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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 6/17/2026 has been entered.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 6/30/2026 has been entered. The applicant has amended claims 1, 4, 5, 12-14, 16, 18, and 20 and cancelled claims 11 and 19. Claims 1-10, 12-18 and 20 remain pending in the application. The amendment has overcome all the prior objections and rejections of record, which are hereby withdrawn.
Response to Argument
Applicant's arguments, pages 7-9 of the Remarks filed 6/17/2026 (“Remarks”), have been fully considered but are moot because the new ground(s) of rejection(s), necessitated by the applicant's amendment, do not rely on the combination of references applied in the prior rejections of record.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-4, 12-13, 15-18, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over T.T. Yen et al., High-Q capacitive-piezoelectric AlN Lamb wave resonators, 2013 IEEE 26th Int’l Conf. on Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS), 2013, pp. 114-117 (“Yen”) in view of J. Zou et al., Thermally stable SiO2/AlN/SiO2 Lamb wave resonators utilizing the lowest-order symmetric mode at high temperatures, 2013 IEEE Int’l Ultrasonics Symp., 2013, pp. 1077-1080 (“Zou”).
PNG
media_image1.png
352
944
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Yen discloses in Figs. 1, 4 and pp. 114-117:
Claims 1, 12-13, 15-16 and 20
A microacoustic filter (Abstract), comprising:
a piezoelectric layer (Fig. 4g, annotated above) having a crystalline structure operative to laterally excite a plate mode (Fig. 1, the resonator uses a Lamb wave mode, a type of a plate mode);
a first temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) compensation layer disposed on the first surface of the piezoelectric layer between the electrode structure and the piezoelectric layer (Figs. 4a-g, p. 116, low temperature oxide (LTO) layer deposited at step 4(b) can also serve as passive thermal compensation);
an electrode structure (Fig. 4g, annotated, disposed on the stack comprising a Si substrate, LSN and AlN insulating films);
and a cavity formed between the first TCF compensation layer and the electrode structure (Figs. 1, 4; Abstract, the piezoelectric layer is separated from the electrodes by sub-micron air gaps, creating an air cavity), wherein:
the first surface of the piezoelectric layer extends in a first direction and a second direction orthogonal to the first direction (Figs. 4(g), annotated, directions X-Y);
the first TCF compensation layer is disposed between the electrode structure and the piezoelectric layer in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction (direction Z); and
the cavity is between the first TCF compensation layer and the electrode structure in the third direction (direction Z).
Yen does not disclose a second TCF compensation layer disposed on a second surface of the piezoelectric layer opposite to the first surface.
However, Zou, in the same field of endeavor, discloses a laterally excited acoustic resonator operating in a Lamb wave mode and including two dielectric/TCF SiO2 layers on the opposite surfaces of an AlN piezoelectric layer (Figs. 1, 3).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the acoustic resonator of Yen by adding a second TCF compensation layer disposed on a second surface of the piezoelectric layer opposite to the first surface disclosed in Zou for the benefit of improving the coupling coefficient, thermal stability and reducing bending of the piezoelectric layer, as taught by Zou (Abstract, pp. 1077-1080).
Regarding claim 15, Yen in view of Zou discloses that its acoustic resonators can be used in the next-generation RF channel-selecting communication front-ends (Abstract).
Regarding claim 16, Yen in view of Zou discloses methods of manufacturing the claimed microacoustic filter (Figs. 4a-g, and the corresponding description).
Regarding claims 2 and 17, Yen in view of Zou discloses a substrate (p. 116, “high resistivity silicon substrate”), wherein the electrode structure is between the substrate and the first TCF compensation layer (Fig. 4).
Regarding claims 3 and 18, Yen in view of Zou discloses a dielectric under-layer disposed between the electrode structure and the substrate (Fig. 4, p. 116, thin low-stress nitride (LSN) insulating film is deposited between the electrodes and the Si substrate).
Regarding claim 4, Yen in view of Zou discloses an interstitial dielectric material (Fig. 4, p. 116, AlN insulating film is deposited on top of the LSN insulating film and between the electrode fingers), wherein:
the electrode structure comprises electrode fingers (Fig. 4) disposed on the dielectric under-layer and extending in the first direction (direction X); and
the interstitial dielectric material is disposed on the dielectric under-layer and between at least a portion of the electrode fingers (the AlN insulating film is disposed over the LSN insulating film below and between the fingers as seen in Fig. 4).
Claims 6, 10, 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yen in view of Zou and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0231658 A1, published July 21, 2022 (“McHugh”), of record.
Regarding Claim 6, Yen in view of Zou discloses all the limitations except “a first passivation layer disposed on the second TCF compensation layer.”
However, McHugh, in the same field of endeavor, discloses using passivation and tuning layer 755 to cover the entire surface of the filter (McHugh, Fig. 9, step 950; ¶¶43, 49-51, 70, 74).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify the device of Yen by having a passivation layer disposed on the second TCF compensation layers for the benefit of sealing the surface of the device, as taught by McHugh (¶43).
Regarding claim 10, Yen in view of Zou and in further view of McHugh discloses wherein the first TCF compensation layer has a thickness orthogonal to the first surface of the piezoelectric layer in a range of five (5) to forty (40) nanometers (nm) (McHugh, Figs. 5-6, ¶¶45-47, 64; claim 19). McHugh teaches the ratio of the decoupling (first TCF compensation) layer thickness to the piezoelectric plate thickness to be greater than or equal to 0.02 (¶47). The thickness of the piezoelectric plate disclosed in McHugh is from 300 to 1000 nm (¶38, 64), which means McHugh teaches the first TCF compensation layer thickness is in the range from 2 to 30 nm, as required by the claim. In addition, McHugh discloses that the decoupling layer thickness may range from zero to the thickness of the piezoelectric plate (Claim 19).
Regarding Claim 14, Yen in view of Zou and in further view of McHugh discloses all the limitations, including the piezoelectric layer comprises lithium niobate (McHugh, ¶¶37) with the Euler angle lambda being approximately 0°, the Euler angle mu being approximately 32.5°, and the Euler angle theta being approximately 0°, or at least one symmetrical equivalent thereof (McHugh, ¶¶37).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the piezoelectric materials disclosed in Yen and/or Zou for lithium niobate rotated Y-cut with Euler angles (0°, 30°-38°, 0°) disclosed in McHugh as a simple substitution of one known piezoelectric element for another to obtain predictable results. MPEP 2143.I.B and for the benefit of higher electromechanical coupling, as taught by McHugh (¶37).
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yen in view of Zou and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0126930 A1, published May 5, 2016 (“Zou”), of record.
Regarding claim 9, Yen in view of Zou discloses all the limitations, except “the first TCF compensation layer and the second TCF compensation layer each comprise a layer of carbon-doped silicon dioxide (SiO2C).”
Zou, in the same field of endeavor, teaches using carbon doped silicon dioxide as dielectric material (¶¶56, 80, 127, 142, 161, 221).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the dielectric materials disclosed in Yen and/or Zou for carbon-doped silicon dioxide (SiO2C) disclosed in Zou as a simple substitution of one known dielectric element for another to obtain predictable results. MPEP 2143.I.B.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5, 7-8 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VICTOR COLE, telephone number (571) 272-4686. The examiner can be reached Monday-Friday, 9AM-5PM ET.
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 www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL, can be reached at (571) 272-5918. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is (571) 273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at (866) 217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call (800) 786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or (571) 272-1000.
/VICTOR COLE/
Examiner, Art Unit 2843
/ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843
