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 .
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.
Claims 1-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Park et al. (US Pub. 2015/0214291 A1).
In re claim 1, Park et al. shows (fig. 2) a semiconductor device, comprising:
a substrate (110); at least two bit line structures (central BLS-not labeled and BLS-140) positioned on the substrate; a contact layer (170A) positioned on the substrate and between the at least two bit line structures; and a conductive neck layer (170B) positioned on the contact layer and between the at least two bit line structures; wherein a width of a top surface of the conductive neck layer is greater than a width of a bottom surface of the conductive neck layer (since the conductive neck layer 170B has a wider width W3 than at the bottommost surface).
In re claims 2-13, Park et al. shows (fig. 2) the remaining elements of the claims.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Lee (US Pub. 2022/0115382 A1), Kim (US Pub. 2021/0134808 A1), Kim (US Pub. 2015/0214146 A1), Lu (WO-2024065989-A1) and Park (KR-20210032595-A) also disclose various elements of the claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW E WARREN whose telephone number is (571)272-1737. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10am - 6pm.
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/MATTHEW E WARREN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817