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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of species I, claims 1, 2, 5 and 8-14, in the reply filed on July 1, 2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 3, 4, 6 and 7 have been withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on July 1, 2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on March 18, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because white box next to 61 should be removed in Fig. 24 and 25; regions of 530 and 510 exposed from 92 should be removed in Fig. 45. 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 Objections
Claims 1, 2, 5 and 8-14 are objected to because of the following informalities: a comma should be inserted after “device” (claim 1, line 1). Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 1, 2, 5 and 8-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention. There appears to be no adequate description in the specification on how this feature was done for the claim limitation of a second insulating layer … having oxygen permeability lower than oxygen permeability of the first insulating layer”, as recited in claim 1.
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, 5 and 8-14 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.
The claimed limitation of “a first oxide semiconductor layer extending in a first direction”, as recited in claim 1, is unclear as to which dimension (i.e. length, width, or depth) of a first oxide semiconductor layer extending in a first direction applicant refers.
The claimed limitation of “a first wiring extending in a second direction”, as recited in claim 1, is unclear as to which dimension (i.e. length, width, or depth) of a first wiring extending in a second direction applicant refers.
The claimed limitation of “a second wiring … extending in a third direction”, as recited in claim 1, is unclear as to which dimension (i.e. length, width, or depth) of a second wiring extending in a third direction applicant refers.
The claimed limitation of “a second oxide semiconductor layer extending in the first direction”, as recited in claim 2, is unclear as to which dimension (i.e. length, width, or depth) of a second oxide semiconductor layer extending in a first direction applicant refers.
The claimed limitation of “a third wiring extending in the second direction”, as recited in claim 2, is unclear as to which dimension (i.e. length, width, or depth) of a third wiring extending in the second direction applicant refers.
The claimed limitation of “a fourth wiring … extending in the third direction”, as recited in claim 2, is unclear as to which dimension (i.e. length, width, or depth) of a fourth wiring extending in the third direction applicant refers.
The claimed limitation of “each of the first conductor and the second conductor extends in a fourth direction”, as recited in claim 2, is unclear as to which dimension (i.e. length, width, or depth) of each of the first conductor and the second conductor extends in a fourth direction applicant refers.
The claimed limitation of “…, in a plane including the second direction and the third direction”, as recited in claim 2, is unclear as to whether “in a plane” applies to the third direction or merely defines the spatial relationship of the second direction and the third direction.
The claimed limitation of “the first insulating layer includes silicon and oxygen or nitrogen”, as recited in claims 12-14, is unclear as to whether “or nitrogen” is an alternative to which element applicant refers.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5 and 8-14, as best understood, is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Yeong et al. (2023/0240066).
As for claim 1, Yeong et al. show in Figs. 1, 28A and related text a semiconductor device comprising:
a first oxide semiconductor layer 22 (left one of 100B) extending in a first direction X;
a first wiring 28 (left one of 100B) extending in a second direction Y, the second direction intersecting the first direction, and the first wiring surrounding the first oxide semiconductor layer;
a first insulating film 24 (left one of 100B) disposed between the first wiring and the first oxide semiconductor layer;
a first conductor 38 (left one of 100B) disposed on the first oxide semiconductor layer;
a second wiring 42 (left one of 100B) disposed on the first conductor and extending in a third direction Z, the third direction intersecting each of the first direction and the second direction;
a first insulating layer 40 (left one of 100B) in contact with a side surface of the second wiring ([0040]; [0029]: silicon oxide); and
a second insulating layer 44 (of 100B) disposed on the first insulating layer and having oxygen permeability lower than oxygen permeability of the first insulating layer ([0043], [0034]: silicon nitride).
As for claim 2, Yeong et al. show a second oxide semiconductor layer 22 (middle one of 100B) extending in the first direction;
a third wiring 28 (middle one of 100B) extending in the second direction and surrounding the second oxide semiconductor layer;
a second insulating film 24 (middle one of 100B) disposed between the third wiring and the second oxide semiconductor layer;
a second conductor 38 (middle one of 100B) disposed on the second oxide semiconductor layer; and
a fourth wiring 42 (middle one of 100B) disposed on the second conductor and extending in the third direction, wherein each of the first conductor and the second conductor extends in a fourth direction, the fourth direction intersecting each of the second direction and the third direction, in a plane including the second direction and the third direction, and
a length (arbitrarily chosen) of the second conductor in the fourth direction is longer than a length (arbitrarily chosen) of the first conductor in the fourth direction.
As for claim 5, Yeong et al. show a capacitor 43 (left one of 100A) disposed below the first oxide semiconductor layer (Fig. 28A).
As for claim 8, Yeong et al. show the first oxide semiconductor layer has a columnar body structure (Fig. 1).
As for claim 9, Yeong et al. show the first oxide semiconductor layer includes at least one of indium, zinc or tin ([0024]).
As for claim 10, Yeong et al. show the first oxide semiconductor layer has one of an amorphous structure or a crystalline structure ([0024]-[0025]).
As for claim 11, Yeong et al. show the first conductor includes one of tungsten or titanium nitride ([0040]).
As for claim 12, Yeong et al. show the first insulating film includes silicon and oxygen or nitrogen ([0029]).
As for claim 13, Yeong et al. show the first insulating layer includes silicon and oxygen or nitrogen ([0040]; [0029]: silicon oxide).
As for claim 14, Yeong et al. show the second insulating film includes silicon and oxygen or nitrogen ([0043], [0034]: silicon nitride).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MEIYA LI whose telephone number is (571)270-1572. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7AM-3PM.
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/MEIYA LI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2811
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