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 (Claims 1-10) in the reply filed on September 16, 2026, is acknowledged.
Claims 11-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on September 16, 2026.
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 1-8, 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Patel (US Publication No. 2022/0319840).
Regarding claim 1, Patel discloses a semiconductor device Fig 1 and Fig 11H comprising: a semiconductor substrate Fig 1, 10/11/12 ¶0020- 0023; a gate Fig 11H, 15 on a surface of the semiconductor substrate; a drain contact Fig 11H, 14 and a source contact on the semiconductor substrate; and a field plate over the surface of the semiconductor substrate and extends from one side of the gate towards the drain contact Fig 11H, 16, the field plate Fig 11H, 48/52 including multiple field plate portions, each of the multiple field plate portions having a uniform respective slope with respect to the surface Fig 11F and 11H, and the multiple field plate portions having different slopes ¶0049.
Regarding claim 2, Patel discloses wherein the multiple field plate portions includes a first field plate portion having a first slope and a second field plate portion having a second slope, the first field plate portion is between the gate and the second field plate portion, and the first slope is smaller than the second slope Fig 11F and Fig 11H ¶0047-0049.
Regarding claim 3, Patel discloses wherein the first field plate portion abuts a gate contact that electrically couples the gate Fig 11H.
Regarding claim 4, Patel discloses wherein the field plate is a first field plate and electrically coupled to a first terminal, and the semiconductor device further comprises a second field plate over the surface, the second field plate has a slope with respect to the surface, and the second field plate is electrically coupled to a second terminal Fig 11F and 11H.
Regarding claim 5, Patel discloses wherein the second field plate is between the first field plate and the drain contact Fig 11H.
Regarding claim 6, Patel discloses wherein the first terminal is electrically coupled to the gate, and the second terminal is electrically coupled to the source contact Fig 11H.
Regarding claim 7, Patel discloses wherein the first and second field plates are separated by a gap Fig 11H.
Regarding claim 8, Patel discloses a dielectric structure Fig 11H, 17 on the semiconductor substrate; and an etch stop layer ¶0021 (gate insulator) between the dielectric structure Fig 11H, 17 and the semiconductor substrate, wherein the field plate is on the dielectric structure Fig 11F and 11H.
Regarding claim 10, Patel discloses wherein further comprising a Gallium nitride (GaN) layer on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the source contact and the drain contact are electrically coupled to a source and a drain, respectively, in the GaN layer, and the field plate is over the GaN layer Fig 11F and 11H ¶0020-0022, 0032.
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.
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Patel (US Publication No. 2022/0319840) in view of Hill et al (US Publication No. 2023/0207641).
Regarding claim 9, Patel discloses a layer containing Aluminum silicon oxide ¶0021. Patel discloses all the limitations but silent on the specific material used for the etch stop. Whereas Hill discloses an etch stop that includes an aluminum oxide ¶0018. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the material used, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416 (1960).
Conclusion
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/CHRISTINE A ENAD/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2811
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