SURFACE ACOUSTIC WAVE DEVICE WITH GERMANIUM OXIDE LAYER

Application No. 19/024,649

• Filed: Jan 16, 2025
• Priority: Jan 23, 2024 — provisional 63/624,098
  • Jan 23, 2024 — provisional 63/624,120
  • Oct 02, 2024 — provisional 63/702,352
• Examiner: COLE, VICTOR
• Art Unit: 2843
• Tech Center: 2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
• Assignee: Skyworks Solutions Inc.
• OA Round: 2 (Final)

Office Action

DETAILED ACTION
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted 7/21/206 is/are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97 and being considered by the examiner.
Response to Amendment
The amendment filed 7/21/2026 has been entered. The applicant has amended claims 1-3, 5, 8, 10, 13-14, 16, 18, and 20. Claim 1-20 remain pending in the application. Applicant’s amendment has overcome all objections set forth in the Non-Final Office Action mailed 4/23/2026 (“FAOM”), which are hereby withdrawn.
Response to Argument
Applicant’s arguments, see pages 6-8 of the Remarks filed 7/21/2026 (“Remarks"), with respect to the rejections of record have been fully considered but are moot because the new ground(s) of rejection(s), necessitated by the applicant's amendment, do not rely on the combination of references applied in the prior rejection of record.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-2, 4-7, 12-15, 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by DE 10 2011 119 660, published 5/29/2013 (“Jäger”), a machine translation of which is provided herewith.
Jäger discloses in Figs. 1A, 2-5, Abstract, ¶¶7-32, 55-64, claims 1-6:
Claim 1
A surface acoustic wave device (Figs. 1A, 2-5, ¶¶2, 7-32, 55-64) comprising:
a support substrate (M2 and/or ¶23, the second cladding layer can be applied to a carrier substrate);
a piezoelectric layer (M1) over the support substrate;
a temperature compensation structure (WL) between the support substrate (M2) and the piezoelectric layer (M1), the temperature compensation structure including a doped germanium oxide layer (¶¶7-32, 55-64, claims 1-6, glass comprising germanium oxide doped with glass modifiers and/or stabilizers); and
an interdigital transducer electrode (E1) in electrical communication with the piezoelectric layer (¶57).
Claim 2
wherein the doped germanium oxide layer has a thickness in a range of 300 nm to 800 nm (¶¶75, 77, the thickness of the germanium dioxide glass waveguide layer is reduced to 800 nm).
Claim 4
wherein the temperature compensation structure directly contacts the piezoelectric layer (Figs. 1A, 2-5, WL directly contacts M1).
Claim 5
wherein the temperature compensation structure has a multi-layer structure that includes the doped germanium oxide layer as one of a first layer and a second layer (¶17, “A device with a three-layer waveguide view according to the invention makes it possible to arrange an unlimited number of further layers on the waveguide.”)
Claim 6
wherein the second layer is a silicon oxide layer (¶19).
Claim 7
wherein the temperature compensation structure has a thickness in a range of 300 nm to 1200 nm (¶¶75, 77, the thickness of the germanium dioxide glass waveguide layer is reduced to 800 nm).
Claim 12
wherein the piezoelectric layer includes lithium tantalate (¶55).
Claim 13
A surface acoustic wave device (Fig. 1A, 2-5, ¶¶2, 7-32, 55-64) comprising:
a piezoelectric layer (M1);
a temperature compensation structure (WL in contact with the piezoelectric layer, the temperature compensation structure including a doped germanium oxide layer and a silicon oxide layer (¶¶7-13, claims 1-6, glass comprising germanium oxide as well as dopants such as glass modifiers and/or stabilizers); and
an interdigital transducer electrode (E1) in electrical communication with the piezoelectric layer (¶57).
Claim 14
wherein the doped germanium oxide layer is provided between the piezoelectric layer and the silicon oxide layer (¶¶17-19).
Claim 15
wherein the temperature compensation structure has a thickness in a range of 300 nm to 1200 nm (¶¶75, 77, the thickness of the germanium dioxide glass waveguide layer is reduced to 800 nm).
Claim 20
An acoustic wave filter comprising (Fig. 1A, 2-5, ¶¶2, 7-32, 55-64):
a surface acoustic wave device including a support substrate (M2), a piezoelectric layer over the support substrate (M1), a temperature compensation structure (WL) between the support substrate and the piezoelectric layer, and an interdigital transducer electrode (E1) in electrical communication with the piezoelectric layer (¶57), the temperature compensation structure including a doped germanium oxide layer (¶¶7-13, claims 1-6, glass comprising germanium oxide as well as dopants such as glass modifiers and/or stabilizers); and
one or more acoustic wave resonators electrically coupled to the surface acoustic wave device (¶17, Claim 16 of Jäger also discloses electrically coupled first and second acoustic resonators in a filter).
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.

The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
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.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0173713, published June 2, 2022 (“Smirnow”), of record, in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0112282, published May 10, 2012 (“Lin”).
Smirnow discloses in Fig. 1 and the corresponding description:
Claim 1
A surface acoustic wave device (Fig. 1, Abstract, ¶¶1, 36) comprising:
a support substrate (substrate 1, ¶3);
a piezoelectric layer (piezoelectric thin-film 2, ¶6) over the support substrate;
a temperature compensation structure (waveguide layer 4 and TCF compensating layer 5) between the support substrate (1) and the piezoelectric layer (2); and
an interdigital transducer electrode (IDT 3, ¶36) in electrical communication with the piezoelectric layer.
Smirnow discloses that the temperature compensation structure includes a germanium oxide layer (¶¶31-32 “the second waveguide layer [42] comprises or consists of one or more of the following materials: SiO2, Si3N4, doped SiO2, GeO2”) but does not disclose that the temperature compensation structure includes a doped germanium oxide layer.
However, Lin, a reasonably pertinent reference from a relevant field of endeavor, teaches that “germanium oxides are volatile and introduce a large number of defect states resulting in poor device reliability” (¶6) and further teaches a solution to this problem: using a stabilized germanium oxide formed by doping germanium oxide with a stabilizing metal oxide (¶¶21, 23-24, 53-54, claims 13-15, 20).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Smirnow by doping its germanium oxide layer with a stabilizing metal oxide for the benefit of achieving low defect density and preventing environmental degradation of the germanium oxide, as taught by Lin (¶¶21, 23-24).
Smirnow in view of Lin discloses:
Claim 2
wherein the doped germanium oxide layer has a thickness in a range of 300 nm to 800 nm (Smirnow, ¶27, “Absolute values of the mean thickness of the first and/or the second waveguide layer may be between 5 nm and 500 nm inclusive”; Lin, ¶¶21, 23).
Claim 3
wherein the piezoelectric layer has a thickness (¶29, 0.6λ) that is greater than a thickness of the doped germanium oxide layer (Smirnow, ¶26, 0.125λ-0.5λ; Lin, ¶¶21, 23).
Claim 4
wherein the temperature compensation structure directly contacts the piezoelectric layer (Smirnow, Fig. 1, the second waveguide layer 42 directly contacts the piezoelectric layer 2).
Claim 5
wherein the temperature compensation structure has a multi-layer structure that includes the doped germanium oxide layer as one of a first layer and a second layer (Smirnow, Fig. 1 depicts a multi-layer temperature compensation comprising layer 5 and layer 4, which, in turn, comprises multi-layers 41 and 42; ¶¶31-32; Lin, ¶¶21, 23)
Claim 6
wherein the second layer (Smirnow, TCF compensating layer 5) is a silicon oxide layer (Smirnow, ¶32).
Claim 7
wherein the temperature compensation structure has a thickness in a range of 300 nm to 1200 nm (Smirnow, ¶45, the temperature compensation structure includes (i) layer 5 with a mean thickness of 200 nm, (ii) two layers 41 with a mean thickness of 190 nm each, and (iii) two layers 42 with a mean thickness of 105 nm each, resulting in a total thickness of 790 nm).
Claim 8
wherein the doped germanium oxide layer has a thickness in a range of 0.1L to 0.2L where L is a wavelength generated by the surface acoustic wave device (Smirnow, ¶26, “a mean thickness of the first and/or second waveguide layer is at most λ/4 or at most λ/8 or at most λ/16” ; Lin, ¶¶21, 23).
Claim 9
wherein the piezoelectric layer has a thickness (Smirnow, ¶29, 0.6λ) that is greater than a thickness of the temperature compensation structure (Smirnow teaches that the mean thickness of the first and/or second waveguide layer is from λ/16 to λ/4 and the mean thickness of the TCF compensating layer is from 0.1λ to 0.5λ, ¶¶26, 31, that is, the total thickness of the temperature compensating structure is from 0.25λ to λ, which is less than the mean thickness of the piezoelectric layer).
Claim 10
wherein the doped germanium oxide layer has a thickness in a range of 20% to 80% of a total thickness of the temperature compensation structure (Smirnow teaches that the mean thickness of the GeO2 layer(s) is from 0.125λ to 0.5λ and the total thickness of the temperature compensating structure is from 0.25λ to λ, ¶¶26, 31, that is, the total thickness of the GeO2 layer(s) is approximately 50%; Lin, ¶¶21, 23).
Claim 11
further comprising a trap rich layer (Smirnow, layer 6, ¶¶34, 56) between the support substrate and the temperature compensation structure
Claim 12
wherein the piezoelectric layer includes lithium tantalate (Smirnow, ¶6).
Claim 13
A surface acoustic wave device (Smirnow, Fig. 1, Abstract, ¶¶1, 36) comprising:
a piezoelectric layer (Smirnow, piezoelectric thin-film 2, ¶6);
a temperature compensation structure (including waveguide layers 4 and TCF compensating layer 5) in contact with the piezoelectric layer, the temperature compensation structure including a doped germanium oxide layer and a silicon oxide layer (Smirnow, ¶¶31-32, the second waveguide layer [42] comprises or consists of one or more of the following materials: SiO2, Si3N4, doped SiO2, GeO2; TCF compensating layer 5 may comprise SiO2; Lin, ¶¶21, 23); and
an interdigital transducer electrode (Smirnow, IDT 3, ¶36) in electrical communication with the piezoelectric layer.
Claim 14
wherein the doped germanium oxide layer (42) is provided between the piezoelectric layer (2) and the silicon oxide layer (5) (Smirnow, Fig. 1; Lin, ¶¶21, 23).
Claim 15
wherein the temperature compensation structure has a thickness in a range of 300 nm to 1200 nm (Smirnow, ¶45, the temperature compensation structure includes (i) layer 5 with a mean thickness of 200 nm, (ii) two layers 41 with a mean thickness of 190 nm each, and (iii) two layers 42 with a mean thickness of 105 nm each, resulting in a total thickness of 790 nm).
Claim 16
wherein the doped germanium oxide layer has a thickness in a range of 0.1L to 0.2L where L is a wavelength generated by the surface acoustic wave device (Smirnow, ¶26, “a mean thickness of the first and/or second waveguide layer is at most λ/4 or at most λ/8 or at most λ/16”; Lin, ¶¶21, 23).
Claim 17
wherein the piezoelectric layer (Smirnow, ¶29, 0.6λ) has a thickness that is greater than a thickness of the temperature compensation structure (Smirnow teaches that the mean thickness of the first and/or second waveguide layer is from λ/16 to λ/4 and the mean thickness of the TCF compensating layer is from 0.1λ to 0.5λ, ¶¶26, 31, that is, the total thickness of the temperature compensating structure is from 0.25λ to λ, that is, less than the mean thickness of the piezoelectric layer).
Claim 18
wherein the doped germanium oxide layer has a thickness in a range of 20% to 80% of a total thickness of the temperature compensation structure (Smirnow teaches that the mean thickness of the GeO2 layer(s) is from 0.125λ to 0.5λ and the total thickness of the temperature compensating structure is from 0.25λ to λ, ¶¶26, 31, that is, the total thickness of the GeO2 layer(s) is approximately 50%; Lin, ¶¶21, 23).
Claim 19
further comprising a support substrate (Smirnow, substrate 1) and a trap rich layer (layer 6), wherein the temperature compensation structure is positioned between the support substrate and the piezoelectric layer and the trap rich layer is positioned between the support substrate and the temperature compensation structure (Smirnow, Fig. 1).
Claim 20
An acoustic wave filter comprising (Smirnow, Fig. 1, Abstract, ¶¶1, 36):
a surface acoustic wave device including a support substrate (Smirnow, Fig. 1, Abstract, ¶¶1, 3, 36, substrate 1), a piezoelectric layer over the support substrate (Smirnow, piezoelectric thin-film 2, ¶6), a temperature compensation structure between the support substrate and the piezoelectric layer, and an interdigital transducer electrode in electrical communication with the piezoelectric layer, the temperature compensation structure including a doped germanium oxide layer (Smirnow, ¶¶31-32, the second waveguide layer [42] comprises or consists of one or more of the following materials: SiO2, Si3N4, doped SiO2, GeO2; TCF compensating layer 5 may comprise SiO2; Lin, ¶¶21, 23); and
one or more acoustic wave resonators electrically coupled to the surface acoustic wave device (Smirnow, ¶37).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2022/0037146, published Feb. 3, 2022 (“Abel”) discloses low dielectric-constant (low-κ) films, including fluorine-doped germanium oxide (GeOF), which improves device characteristics (¶¶13, 92).
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 VICTOR COLE, telephone number [phone]. The examiner can be reached Monday-Friday, 9AM-5PM ET.
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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 [phone]. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is [phone].
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/VICTOR COLE/
Examiner, Art Unit 2843

/ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843

Prosecution Timeline

• Jan 16, 2025: Application Filed
• Apr 23, 2026: Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103
• Jul 21, 2026: Response Filed
• Sep 11, 2026: Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)