DETAILED ACTION
Notice of 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 .
This action is responsive to the following communications: the Application filed July 1, 2024.
Claims 1-6 are pending. Claim 1 is independent.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55 received on July 1, 2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) filed on July 1, 2024. This IDS has been considered.
Specification
Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it contain a phrase that can be implied (i.e. “Disclosed is a method”). A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
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.
Claims 1-3 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hwang (U.S. 10,210,921).
Regarding independent claim 1, Hwang discloses a program operation method (see Abstract) of a three-dimensional flash memory including word lines (Fig. 1: WLs) apart from each other and stacked in a vertical direction (see col. 6, ll. 65-67; col. 7, ll. 1-12 and ll. 32-43) while extending in a horizontal direction on a substrate (see col. 6, ll. 65-67; col. 7, ll. 1-12 and ll. 32-43), and vertical channel structures formed to pass through the word lines and extending in the vertical direction (see col. 6, ll. 65-67; col. 7, ll. 1-12 and ll. 32-43), each of the vertical channel structures including a vertical channel pattern extending in the vertical direction and a ferroelectric-based data storage pattern formed to cover an outer wall of the vertical channel pattern, and the data storage pattern and the vertical channel pattern constituting memory cells corresponding to the word lines (see col. 6, ll. 65-67; col. 7, ll. 1-12 and ll. 32-43), the method comprising:
adjusting a value of a program voltage to be applied to a selected word line corresponding to a target memory cell as a target of the program operation from among the word lines by applying an incremental step pulse programming (ISPP) method (see col. 8, ll. 28-52);
applying the adjusted value of the program voltage to the selected word line (see col. 8, ll. 28-52; see also Fig. 5B: Vpgm);
applying a pass voltage to each of unselected word lines except for the selected word line from among the word lines (Fig. 5B: Vpass); and
performing the program operation on the target memory cell in response to the adjusted value of the program voltage being applied to the selected word line and the pass voltage being applied to the unselected word lines (see col. 15, ll. 7-34).
Regarding claim 2, Hwang discloses wherein the adjusting of the value of the program voltage includes adjusting the value of the program voltage to be applied to the selected word line corresponding to the target memory cell as the target of the program operation from among the word lines, based on a slope in which a voltage pulse increases in the ISPP method (see Fig. 3A).
Regarding claim 3, Hwang discloses wherein the adjusting of the value of the program voltage includes multi-leveling the three-dimensional flash memory by adjusting the voltage of the program voltage to a plurality of values (see col. 7, ll. 17-31 and ll. 44-62).
Regarding claim 6, Hwang discloses wherein the applying of the pass voltage includes adjusting a value of the pass voltage based on stability of a program state that the target memory cell has due to the program operation (see col. 2, ll. 32-34 and col. 15, ll. 45-47).
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Hwang (U.S. 10,210,921) in view of Li et al. (U.S. 9,875,784; hereinafter “Li”).
Regarding claim 4, Hwang discloses the limitations with respect to claim 1.
Furthermore, Hwang teaches the applying of the pass voltage includes applying a pass voltage of a positive value (Fig. 9: Vpass).
However, Hwang is silent with respect to when a vertical channel pattern of a selected vertical channel structure including the target memory cell is of an N type, the adjusting of the value of the program voltage includes adjusting the value of the program voltage to a positive value.
Similar to Hwang, Li teaches a program operation method of a three-dimensional memory (see cols. 4-5, ll. 65-63 and ll. 1-11).
Furthermore, Li teaches when a vertical channel pattern of a selected vertical channel structure including the target memory cell is of an N type, the adjusting of the value of the program voltage includes adjusting the value of the program voltage to a positive value (see col. 13, ll. 10-16).
Since Li and Hwang are from the same field of endeavor, the teachings described by Li would have been recognized in the pertinent art of Hwang.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Li with the teachings of Hwang for the purpose of improve channel region control and reduce leakage, see Li’s col. 12, ll. 6-7.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5 is 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
With respect to claim 5, there is no teaching or suggestion in the prior art of record to provide the recited steps of when a vertical channel pattern of a selected vertical channel structure including the target memory cell is of a P type, the adjusting of the value of the program voltage includes adjusting the value of the program voltage to a negative value, and the applying of the pass voltage includes applying a pass voltage of a negative value.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALFREDO BERMUDEZ LOZADA whose telephone number is (571)272-0877. The examiner can normally be reached 7:00AM-3:30PM EST.
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/Alfredo Bermudez Lozada/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2825