Detailed Action
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 1 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The phrase “as being far away from the substrate” does not make sense in context and is assumed to be a translation issue. The limitation will be interpreted as a retrograde dopant profile in the JFET region.
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.
Claims 1- are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Pat. No. 10388737 to Bolotnikov et al (Bolotnikov).
Regarding Claims 1 and 7, Bolotnikov teaches a semiconductor device and associated method, comprising:
a substrate 12;
a drift layer 16 over the substrate;
a junction field-effect transistor region 29 over the drift layer, wherein a doping concentration of the junction field-effect transistor region decreases away from the substrate 8:32-56;
a well region 18 over the drift layer and at a side of the junction field-effect transistor region;
a source region 20 in the well region; and
a gate structure 26 over the junction field-effect transistor region.
Regarding Claim 2, Bolotnikov teaches the semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein a width of the junction field-effect transistor region decreases away from the substrate (see Fig. 6).
Regarding Claim 3, Bolotnikov teaches the semiconductor device of claim 1, wherein the junction field-effect transistor region has a conductivity type same as a conductivity type of the source region 7:16-18, and the doping concentration of the junction field-effect transistor region 8E15 cm-3 is lower than a doping concentration of the source region N+.
Regarding Claim 4, Bolotnikov teaches the semiconductor device of claim 3, wherein the drift layer has a conductivity type same as the conductivity type of the junction field-effect transistor region (N-type), and the doping concentration of the drift layer is lower than a doping concentration of the junction field-effect transistor region 10:39-48.
Regarding Claim 7, Bolotnikov teaches a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising:
forming a drift layer over a substrate;
forming a junction field-effect transistor region in the drift layer, wherein a doping concentration of the junction field-effect transistor region decreases as being far away from the substrate;
forming a well region in the drift layer and at a side of the junction field-effect transistor region;
forming a source region in the well region; and
forming a gate structure over the junction field-effect transistor region and the well region.
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.
Claims 5-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bolotnikov in view of CN 117317019 to Xu.
Regarding Claim 5, Bolotnikov teaches the semiconductor device of claim 1, but does not explicitly teach:
a shielding region between the well region and the junction field-effect transistor region.
However, in analogous art, Xu teaches a shielding region between a JFET and well throughout. It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of filing to include the teaching of Xu for excellent clamping effect among other benefits (abstract and throughout).
Regarding Claim 5, Bolotnikov and Xu teach the semiconductor device of claim 5, wherein the shielding region has a conductivity type same as a conductivity type of the well region (P), and the doping concentration of the shielding region is higher than a doping concentration of the well region (although not explicit, obvious for the clamping effect described by Xu).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8-11 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the cited prior art does not show the method steps required.
Conclusion
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/EVREN SEVEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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