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 Group I (claims 1-14) in the reply filed on 07/14/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 15-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group II, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 07/14/2026.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 3 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
The term “adaptively set” in claim 3 is a relative term which renders the claim indefinite. The term “adaptively set is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention.
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.
Claim(s) 1-3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)/ (2) as being anticipated by Tsai (US 10, 153, 273).
Regarding claim 1, Tsai discloses a composite passive component, comprising: a substrate (Fig.1B, numeral 105); an epitaxial structure (155), set on the substrate (105), wherein a two-dimensional electron gas (column 1, lines 20-30; fig.13, numeral 165) with a specific pattern is formed in the epitaxial structure (155); and a passive component body (Fig.1B, numerals 192 142), set on a side, away from the substrate (105), of the epitaxial structure (155), and being in ohmic contact (190) with the two-dimensional electron gas (Fig.1, numeral 165).
Regarding claim 2, Tsai discloses wherein an isolation part (315) is formed in the epitaxial structure, and the isolation part (315) defines an area corresponding to the two-dimensional electron gas (165).
Regarding claim 3, Tsai discloses wherein the specific pattern of the two-dimensional electron gas (165) is adaptively set with the passive component body (142) (note 112 rejections above).
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Mao (US 2022/0375925).
Regarding claim 1, Mao discloses a composite passive component ([0053]), comprising: a substrate (Fig. 1, numeral 10); an epitaxial structure (12); (14), set on the substrate (101), wherein a two-dimensional electron gas (14) ([0044]) with a specific pattern is formed in the epitaxial structure (12); (14) ; and a passive component body (32a); (34a2); (34b2); (34c2) ([0053]), set on a side, away from the substrate (10), of the epitaxial structure (12); (14), and being in ohmic contact with the two-dimensional electron gas (14) ([0074]).
Regarding claim 2, Mao discloses the isolation part (36c) defines an area corresponding to the two-dimensional electron gas (14) (Fig1).
Regarding claim 3, Mao discloses wherein the specific pattern of the two-dimensional electron gas (14) is adaptively set with the passive component body ([0053) (note 112 rejections above).
Regarding claim 4, Mao discloses wherein the composite passive component is a composite capacitor([0053]), the passive component body comprises: a metal capacitor structure (32a)-(34c2), set on the side, away from the substrate (10), of the epitaxial structure (14); (16), the metal capacitor structure comprises a first metal plate (32a) and a second metal plate (34c2), the second metal plate (34c2) is located on a side, away from the substrate (10), of the first metal plate (32a), and the first metal plate (34c2) is insulated from the two-dimensional electron gas (14) ([0052]); and along a thickness direction of the composite passive component ([0053]), a total projection, on the substrate, of the first metal plate and the second metal plate at least partially overlaps with a projection, on the substrate (14), of the two-dimensional electron gas (14) (Fig.1).
Regarding claim 6, Mao discloses wherein the composite passive component further comprises: a first interlayer dielectric layer (22), covering the epitaxial structure (12); (14); the metal capacitor (32a)-(34c2) structure is set on a side, away from the substrate (10), of the first interlayer dielectric layer (22), and the metal capacitor structure comprises the first metal plate (32a), the second metal plate (34a) and a second interlayer dielectric layer (401) ([0045]).
Regarding claim 7, Mao discloses wherein along the thickness direction of the composite passive component, the projection, on the substrate, of the two-dimensional electron gas covers a projection, on the substrate (10), of the first metal plate (32a) and a projection, on the substrate (10), of the second metal plate (34a) (Fig.1).
Regarding claim 8, Mao discloses wherein the two- dimensional electron gas (14) ([0044]) is insulated from the second metal plate (34a) (Fig.1).
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(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mao as applied to claim 4 above, and further in view of Ikura (US 2014/0097473)
Regarding claim 5, Mao does not disclose wherein the two- dimensional electron gas is configured to be equipotential with the second metal plate; and along the thickness direction of the composite passive component, a projection, on the substrate, of the first metal plate at least partially overlaps with the projection, on the substrate, of the two-dimensional electron gas.
Ikura however discloses that the two- dimensional electron gas is configured to be equipotential with the metal plate for the purpose reducing the leakage current ([0007]).
It would have been therefore obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to modify Mao with Ikura to have the two- dimensional electron gas is configured to be equipotential with the second metal plate; and along the thickness direction of the composite passive component, a projection, on the substrate, of the first metal plate at least partially overlaps with the projection, on the substrate, of the two-dimensional electron gas for the purpose of reducing the leakage current (Ikura, [0007]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-14 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 search of the prior art does not disclose or reasonably suggest , wherein the two- dimensional electron gas is in a first planar spiral shape, the composite passive component is a composite inductor, and the passive component body comprises: a first connecting metal layer, being in ohmic contact with a first end of the two-dimensional electron gas; an inductive metal wire, set on the side, away from the substrate, of the epitaxial structure, the inductive metal wire being in a second planar spiral shape as required by independent claim 9.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JULIA SLUTSKER whose telephone number is (571)270-3849. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 9 am-6 pm.
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/JULIA SLUTSKER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2891
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