CTNF 18/670,199 CTNF 91545 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA. DETAILED ACTION Claims 1-20 are pending and have been examined. Priority Acknowledgment is made that the instant application is a divisional of US Patent application 17462484 filed on 08/31/2021. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112 07-30-02 The following is a quotation of the second paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112: 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. 07-34-01 AIA Claim s 16-20 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention. Claim 16 recites: “a gate stack wrapping around each of the nanostructures ; an epitaxial feature abutting the nanostructures ;”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The applicant may recite the following to overcome this rejection: “a gate stack wrapping around each of the plurality of nanostructures ; an epitaxial feature abutting the plurality of nanostructures ;”. Claim 18 recites: “wherein a topmost one of the nanostructures is exposed in the air gap”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The applicant may recite the following to overcome this rejection: “wherein a topmost one of the plurality of nanostructures is exposed in the air gap” Claim 19 recites: “a fin-shape structure directly under the nanostructures ”. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The applicant may recite the following to overcome this rejection: “a fin-shape structure directly under the plurality of nanostructures ”. Claims 17-20 depend from claim 16. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) that forms the basis for the rejection set forth in this Office action: (a) NOVELTY; PRIOR ART.—A person shall be entitled to a patent unless— 07-08-aia AIA (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; Notes : when present, semicolon separated fields within the parenthesis (; ;) represent, for example, as ( 30A ; Fig 2B; [0128]) = (element 30A ; Figure No. 2B; Paragraph No. [0128]). For brevity, the texts “Element”, “Figure No.” and “Paragraph No.” shall be excluded, though; additional clarification notes may be added within each field. The number of fields may be fewer or more than three indicated above. These conventions are used throughout this document. 07-15 AIA Claim s 1, 5, 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102( a)(1 ) as being anticipated by Chien et al. (US 20200135889 A1 – hereinafter Chien) . Regarding Claim 1, Chien teaches a semiconductor device ( see the entire document; Fig. 35; specifically, ([0069] - [0103]), and as cited below ), comprising: a fin-shape structure (501 – Fig. 35B – [0099]) protruding from a substrate (201 – [0069]); a gate stack (2307 – [0103]) disposed above the fin-shape structure (501); an epitaxial feature (1501 – [0103]) disposed above the fin-shape structure (5010; and a gate spacer ({801, 2801, 2401, 3201} – [0103]) disposed on a sidewall of the gate stack (2307), wherein the gate spacer ({801, 2801, 2401, 3201}) includes an air gap (2401 – [0103]), and wherein the air gap (2401) exposes a portion of the epitaxial feature (501 – as seen in Fig. 35B). Regarding claim 5, Chien teaches the semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the air gap has a horizontal portion and a vertical portion in forming an L-shape (Fig. 35B shows 2401 to have a vertical and a horizontal portion). Regarding claim 8, Chien teaches the semiconductor device of claim 1, further comprising: a contact plug landing ({2603, 2507} – [0084]) on the epitaxial feature (1501), wherein the gate spacer is in direct contact with the contact plug (in contact via 3201) . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 2-4, 6-7, 9 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. The following is the Examiner’s Reasons for Allowance : The prior art fails to disclose and would not have rendered obvious : Regarding claim 2: The semiconductor device of claim 1, further comprising: an isolation feature disposed on sidewalls of the fin-shape structure, wherein the air gap exposes a top surface of the isolation feature. Regarding claim 3: The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the air gap exposes a top surface of the epitaxial feature. Regarding claim 4: The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the air gap exposes a top surface of the fin-shape structure. Regarding claim 6: The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the gate spacer includes a first dielectric layer disposed on the sidewall of the gate stack, a second dielectric layer sandwiching the air gap with the first dielectric layer, and a third dielectric layer capping the air gap. Claim 7 depends from claim 6. Regarding claim 9: The semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein a top portion of the gate spacer is above a top surface of the gate stack. REASON FOR ALLOWANCE Claims10-15 are allowed over prior art. The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance, which paraphrases and summarizes the claimed invention without intending to be limiting, wherein the legally defined scope of the claimed invention is defined by the allowed claims themselves in view of the written description under 35 USC 112. This statement is not intended to necessarily state all the reasons for allowance or all the details why the claims are allowed and has not been written to specifically or impliedly state that all the reasons for allowance are set forth (MPEP 1302.14). Regarding claim 1, the reference(s) of the Prior Art of record and considered pertinent to the applicant's disclosure and to the examiner’s knowledge do(es) not teach or render obvious, at least to the skilled artisan, the instant invention regarding a method in their entirety (the individual limitations may be found just not in combination with proper motivation). The most relevant prior art reference(s) (US 20200135889 A1 to Chien) substantially teach(es) some of limitations in claim 1 as indicated in the rejection of claim 1, but not the limitations of “a third spacer layer capping a top surface of the air gap” as recited in claim 10. Therefore, the claim 10 is deemed patentable over the prior art. Regarding claims 11-15, they are allowed due to their dependencies on claim 10. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMAD A. RAHMAN whose telephone number is (571) 270-0168 and email is mohammad.rahman5@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00 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, Julio J. Maldonado can be reached on (571) 272-1864. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see https://ppair-my.uspto.gov/pair/PrivatePair. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /MOHAMMAD A RAHMAN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898 Application/Control Number: 18/670,199 Page 2 Art Unit: 2898 Application/Control Number: 18/670,199 Page 3 Art Unit: 2898 Application/Control Number: 18/670,199 Page 4 Art Unit: 2898 Application/Control Number: 18/670,199 Page 5 Art Unit: 2898 Application/Control Number: 18/670,199 Page 6 Art Unit: 2898 Application/Control Number: 18/670,199 Page 7 Art Unit: 2898
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