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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after allowance or after an Office action under Ex Parte Quayle, 25 USPQ 74, 453 O.G. 213 (Comm'r Pat. 1935). Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, prosecution in this application has been reopened pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on September 15, 2026, has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on September 15, 2026, was filed after the mailing date of the Notice of Allowance on July 15, 2026. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Interpretation
The “volume of the source material compartment” as recited in the context of claims 12-13 is interpreted as the volume of the SiC supply region (104) in the bottom half of the growing crucible (102) as defined by at least the sidewall (116) and separation wall (122) in Figs. 1-2.
Claim Objections
Claims 1-2, 4, and 11-13 are objected to because of the following informalities:
Recitation of “Sublimation system“ in the preamble of claim 1 should be corrected to recite “A sublimation system” to correct a grammatical error.
Similarly, the recitation of “Sublimation system according to claim” in claims 2, 4, and 11-13 should be corrected to recite “The sublimation system according to claim” to correct a grammatical error and to conform to the language of claim 1.
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 1-2, 4, and 11-13 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 “the first heat radiation cavity (118)” in l. 13. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is assumed applicants intended to recite “the at least one first heat radiation cavity (118).” It is noted that a similar correction would be required in l. 15 of the claim. Dependent claims 2, 4, and 11-13 are similarly rejected due to their dependence on claim 1.
Claim 1 further recites “the source material compartment” in l. 14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. It is assumed applicants intended to recite “the at least one source material compartment.” It is noted that a similar correction would be required in l. 16 of claim 1, l. 2 of claim 2, l. 2 of claim 4, l. 3 of claim 12, and l. 3 of claim 13.
Reasons for Allowance
Claims 1-2, 4, and 11-13 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The prior art of record does not teach, disclose, or reasonably suggest a sublimation system (100) for growing at least one single crystal of a semiconductor material by means of a sublimation growing process comprising a crucible (102) having a longitudinal axis (120) and a sidewall (116) extending along the longitudinal axis (120), wherein the crucible comprises a fixing means for at least one seed crystal (110) and at least one source material compartment (104) for containing a source material (108), and a heating system being formed to generate a temperature field around a circumference of the crucible along the longitudinal axis of the crucible, wherein the crucible (102) comprises at least one first heat radiation cavity (118) which is arranged opposite to the fixing means and adjacent to the source material compartment (104), the first heat radiation cavity (118) being closed on all of its sides; wherein the first heat radiation cavity (118) has an inner diameter across the longitudinal axis (120) which is larger than an inner diameter of the source material compartment; wherein the first heat radiation cavity (118) has at least one protruding compartment (126), which extends along the longitudinal axis (120) into the source material compartment (104); and wherein the at least one protruding compartment (126) is in direct communication with the rest of the first heat radiation cavity (118) as recited in the context of claim 1. Dependent claims 2, 4, and 11-13 are also deemed to be in condition for allowance due to their dependence on claim 1.
The closest prior art of record includes U.S. Patent Appl. Publ. No. 2010/0139552 to Rengarajan, e al. (hereinafter “Rengarajan”). In at least Figs. 5 & 6A-B and ¶¶[0058]-[0081] Rengarajan teaches an embodiment of a growth crucible (51) with a SiC seed (53) is affixed to a lid of the crucible (51) while SiC source material is provided in the bottom of the crucible (50). Both top (50a) and bottom (50b) heaters generate a temperature field around a circumference of the crucible (51) along its longitudinal axis while an enclosed cavity (54) is disposed between the source material (52) and the bottom of the crucible (51). However, Rengarajan and the cited prior art of record do not teach or suggest a sublimation system which includes a crucible having a first heat radiation cavity with an inner diameter across the longitudinal axis which is larger than an inner diameter of a source material compartment with at least one protruding compartment which extends along the longitudinal axis into the source material compartment and is in direct communication with the rest of the first heat radiation cavity as recited in the context of claim 1.
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.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KENNETH A BRATLAND JR whose telephone number is (571)270-1604. The examiner can normally be reached Monday- Friday, 7:30 am to 4:30 pm EST.
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/KENNETH A BRATLAND JR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1714
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