DETAILED ACTION
This correspondence is in response to the communications received 02/26/2024. Claims 1-17 are pending.
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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 02/26/2024 and 10/14/2025 have been considered by the examiner and made of record in the application file.
Claim Objections
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informalities: Claim 9 recites "a substrate having a planar region and a non-planar region". Claims 10, 11, 16, and 17 require “the first planar region”. Claim 10 also specifically introduces “a second planar region”, therefore it appears that claim 9 should be written as “a substrate having a first planar region and a non-planar region”. 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 7 and 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 7 recites “wherein a height of the bumps closer to the first planar region is greater than a height of the bumps closer to the non-planar region”. Claim 1 requires “bumps on the non-planar region” which is shown in Fig. 10, where the bumps are on the “substrate having … a non-planar region”. Thus, the limitation is unclear as to how some bumps are closer than others to different region than that on which all the bumps are disposed. Therefore claim 7 is indefinite. For the purposes of examination, claim 7 will be interpretated as “wherein a height of the bumps closer to the first planar region is greater than a height of the bumps further from the first planar region”.
Claim 16 recites “wherein a height of the bumps closer to the first planar region is greater than a height of the bumps closer to the non-planar region”. Claim 9 requires “bumps in the non-planar region”. Thus, the limitation is unclear as to how some bumps are closer than others to a different region than that in which all the bumps are disposed. Therefore claim 16 is indefinite. For the purposes of examination, claim 16 will be interpretated as “wherein a height of the bumps closer to the first planar region is greater than a height of the bumps further from the first planar region”.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, fourth paragraph:
Subject to the following paragraph [i.e., the fifth paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112], a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claims 3 and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, 4th paragraph, as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends.
Claim 3 recites the limitation “the bumps on the non-planar region”. Claim 1 recites “bumps on the non-planar region”. Thus, the above limitation of claim 3 is redundant and fails to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends.
Claim 11 recites the limitation “the bumps and the dummy fin-shaped structures on the non-planar region”. Claim 9 recites “bumps in the non-planar region; and dummy fin-shaped structures in the non-planar region”. Thus, the above limitation of claim 11 is redundant and fails to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends.
Applicant may cancel the claims, amend the claims to place the claims in proper dependent form, rewrite the claims in independent form, or present a sufficient showing that the dependent claims comply with the statutory requirements.
Applicant’s Claim to Figure Comparison
It is noted that this comparison is merely for the benefit of reviewers of this office action during prosecution, to allow for an understanding of the examiner’s interpretation of the Applicant’s independent claims as compared to disclosed embodiments in Applicant’s Figures. No response or comments are necessary from Applicant.
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Regarding claim 1, a semiconductor device, comprising:
a substrate (12) having a first planar region (14) and a non-planar region (18); and
bumps (28, 30, 32, 42, 44) on the non-planar region (see Fig. 8), wherein the bumps comprise different heights (see Fig. 10).
Regarding claim 2, the semiconductor device of claim 1, further comprising:
a second planar region (16) adjacent to the first planar region (see Fig. 8),
wherein the non-planar region is between the first planar region and the second planar region (see Fig. 8).
Regarding claim 3, semiconductor device of claim 2, further comprising:
a first base (20) on the first planar region (see Fig. 8);
a second base (22) on the second planar region (see Fig. 8); and
the bumps on the non-planar region (see Fig. 8).
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.
Claims 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 9,722,050 B2, published 08/01/2017) in view of Wang et al. (US 10,586,736 B2, published 03/10/2020).
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Regarding claim 1, Figs. 1A-1H of Li disclose a semiconductor device (see title), comprising:
a substrate (“substrate 110”, col. 2, line 29) having a first planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, the region denoted “FPR” is a first planar region of 110 as the uppermost surfaces of 112 on FPR are planar) and a non-planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, the region denoted “NPR” is a non-planar region of 112 as the uppermost surfaces of “at least one first dummy semiconductor fin 114, and at least one second dummy semiconductor fin 116”, col. 3, lines 56-58 on NPR are non-planar).
Li does not specifically disclose “bumps on the non-planar region”.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Figs. 8A-8F of Wang teach bumps on the non-planar region (“the fin structures 24c′ can be under-etched forming a slight bump 26′ of substrate material 12”, col. 6, lines 26-27, thus 114 and 116 of Li are bumps as they were previously fin structures seen in Fig. 1D of Li, where “at least portions of the second dummy semiconductor fins 116 are removed (or etched)”, col. 4, lines 64-65, and “at least portions of the first dummy semiconductor fins 114 are removed (or etched)”, col. 5, lines 61-62, thus as portions of 114 and 116 remain as unetched portions of 112, 114 and 116 can also be classified as bumps, and as seen in Fig. 1G of Li, 114 and 116 are on NPR).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to implement “bumps on the non-planar region” as taught by Wang in the system of Li for the purpose of describing under etched fin structures.
Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose wherein the bumps comprise different heights (as seen in Fig. 1G, 114 and 116 comprise different heights).
Regarding claim 2, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang disclose the semiconductor device of claim 1, Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose further comprising:
a second planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, the region denoted “SPR” is a second planar region of 110 as the uppermost surfaces of 112 on SPR are planar) adjacent to the first planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, SPR is adjacent to FPR),
wherein the non-planar region is between the first planar region and the second planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, NPR is between FPR and SPR).
Regarding claim 3, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang disclose the semiconductor device of claim 2, Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose further comprising:
a first base (112 in FPR are a first base as “further fabrication processes may include, among other things, forming a gate structure on the substrate 110, including on a portion of the active semiconductor fins 112”, col.7, lines 31-33, thus 112 may serve as a base for a gate structure) on the first planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, some of the instances of 112 are in FPR);
a second base (112 in SPR are a second base similar to 112 in FPR as discussed above) on the second planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, some of the instances of 112 are in SPR); and
the bumps on the non-planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, 114 and 116 are on NPR).
Regarding claim 4, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang disclose the semiconductor device of claim 3, Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose wherein top surfaces of the first base and the second base are coplanar (as seen in Fig. 1G, the top surfaces of 112 in FPR and the top surfaces of 112 in SPR are coplanar).
Regarding claim 5, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang disclose the semiconductor device of claim 2, Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose wherein a top surface of the bumps is lower than a top surface of the first base (as seen in Fig. 1G, a top surface of 114 and 116 is lower than a top surface of 112 in FPR).
Regarding claim 6, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang disclose the semiconductor device of claim 2, Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose wherein a top surface of the bumps is lower than a top surface of the second base (as seen in Fig. 1G, a top surface of 114 and 116 is lower than a top surface of 112 in SPR).
Regarding claim 7, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang disclose the semiconductor device of claim 1, Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose wherein a height of the bumps closer to the first planar region is greater than a height of the bumps closer to the non-planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, a height of 114 and 116 closer to FPR is greater than a height of 114 and 116 further from FPR, specifically the height of 114 in the central most portion of NPR).
Regarding claim 8, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang disclose the semiconductor device of claim 1, Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose wherein a height of the bumps closer to the first planar region is greater than a height of the bumps closer to a center of the non-planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, a height of 114 and 116 closer to FPR is greater than a height of 114 and 116 closer to a center of the non-planar region).
Claims 9-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Li et al. (US 9,722,050 B2, published 08/01/2017) in view of Wang et al. (US 10,586,736 B2, published 03/10/2020) in view of Yin et al. (US 8,697,515 B2, published 04/15/2024).
Regarding claim 9, Figs. 1A-1H of Li disclose a semiconductor device (see title), comprising:
a substrate (“substrate 110”, col. 2, line 29) having a planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, the region denoted “FPR” is a first planar region of 110 as the uppermost surfaces of 112 on FPR are planar) and a non-planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, the region denoted “NPR” is a non-planar region of 112 as the uppermost surfaces of “at least one first dummy semiconductor fin 114, and at least one second dummy semiconductor fin 116”, col. 3, lines 56-58 in NPR are non-planar).
Li does not specifically disclose “bumps in the non-planar region”.
However, in a similar field of endeavor, Figs. 8A-8F of Wang teach bumps in the non-planar region (“the fin structures 24c′ can be under-etched forming a slight bump 26′ of substrate material 12”, col. 6, lines 26-27, thus 114 and 116 of Li are bumps as they were previously fin structures seen in Fig. 1D of Li, where “at least portions of the second dummy semiconductor fins 116 are removed (or etched)”, col. 4, lines 64-65, and “at least portions of the first dummy semiconductor fins 114 are removed (or etched)”, col. 5, lines 61-62, thus as portions of 114 and 116 remain as unetched portions of 112, 114 and 116 can also be classified as bumps, and as seen in Fig. 1G of Li, 114 and 116 are in NPR).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to implement “bumps in the non-planar region” as taught by Wang in the system of Li for the purpose of describing under etched fin structures.
Li in combination with Wang does not specifically disclose “bumps in the non-planar region; and
dummy fin-shaped structures in the non-planar region and adjacent to the bumps”.
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However, in a similar field of endeavor, Figs. 2-6 of Yin teach bumps in the non-planar region (as seen in Figs. 4 and 5, “the first group of dummy fins 240a and the layer 260 are removed to form a plurality open-spacing 280”, col. 4, lines 2-4, as per the teaching of Wang the remaining portions of 240a are bumps, and are equivalent to 114 of Li, as both are the smallest remaining portions of dummy fins remaining after an etching process); and
dummy fin-shaped structures (“second group of dummy fins 240b”, col. 4, line 6, where “The second group of dummy fins 240b is designed to minimize process loading effect and reduce process variations”, col. 4, lines 19-21, and as seen in Figs. 5 and 6, 240b are not etched and thus remain as fins, this teaching can be applied to 116 of Li such that 116 are not shortened and remain as fins) in the non-planar region and adjacent to the bumps (as seen in Fig. 1G of Li, 116 are in NPR and adjacent to 114).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was effectively filed to implement “bumps in the non-planar region; and
dummy fin-shaped structures in the non-planar region and adjacent to the bumps” as taught by Yin in the system of Li in combination with Wang for the purpose of improving process variations.
Regarding claim 10, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang and Figs. 2-6 of Yin disclose the semiconductor device of claim 9, Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose further comprising:
a second planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, the region denoted “SPR” is a second planar region of 110 as the uppermost surfaces of 112 on SPR are planar) adjacent to the first planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, SPR is adjacent to FPR),
wherein the non-planar region is between the first planar region and the second planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, NPR is between FPR and SPR).
Regarding claim 11, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang and Figs. 2-6 of Yin disclose the semiconductor device of claim 9, Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose further comprising:
a first base (112 in FPR are a first base as “further fabrication processes may include, among other things, forming a gate structure on the substrate 110, including on a portion of the active semiconductor fins 112”, col.7, lines 31-33, thus 112 may serve as a base for a gate structure) on the first planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, some of the instances of 112 are in FPR);
a second base (112 in SPR are a second base similar to 112 in FPR as discussed above) on the second planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, some of the instances of 112 are in SPR); and
the bumps and the dummy fin-shaped structures on the non-planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, 114 and 116 are on NPR).
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Regarding claim 12, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang and Figs. 2-6 of Yin disclose the semiconductor device of claim 11, Figs. 1A-1H of Li and Figs. 2-6 of Yin further disclose wherein top surfaces of the first base and the dummy fin-shaped structures are coplanar (after applying the teaching of Yin to 116 of Li, the top surface of 116 will remain the same height as 112 in FPR as seen in Fig. 1D and thus be coplanar).
Regarding claim 13, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang and Figs. 2-6 of Yin disclose the semiconductor device of claim 11, Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose wherein a top surface of the bumps is lower than a top surface of the first base (as seen in Fig. 1G, a top surface of 114 is lower than a top surface of 112 in FPR).
Regarding claim 14, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang and Figs. 2-6 of Yin disclose the semiconductor device of claim 9, Figs. 1A-1H of Li and Figs. 2-6 of Yin further disclose wherein a top surface of the bumps is lower than a top surface of the dummy fin-shaped structures (after applying the teaching of Yin to 116 of Li, the top surface of 116 will remain the same height as 112 as seen in Fig. 1D and thus a top surface of 114 will be lower than a top surface of 116).
Regarding claim 15, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang and Figs. 2-6 of Yin disclose the semiconductor device of claim 9, Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose wherein the bumps comprise different heights (as seen in Fig. 1G, 114 comprise different heights).
Regarding claim 16, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang and Figs. 2-6 of Yin disclose the semiconductor device of claim 9, Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose wherein a height of the bumps closer to the first planar region is greater than a height of the bumps closer to the non-planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, a height of 114 closer to FPR is greater than a height of 114 further from FPR, specifically the height of 114 in the central most portion of NPR).
Regarding claim 17, Figs. 1A-1H of Li in combination with Figs. 8A-8F of Wang and Figs. 2-6 of Yin disclose the semiconductor device of claim 9, Figs. 1A-1H of Li further disclose wherein a height of the bumps closer to the first planar region is greater than a height of the bumps closer to a center of the non-planar region (as seen in Fig. 1G, a height of 114 closer to FPR is greater than a height of 114 closer to a center of the non-planar region).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN M KUPP whose telephone number is (571)272-5608. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday, 7:00 am - 4:00 pm PT.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Yara Green can be reached at (571) 270-3035. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BENJAMIN MICHAEL KUPP/Examiner, Art Unit 2893
/YARA B GREEN/Supervisor Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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