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 § 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 20 is 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 20 recites the limitation "at least three series resonator" in lines 9-11. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 20 provides antecedent basis for “at least two series resonators,” and antecedent basis for “at least three shunt resonators,” but not antecedent basis for “at least three series resonators.”
For examination purposes, “at least three series resonators” will be interpreted as --at least two series resonators--.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-6, 8-18, & 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakahashi (US PGPub 20160277002) in view of Plesski et al. (US PGPub 20190386635)
As per claim 1:
Nakahashi discloses in Fig. 1:
A filter device comprising:
at least two series resonators (102, 103, 202, 203) connected between a pair of ports (terminals 11 and 12); and
at least three shunt resonators (parallel arm resonators 104-106) that are each connected between a ground connection and a node between a pair of the at least two series resonator or between the ground connection and a node between one of the pair of ports and one of the at least two series resonators;
wherein a shunt resonator having a highest resonance frequency of the at least three shunt resonators has a smallest capacitance value of the at least three shunt resonators (105, 1.2 pF and 2477 MHz, table 3), and
wherein the at least two series resonators and the at least three shunt resonators each include: surface acoustic wave resonators or other elastic wave resonators such as boundary acoustic wave resonators.
Nakahashi does not disclose:
wherein the at least two series resonators and the at least three shunt resonators each include:
a substrate, a piezoelectric layer attached either directly or via one or more intermediate layers to the substrate, and an interdigital transducer (IDT) at the piezoelectric layer and that includes a plurality of interleaved fingers.
Plesski et al. discloses in Fig. 1-3A-C:
An elastic wave resonator ([0031]) including:
a substrate (322), a piezoelectric layer (310) attached either directly or via one or more intermediate layers (324) to the substrate, and an interdigital transducer (IDT) (130) at the piezoelectric layer and that includes a plurality of interleaved fingers (136).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form the filter of Nakahashi using the resonator design of Plesski et al. as an art-recognized specific acoustic resonator for the generic acoustic resonators of Nakahashi, as is well-understood in the art.
As per claim 2:
Nakahashi discloses in Fig. 1:
at least five shunt resonators (parallel arm resonators 104-106 & 204-206) that include a plurality of inner shunt resonators (105 & 205 or 105, 106, & 204) and a pair of outer shunt resonators (104 & 206) that are collectively connected in parallel between the pair of ports.
As per claim 3:
Nakahashi discloses in Fig. 1:
one shunt resonator (105) of the plurality of inner resonators has the highest resonance frequency and the smallest capacitance value.
As per claim 4:
Nakahashi discloses in Fig. 1:
the plurality of inner shunt resonators (105 & 205) have the same capacitance and resonant frequency (table 3) and the pair of outer shunt resonators (104 & 206) have the same capacitance and resonant frequency (table 3).
Nakahashi does not disclose:
the plurality of inner shunt resonators comprises a same stack as each other and the pair outer shunt resonators comprise a same stack as each other.
Plesski et al. discloses in Fig. 1-3A-C:
An elastic wave resonator ([0031]) including:
a substrate (322), a piezoelectric layer (310) attached either directly or via one or more intermediate layers (324) to the substrate, and an interdigital transducer (IDT) (130) at the piezoelectric layer and that includes a plurality of interleaved fingers (136).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to set the plurality of inner shunt resonators to comprise a same stack as each other and the pair outer shunt resonators to comprise a same stack as each other, as to maintain the same properties of capacitance and resonant frequency, as is well understood in the art that identical resonators would have the same properties and also the same stack (by being identical).
As per claims 5 & 13:
Nakahashi discloses in Fig. 1:
when viewed in a plan view, a middle shunt resonator (105) from the plurality of inner shunt resonators has the highest resonance frequency and the smallest capacitance value (table 3, 105 is connected in the middle between resonators 104 & 206, with the plan view not changing the connectivity).
Alternatively, Nakahashi discloses in Fig. 1:
a middle shunt resonator (105, in the middle between resonators 104 & 206) from the plurality of inner shunt resonators has the highest resonance frequency and the smallest capacitance value (table 3).
Nakahashi does not disclose:
when viewed in a plan view, a middle shunt resonator from the plurality of inner shunt resonators has the highest resonance frequency and the smallest capacitance value.
Plesski et al. discloses in Fig. 1-3A-C & 14:
An elastic wave resonator ([0031]) including:
a substrate (322), a piezoelectric layer (310) attached either directly or via one or more intermediate layers (324) to the substrate, and an interdigital transducer (IDT) (130) at the piezoelectric layer and that includes a plurality of interleaved fingers (136),
wherein a plurality of the resonators are provided in a layout for a ladder filter wherein from a plan view, the filter is arranged in a linear manner with components being ordered along the linear arrangement as per their position in the circuit schematic (as seen in Fig.16 and [0060]).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrange the filter elements in a linear manner and in order as per Plessky et al. as a known in the art method of forming a ladder filter as taught by Plessky et al. ([0060]).
As a consequence of the combination, the combination discloses that when viewed in a plan view, a middle shunt resonator (resonator 105, positioned in the middle between elements 301, 104, 102, and 203, 206, 304) from the plurality of inner shunt resonators has the highest resonance frequency and the smallest capacitance value (table 3).
As per claims 6 & 16:
Nakashi is silent regarding:
the shunt resonator having the smallest capacitance comprises an IDT with an area that is at least 50% smaller than areas of each of the IDTs of other shunt resonators of the at least three shunt resonators.
Plesski et al. discloses in Fig. 1-3A-C:
An elastic wave resonator ([0031]) including:
a substrate (322), a piezoelectric layer (310) attached either directly or via one or more intermediate layers (324) to the substrate, and an interdigital transducer (IDT) (130) at the piezoelectric layer and that includes a plurality of interleaved fingers (136).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the shunt resonator having the smallest capacitance comprises an IDT with an area that is at least 50% smaller than areas of each of the IDTs of other shunt resonators of the at least three shunt resonators, as the area of the IDT is a design parameter for determining the resonant frequency of the resonator and also the static capacitance of the resonator, as well understood in the art.
As per claims 8 & 17:
Nakashi does not disclose:
the piezoelectric layers of each of the at least three shunt resonators and the at least two series resonators each form a diaphragm that is over a cavity of the resonator, and wherein the IDT of each of the at least three shunt resonators and the at least two series resonators is disposed on the diaphragm.
Plesski et al. discloses in Fig. 1-3A-C & 14:
An elastic wave resonator ([0031]) including:
a substrate (322), a piezoelectric diaphragm (310) over a cavity (140/340) attached either directly or via one or more intermediate layers (324) to the substrate, and an interdigital transducer (IDT) (130) at the piezoelectric layer and that includes a plurality of interleaved fingers (136),
wherein a plurality of the resonators are provided in a layout for a ladder filter wherein the piezoelectric layers are formed from a single piezoelectric diaphragm (1430) extending over cavities (1435) (as seen in Fig.16 and [0061]).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to arrange the filter elements over a single piezoelectric diaphragm as per Plessky et al. ([0061]) as a known in the art method of forming a ladder filter as taught by Plessky et al. ([0060]).
As a consequence of the combination, the combination discloses the piezoelectric layers of each of the at least three shunt resonators and the at least two series resonators each form a diaphragm that is over a cavity of the resonator, and wherein the IDT of each of the at least three shunt resonators and the at least two series resonators is disposed on the diaphragm.
As per claims 9 & 18:
Nakashi does not disclose:
for each of the resonators, the piezoelectric layer and the IDT is configured such that radio frequency signals applied to each IDT primarily excites a shear acoustic mode in the piezoelectric layer, the shear acoustic mode comprising a bulk shear wave having a propagation direction perpendicular to a direction of a primarily laterally excited electric field generated by the IDT, and the electric field being primarily laterally excited when atomic motion of the bulk shear wave is primarily horizontal in the piezoelectric layer, while the bulk shear wave propagates in a direction primarily perpendicular to the direction of atomic motion.
Plesski et al. discloses in Fig. 4:
for each of the resonators, the piezoelectric layer and the IDT is configured such that radio frequency signals applied to each IDT primarily excites a shear acoustic mode in the piezoelectric layer, the shear acoustic mode comprising a bulk shear wave having a propagation direction perpendicular to a direction of a primarily laterally excited electric field generated by the IDT, and the electric field being primarily laterally excited when atomic motion of the bulk shear wave is primarily horizontal in the piezoelectric layer, while the bulk shear wave propagates in a direction primarily perpendicular to the direction of atomic motion ([0035]).
As a consequence of the combination of claim 1, for each of the resonators, the piezoelectric layer and the IDT is configured such that radio frequency signals applied to each IDT primarily excites a shear acoustic mode in the piezoelectric layer, the shear acoustic mode comprising a bulk shear wave having a propagation direction perpendicular to a direction of a primarily laterally excited electric field generated by the IDT, and the electric field being primarily laterally excited when atomic motion of the bulk shear wave is primarily horizontal in the piezoelectric layer, while the bulk shear wave propagates in a direction primarily perpendicular to the direction of atomic motion.
As per claim 10:
Nakahashi discloses in Fig. 1:
A filter device comprising:
a plurality of series resonators (102, 103, 202, 203) connected between a pair of ports (terminals 11 and 12); and
a plurality of shunt resonators (parallel arm resonators 104-106) that are each connected between a ground connection and a node between a pair of the at least two series resonator or between the ground connection and a node between one of the pair of ports and one of the at least two series resonators;
wherein a shunt resonator having a highest resonance frequency of the at least three shunt resonators has a characteristic value that is different than characteristic values of other shunt resonators of the plurality of shunt resonators, and wherein the respective characteristic values are at least one of an area of the respective IDTs and a capacitance (resonator 105, 1.2 pF and 2477 MHz, table 3), and
wherein the plurality of series resonators and the plurality of shunt resonators each include: surface acoustic wave resonators or other elastic wave resonators such as boundary acoustic wave resonators.
Nakahashi does not disclose:
wherein the plurality of series resonators and the plurality of shunt resonators each include:
a substrate, a piezoelectric layer attached either directly or via one or more intermediate layers to the substrate, and an interdigital transducer (IDT) at the piezoelectric layer and that includes a plurality of interleaved fingers.
Plesski et al. discloses in Fig. 1-3A-C:
An elastic wave resonator ([0031]) including:
a substrate (322), a piezoelectric layer (310) attached either directly or via one or more intermediate layers (324) to the substrate, and an interdigital transducer (IDT) (130) at the piezoelectric layer and that includes a plurality of interleaved fingers (136).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form the filter of Nakahashi using the resonator design of Plesski et al. as an art-recognized specific acoustic resonator for the generic acoustic resonators of Nakahashi, as is well-understood in the art.
As per claim 11:
Nakahashi discloses in Fig. 1:
the plurality of shunt resonators comprises a plurality of inner shunt resonators (105, 106, 204 & 205) and a pair of outer shunt resonators (104 & 206) that are collectively connected in parallel between the pair of ports, and wherein the plurality of inner shunt resonators includes three shunt resonators.
As per claim 12:
Nakahashi discloses in Fig. 1:
an inner shunt resonator (105) of the plurality of inner shunt resonators that has the highest resonance frequency has a smallest capacitance (table 3).
Nakahashi does not disclose:
the characteristic values are areas of the IDTs and an inner shunt resonator of the plurality of inner shunt resonators that has the highest resonance frequency has a smallest area of the IDT.
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for the inner shunt resonator having the smallest capacitance to have the smallest area of the IDT of the shunt resonators, as capacitance is a property that is proportional to electrode area as is well understood in the art, and as electrode area is a design parameter for determining the capacitance of a resonator, as is well understood in the art.
As per claim 14:
Nakahashi discloses in Fig. 1:
Each inner shunt resonator has a paired resonator (105 & 205 and 106 & 204) having the same capacitance and resonant frequency (table 3) and the pair of outer shunt resonators (104 & 206) have the same capacitance and resonant frequency (table 3).
Nakahashi does not disclose:
the plurality of inner shunt resonators comprises a same stack as each other and the pair of outer resonators comprise a same stack as each other.
Plesski et al. discloses in Fig. 1-3A-C:
An elastic wave resonator ([0031]) including:
a substrate (322), a piezoelectric layer (310) attached either directly or via one or more intermediate layers (324) to the substrate, and an interdigital transducer (IDT) (130) at the piezoelectric layer and that includes a plurality of interleaved fingers (136).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to set the each similar pair of the plurality of inner shunt resonators to comprise a same stack as each other and the pair outer shunt resonators to comprise a same stack as each other, as to maintain the same properties of capacitance and resonant frequency, as is well understood in the art that identical resonators would have the same properties and also the same stack (by being identical).
It would be further obvious for the plurality of inner shunt resonators comprises a same stack as each other to provide the benefit of simplifying the manufacturing by controlling the design variables (dimensions of each resonator) and maintaining a similar thicknesses in the acoustic filter, as is well understood in the art.
As per claim 15:
Nakahashi discloses in Fig. 1:
an inner shunt resonator (105) of the plurality of inner shunt resonators that has the highest resonance frequency has a smallest capacitance of the plurality of shunt resonators (table 3).
As per claim 20:
Nakahashi discloses in Fig. 1:
A radio frequency module, comprising: a filter device (filter apparatus 1) including a plurality of acoustic resonators; wherein the plurality of acoustic resonators of the filter device includes:
at least two series resonators (102, 103, 202, 203) connected between a pair of ports (terminals 11 and 12) of the filter device; and
at least three shunt resonators (parallel arm resonators 104-106) that are each connected between a ground connection and a node between a pair of the at least two series resonator or between the ground connection and a node between one of the pair of ports and one of the at least two series resonators;
wherein a shunt resonator having a highest resonance frequency of the at least three shunt resonators has a smallest capacitance value of the at least three shunt resonators (105, 1.2 pF and 2477 MHz, table 3), and
wherein the at least two series resonators and the at least three shunt resonators each include: surface acoustic wave resonators or other elastic wave resonators such as boundary acoustic wave resonators.
Nakahashi does not disclose:
A radio frequency module, comprising: a filter device including a plurality of acoustic resonators; and a radio frequency circuit coupled to the filter device, the filter device and the radio frequency circuit being enclosed within a common package, wherein the plurality of acoustic resonators of the filter device includes:
wherein the at least two series resonators and the at least three shunt resonators each include:
a substrate, a piezoelectric layer attached either directly or via one or more intermediate layers to the substrate, and an interdigital transducer (IDT) at the piezoelectric layer and that includes a plurality of interleaved fingers, and
wherein, for each of the plurality of acoustic resonators, the piezoelectric layer and the IDT is configured such that radio frequency signals applied to the IDT primarily excites a shear acoustic mode in the piezoelectric layer.
Plesski et al. discloses in Fig. 1-4:
A radio frequency module (Rf-front end, [005]), comprising: a filter device (1400) including a plurality of acoustic resonators (1410, 1420); and
a radio frequency circuit (duplexers or multiplexers, which involve circuits in addition to a single filter [0031]) coupled to the filter device, the filter device and the radio frequency circuit being enclosed within a common package (mobile phone, etc. [0005]), wherein the plurality of acoustic resonators of the filter device includes:
An elastic wave resonator ([0031]) including:
a substrate (322), a piezoelectric layer (310) attached either directly or via one or more intermediate layers (324) to the substrate, and an interdigital transducer (IDT) (130) at the piezoelectric layer and that includes a plurality of interleaved fingers (136), and
for each of the resonators, the piezoelectric layer and the IDT is configured such that radio frequency signals applied to each IDT primarily excites a shear acoustic mode in the piezoelectric layer, the shear acoustic mode comprising a bulk shear wave having a propagation direction perpendicular to a direction of a primarily laterally excited electric field generated by the IDT, and the electric field being primarily laterally excited when atomic motion of the bulk shear wave is primarily horizontal in the piezoelectric layer, while the bulk shear wave propagates in a direction primarily perpendicular to the direction of atomic motion ([0035])..
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to form the filter of Nakahashi using the resonator design of Plesski et al. as an art-recognized specific acoustic resonator for the generic acoustic resonators of Nakahashi, as is well-understood in the art.
It would have been further obvious for the filter of the combination to be implemented as part of a multiplexer of a mobile telephone or other device as per the well-understood in the art use cases of acoustic wave filters as taught by Plesski et al. ([0005, 0031])
Claim(s) 7 & 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over the resultant combination of Nakahashi (US PGPub 20160277002) in view of Plesski et al. (US PGPub 20190386635) as applied to claims 1 & 10 above, and further in view of Yantchev (20200343874).
The resultant combination discloses the filters of claims 1 & 10, as rejected above.
As per claim 7:
The resultant combination does not disclose:
at least the shunt resonator having the highest resonance frequency of the at least three shunt resonators comprises a plurality of sub-resonators.
Yantchev discloses:
XBAR resonators can be divided into sub-resonators to reduce parasitic resistivity and increase the mechanical rigidity of the piezoelectric diaphragm ([0046]).
At the time of filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art for at least the shunt resonator having the highest resonance frequency of the at least three shunt resonators to comprise a plurality of sub-resonators to provide the benefit of reducing parasitic resistivity and increasing the mechanical rigidity of the piezoelectric diaphragm of the resonator as taught by Yantchev ([0046]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SAMUEL S OUTTEN whose telephone number is (571)270-7123. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30AM-6:00PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Andrea Lindgren Baltzell can be reached at (571) 272-1988. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Samuel S Outten/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2843
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