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 . 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.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of “Species II (FIG. 3), which corresponds to claims 1-8, and 12-20,” in the reply filed on 12 December 2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 5, 6, 12 and 15-20, however, do not correspond to elected Species II of FIG. 3 as this species does not include “an output amplifier device comprising a pre-amplifier” as per claims 5 and 6, “the spin-orbit layer extends past each opposing side of the sense layer at the ABS surface in the cross-track direction” as per claim 12, “a first magnetic shield disposed at a first end of the reader stack and a second magnetic shield disposed at a second end of the reader stack” as per claim 15, “a first tunnel barrier… and a second tunnel barrier” as per claims 16 and 17, and “disposing a first magnetic shield at a first end of the stack and a second magnetic shield disposed at a second end of the stack” as per claims 18-20.
The limitation(s) of claims 5 and 6 are taught with respect to non-elected Species V of FIG. 5, for instance. The limitation(s) of claim 12 are taught with respect to non-elected Species VIII of FIG. 8, for instance. The limitation(s) of claim 15 are taught with respect to non-elected Species VI of FIG. 6, for instance, for instance. The limitation(s) of claims 16 and 17 are taught with respect to non-elected Species VI of FIG. 6, for instance. The limitation(s) of claims 18-20 are taught with respect to non-elected Species VI of FIG. 6, for instance.
Accordingly, claims 5, 6, 9-12 and 15-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to one or more non-elected inventions/species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 25 July 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement has been considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to because of the following informalities:
a. The drawings fail to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include one or more reference characters not mentioned in the description. Note, for instance, JRead (shown in FIG. 3, for instance),
J
c
1
3
D
(shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, for instance), tHM (shown in FIG. 3, for instance), Iread (shown in FIGS. 4A (twice), 4B (twice), 6, 7, 8 and 9, for instance), Isense (shown in FIGS. 4A (twice), 4B (twice), 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, for instance), and 400B (shown in FIG. 4B, for instance).
b. The drawings fail to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include one or more reference characters mentioned in the description. Note, for instance, “816” (disclosed as a sense layer in line 6 of paragraph [0095], for instance).
c. In FIG. 8, reference character 820 should be drawn to the “lead” in order to be consistent with the remainder of the disclosure.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) and/or an amendment to the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) 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. 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.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
a. In line 3 of paragraph [0012], “Hafnium (Hr)” should be corrected to read
--Hafnium (Hf)--.
b. In line 3 of paragraph [0040], “Ta 0.3nm (104), IrMn7nm (106), CoFe2.5nm (108), Ru0.8nm (110)” should be corrected to read --Ta3nm (104), IrMn7nm (106), CoFe2.5nm (108), Ru0.1nm (110)-- in order to be consistent with that shown in FIG. 1.
c. In line 3 of claim 7, “Hafnium (Hr)” should be corrected to read
--Hafnium (Hf)--.
d. In line 1 of claim 8, “the spin orbit layer” should be changed to --the
spin-orbit layer-- in order to more clearly refer back to that set forth in line 6 of independent claim 1.
e. In line 3 of claim 8, “a CuBi alloy, a AuW alloy” should be changed to
--a CuBi alloy, or a AuW alloy-- for better clarity.
f. In lines 4-5 of claim 13, “wherein the spin-orbit layer configured” should be changed to --wherein the spin-orbit layer is configured-- for better clarity.
Appropriate correction is required.
The lengthy specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
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.
Claim 3 is 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.
In line 1-2 of claim 3, “wherein the spin hall angle is larger than 8% or larger than 30% in absolute values” is indefinite because it includes two different overlapping ranges and thus fails to clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the claim.
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, 2, 4, 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Van Der Heijden et al. (US 9,947,347).
Van Der Heijden et al. (US 9,947,347) teach a spintronic reader (see FIG. 2, for instance) for a hard disk drive (100, see FIG. 1, for instance) comprising a stack of layers (includes 202 and 204, for instance) providing an inverse spin hall effect (see line 67 in column 4 thru line 3 in column 5, for instance) including a sense layer (202) with a magnetization (212) configured to be biased primarily in a cross-track direction (as shown in FIG. 2, for instance) relative to an air-bearing surface (MFS, see FIG. 3, for instance), the sense layer comprising a first length at the air-bearing surface in the cross-track direction (as shown in FIG. 2, for instance); a spin-orbit layer (204), wherein the spin-orbit layer comprises a second length of a first side (i.e., the side that abuts conductive portion 226) that is greater than the first length of the sense layer at the air-bearing surface in the cross-track direction (as shown in FIG. 2, for instance), and wherein the spin-orbit layer is characterized by a spin hall angle (see lines 23-26 in column 2, and 42-45 in column 4, for instance, i.e., a “spin Hall layer… formed of… Ta,” for instance, would inherently be characterized by a spin hall angle); and an electrical contact layer (226) disposed adjacent to the spin-orbit layer to enable an electrical current (i) to flow throughout the sense layer and spin-orbit layer (as shown in FIG. 2, for instance) [as per claim 1]; wherein the spin-orbit layer is configured to enable electrical contacts (each 222, for instance) to be disposed over a first area of the spin-orbit layer that extends beyond a second area covered by the sense layer (as shown in FIG. 2, for instance) [as per claim 2]; wherein the spintronic reader further comprises an electrical component (includes 218, for instance) configured to flow a spin-polarized current (i) in a direction perpendicular to a plane direction throughout the sense layer and the spin-orbit layer (as shown in FIG. 2, for instance) [as per claim 4]; wherein the sense layer comprises any of a first set of materials comprising Iron (Fe), Cobalt (Co), Nickel (Ni), or any of the first set of materials with an addition of any of Boron (B), Niobium (Nb), Zirconium (Zr), or Hafnium (Hf) (see lines 35-37 in column 4, for instance, i.e., “magnetic free layer 202 can be constructed of a magnetic material such as one or more layers of Co—Fe, Co—Fe—B”) [as per claim 7]; and wherein the spin orbit layer is made of a material with a large spin-orbit interaction including any of Tantalum (Ta), Platinum (Pt), Tungsten (W), Bismuth (Bi), Gold (Au), a CuBi alloy, a AuW alloy (see lines 42-44 in column 4, for instance, i.e., “layer 204 is preferably constructed of a heavy metal such as Ta, W, Pt,… Bi or alloys thereof”) [as per claim 8].
Claims 1, 2, 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Le et al. (US 10,720,570).
Le et al. (US 10,720,570) teach a spintronic reader (see FIG. 2, for instance) for a hard disk drive (100, see FIG. 1, for instance) comprising a stack of layers (includes 208 and 210, for instance) providing an inverse spin hall effect (see lines 47-59 in column 7, for instance) including a sense layer (210) with a magnetization configured to be biased primarily in a cross-track direction (see lines 54-56 in column 5, for instance) relative to an air-bearing surface (MFS, see FIG. 3A, for instance), the sense layer comprising a first length at the air-bearing surface in the cross-track direction (as shown in FIG. 2, for instance); a spin-orbit layer (208), wherein the spin-orbit layer comprises a second length of a first side (i.e., the side that abuts portion 202a and layers 204a, 204b and 206) that is greater than the first length of the sense layer at the air-bearing surface in the cross-track direction (as shown in FIG. 2, for instance), and wherein the spin-orbit layer is characterized by a spin hall angle (see lines 26-29 in column 5, for instance, i.e., a “spin Hall layer… preferably constructed of a heavy metal such as Ta,” for instance, would inherently be characterized by a spin hall angle); and an electrical contact layer (202) disposed adjacent to the spin-orbit layer to enable an electrical current to flow (I+ to I-) throughout the sense layer and spin-orbit layer (see lines 4-8 in column 6, for instance, i.e., “Circuitry (not shown) can be provided to supply an electrical current i through the sensor that is oriented in a direction that is perpendicular to the planes of the top and bottom push terminals (e.g., top and bottom shield layers) (202, 214)”) [as per claim 1]; wherein the spin-orbit layer is configured to enable electrical contacts (204a and 204b, for instance) to be disposed over a first area of the spin-orbit layer that extends beyond a second area covered by the sense layer (as shown in FIG. 2, for instance) [as per claim 2]; wherein the sense layer comprises any of a first set of materials comprising Iron (Fe), Cobalt (Co), Nickel (Ni), or any of the first set of materials with an addition of any of Boron (B), Niobium (Nb), Zirconium (Zr), or Hafnium (Hf) (see lines 20-22 in column 5, for instance, i.e., “magnetic free layer (FL) 210 may be made of a magnetic material such as one or more layers of Co—Fe, Co—Fe—B, NiFe”) [as per claim 7]; and wherein the spin orbit layer is made of a material with a large spin-orbit interaction including any of Tantalum (Ta), Platinum (Pt), Tungsten (W), Bismuth (Bi), Gold (Au), a CuBi alloy, a AuW alloy (see lines 28-29 in column 5, for instance, i.e., “SHL 208 is preferably constructed of a heavy metal such as Ta, W, Pt,… Bi or alloys thereof”) [as per claim 8].
Claims 13 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mihajlovic et al. (US 9,099,119).
Mihajlovic et al. (US 9,099,119) teach a reader stack (300, see FIG. 3, for instance) comprising a sense layer (312) with a magnetization (314) configured to be biased primarily in a cross-track direction relative to an air-bearing surface (as shown in FIG. 3, for instance); a spin-orbit layer (308) providing a first spin-orbit magnetization (328), and wherein the spin-orbit layer configured to provide a spin hall angle (see line 65 in column 4 thru line 2 in column 5, for instance); and an electrical contact layer (304, i.e., “magnetic shield 304” can be considered an electrical contact layer since it is connected to ground 334, see also line 8 in column 3, for instance, i.e., “magnetic shields… also function as leads”) disposed adjacent to the spin-orbit layer to provide a second spin-orbit magnetization (330) opposite to the first spin-orbit magnetization directed at the sense layer (as shown in FIG. 3, for instance) [as per claim 13]; wherein the sense layer comprises a first length at the air-bearing surface in the cross-track direction (as shown in FIG. 3, for instance), and wherein the spin-orbit layer comprises a second length of a first side that is greater than the first length of the sense layer at the air-bearing surface in the cross-track direction (as shown in FIG. 3, for instance) [as per claim 14].
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.
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 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Van Der Heijden et al. (US 9,947,347).
Van Der Heijden et al. (US 9,947,347) teach the spintronic reader as detailed in paragraph 10, supra. Van Der Heijden et al. (US 9,947,347), however, remain silent as to “wherein the spin hall angle is larger than 8% or larger than 30% in absolute values.”
Official notice is taken of the fact that it is notoriously old and well known in the spintronic reader art to modify the parameters of spintronic reader components during the course of routine optimization/experimentation. It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have had the spin hall angle of Van Der Heijden et al. (US 9,947,347) be larger than 8% or larger than 30% in absolute values. The rationale is as follows:
One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to have had the spin hall angle of Van Der Heijden et al. (US 9,947,347) be larger than 8% or larger than 30% in absolute values since such range(s), absent any criticality (i.e., unobvious and/or unexpected result(s)), are generally achievable through routine optimization/ experimentation, and since discovering the optimum or workable ranges, where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, involves only routine skill in the art, In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233 (CCPA 1955). Moreover, in the absence of any criticality (i.e., unobvious and/or unexpected result(s)), the parameter set forth above would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art, In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 1578, 16 USPQ2d 1934, 1936 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Pertinent Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. This includes Mihajlovic et al. (US 9,429,633), Chen et al. (US 11,205,447), Le et al. (US 2023/0197132), Liu et al. (US 11,783,853), Le et al. (US 12,394,432), and Le et al. (US 12,412,597), which each individually teaches a reader including a sense layer and a spin-orbit layer.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Craig A. Renner whose telephone number is (571) 272-7580. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 9:00 AM - 7:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Lim can be reached at (571) 270-1210. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CRAIG A. RENNER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2688
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