DETAILED ACTION
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 7/29/25 and 1/23/26 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 1 is objected to because “the second drain region is doped with the first ion” should be changed to “the second drain region is doped with the first [[ion]] ions”
Claim 2 is objected to because “the thickness” should be changed to “[[the]] a thickness”
Claim 5 is objected to because “the ion concentration” should be changed to “[[the]] an ion concentration”
Claim 6 is objected to because “the material of the second source region and a material of the second drain region” should be changed to “[[the]] a material of the second source region and “[[the]] a material of the second drain region”
Claim 9 is objected to because “the first source region and the first drain region are doped with the first ion” should be changed to “the first source region and the first drain region are doped with the first [[ion]] ions”
Claim 14 is objected to because “the thickness” should be changed to “[[the]] a thickness”
Claim 17 is objected to because “the ion concentration” should be changed to “[[the]] an ion concentration”
Claim 18 is objected to because “the material” should be changed to “[[the]] a material”
Claim 19 is objected to because “the material” should be changed to “[[the]] a material”
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.
Claim(s) 1-12 and 14-21 is/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.
Claims 1 and 9 recite the limitation “the height of the second source region and the height of the second drain region are not less than the height of the substrate between the first source region and the first drain region.”
The metes and bounds of the claimed limitation can not be determined for the following reasons: the limitation specifically requires the “height” of the second source and second drain regions to be not less than the height of the substrate, but because the height is the distance from the top to the bottom of an object, this disagrees with the teachings of the specification, wherein the distance from the top of 104 to the bottom of 104 is indeed less than the distance from the top of 101 to the bottom of 101.
Claims 2-12 and 14-21 depend from claim 1 and inherit its deficiencies. Claims 10-11 and 14-19 depend from claim 9 and inherit its deficiencies.
Claim 7 recites the limitation “wherein the material of the second source region and the second drain region is Si, SiGe, or Ge.”
The metes and bounds of the claimed limitation can not be determined for the following reasons: claim 7 depends from claim 6, which requires “the material of the second source region and the material of the second drain region are binary or ternary compounds of group II-VI, group III-V, or group IV-IV.” However, Si and Ge are not binary or ternary compounds. Thus, the claim is unclear as to the requirements of the materials of the second source and drain regions.
Claim 10 recites the limitation “wherein the forming of the GAA MOSFET device, the second source region and the second drain region; specifically includes”. Claim 11 recites the limitation “wherein the forming of the second source region and the second drain region, specifically includes”.
The metes and bounds of the claimed limitation can not be determined for the following reasons: it is unclear how “specifically includes” differs in any way from “includes”, and to what degree “specifically” modifies any of the limitations following “includes.”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim(s) 1 and 9 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection(s) under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action, and if rewritten to include 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 does not explicitly teach, or reasonably suggest as obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, an invention having all of the limitations of claims 1 or 9, including specifically the bolded text that follows:
1. A gate-all-around transistor with hybrid conduction mechanism, including:
a GAA MOSFET device, which includes a substrate, a first source region, and a first drain region; the first source region and the first drain region are arranged along a first direction; wherein, the first source region and the first drain region are doped with first ions; wherein, the first direction represents a direction parallel to the substrate;
a second source region and a second drain region, the second source region is formed between the substrate and the first source region, and the second drain region is formed between the substrate and the first drain region, and
the height of the second source region and the height of the second drain region are not less than the height of the substrate between the first source region and the first drain region;
[[the height]] a location of the top surface of the second source region in a direction perpendicular to the substrate and [[the height]] a location of the top surface of the second drain region in the direction perpendicular to the substrate are not [[less]] lower than [[the height]] a location of the top surface of the substrate in the direction perpendicular to the substrate between the first source region and the first drain region;
wherein, the second drain region is doped with the first [[ion]] ions, and the second source region is doped with second ions, and the type of the first ions is different from the type of the second ions.
9. A method for manufacturing a gate-all-around transistor with hybrid conduction mechanism, used to manufacture the gate-all-around transistor with hybrid conduction mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the method includes:
forming the GAA MOSFET device, the second source region and the second drain region;
the GAA MOSFET device includes the substrate, the first source region, and the first drain region;
the first source region and the first drain region are doped with the first ion;
the second source region and the second drain region are respectively formed between the substrate and the first source region, and between the substrate and the first drain region, and
[[the height]] a location of the top surface of the second source region in a direction perpendicular to the substrate and [[the height]] a location of the top surface of the second drain region in the direction perpendicular to the substrate are not [[less]] lower than [[the height]] a location of the top surface of the substrate in the direction perpendicular to the substrate between the first source region and the first drain region;
wherein, the second drain region is doped with the first ion ions, and the second source region is doped with the second ions.
The other claims each depend from one of these claims, and each would be allowable for the same reasons as the claim from which it depends [and if corrected for objections and 112(b) rejections listed above].
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.”
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to the pending claims have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record, because it is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure, but which is not relied upon specifically in the rejections above, is listed on the Notice of References Cited.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kevin Parendo who can be contacted by phone at (571) 270-5030 or by direct fax at (571) 270-6030. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday from 9 am to 4 pm ET.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Billy Kraig, can be reached at (571) 272-8660. The fax number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Kevin Parendo/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896
Prosecution Insights