This Office Action is in response to the papers filed on August 21, 2024.
Claims 1-5 are rejected on the ground of nonstatutory double patenting as being unpatentable over claims 1-5, respectively, of Lin (parent United States Patent 12,100,750) together with Jones (United States Patent 4,675,7161).
As to independent claim 1, Lin’s claim 1 recites a semiconductor device, comprising:
a gate isolation structure on a shallow trench isolation (STI);
a first epitaxial layer on one side of the gate isolation structure;
a second epitaxial layer on another side of the gate isolation structure;
and a contact etch stop layer (CESL) on the gate isolation structure.
The difference between this application’s claim 1 and Lin’s claim 1 is the former further recites a spacer around the gate isolation structure.
Jones teaches forming sidewall spacers on a semiconductor device’s gates to improve step coverage (see the entire patent, including the Abstract and Fig. 9’s sidewall spacers 34).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art to form sidewall spacers around Lin’s claim 1 gate isolation structure to improve step coverage as taught by Jones.
As to dependent claim 2, Lin’s dependent claim 2 further recites:
first fin-shaped structures directly under the first epitaxial layer;
and second fin-shaped structures directly under the second epitaxial layer, wherein the STI surrounds the first fin-shaped structures and the second fin-shaped structures.
As to dependent claim 3, Lin’s dependent claim 3 further recites wherein a top surface of the gate isolation structure is even with a top surface of the first epitaxial layer.
As to dependent claim 4, Lin’s dependent claim 4 further recites the contact etch stop layer (CESL) on the gate isolation structure, the STI, part of the first epitaxial layer, and part of the second epitaxial layer.
As to dependent claim 5, Lin’s dependent claim 5 further recites:
an interlayer dielectric (ILD) layer on the CESL;
a first contact plug on one side of the ILD layer and directly on the first epitaxial layer;
and a second contact plug on another side of the ILD layer and directly on the second epitaxial layer.
Registered practitioners can telephone the examiner at (571) 272-1843. Any voicemail message left for the examiner should include the registration number of the registered practitioner calling. The examiner’s supervisor is Wael Fahmy, whose telephone number is (571) 272-1705.
/MARK V PRENTY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2814
1 The Jones patent’s BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS (column 1, line 62, through column 2, line 6) and DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT (column 2, line 7, through column 6, line 20) are incorrect. The examiner respectfully submits, however, that the Jones patent’s spacer teaching is still readily understood from the rest of the patent, including the title, abstract, Fig. 9, SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION (column 1, lines 40-53), and claims (column 6, lines 20-44).
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