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 of claims 11-14 in the reply filed on July 8, 2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)). Applicant merely stated that there is no search burden to the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: The specification has many grammatical errors, primarily regarding the incorrect singular and plural form of words. Paragraph 7 states “active areas on which memory cells occupy formed thereon”. It is unclear what “occupy formed thereon” means.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 active areas on which memory cells occupy formed thereon must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. The drawings do not depict active areas on which memory cells occupy formed thereon
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.
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show “active areas on which memory cells occupy formed thereon”, “each of the plurality of first contact .. connecting one of the active areas”, as described in the specification. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d). 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 Objections
Claims 11 and 14 are objected to because of the following informalities: The following limitations of claims 11 and 14 may have typos which make the claims unclear. The examiner offers alternative language according to how the examiner interprets the claim.
Claim 11
"on which memory cells occupy formed thereon" to claim "on which memory cells are formed "
"a plurality of first shallow trench isolation along a first dimension formed in the semiconductor substrate; a plurality of second shallow trench isolation along a second dimension Y perpendicular to the first shallow trench isolation…" should claim "a plurality of first shallow trench isolation regions (or structures) extending (or arranged) along a first dimension formed in the semiconductor substrate; a plurality of second shallow trench isolation regions (or structures) extending (or arranged) along a second dimension perpendicular to the first dimension…"
"a plurality of first signal-carrying conductor along the first dimension underlying the active areas, " should claim "a plurality of first signal-carrying conductors along the first dimension underlying the active areas,
"each of the plurality of first signal-carrying conductor buried in one of the plurality of first shallow trench isolation" should claim "each of the plurality of first signal-carrying conductors buried in one of the plurality of first shallow trench isolation regions (or structures)"
"a plurality of first contact, each of the plurality of first contact extending from one of the plurality of first signal-carrying conductor and penetrating through the first shallow trench isolation and connecting one of the active areas; and a plurality of second signal-carrying conductor along the second dimension underlying the active areas and buried in the semiconductor substrate." should claim "a plurality of first contacts, each of the plurality of first contacts extending from one of the plurality of first signal-carrying conductors and penetrating through the first shallow trench isolation regions (or structures) and connecting one of the active areas; and a plurality of second signal-carrying conductors along the second dimension underlying the active areas and buried in the semiconductor substrate."
Claim 14
" wherein the first signal-carrying conductor is served as a bit line and the second signal-carrying conductor is served as a word line for memory cells" should claim " wherein the first signal-carrying conductors are bit lines and the second signal-carrying conductors are word lines for memory cells"
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
Claims 11-14 are 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. Claim 11 claims, "on which memory cells occupy formed thereon" .
Is ”occupy” a typo ? Do the memory cells occupy a particular area of the substrate?
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAWRENCE C TYNES JR. whose telephone number is (571)270-7606. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-5PM.
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, Zandra Smith can be reached at 571-272-2429. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/LAWRENCE C TYNES JR./Examiner, Art Unit 2899
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