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 .
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.
Claims 1-13, 16 and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jacobson et al. 6072716.
Regarding claim 1, Jacobson discloses a memristive crossbar array (figure 9), comprising:
first control lines (figure 9 (930)) and second control lines (figure 9 (920)) in a crossbar configuration defining a plurality of cross-point regions (figure 9 (940));
a memristive material portion (portion of 910)) disposed in each of the plurality of cross-point regions between a corresponding pair of one of the first control lines and one of the second control lines to form a corresponding memristive structure (column 8, lines 33 - 46),
wherein each memristive material portion has a thickness in a predefined range (column 8, line 61 - column 9, line 30) such that each corresponding memristive structure has a symmetric read characteristic and/or at least one curvature change in the read characteristic after positive initialization and positive read out and/or after negative initialization and negative read out (column 6, lines 11 - 42; figure 6).
Regarding claim 19, fig. 9 of Jacobson discloses a method for forming a memristive structure or a memristive array comprising a plurality of memristive structures, the method comprising:
forming a set of first control lines 930,
forming a memristive material layer 910 over the set of first control lines;
forming a set of second control lines 920 over the memristive material layer; and
patterning at least one of one or more first control lines of the set of first control lines, one or more second control lines of the set of second control lines, and/or the memristive material layer to thereby modify an electric field characteristic of an electric field generated in cross-point regions 940 of the memristive material layer via the one or more first control lines of the set of first control lines and via the one or more second control lines of the set of second control lines.
Regarding claim 20, discloses a method for forming a memristive structure or a memristive array comprising a plurality of memristive structures, the method comprising:
forming a set of first control lines 930,
forming a memristive material layer 910 over the set of first control lines;
forming a set of second control lines 920 over the memristive material layer; and
locally doping the memristive material layer by at least one of crystallographic vacancies (semiconductor particulates may be, for example, jet-milled single crystal silicon doped with boron at a concentration greater than 20,000 parts per billion – col. 7, ln43-47) and/or crystallographic traps for trapping crystallographic vacancies in cross-point regions of the memristive material layer.
Regarding claim 2, Jacobson discloses further comprising: a continuous layer 910 of a basic material, wherein each memristive material portion is a portion of the continuous layer of the basic material,
wherein the continuous layer of the basic material 910 comprises at least one other portion (other 910 at 940) neighboring the memristive material portions,
wherein the at least one other portion has a thickness that is greater than the thickness of the memristive material portions (total thickness of 510 in comparison to 510 between 520 and 530).
Regarding claim 3, fig. 9 of Jacobson discloses wherein in each of the plurality of cross-point regions the first control lines 930 are connected to a respective first electrode(portion of 930 at the cross-point) of the corresponding memristive structure, wherein a distance of the first control lines from a lower surface of the continuous layer of the basic material facing away (distance form end of 930) from the first control lines is greater than a distance of the first electrode (top surface of 930 at the cross-point) from the lower surface of the continuous layer of the basic material; and/or w
wherein in each of the plurality of cross-point regions the second control lines are connected to a respective second electrode of the corresponding memristive structure, wherein a distance of the second control lines from an upper surface of the continuous layer of the basic material facing away from the second control lines is greater than a distance of the second electrode from the upper surface of the continuous layer of the basic material.
Regarding claim 4, fig. 9 of Jacobson discloses wherein the first control lines and/or the second control lines are configured to channel an electric filed applicable via the corresponding pair of one of the first control lines and one of the second control lines in the cross-point region; or wherein in each of the plurality of cross-point regions at least one of the corresponding pair of one of the first control lines and one of the second control lines are connected to a first electrode and a second electrode of the corresponding memristive structure respectively, wherein the first electrode and/or the second electrode are configured to channel an electric filed applicable via the corresponding pair of one of the first control lines and one of the second control lines in the cross-point region.
Regarding claim 5, Jacobson discloses wherein the thickness of each memristive material portion is greater than 150 nm (col. 3, ln 25-26 – a carbon-polymer film 110 is thinly deposited onto an aluminum or aluminized anode 120 (to a thickness ranging from a few microns to tens of microns)), and/or wherein in each of the plurality of cross-point regions the corresponding pair of one of the first control lines and one of the second control lines have a distance from one another that is greater than 150 nm.
Regarding 6, fig. 9 of Jacobson discloses wherein in each of the plurality of cross-point regions the corresponding pair of one of the first control lines and one of the second control lines act as a first electrode and as a second electrode of the corresponding memristive structure respectively; or wherein in each of the plurality of cross-point regions the corresponding pair of one of the first control lines and one of the second control lines are connected to a first electrode and a second electrode of the corresponding memristive structure respectively, wherein, preferably, the first electrode and the second electrode have a distance from one another that is greater than 150 nm.
Regarding claim 7, fig. 9 of Jacobson discloses the corresponding pair of one of the first control lines and one of the second control lines allow for an individual electrical addressing of the corresponding memristive structure.
Regarding claim 8, fig. 9 of Jacobson discloses wherein an overlap of the corresponding pair of one of the first control lines and one of the second control lines with one another defines a cross-point area and wherein a dimension of the memristive material portion parallel to the cross-point area is greater than a dimension of the cross-point area.
Regarding claim 9, fig. 9 of Jacobson discloses comprising: a continuous layer of a basic material 910, wherein each memristive material portion is a portion of the continuous layer of the basic material.
Regarding claim 10, Jacobson discloses wherein the basic material has memristive properties.
Regarding claim 11, fig. 9 of Jacobson discloses wherein the basic material has memristive properties, and wherein the basic material comprises a local modification in the cross-point regions.
Regarding claim 12, fig. 9 of Jacobson discloses wherein the basic material has non-memristive properties, and wherein the basic material comprises a local modification in the cross-point regions such that a modified basic material in the cross-point regions (100r (i,j)) has memristive properties (a planar two-dimensional array, indicated generally at 900, is shown in FIG. 9. The memory film layer 910 is sandwiched between a series of vertical address lines 920 on top and horizontal address lines 930 on the bottom. In such an array configuration, fully-functional memory elements representatively indicated at 940 are created at the intersections of every pair of vertical and horizontal address lines 920, 930, as shown by small dots).
Regarding claim 13, Jacobson discloses wherein the local modification comprises a local metal ion doping, and/or wherein the local modification comprises locally induced vacancies (semiconductor particulates may be, for example, jet-milled single crystal silicon doped with boron at a concentration greater than 20,000 parts per billion – col. 7, ln43-47 – note boron is introduce at vacancies).
Regarding claim 16 (see rejection of claim 2 above), Jacobson discloses wherein the continuous layer of the basic material comprises at least one other portion neighboring the memristive material portions, wherein the at least one other portion has a thickness that is greater than the predefined range.
Regarding claim 18, fig. 6 of Jacobson discloses wherein each memristive structure is a self-rectifying memristive structure; and/or wherein each memristive structure is configured to exhibit a nonlinear switching behavior.
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.
Claims 14-15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jacobson in view of Schmidt et al. 20190122730.
Regarding claim 14, Jacobson does not disclose wherein the basic material is an oxide and wherein the local modification comprises locally induced oxygen vacancies.
However, par [0023] - [0025]) of Schmidt discloses wherein a basic material is an oxide and wherein the local modification comprises locally induced oxygen vacancies.
As such it would have been obvious to form a memristive crossbar array of Jacobson comprising disclose wherein the basic material is an oxide and wherein the local modification comprises locally induced oxygen vacancies as mobile oxygen vacancies in the memristive layer sequence can be changed by means of an electrical voltage such as taught by Schmidt in order to form memory states.
Regarding claim 15, par [0019-022] of Schmidt discloses wherein the local modification of the basic material further comprises locally induced traps configured to hinder oxygen vacancies from drifting.
Regarding claim 17, Jacobson does not discloses wherein the basic memristive material comprises an oxide material, the oxide material comprising at least one of bismuth, iron, hafnium, strontium, and/or titanium.
However, par [0012] of Schmidt discloses wherein a basic memristive material comprises an oxide material, the oxide material comprising at least one of bismuth, iron, hafnium, strontium, and/or titanium.
As such it would have been obvious to form a crossbar comprising wherein the basic memristive material comprises an oxide material, the oxide material comprising at least one of bismuth, iron, hafnium, strontium, and/or titanium in order to use old methodology to save cost and research.
Conclusion
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/VONGSAVANH SENGDARA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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