@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-7PM EST.
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/MOHAMMAD M HOQUE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817
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