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/Restriction
Pursuant to the election with traverse on July 13, 2026 , non-elected claims 12-20 are withdrawn from consideration.
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. The examiner proposes MEMORY DEVICE WITH VERTICAL CONTACT EMBEDDED IN HORIZONTAL CONDUCTOR
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.
(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, 2, and 4-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Lim, US 2017/0271463 A1.
Claim 1: Lim discloses
a first conductor member (130) extending laterally in a first (horizontal) direction;
and a second conductor member (160) extending in a second (vertical) direction, perpendicular to the first direction, into the first conductor member,
wherein: a first portion (161) of the second conductor member is embedded in the first conductor member; and in the first direction, a size of the first portion of the second conductor member embedded in the first conductor member is greater than a size of a second portion (162) of the second conductor member outside the first conductor member (FIG. 1B).
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Claim 2: the first conductor member comprises an undercut edge configured to receive the first portion of the second conductor member to be in the first conductor member (FIG. 1B).
Claim 4: a bottom surface of the first portion of the second conductor member is flush with a bottom surface of the first conductor member (FIG. 1B).
Claim 5: a material of the first conductor member (e.g. polysilicon ([0066]) is different from a material of the second conductor member (e.g. metal, [0068]).
Claim 6: the first conductor member is a layer positioned in a plane defined by the first direction and a third (second horizontal) direction perpendicular to the first direction; and the second conductor member is a connection structure extending in the second direction, the connection structure being configured to have an electrical connection with the layer ([0068]).
Claim 7: Lim discloses
a memory array structure (10);
a staircase structure (CR) adjacent to the memory array structure and comprising a plurality of stairs extending in a first direction (horizontal, FIG. 11M); and
a contact (250+260) extending, in a second direction (vertical) perpendicular to the first direction, through the staircase structure into a conductive layer (230) of one stair of the plurality of stairs in the staircase structure,
wherein: a first portion of the contact is embedded in the conductive layer; and in the first direction, a size of the first portion of the contact embedded in the conductive layer is greater than a size of a second portion of the contact outside the conductive layer (FIG. 11M).
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Claim 8: wherein the contact comprises:
a glue layer (250) in contact with the conductive layer; and
a conductor layer (260) surrounded by the glue layer and comprising one or more conductive materials.
Claim 9: the conductive layer comprises an undercut edge configured to receive the first portion of the contact in the conductive layer (FIG. 11M).
Claim 10: a ratio of a depth of the first portion of the contact into the conductive layer to a thickness of the conductive layer, in the second direction, is between 0.3 and 1 (about 1, FIG. 11M).
Claim 11: a depth of the first portion of the contact into the conductive layer is equal to a thickness of the conductive layer, in the second direction FIG. 11M.
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.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lim. Lim does not disclose how much further the furthest edge of the first portion of the second conductor member is than a furthest edge of the second portion of the second conductor member. However, Lim discloses that “the contact plug 160 may be electrically connected to the conductive pattern 130 through the contact plate 161 inserted in the conductive pattern 130. Thus, a contact area between the conductive pattern 130 and the contact plug 160 may be increased to reduce a contact resistance between the conductive pattern 130 and the contact plug 160.” [0070]. Thus the width of the second portion is a result-effective variable: it effects the result of how high the contact resistance is. It would have been within ordinary skill in the art to determine the proper width and thus how much further the first portion would extend horizontally. See MPEP 2144.05(II)(B). Furthermore, changes in dimension are not typically a source of patentable distinction absent unexpected results. MPEP 2144.04(IV).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Nam, US 2019/0013237 A1, which discloses second conductor PLG embedded into first conductor 30.
Okawa, US 20170077026 A1, which discloses second conductor 109 embedded into first conductor 102.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PETER BRADFORD whose telephone number is (571)270-1596. The examiner can normally be reached 10:30-6:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Jacob Choi can be reached at 469.295.9060. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/PETER BRADFORD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897
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