DETAILED ACTION
As per MPEP 2111 and 2111.01, the claims are given their broadest reasonable interpretation and the words of the claims are given their plain meaning consistent with the specification without importing claim limitations from the specification.
In responding to this Office action, the applicant is requested to include specific references (figures, paragraphs, lines, etc.) to the drawings/specification of the present application and/or the cited prior arts that clearly support any amendments/arguments presented in the response, to facilitate consideration of the amendments/arguments.
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 .
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 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.
Amendment
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's Amendment, filed 05-04-2026. The changes and remarks disclosed therein have been considered.
Claim(s) 37, 38, 40, 41, 52, 53, and 56 has/have been amended, claim(s) 54 has/have been cancelled, and claim(s) 37-42, and 52, 53, 55, and 56 remain(s) pending in the application.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the stacked layers defining an interface with an internal interfacial electric field normal to a plane of the stacked layers forming an interface, as disclosed in claim 37, must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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.
Claim(s) 37-42 and 52, 53, 55, and 56 is/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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim(s) 37 recite(s) the language (emphasis added) “defining an interface with an internal interfacial electric field normal to a plane of the stacked layers forming an interface”, where it is unclear if the two recitations of “an interface” are different from one another.
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 of this title, 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.
Claim(s) 37-42, and 52, 53, 55, and 56 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Unuchek, US 20210217919 A1, in view of Li, X., et al. (2016), Isoelectronic Tungsten Doping in Monolayer MoSe2 for Carrier Type Modulation. Adv. Mater., 28: 8240-8247, hereafter cited as NPL Li.
As to claim 37, Unuchek discloses a conductive stacked multilayer diatomic hexagonal material (see Unuchek Fig 1b) comprising at least two doped 2D diatomic hexagonal material layers (see Unuchek Fig 1b Refs 103 and 105) stacked in a substantially parallel or a parallel lattice orientation (see Unuchek Fig 1b Refs 103 and 105), the stacked layers defining an interface (see Unuchek Fig 1b Refs 103 and 105) with an internal interfacial electric field normal to a plane of the stacked layers forming an interface (see Unuchek Para [0017]; Excitons are electron hole pairs forming an electric dipole which is de facto an electric field.).
Unuchek does not appear to explicitly disclose in-plane conductivity, wherein
the multilayer is n-doped or p-doped.
NPL Li discloses in-plane conductivity (see NPL Xi Fig 5b), wherein the multilayer is n-doped or p-doped (see NPL Xi Page 1, Col 2, Para 4).
It would have been obvious to one skilled in the art at the time of the effective filing of the invention that a conductive stacked multilayer structure, as disclosed by Unuchek, may implement conductive, doped layers, as disclosed by NPL Li The inventions are well known variants of devices implement 2D semiconductors, and the combination of known inventions which produces predictable results is obvious, and not patentable. Further evidence to the obviousness of their combination is NPL Li’s attempt to engineer band structures (see NPL LI Page 1, Col 1, Para 2).
As to claim 38, Unuchek and NPL Li disclose the material according to claim 32, wherein
the doped multilayer is formed by chemical doping of the 2D diatomic hexagonal materials prior to forming the multilayer structure (see NPL Xi Page 1, Col 2, Para 4).
As to claim 39, Unuchek and NPL Li disclose the material according to claim 32, wherein
the doped multilayer is formed by electrostatic doping of a preformed multilayer (see NPL Xi Page 1, Col 2, Para 4; Examiner takes notice that the diffusive phenomenon disclosed in citation 29 is well known in the art.).
As to claim 40, Unuchek and NPL Li disclose the material according to claim 32, wherein any two or more stacked exhibit out-of-plane switchable polarization (see Unuchek Para [0122]) and comprise free charge carriers of a density that is at least 1010 cm-2 (see Unuchek Fig 26i) evenly distributed in the multilayer (see Unuchek Para [0160]).
As to claim 41, Unuchek and NPL Li disclose the material according to claim 40, comprising two or more layers of a TMD material stacked in a substantially parallel lattice orientation and exhibiting out-of-plane switchable polarization (see Unuchek Para [0122]) and comprising free electrons or holes of a density that is at least 1010 cm-2 (see Unuchek Fig 26i) evenly distributed in the multilayer (see Unuchek Para [0160]).
As to claim 42, Unuchek and NPL Li disclose a device implementing a material according to claim 37 (see NPL Xi Page 1, Col 1, Para 1).
As to claim 52, Unuchek and NPL Li disclose the material according to claim 37, wherein
the multilayer is n-doped (see NPL Xi Page 1, Col 2, Para 4).
As to claim 53, Unuchek and NPL Li disclose the material according to claim 37, wherein
the multilayer is p-doped (see NPL Xi Page 1, Col 2, Para 4).
As to claim 55, Unuchek and NPL Li disclose the material according to claim 37, wherein
the diatomic hexagonal material is selected from hexagonal-boron-nitride (h-BN), transition-metal- dichalcogenides (TMD), hexagonal-aluminum-nitride (h-AIN), hexagonal-zinc-oxide (h- ZnO), and hexagonal-gallium-nitride (h-GaN) (see NPL Xi Page 1, Col 2, Para 4).
As to claim 56, Unuchek and NPL Li disclose the material according to claim 37, wherein
the 2D diatomic hexagonal material is a transition-metal-dichalcogenides (TMD) selected from MoS2, WS2, MoSe2 and WSe2 (see NPL Xi Page 1, Col 2, Para 4).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 05/04/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
It is impermissible for and examiner to read limitations form the specification and arguments into the claim, and the “intrinsic property” language argued in the response of 05/04/2026 has not been amended into the claims. Furthermore, the original disclosure is very light on the particulars of the “intrinsic electric field”, which is recited once in the specification and how it functions within the disclosed structure, and it appears that the electric field is inherent to the structure (see MPEP 2181.II.A).
Excitons are electron hole pairs forming an electric dipole. The electric dipoles, which are formed at the interface between the TMD layers, are electric fields, and the Unuchek anticipates the recited claim language.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Yuan H. et al. (2021),Tuning the intrinsic electric field of Janus-TMDs to realize high-performance β-Ga2O3 device based on β-Ga2O3/Janus-TMD heterostructures, Materials Today Physics, Volume 21, 100549 discloses an intrinsic electrical field in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JEROME LARRY LEBOEUF whose telephone number is (571)272-7612. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th: 8:00AM - 6:00PM EST.
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.
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/JEROME LEBOEUF/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2824
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