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 statements (IDS) submitted on 07 August 2024, 28 October 2024, 22 January 2025, and 05 February 2026 have been considered by the examiner.
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.
1. Claims 1 and 4-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and/or (a)(2) as being anticipated by US 2008/0087890 to Ahn et al. (“Ahn”).
With regard to Claims 1 and 4-5, Ahn teaches a method of forming layers of hafnium oxide and zirconium oxide via vapor deposition using HfCl4 or HfI4 precursors and ZrCl4 or ZrI4 precursors (see Abstract; FIG. 2; ¶¶ [0033]-[0039]). Ahn further teaches exposing the substrate to oxidizing gasses such as water vapor, ozone, oxygen, nitrogen oxides, and plasmas thereof (see ¶¶ [0035]-[0038], [0052]). According to Ahn, cyclical deposition may be repeated until a desired thickness is achieved (see ¶¶ [0032], [0042]). Ahn also teaches obtaining films free of carbon and halogen contamination via usage of an initial nitrate precursor (see ¶ [0050]).
With regard to Claims 6-10, Ahn teaches the claimed dopants (see ¶¶ [0006], [0072]).
With regard to Claim 11, Ahn teaches the claimed temperature (see ¶ [0080]).
With regard to Claim 12, Ahn teaches the claimed pressure (see ¶ [0043]).
With regard to Claims 13-16, Ahn teaches the claimed durations (see ¶¶ [0034]-[0039])
With regard to Claims 17-18, Ahn teaches purging using the claimed gasses for the claimed durations (see ¶¶ [0034], [0041], [0045], [0051]).
With regard to Claim 19, Ahn teaches obtaining any desired multilayer film composition (see ¶ [0042]).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
2. Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ahn as applied to Claim 1, and further in view of US 2013/0026438 to Wang et al. (“Wang”).
With regard to Claim 2, Ahn does not particularly limit the type of substrate, and teaches use of any semiconductor structures known in the art (see ¶ [0072]). To the extent that titanium nitride substrates are not implicitly contemplated by the disclosure of Ahn, Wang is similarly directed to semiconductor processing techniques involving formation of insulating oxide films, and teaches titanium nitride substrates (see Abstract; ¶¶ [0008], [0033], [0035], [0049], [0060], [0068]). Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was filed to have employed titanium nitride substrates in the method of Ahn with a reasonable expectation of success.
With regard to Claim 3, Wang teaches deposition of iridium as an electrode material (see ¶ [0060]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Michael P Rodriguez whose telephone number is (571)270-3736. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00 - 6:00 Eastern M-F.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Michael Cleveland can be reached at 571-272-1418. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Michael P. Rodriguez/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1712
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