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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 11/4/2025 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of pre-AIA 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) 1 3, 4, and 6-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Makkonen et al US 2021/0075401 (of record).
Makkonen et al discloses acoustic wave resonator comprising: a substrate 140;
a reflecting structure 130 composed of alternating layers of different material formed (For example, layers of high acoustic impedance include be W, Mo, Ir, Al.sub.2O.sub.3, diamond, Pt, AlN, Si3N4. Layers of low acoustic impedance can include SiO2, glass, Al, Ti, C, polymers, or porous materials.” Paragraph [0049]) above the substrate;
an electrode 120 formed on the reflecting structure the substrate;
a piezoelectric layer 110 wherein the piezoelectric layer ( Piezo layer 110 can be formed from various piezoelectric materials. Exemplary materials include ZnO, AlN, CdS, PZT, LiNbO3, LiTaO3, quartz, KNN, BST, GaN, Sc alloyed AlN, or the aforementioned materials doped or alloyed with an additional element. Doping can be used to improve or tailor electromechanical properties of piezo layer 110.[0046] ) comprises a crystalline structure (Teaching reference, Shearer et al US 7,327,073 teaches the AlN material being crystalline. Acoustic resonators are used as RF filters and resonators such as Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) or Film Bulk Acoustic Resonators (FBAR), and the term "acoustic resonator" is used broadly to cover all such devices and others using similar structures. In such devices, a piezoelectric layer of e.g. crystalline Aluminum Nitride lies between at least two electrodes. Upon application of a high frequency voltage to the structure the piezoelectric layer will vibrate in an allowed vibrational mode at a chosen frequency thereby enabling a band pass filter or frequency stabilization. Column 1, lines 25-34) to excite Lame’ mode resonance; (In piezoelectric layer 110, different bulk acoustic vibration modes can arise at different excitation frequencies f of input voltage (e.g., at port 160). Acoustic vibrations in piezo layer 110 can propagate laterally as Lamb waves (or plate waves), wherein particle motion lies in the plane that contains the direction of wave propagation and the plate normal (e.g., the z-axis in FIG. 1A).)[0051]
and an interdigital transducer 102 formed on the piezoelectric layer.
With regards to claim 3, the piezoelectric layer further comprises aluminum scandium-30 nitride (AlSc30N). ( Piezo layer 110 can be formed from various piezoelectric materials. Exemplary materials include ZnO, AlN, CdS, PZT, LiNbO3, LiTaO3, quartz, KNN, BST, GaN, Sc alloyed AlN, or the aforementioned materials doped or alloyed with an additional element. Doping can be used to improve or tailor electromechanical properties of piezo layer 110.[0046] )
With regards to claim 4, the acoustic resonator has a resonance frequency between 3 gigahertz (GHz) and 8 GHz. (In some embodiments, LBAW 100 can be designed to have a passband for TE1 modes between 0.5 and 10 GHz, or between 1 and 4 GHz. In some examples, TE1 passband is between 1.8 and 3.7 GHz.[0074])
With regards to claim 6. the interdigital transducer comprises a plurality of copper (Cu) electrode fingers. (Thin film IDT 102 can be composed of various materials. In some embodiments, IDT electrodes 150 and 170 are metal. For example, the electrode material includes Al, Mo, Pt, Cu, Au, Ag, Ti, W, Ir, Ru, or multilayers of metals and/or metals doped with additional materials, e.g. AlSi, AlSiCu, polysilicon, etc.[0047])
With regards to claim 7, the bottom electrode layer comprises molybdenum (Mo). (Although FIG. 1A shows a single common counter electrode 120, filter 100 can include separate electrodes for the input and output resonators. Various materials are suitable for the counter electrode(s) (e.g., electrode 120). For example, the electrodes can include a metal, such as Al, Mo, Pt, Cu, Au, Ag, Ti, W, Ir, Ru, or multilayers of metals and/or metals doped with additional materials, e.g. AlSi, AlSiCu etc.[0048])
With regards to claim 8, the low impedance layer comprises a silicon oxide (SiO2) layer formed on or the high impedance layer. (For example, layers of high acoustic impedance include be W, Mo, Ir, Al.sub.2O.sub.3, diamond, Pt, AlN, Si3N4. Layers of low acoustic impedance can include SiO2, glass, Al, Ti, C, polymers, or porous materials.” Paragraph [0049])
With regards to claim 9, the bulk acoustic wave filter is within a wireless transceiver of a wireless communication device; and the filter circuit is electrically coupled to an antenna of the wireless communication device. (The substrate can have a thickness appropriate for RF applications, such as integration into mobile phone platforms. For example, the substrate can have a thickness less than 500 microns, or less than 200 microns. [0049])
PNG
media_image1.png
359
510
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Claim(s) 15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Mohanty US Patent Application Publication 2013/00096825
Mohanty discloses a resonating structure comprising:
a third layer (i.e. a substrate) ; a first layer 210 (In some embodiments, the compensation structure may be formed of only a single layer (e.g., first layer 210). In one such embodiment, for example, the active layer may be formed of silicon and the single layer of the compensation structure may be formed of SiO.sub.2. In an alternative such embodiment, the active layer may be formed of aluminum nitride (AlN) and the single layer of the compensation structure may be formed of silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2).[0071]) formed on or above the third layer; and
an electroacoustic stack formed on or above the first layer , the electroacoustic stack comprising active layer 204 (i.e. a piezoelectric layer (The active layer 204 responds to the transduction method used to actuate the mechanical resonating structure (i.e., cause to vibrate) and/or detect motion of the mechanical resonating structure. It should be understood that any transduction method may be used including piezoelectric, piezoresistive, electrostatic, electrostrictive, electromotive, magnetostrictive, magnetomotive, thermal, spin-torque effect, and spin-polarized current driven magnetic excitation, amongst others.[0063])) different from the first layer and a interdigital transducer (202) , the piezoelectric layer having a crystalline structure (Examples of suitable electrode materials include, but are not limited to, aluminum (Al), molybdenum (Mo), titanium (Ti), chromium (Cr), ruthenium (Ru), gold (Au), platinum (Pt) or AlSiCu. In general, any suitable electrode material can be utilized for the electrode layer. In some embodiments, a thin layer of Ti and/or MN may be added beneath the electrode to enhance crystal orientation of the active (e.g., piezoelectric) material layer.) configured to excite a plate mode resonance (FIG. 11A depicts propagating non-evanescent eigenmodes for a pure AT-cut Quartz plate of a specific thickness. Other piezoelectric materials such as zinc oxide can have similar plate modes such as shown in FIG. 11A. FIG. 11B depicts propagating non-evanescent eigenmodes for a plate with a stack of materials as shown in FIG. 16 having a certain set of specific layer ratios with a specific thickness for the whole stack . FIG. 11A provides a rich illustration of plate modes of operation such as, for example, Sx (symmetric Lamb) modes, Ax (antisymmetric Lamb) modes, and SHx (shear horizontal plate) modes. It should be noted that other stack configurations of a mechanical resonating structure can result in other positions and curvature shapes of the plate modes dispersion as shown in FIGS. 11A-11B. These other stack configurations are contemplated by the present disclosure. Accordingly, FIGS. 11A-11B are considered illustrative and non-limiting.[0105]) wherein the interdigital transducer of the electroacoustic stack comprises a top interdigital transducer 202 formed on the active layer 204 and lower interdigital transducer 504 formed under the active layer (FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate another set of embodiments in which top 202 and bottom 504 IDT electrodes are used in a mechanical resonating structure.[0090])
With regards to claim 16, the electroacoustic stack further comprises a silicon dioxide (SiO2) layer formed between the piezoelectric layer and the substrate. (In some embodiments, the compensation structure may be formed of only a single layer (e.g., first layer 210). In one such embodiment, for example, the active layer may be formed of silicon and the single layer of the compensation structure may be formed of SiO.sub.2. In an alternative such embodiment, the active layer may be formed of aluminum nitride (AlN) and the single layer of the compensation structure may be formed of silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2).[0071])
With regards to claim 17, the lower IDT is position between the first layer 210 and the active layer.
PNG
media_image2.png
196
457
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10-14, 21 and 22 are allowed.
Claims 5, 18 and 20 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: With regards to claims 5, 10-14, 21 and 22, the prior art of record does not disclose or fairly teach the specific circuit configuration with emphasis on the AlN layer having a thickness approximately equal to the wavelength of a resonance frequency of the electroacoustic structure.
With regards to claim 18, the prior art of record does not disclose or fairly teach the specific circuit configuration with emphasis on the piezoelectric layer comprising aluminum scandium 30 nitride.
With regards to claim 20, the prior art of record does not disclose or fairly teach the specific circuit configuration with emphasis on a dielectric material positioned between electrode fingers of the lower interdigital transducer.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to KIMBERLY E GLENN whose telephone number is (571)272-1761. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 AM-5:00 PM.
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 http://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 https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://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.
May 28, 2026
/K.E.G/Examiner, Art Unit 2843
/ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843
Prosecution Insights