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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
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.
Claims 11 and 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.
Regarding claim 11, a broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired. See MPEP § 2173.05(c). In the present instance, claim 11 recites the broad recitation “a concentration of carbon in the second nitride region is… not more than 8 x 1018 /cm3”, and the claim also recites “a concentration of carbon in the second nitride region is 1 x 1018 /cm3” which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation. The claim(s) are considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims. For the purpose of examination, Examiner interprets 1 x 1018 /cm3 as a lower bound of the claimed range such that the claim reads as “a concentration of carbon in the second nitride region is not less than 1 x 1018 /cm3 and not more than 8 x 1018 /cm3”.
Regarding claim 14, the claim recites the limitation "the second position". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The element “a second location” is introduced prior to “the second position”, but it is unclear whether the two elements refer to the same position/location. For the purpose of examination, Examiner interprets the claim as reading “the base includes a second position”.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1, 4, 8, 10, 11, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ikejiri et al. (JP 2022056654 A, hereinafter I1).
Regarding independent claim 1, I1 discloses in I1 FIG. 1-2 and associated text A nitride structure, comprising: a stacked body including a base including silicon (silicon substrate 110, where the stacked body is interpreted as at least layers 110, 130, and 140), a first nitride region including AlN (reaction suppression layer 130 is AlN (I1 [0017])), and a second nitride region including Alz2Ga1-z2N (0 ≤ z2 < 1) (intermediate layer 140 is AlGaN (I1 [0019])), the first nitride region being provided between the base and the second nitride region in a first direction (I1 FIG. 1, where the vertical direction is interpreted as a first direction), the stacked body including a first interface region including a first interface between the base and the first nitride region (first interface region is interpreted as a region of 110 and 130 in the general vicinity of interface 200), the first interface region including a first peak position in the first direction, and a chlorine concentration profile along the first direction in the stacked body having a chlorine peak value at the first peak position (first peak position interpreted as a region in the general vicinity of the Cl peak depicted in I1 FIG. 2 and as shown in the annotated figure below. Since the data on which the graph is based contains noise, the exact position of the peak Cl concentration is unknown. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the peak Cl concentration of I1’s nitride semiconductor is likely to exist in or near the region circled below with the expectation of naturally-occurring variance from the depicted data between real-world embodiments of the disclosed structure).
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Regarding dependent claim 4, I1 further discloses in I1 FIG. 2 and associated text The structure according to claim 1, wherein a concentration of chlorine in the second nitride region is 1 × 1015 /cm3 or less (as shown in region 140 of I1 FIG. 2).
Regarding dependent claim 8, I1 further discloses in I1 FIG. 2 and associated text The structure according to claim 1, wherein the first interface region includes a second peak position in the first direction, and a carbon concentration profile along the first direction in the stacked body has a carbon peak value at the second peak position (there is a carbon concentration peak in the vicinity of interface 200, as shown in I1 FIG. 2).
Regarding dependent claim 10, I1 further discloses in I1 FIG. 2 and associated text The structure according to claim 8, wherein the carbon peak value is not less than 10 times and not more than 500 times a concentration of carbon in the second nitride region (as shown in I1 FIG. 2, where the carbon peak value is approximately 1.5 × 1020 cm-3 and the carbon concentration in region 140 is approximately 1.5 × 1018 cm-3).
Regarding dependent claim 11, I1 further discloses in I1 FIG. 2 and associated text The structure according to claim 8, wherein a concentration of carbon in the second nitride region is not less than 1 x 1018 /cm3 and not more than 8 x 1018 /cm3 (as shown in I1 FIG. 2, where the carbon concentration in region 140 is approximately 1.5 × 1018 cm-3).
Regarding dependent claim 15, I1 further discloses in I1 FIG. 2 and associated text The structure according to claim 8, wherein a concentration of carbon in the second nitride region is higher than a concentration of carbon in the first nitride region (as shown in I1 FIG. 2, where a carbon concentration in region 140 is approximately 2 × 1018 cm-3 and a carbon concentration in region 130 is approximately 1 × 1018 cm-3).
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.
Claims 7 and 9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over I1.
Regarding dependent claim 7, I1 further discloses in I1 FIG. 2 and associated text The structure according to claim 1, wherein the stacked body includes a second interface between the first nitride region and the second nitride region (interface 210 between 130 and 140), the first nitride region includes a first position, the first position is a center between the first interface and the second interface in the first direction, the base includes a second position, a direction from the second position to the first position is along the first direction, a distance along the first direction between the second position and the first peak position is the same as the distance along the first direction between the first peak position and the first position (first and second position shown as claimed in the annotated I1 FIG. 2 below), and a concentration of chlorine in the first position is lower than a concentration of chlorine in the second position (As shown in the annotated FIG. 2 below, the smoothed Cl concentration curve interpreted as representative of a realistic distribution of Cl in the device disclosed by I1 without noise has a lower concentration of Cl in the first position than in the second position).
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However, if the applicant does not accept that this interpretation of the data in I1 FIG. 2 anticipates the relative Cl concentrations of the claimed first and second position, which the examiner does not concede, the data disclosed by I1 is substantially close to a Cl concentration curve which would have the claimed relationship and the Cl concentration is identified as a results effective variable which affects the generation of cracks and fogging of the nitride semiconductor (I1 [0031]). Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to produce a device wherein a concentration of chlorine in the first position is lower than a concentration of chlorine in the second position as an obvious matter of routine optimization and testing of a Cl concentration in the device disclosed by I1.
Regarding dependent claim 9, I1 discloses the structure according to claim 8. I1 does not explicitly disclose the carbon peak value is not less than 2 x 1020 /cm3 and not more than 3 x 1020 /cm3. However, I1 discloses the average carbon concentration of the halogen-containing region 220 is, for example, 1000 times or more and 100,000 times or less the average halogen concentration of the halogen-containing region 220 (I1 [0042]). Furthermore, the average halogen concentration in the halogen-containing region 220 is preferably 1 × 1015 cm-3 or more and 1 × 1016 cm-3 or less (I1 [0031]). Therefore, the average carbon concentration range disclosed by I1 is 1 × 1018 cm-3 or more and 1 × 1021 cm-3 or less, anticipating carbon peak values in at least that range, which overlaps the claimed range. Additionally, the carbon concentration at the second peak position in I1 FIG. 2 is approximately between 1 × 1020 cm-3 and 2 × 1020 cm-3. While the example peak carbon value does not explicitly lie within the claimed range, I1 further discloses that the carbon concentration is a results effective variable which affects the selective increase of Cl in the halogen-containing region 220, allowing for crack suppression without deteriorating crystal quality (I1 [0041]). Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would be motivated to produce a device wherein the carbon peak value is not less than 2 x 1020 /cm3 and not more than 3 x 1020 /cm3 as an obvious matter of routine optimization of a carbon concentration in the device disclosed by I1.
Claims 18-20 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over I1, and further in view of Nakazawa et al. (US 20070278507 A1, hereinafter N1).
Regarding dependent claim 18, I1 discloses in I1 FIG. 1 and associated text A semiconductor device, comprising: the nitride structure according to claim 1; a semiconductor member (comprising at least layers 170 and 180 of nitride semiconductor layer 120); a first electrode; a second electrode; and a third electrode (source, gate and drain electrode on nitride semiconductor layer 120 anticipated, though not shown (I1 [0082])), the semiconductor member including a first semiconductor layer including Alx1Ga1-x1N (0 ≤ x1 < 1) (The low resistance layer 170 is, for example, an AlbGa1-bN (0 ≦ b <1) layer (I1 [0024])), and a second semiconductor layer including Alx2Ga1-x2N (0 < x2 ≤ 1, x1 < x2) (The barrier layer 180 is, for example, an AlcGa1-cN (0 <c ≦ 1, b <c) layer (I1 [0026])), the first semiconductor layer being provided between the stacked body and the second semiconductor layer (low resistance layer 170 is between the stacked body as interpreted above and the barrier layer 180). I1 does not explicitly disclose a second direction from the first electrode to the second electrode crossing the first direction, a position of the third electrode in the second direction being between a position of the first electrode in the second direction and a position of the second electrode in the second direction, the second semiconductor layer including a first semiconductor portion and a second semiconductor portion, a direction from the first semiconductor portion to the second semiconductor portion being along the second direction, the first electrode being electrically connected to the first semiconductor portion, or the second electrode being electrically connected to the second semiconductor portion.
However, in the same field of endeavor, N1 discloses in N1 FIG. 7 and associated text a second direction from the first electrode to the second electrode crossing the first direction (the direction from source electrode 31 to drain electrode 32 is a horizontal direction, crossing a vertical direction corresponding to the first direction), a position of the third electrode in the second direction being between a position of the first electrode in the second direction and a position of the second electrode in the second direction (gate electrode 33 is between electrodes 31 and 32 in the horizontal direction), the second semiconductor layer including a first semiconductor portion and a second semiconductor portion (left and right sides of film 26 corresponding to the second semiconductor portion), a direction from the first semiconductor portion to the second semiconductor portion being along the second direction (left and right sides of film 26 are along the horizontal direction), the first electrode being electrically connected to the first semiconductor portion, and the second electrode being electrically connected to the second semiconductor portion (electrodes 31 and 32 are connected to left and right sides of film 26, respectively, through capping layer 25).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the semiconductor device of I1 with the electrode arrangement of N1 FIG. 7 to provide a functional field effect transistor structure.
Regarding dependent claim 19, I1, as modified by N1, further discloses in N1 FIG. 7 and associated text The device according to claim 18, further comprising: a first insulating member (insulating film 27) including a first insulating portion, and the first insulating portion being provided between the third electrode and the semiconductor member (a portion of film 27 is between electrode 33 and layer 26 corresponding to the semiconductor member).
Regarding dependent claim 20, I1, as modified by N1, further discloses the device according to claim 18, wherein at least a part of the third electrode is provided between the first semiconductor portion and the second semiconductor portion in the second direction (a portion of electrode 33 is between left and right portions of layer 26 in the horizontal direction).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-3, 5-6, 12-14, and 16-17 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, and further in the case of claim 14, to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C.112(b).
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of record does not explicitly disclose the structure of the device of claim 1 with the ranges of concentrations or relative concentrations between positions in a nitride semiconductor stack in claims 2, 3, 5, 6, 12, 13, or 14. While some, if not all, of the ranges of Cl and/or C concentration profiles claimed therein are disclosed in prior art other than I1, the concentration profiles do not correspond to values in the regions in which they are claimed or provide sufficient motivation to combine said profiles with the claimed structures/structures disclosed by I1. For example, Cl concentrations within the range of claim 2 are known in the art, however, prior art typically teaches the benefits of reducing Cl concentrations, rather than raising them as would be necessary to motivate the combination of said ranges with the concentration profile of I1. Furthermore, I1 teaches away from Cl concentration values beyond the ranges disclosed therein as making the nitride crystal structure undesirably foggy. Therefore, the prior art of record does not provide sufficient motivation to combine I1 with concentrations or concentration profiles which would read on claims 2, 3, 5, 6, 12, 13, or 14. Additionally, I1 does not disclose the limitations of claims 16 or 17 in their entirety, however, it does disclose their limitations aside from the limitations of claim 12 upon which these claims depend.
Conclusion
Pertinent Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to the applicant’s disclosure:
US 20200295169 A1, pertaining to a nitride stack similar to the claimed structure.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EVERETT TRAJAN RIRIE whose telephone number is (571) 272-9559. The examiner can normally be reached Mon - Thu 8:30 am - 6:30 pm.
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, Chad Dicke can be reached at (571) 270-7996. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/EVERETT T RIRIE/Examiner, Art Unit 2897
/CHAD M DICKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2897
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