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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 4/4/2024 and 4/4/2025 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The applicant’s 4/4/2024 Preliminary Amendment submitting a new title is acknowledged and accepted by the Office.
Claims Status
Claims 1-11 are currently pending and being examined.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ando et al (US 2010/0097063 A1, hereafter Ando) in view of FUKAMI et al (US 2020/0286536 A1, hereafter Fukami).
Re claim 1, Ando discloses in FIGS. 6 and 7 a spin orbit torque-based switching device (spin RAM) comprising:
a heavy metal input terminal (Pt or Au 18; [0094]) extending in a first direction (longitudinally left-to-right); and
an information terminal (13; [0094]) disposed on the heavy metal input terminal (18) and extending in a second direction (longitudinally up-down) perpendicular ([0095]) to the first direction (longitudinally left-to-right), wherein the information terminal includes a free layer ([0094]),
wherein the information terminal (13) includes a first region (overlapping 18) adjacent to (directly on) the heavy metal input terminal (18) and a second region (non-overlapping 18) not adjacent (not directly on) to the heavy metal input terminal (18).
Ando fails to explicitly disclose wherein the information terminal (13) includes a ferromagnetic layer, and wherein magnetization reversal of the ferromagnetic layer is controlled based on a non-uniform spin orbit torque effect (spin Hall effect: SHE) due to the first region and the second region.
However,
A. Ando discloses ferromagnetic (NiFe or CoFe; [0143]; [0161] and [0216]) information terminal free layers (60/68; [0143]; [0161] and [0216]).
And,
B. Fukami discloses in FIGS. 2A and 8B ferromagnetic layers (20; [0107] and [0158]) on heavy metal layers (10; [0107] and [0158]), the ferromagnetic layers (20) having widths and lengths, relative to the heavy metal layers (10) of 20-150 nm ([0157]-[0158]) and 50-800 nm ([0157]-[0158]), respectively.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the structure of Ando by, firstly using the NiFe or CoFe materials as the information terminal ferromagnetic layer to achieve the expected result(s) of spin-induced change of direction of magnetization of the information terminal ferromagnetic layer due to a spin current generated in the information terminal ferromagnetic layer from current flow in the heavy metal layer.
And, secondly, using the width and length dimensions of Fukami for the unspecified width and length dimensions of the information terminal ferromagnetic layer of Ando, the modified width and length dimensions resulting in width-to-length ratios of at least 1:2.5 to 1:9, creating a substantially identical structure to the claimed structure (MPEP § 2112.01) for pure spin current injection spin RAM memory cells, which would have the characteristics of wherein the information terminal includes a ferromagnetic layer, and wherein magnetization reversal of the ferromagnetic layer is controlled based on a non-uniform spin orbit torque effect (spin Hall effect: SHE) due to the first region and the second region. Therefore, establishing a case of prima facie obviousness.
Re claim 2, Ando and Fukami disclose the spin orbit torque-based switching device of claim 1.
But, fail to explicitly disclose the functional limitations (2173.05 (g)) of wherein the magnetization reversal of the ferromagnetic layer of the information terminal is controlled based on the non-uniform spin orbit torque effect and a chiral spin structure generated in the ferromagnetic layer due to current applied to the information terminal through the heavy metal input terminal.
However, since the structure of Ando and Fukami is substantially identical to the claimed structure as discussed for claim 1, it would not only be expected to have the same characteristics, it would also be expected to operate in the manner claimed since configured in a substantially identical manner to the claimed structure, as part of the pure spin current injection spin RAM memory cells discussed for claim 1.
Re claim 3, Ando and Fukami disclose the spin orbit torque-based switching device of claim 1, wherein a ratio of a width corresponding to the first direction to a length corresponding to the second direction is in a range of 1:2 to 1:9 (see claim 1), as part of the pure spin current injection spin RAM memory cells discussed for claim 1.
Re claim 4, Ando discloses the spin orbit torque-based switching device of claim 1, wherein the heavy metal input terminal (18) includes at least one of platinum (Pt; [0094]), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), hafnium (HI), rhenium (Re), osmium (Os), iridium (Ir), and palladium (Pd).
Re claim 5, Ando and Fukami disclose the spin orbit torque-based switching device of claim 1, wherein the ferromagnetic layer (Ando: modified 13) includes at least one of cobalt (Co; see claim 1), iron (Fe; see claim 1), nickel (Ni; see claim 1), boron (B), silicon (Si), zirconium (Zr), platinum (Pt), terbium (Tb), palladium (Pd), copper (Cu), tungsten (W), and tantalum (Ta), as part of the pure spin current injection spin RAM memory cells discussed for claim 1.
Re claims 6-7, Ando discloses the spin orbit torque-based switching device of claim 1, wherein the information terminal (Ando: 13) further includes a tunnel barrier layer (14; [0094]) formed on the ferromagnetic layer (modified 13); and wherein the tunnel barrier layer (14) includes at least one of magnesium oxide (MgO), aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃; [0094] and [0127]), hafnium oxide (HfO₂), titanium oxide (TiO₂), yttrium oxide (Y₂O₃), and ytterbium oxide (Yb₂O₃), as part of the pure spin current injection spin RAM memory cells discussed for claim 1.
Re claim 8, Ando discloses the spin orbit torque-based switching device of claim 1, further comprising: a protective layer (16; [0094]) formed on top of (above) the information terminal (13).
But fails to disclose a buffer layer formed under the heavy metal input terminal.
However, Fukami discloses in another embodiment (FIG. 16A), a buffer layer (11; [0186]) formed under the heavy metal input terminal (10). Thus, it would be obvious to further modify the structure of Ando to include a buffer layer formed under the heavy metal input terminal, as disclosed by Fukami, to increase an efficiency of reversal of a magnetization direction by a spin orbit torque (Fukami; [0186]).
Re claim 9, Ando discloses in FIGS. 6 and 7 a method for manufacturing a spin orbit torque-based switching device (spin RAM), the method comprising:
forming a heavy metal input terminal extending in a first direction (see claim 1); and
forming an information terminal on the heavy metal input terminal, wherein the information terminal extends in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and includes a free layer (see claim 1),
wherein the information terminal includes a first region adjacent to the heavy metal input terminal and a second region not adjacent to the heavy metal input terminal (see claim 1).
Ando fails to explicitly disclose wherein the information terminal includes a ferromagnetic layer, and wherein magnetization reversal of the ferromagnetic layer is controlled based on a non-uniform spin orbit torque effect (spin Hall effect: SHE) due to the first region and the second region.
However,
A. Ando discloses ferromagnetic (NiFe or CoFe; [0143]; [0161] and [0216]) information terminal free layers (60/68; [0143]; [0161] and [0216]).
And,
B. Fukami discloses in FIGS. 2A and 8B ferromagnetic layers (20; [0107] and [0158]) on heavy metal layers (10; [0107] and [0158]), the ferromagnetic layers (20) having widths and lengths, relative to the heavy metal layers (10) of 20-150 nm ([0157]-[0158]) and 50-800 nm ([0157]-[0158]), respectively.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify method forming the structure of Ando by, firstly using the NiFe or CoFe materials as the information terminal ferromagnetic layer to achieve the expected result(s) of spin-induced change of direction of magnetization of the information terminal ferromagnetic layer due to a spin current generated in the information terminal ferromagnetic layer from current flow in the heavy metal layer.
And, secondly, using the width and length dimensions of Fukami for the unspecified width and length dimensions of the information terminal ferromagnetic layer of Ando, the modified width and length dimensions resulting in width-to-length ratios of at least 1:2.5 to 1:9, creating a substantially identical structure to the claimed structure (MPEP § 2112.01) for pure spin current injection spin RAM memory cells, which would have the characteristics of wherein the information terminal includes a ferromagnetic layer, and wherein magnetization reversal of the ferromagnetic layer is controlled based on a non-uniform spin orbit torque effect (spin Hall effect: SHE) due to the first region and the second region. Therefore, establishing a case of prima facie obviousness.
Re claim 10, Ando and Fukami disclose the spin orbit torque-based switching device of claim 9, wherein the magnetization reversal of the ferromagnetic layer of the information terminal is controlled based on the non-uniform spin orbit torque effect and a chiral spin structure generated in the ferromagnetic layer due to current applied to the information terminal through the heavy metal input terminal (see claim 2).
Re claim 11, Ando and Fukami disclose the spin orbit torque-based switching device of claim 9, wherein the forming of the information terminal includes forming the information terminal such that a ratio of a width of the information terminal corresponding to the first direction and a length of the information terminal corresponding to the second direction is in a range of 1:2 to 1:9 (see claims 1 and 3).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ERIC W JONES whose telephone number is (408) 918-9765. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7:00 AM - 6:00 PM PT.
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/ERIC W JONES/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2892
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