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 1-15, in the reply filed on July 24, 2026 is acknowledged.
Accordingly, claims 16-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 July 24, 2026.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on April 26, 2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on October 22, 2025 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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.
Claim(s) 1-4, 7, and 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Liu (CN 113764376).
In re claim 1, Liu discloses a semiconductor device, comprising: an electrically conductive contact (i.e. 510 or 520) embedded in a region of dielectric material (i.e. 400), the electrically conductive contact having an uppermost surface including a recess (i.e. topmost and wider portion) and a depression (i.e. bottommost and narrower portion), the recess recessed a first depth relative to an uppermost surface of the region of dielectric material, and the depression recessed a second depth relative to the uppermost surface of the region of dielectric material (i.e. see at least Figures 8-10), the second depth greater than the first depth; and a region of fill material (i.e. 500) formed in the recess and the depression of the uppermost surface of the electrically conductive contact, the fill material including an intermetallic alloy (i.e. see at least paragraphs 0028-0131).
In re claim 2, Liu discloses wherein the intermetallic alloy includes copper (i.e. see at least paragraph 0110).
In re claim 3, Liu discloses wherein an uppermost surface of the region of the fill material is substantially coplanar with the uppermost surface of the region of dielectric material (i.e. see at least Figures 8-10).
In re claim 4, Liu discloses further comprising: a barrier layer (i.e. 520) arranged between the uppermost surface of the electrically conductive contact (i.e. 510) and the fill material (i.e. 500) such that the barrier layer is in direct contact with the uppermost surface of the electrically conductive contact (i.e. see at least Figures 8-10).
In re claim 7, Liu discloses further comprising: a liner (i.e. 510) separating the electrically conductive contact (i.e. 520) and the region of dielectric material (i.e. 400) (i.e. see at least Figures 8-10).
In re claim 8, Liu discloses wherein an uppermost surface of the liner is substantially coplanar with an uppermost surface of the region of the fill material (i.e. see at least Figures 8-10).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5 and 6 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.
Claims 9-15 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance: The closest prior art of Liu (CN 113764376) either singularly or in combination fails to anticipate or render obvious a semiconductor device, comprising: a first electrically conductive contact embedded in a first region of dielectric material, the first electrically conductive contact having an uppermost surface including a recess and a depression, the recess recessed a first depth relative to an uppermost surface of the first region of dielectric material, and the depression recessed a second depth relative to the uppermost surface of the first region of dielectric material, the second depth greater than the first depth; a second electrically conductive contact embedded in a second region of dielectric material, the second electrically conductive contact having a lowermost surface that is recessed relative to a lowermost surface of the second region of dielectric material; a first region of fill material formed in the recess and the depression of the uppermost surface of the first electrically conductive contact; and a second region of the fill material arranged on the lowermost surface of the second electrically conductive contact, wherein: the fill material includes an intermetallic alloy, and the first region of the fill material is in direct contact with the second region of the fill material as recited in claim 9.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANTHONY HO whose telephone number is (571)270-1432. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM - 5PM, Monday-Friday.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Marlon Fletcher can be reached at 571-272-2063. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ANTHONY HO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817
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