Attorney’s Docket Number: 3590-1277A
Filing Date: 02/27/2024
Claimed Priority Date: N/A
Applicants: Kubo et al.
Examiner: Aneesa Baig
DETAILED ACTION
This Office action responds to the election filed on 06/11/2026.
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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s elections without traverse of Group II Invention, directed to a memory device, and of Species I (reading on Figs. 1-11) in the reply filed on 06/11/2026, is acknowledged. Applicant indicated that claims 1-14 read on the elected Group I, Species I. The examiner agrees. Accordingly, claims 15-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected Species. 2
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kubo et al. (US Pub. 20220328413, Hereinafter Kubo) in view of Lee et al Lee et al (US. Pub. 20220310515, Hereinafter Lee)
Regarding Claim 1, Kubo (e.g., Fig. 69C and 70, [122][154], [156], [318]-[319]) shows a 3D memory comprising:
an alternating stack of insulating layers (132, 232, 270) and electrically conductive layers (146, 246),
wherein the electrically conductive layers comprise a first electrically conductive layer, second electrically conductive layers that overlie the first electrically conductive layer, and third electrically conductive layers that underlie the first electrically conductive layer (146 layers, see image below);
a memory opening vertically extending through the alternating stack (49, Fig. 16D, Fig 69C, [307]);
a memory opening fill structure located in memory opening and comprising a vertical stack of memory elements (50,55) located at levels of the electrically conductive layers and a vertical semiconductor channel (60L) (Fig 16D [163]-[169]); and
a layer contact assembly comprising a layer contact via structure (86) vertically extending through each layer within the alternating stack and laterally contacting a cylindrical surface of the first electrically conductive layer, and further comprising (the first electrically conductive layer contacts the surface of the via 86 [0139])
While Kubo shows a contact via structure, it is silent regarding the first annular insulating fins laterally surrounding the layer contact via structure and located at each level of the second electrically conductive layers,
Lee (Fig 11A, 12, [0200]-[0205]), on the other hand and in a related field of contact via structures, teaches a 3D memory device having gate contact plugs (289) that include protrusions (289E) protruding in a horizontal direction to contact the gate pads.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have the layer contact via structure of Kubo to include horizontal protrusions as taught by Lee. A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to increase the contact area between the contact plug and the conductive layer, reducing contact resistance and improving device reliability.
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-14 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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/ANEESA RIAZ BAIG/
Examiner, Art Unit 2814
/WAEL M FAHMY/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2814
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