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 Invention I, Species III (claims 1-4 and 6-11) in the reply filed on 6/18/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 5 and 12-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention and/or Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 6/18/2026.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the subject matter of claim 10, specifically where the aspect ratio of the strip-shaped trenches varies along their extension direction, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
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 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.
Claims 1-3, 6-8, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Huang et al (US 2024/0355921 and Huang hereinafter) in view of Beach et al (US 2005/0145883 and Beach hereinafter).
As to claims 1-3, 6-8, and 11: Huang discloses [claim 1] a semiconductor structure (Figs. 1 and 4; [0070]), comprising: a substrate (Fig. 1; 1; [0071]), a buffer layer (2; [0071]), a first channel layer (3; [0071]), a first barrier layer (Fig. 4; bottom Al(In, Ga)N barrier layer in the Figure; [0071] and [0109]), a second channel layer (Fig. 4; second from the bottom GaN channel layer in the Figure; [0071] and [0109]) and a second barrier layer (Fig. 4; second from the bottom Al(In, Ga)N barrier layer in the Figure; [0071] and [0109]) that are stacked sequentially (these layers are formed in this order; as the claim states “comprising” other layers can be formed within the sequence as long as these layers are formed at a minimum), wherein the first channel layer (Fig. 1; 3) comprises a plurality of strip-shaped structures (area of 3 between adjacent grooves; [0073] and [0081]), a strip-shaped trench (each groove in 3; [0073] and [0081]) is formed between two adjacent strip-shaped structures (area of 3 between adjacent grooves) in the plurality of strip-shaped structures (area of 3 between adjacent grooves), an extension direction (the grooves and structures extend along the horizontal in Fig. 1; [0073]) of the strip-shaped trench (groove in 3) is a first direction (along the horizontal in Fig. 1), the strip-shaped trench (groove in 3) partially penetrates through the first channel layer (3), the first barrier layer (Fig. 4; bottom Al(In, Ga)N barrier layer in the Figure) is conformally disposed (as shown in Fig. 1) in the strip-shaped trench (each groove in 3), and the first barrier layer (Fig. 4; bottom Al(In, Ga)N barrier layer in the Figure) comprises a second trench (as shown in Fig. 1) corresponding to the strip-shaped trench (groove in 3); [claim 3] wherein a material of the first barrier layer (Fig. 4; bottom Al(In, Ga)N barrier layer in the Figure) comprises AIN (barrier layer can be AlN; [0015]), and a material of the first channel layer (Fig. 4; second from the bottom GaN channel layer in the Figure; [0071] and [0109]) comprises GaN (channel layer can be GaN; [0109]); [claim 6] wherein the second channel layer (Fig. 4; second from the bottom GaN channel layer in the Figure) is conformally disposed (as shown in Fig. 1) on the first barrier layer (Fig. 4; bottom Al(In, Ga)N barrier layer in the Figure), and the second channel layer (Fig. 4; second from the bottom GaN channel layer in the Figure) comprises a third trench (as shown in Fig. 1) corresponding to the second trench (as shown in Fig. 1); [claim 7] wherein the second barrier layer (Fig. 4; second from the bottom Al(In, Ga)N barrier layer in the Figure) is conformally disposed (as shown in Fig. 1) on the second channel layer (Fig. 4; second from the bottom GaN channel layer in the Figure), and the second barrier layer (Fig. 4; second from the bottom Al(In, Ga)N barrier layer in the Figure) comprises a fourth trench (as shown in Fig. 1) corresponding to the third trench (as shown in Fig. 1); [claim 8] wherein in a plane perpendicular to the first direction (Fig. 1; into the page), a cross section of the strip-shaped trench (groove in 3) is rectangular, trapezoidal, V-shaped, or bowl-shaped (trapezoidal; [0081]); [claim 11] further comprising: a source (Fig. 1; 7; [0071]) and a drain (8; [0071]), located on (7 and 8 are on the sidewalls of the second barrier layer) the second barrier layer (Fig. 4; second from the bottom Al(In, Ga)N barrier layer in the Figure), wherein a direction (Fig. 1; left-to-right) of the source (7) pointing to the drain (8) is parallel to the first direction (along the horizontal); a gate (Fig. 1; 10; [0071]), located on the second barrier layer (Fig. 4; second from the bottom Al(In, Ga)N barrier layer in the Figure) and between the source (7) and the drain (8); and a dielectric layer (Fig. 3H; gate dielectric [0100]), located on a side (bottom), close to the second barrier layer (Fig. 4; second from the bottom Al(In, Ga)N barrier layer in the Figure), of the gate (10).
Huang fails to expressly disclose [claim 1] an etching mask layer between the first channel layer and the first barrier layer; wherein the etching mask layer comprises the plurality of strip-shaped structures; wherein the strip-shaped trench penetrates through the etching mask layer; where the first barrier layer is disposed on the etching mask layer; [claim 2] wherein a band gap width of the first barrier layer is greater than a band gap width of the etching mask layer, and the band gap width of the etching mask layer is greater than a band gap width of the first channel layer; [claim 3] a material of the etching mask layer comprises AlGaN.
Huang discloses a III-nitride HEMT with a groove in the first channel layer.
Beach discloses in Fig. 2G a III-nitride HEMT with [claim 1] an etching mask layer (Fig. 2G; comprising 135 and 136; [0062]) between the first channel layer (134; [0062]) and the first barrier layer (142; [0064]); wherein the etching mask layer (comprising 135 and 136) comprises the plurality of strip-shaped structures (area of 134 between adjacent trenches 140; [0063]); wherein the strip-shaped trench (140) penetrates through the etching mask layer (comprising 135 and 136); where the first barrier layer (142) is disposed on the etching mask layer (comprising 135 and 136); [claim 2] wherein a band gap width of the first barrier layer (bottom barrier layer in Fig. 4 is AlN in Huang) is greater than a band gap width of the etching mask layer (135 and 136 can be AlGaN, which has a lower bandgap than AlN, instead of GaN; [0022] and [0062]), and the band gap width of the etching mask layer (135 and 136 can be AlGaN, which has a lower bandgap than AlN, instead of GaN; [0022] and [0062]) is greater than a band gap width of the first channel layer (3 is GaN; which has a lower bandgap than AlGaN,); [claim 3] a material of the etching mask layer (comprising 135 and 136) comprises AlGaN (135 and 136 can be AlGaN, which has a lower bandgap than AlN, instead of GaN; [0022] and [0062]).
Given the teachings of Beach, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have readily recognized the desirability and advantages of modifying Huang by employing the well-known or conventional features of HEMT fabrication, such as displayed by Beach, by employing an etching mask comprising AlGaN over the channel layer and before the first barrier layer of Huang is formed in order to improve current carrying capacity ([0025]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4, 9, and 10 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
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOSEPH C NICELY whose telephone number is (571)270-3834. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 7:30 am - 4 pm, EST.
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JOSEPH C. NICELY
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2813
/JOSEPH C. NICELY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2813
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