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 II is acknowledged.
Claims 1-4, 16 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 3/17/26.
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.
Claims 5-15, 21-23 are 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.
Claim 5: In the description of the support assembly, it is not clear how a slot assembly can be arranged in a through hole. Additional clarity with respect to the structure and arrangement of the support assembly would correct the problem.
Claims 7, 15: “the growth base” lacks antecedent basis.
Claims 10, 14: It is not clear which substrate “the substrate” refers to.
Claim 22: It is not clear how through holes can be snapped therein with the slot assembly. Additional clarity with respect to the structure and arrangement of the through holes would correct the problem.
Claims 7-12, 14: All these claims contain improper Markush groups including “comprising” language.
The remaining claims are merely rejected for depending from a rejected claim.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-15, 21-23 contain allowable subject matter assuming the above 112 rejections are overcome in a manner that does not broaden the claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Asari (US 2011/0309562 A1) and Liu (CN 113511681 A) are considered the closest prior art with Asari generally teaching a slot assembly for stacking wafers and batch-wise CVD and with Liu teaching the formation of transition metal chalcogenides without a dedicated growth substrate. In either case, the prior art does not teach a plurality of growth modules where each growth module comprises a growth substrate, platy substrate with a transition metal precursor, and a supply source of chalcogenide elements.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALEX A ROLLAND whose telephone number is (571)270-5355. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10-6:30.
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/ALEX A ROLLAND/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1759
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