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/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 7-12 in the reply filed on 7/6/26 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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.
Claim(s) 7, 8, and 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hashemi et al. (US pub 20240112712).
With respect to claim 7, Hashemi et al. teach a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) device, comprising (see figs. 1-1, particularly figs. 2, 10, and 11 and associated text):
a spin orbit torque (SOT) layer 210 on a substrate 101;
a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) 212,214,216 on the SOT layer;
a first cap layer (lateral part of 218) adjacent to the MTJ; and
a second cap layer (vertical part of 218) adjacent to the first cap layer, wherein a thickness of the first cap layer is greater than a thickness of the second cap layer.
With respect to claim 8, Hashemi et al. teach a top electrode (TE) 204 on the MTJ; and an inter-metal dielectric (IMD) layer around the second cap layer (see para 0031).
With respect to claim 10, Hashemi et al. teach a width of the MTJ is less than a width of the SOT layer. See fig. 2 and associated text.
Claim(s) 7 and 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kuo et al. (US pub 20240016067).
With respect to claim 7, Kuo et al. teach a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) device, comprising (see figs. 1-4, particularly fig. 2 and associated text):
a spin orbit torque (SOT) layer 108 on a substrate 100;
a magnetic tunneling junction (MTJ) 116 on the SOT layer;
a first cap layer 120a adjacent to the MTJ; and
a second cap layer 118a adjacent to the first cap layer, wherein a thickness of the first cap layer is greater than a thickness of the second cap layer.
With respect to claim 7, Kuo et al. teach a bottom surface of the second cap layer is lower than a bottom surface of the first cap layer. See fig. 2 and associated text.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9 and 12 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.
Examiner’s Cited References
The cited references generally show the similar or related structure having a stacked of a MTJ layer, a SOI layer, a substrate, having first and second cap layers adjacent to the MTJ layer having different thicknesses as presently claimed by applicant.
Conclusion
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LONG . PHAM
Examiner
Art Unit 2823
/LONG PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897
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