DETAILED ACTION
Notice to Applicant
1. The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
2. Claims 1-20 are pending.
Priority
3. Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
4. 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.
5. Claims 8-10 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Per claim 8, it is unclear if the three “preferably” clauses related to the distance between the first material and the second material are intended to be required limitations or if they are optional limitations. Appropriate correction is required. For the purpose of examination, claim 8 is construed as implying that the distance between the first material and the second material is less than 10 nm.
Per claim 9, the limitations “the at least one third material quantum energy level” in lines 7-8 and “the third and second material electron density distributions” in line 10 lack sufficient antecedent bases. Appropriate correction is required. For the purpose of examination, said limitations are interpreted as implying “at least one third material quantum energy level” and “third and second material electron density distributions,” respectively.
Per claim 10, it is unclear if the three “preferably” clauses related to the thickness of the first material are intended to be required limitations or if they are optional limitations. Appropriate correction is required. For the purpose of examination, claim 10 is construed as implying that the thickness of the first material is less than or equal to 10,000 nm.
Per claim 13, the limitation “heavy metals” lacks clarity because, in light of the specification, the characteristics that qualify a metal as a “heavy” metal are unclear. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
6. 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.
7. Claims 1, 5, 14, 16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Bradley et al. (US 2007/0132043 – hereinafter “Bradley”).
Per claim 1, Bradley teaches an apparatus for monitoring an impedance or a change in the impedance of a first material (Fig. 1A; conducting channel 106; ¶81) having a first material quantum state with a first material electron density distribution and at least one first material quantum energy level, the apparatus configured to receive in proximity with the first material a second material (Fig. 1A; analyte 101; ¶81) having a second material quantum state with a second material electron density distribution and at least one second material quantum energy level, wherein the first material is selected to have a first material quantum energy level for forming a hybridized quantum state with the second material (A conducting channel 106, which may be functionalized by a functionalization material 120, is configured to produce a sensitivity to one or more target analytes 101. For example, the functionalization material 120 may cause an electron transfer to occur in the presence of analyte 101 (¶87 and 107)), the apparatus comprising:
a source probe configured for electrical contact with the first material and configured to apply a source electrical signal to the first material (A conventional power source may supply a source-drain voltage Vsd between contacts 110 and 112 (¶89));
at least one gate electrode (Fig. 1A; gate electrode 114; ¶89), configured to receive at least one gate electrical signal and to generate at least one gate electric field that shifts the at least one first material quantum energy level relative to the at least one second material quantum energy level, thereby modifying a hybridization between the first and second material quantum states and the first and second material electron density distributions (A conventional power source may be connected to a gate electrode 114 to provide a selected or controllable gate voltage Vg (¶89));
a drain probe configured for electrical contact with the first material and configured to measure a response of the first material to the gate and source electrical signals, at least one of the gate and source electrical signals having an alternating current (AC) component (Measurements are carried out by a meter 122 connected to electrode 112. The source-drain voltage Vsd may be an AC voltage (¶89 and 133));
one or more processors (¶134) configured to:
receive data comprising the response from the drain probe, determine the impedance or the change in the impedance of the first material upon measuring the response of the first material while the first material participates in one or more electrochemical reactions, the impedance or the change in impedance of the first material electrode established at least partially based upon the hybridization between the first and second material quantum states (An impedance of the conducting channel 106 is determined upon measuring a response of the conducting channel 106 while an interaction occurs between the target analyte 101 and the functionalization material 120 (¶84, 87, and 133));
determine a material characteristic of the second material based on at least one of the impedance or the change in the impedance of the first material (Based on the impedance measurement, a target analyte concentration may be determined (¶134)).
Per claim 5, Bradley teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first material comprises a coating comprising a functional group (¶87 and 107).
Per claim 14, Bradley teaches the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first material comprises at least one of transition metal dichalcogenides, graphite, graphene (¶82), carbon, platinum, titanium, chromium, and gold.
Per claim 16, Bradley teaches a method of monitoring an impedance or a change in the impedance of a first material, the method comprising: providing the apparatus of claim 1; providing the second material in proximity to the first material (¶87); applying an AC current to the first material (¶133); determining the impedance or the change in the impedance of the first material (¶133); determining the material characteristic of the second material (¶134).
Per claim 20, Bradley teaches the method of claim 16, comprising measuring the impedance at a gate voltage when redox of the second material occurs; and identifying the second material based on the measured impedance at the gate voltage (An impedance is measured based on an electric field gradient between the conducting channel 106 and the gate 114. The functionalization material 120 may cause an electron transfer to occur in the presence of analyte 101 (Bradley; ¶84, 87, 89-90 and 107)).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
8. 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.
9. Claims 2-3, 13, and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Bradley in view of Walsh et al. (US 2019/0293595 – hereinafter “Walsh”).
Per claim 2, Bradley does not teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first material includes or is coupled with a first dielectric layer adapted for enabling the hybridization of the first and the second material quantum state.
In contrast, Walsh teaches a graphene-based ion sensitive field effect transistor (GISFET) comprising an insulating ion selective membrane (ISM) 112 disposed on a graphene channel 110 to enable the detection of a specific ion (¶54-57).
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 apparatus of Bradley such that the first material includes or is coupled with a first dielectric layer adapted for enabling the hybridization of the first and the second material quantum state. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of sensing a specific analyte (Walsh; ¶54-57).
Per claim 3, Bradley in view of Walsh teaches the apparatus of claim 2 wherein the at least one gate electrode comprises an back gate electrode for inducing a redox change in the second material; wherein the processor is configured to measure a back gate voltage at which the redox change occurs to determine the material characteristic of the second material, wherein the dielectric layer is selected to enable at least one gate electric field to shift the at least one first material quantum energy level relative to the at least one second material quantum energy level for a charge sharing between the first and second material (In the apparatus of Bradley in view of Walsh, the gate electrode 114 is a back gate electrode having a controllable gate voltage. An impedance is measured based on an electric field gradient between the conducting channel 106 and the gate 114 (Bradley; ¶84, 89-90)).
Per claim 13, Bradley does not teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second material comprises at least one of ferrocene, cobaltocene, heavy metals, iron, catalyst poison, and metal ions.
In contrast, Walsh teaches a graphene-based ion sensitive field effect transistor (GISFET) comprising a graphene channel 110 that is configured to detect a metal ion, such as potassium (¶54-57).
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 apparatus of Bradley such that the second material comprises at least one of ferrocene, cobaltocene, heavy metals, iron, catalyst poison, and metal ions. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of sensing a specific analyte (Walsh; ¶54-57).
Per claim 15, Bradley does not teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second material is in a medium comprising ions.
In contrast, Walsh teaches a graphene-based ion sensitive field effect transistor (GISFET) comprising a graphene channel 110 that is configured to detect a metal ion, such as potassium (¶54-57).
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 apparatus of Bradley such that the second material is in a medium comprising ions. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of sensing a specific analyte (Walsh; ¶54-57).
10. Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Bradley in view of Walsh, in further view of Setayesh et al. (US 2011/0239735 – hereinafter “Setayesh”).
Per claim 4, Bradley in view of Walsh teaches the apparatus of claim 3, wherein a second dielectric layer (Fig. 1A; dielectric layer 116; ¶84) is positioned between the back gate electrode and the first material, wherein the back gate comprises silicon and the first material comprises graphene (In the apparatus of Bradley in view of Walsh, a dielectric layer 116 is disposed between the gate electrode 114, which may be a doped-silicon wafer material, and the conducting channel 106, which may comprise carbon nanotubes (Bradley; ¶82 and 84)).
However, Bradley in view of Walsh does not teach the second dielectric layer as being a solid state material comprising SiO. In contrast, Setayesh teaches an FET for nitric oxide sensing comprising a gate dielectric layer 12 made of SiO disposed between a gate electrode layer 10 and a channel region 16 (Fig. 1; ¶40).
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 apparatus of Bradley in view of Walsh such that the second dielectric layer is a solid state material comprising SiO. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of providing a gate dielectric layer (Setayesh; ¶40).
11. Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Bradley in view of Isogai et al. (US 2017/0263874 – hereinafter “Isogai”).
Per claim 6, Bradley does not teach the apparatus of claim 5, wherein the coating comprises at least one of an alkane, a carboxylic acid group, a diazonium functional group, an amine group, an alcohol group, a phenyl group, and a thiol functional group.
In contrast, Isogai teaches a semiconductor sensing device comprising a carbon nanotube composite layer 4. The carbon nanotube composite layer 4 may include a cysteine functional group (Fig. 1; ¶102 and 105).
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 apparatus of Bradley such that the coating comprises at least one of an alkane, a carboxylic acid group, a diazonium functional group, an amine group, an alcohol group, a phenyl group, and a thiol functional group. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of providing a material configured to undergo an interaction with a substance to be sensed (Isogai; ¶78).
Per claim 7, Bradley in view of Isogai teaches the apparatus of claim 6, wherein the coating comprises: at least one of an n-alkanethiol monolayer, wherein n is greater than equal to 2 and less than equal to 7; thiomalic acid; mercaptobenzoic acid; 2-aminoethanethiol; 3-mercaptopropanol; cysteine (Isogai; ¶102); 3-mercaptopropanoic acid; and 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid.
12. Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Bradley in view of Offermans et al. (US 2010/0176822 – hereinafter “Offermans”).
Per claim 8, Bradley does not teach the apparatus of claim 5, wherein the coating is configured to position the second material a distance from the first material, wherein the distance between the first material and the second material is less than 10 nm, preferably the distance is less than or equal to 1 nm, more preferably the distance is about 0.5 nm, still more preferably the distance is about 0.25 nm.
In contrast, Offermans teaches an analyte sensing device comprising a functionalized nanowire 3 having a functional layer thickness of about 5 nm (¶51).
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 apparatus of Bradley such that the coating is configured to position the second material a distance from the first material, wherein the distance between the first material and the second material is less than 10 nm, preferably the distance is less than or equal to 1 nm, more preferably the distance is about 0.5 nm, still more preferably the distance is about 0.25 nm. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of providing a functional layer having a thickness of one macromolecule (Offermans; ¶51).
13. Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Bradley in view of Kamahori et al. (US 2006/0016699 – hereinafter “Kamahori”).
Per claim 9, Bradley does not teach the apparatus of claim 5, wherein the source probe is a first source probe, wherein the at least one gate electrode is at least one first gate electrode, wherein the drain probe is a first drain probe, and wherein the apparatus comprises:
a second source probe configured for electrical contact with a third material and configured to apply a source electrical signal to the third material;
at least one second gate electrode, configured to receive at least one second gate electrical signal and to generate at least one second gate electric field that shifts the at
least one third material quantum energy level relative to the at least one second material
quantum energy level, thereby modifying a hybridization between the third and second
material quantum states and the third and second material electron density distributions;
a second drain probe configured for electrical contact with the third material and configured to measure a response of the third material to the second gate and second source electrical signals, at least one of the second gate and second source electrical signals having an alternating current (AC) component;
wherein the processor is configured to:
determine the impedance or the change in the impedance of the third material upon measuring the response of the third material while the third material participates in one or more electrochemical reactions the impedance or the change in impedance of the third material electrode established at least partially based upon the hybridization of the third material and the second material quantum states between the third material and the second material; and
determine the material characteristic of the second material based on at least one of
the impedance or the change in the impedance of the first material and third material.
In contrast, Kamahori teaches a biomolecular detection device comprising a measurement transistor 122 and a reference transistor 124 each including a source, a drain, and a gate. The measurement transistor 122 includes a DNA probe having a complimentary base sequence to a target gene and the reference transistor 124 includes a pseudo DNA probe having a different base sequence from the complimentary base sequence. An output of each transistor is received by a differential amplification circuit 127 and an output of the differential amplification circuit 127 is received by a signal processing circuit 128 (¶63-66).
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 apparatus of Bradley such that a second sensing transistor is provided wherein the material characteristic of the second material based on at least one of the impedance or the change in the impedance of the first material and third material. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of correcting an output of a measurement transistor (Kamahori; ¶66).
14. Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Bradley in view of Shimoyama et al. (US 2015/0323482 – hereinafter “Shimoyama”).
Per claim 10, Bradley does not teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first material has a thickness of less than or equal to 10000 nm, preferably the first material has a thickness of less than or equal to 1000 nm, more preferably the first material has a thickness of less than or equal to 100 nm, still more preferably the first material has a thickness of less than or equal to 10 nm.
In contrast, Shimoyama teaches a graphene-based gas sensor comprising a graphene film having a thickness of 0.3 to 3 nm (¶32).
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 apparatus of Bradley such that the first material has a thickness of less than or equal to 10000 nm, preferably the first material has a thickness of less than or equal to 1000 nm, more preferably the first material has a thickness of less than or equal to 100 nm, still more preferably the first material has a thickness of less than or equal to 10 nm. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of providing a graphene sensing layer (Shimoyama; ¶32).
15. Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Bradley in view of Sakai et al. (US 2016/0064292 – hereinafter “Sakai”).
Per claim 11, Bradley does not teach the apparatus of claim 1, comprising a reference electrode in electrical contact with the gate electrode.
In contrast, Sakai teaches a device for applying a voltage to a semiconductor element comprising a probe 5a of a voltage application portion 7 that is brought in contact with a gate electrode 27 (Fig. 7; ¶54-55).
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 apparatus of Bradley such that it comprises a reference electrode in electrical contact with the gate electrode. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of applying a voltage to a gate electrode (Sakai; ¶54-55).
16. Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Bradley in view of Chiang et al. (US 2020/0173958 – hereinafter “Chiang”).
Per claim 12, Bradley does not teach the apparatus of claim 1, wherein monitoring the impedance or the change in impedance of the first material comprises: monitoring at least one of a conductance, capacitance, and resistance; or a change in the conductance, capacitance, and resistance of the first material.
In contrast, Chiang teaches an ion-sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET) comprising a sensing surface wherein a combination of capacitance, impedance, and conductance may be used to characterize a target (¶62).
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 apparatus of Bradley such that monitoring the impedance or the change in impedance of the first material comprises: monitoring at least one of a conductance, capacitance, and resistance; or a change in the conductance, capacitance, and resistance of the first material. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of characterizing or identifying a target (Chiang; ¶62).
17. Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Bradley in view of Bondavalli et al. (US 2008/0210987 – hereinafter “Bondavalli”).
Per claim 17, Bradley does not teach the method of claim 16, comprising applying a ramping voltage to the gate electrode.
In contrast, Bondavalli teaches a device for detecting an analyte comprising a gate to which a gate voltage is applied as a voltage ramp (¶124-128).
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 apparatus of Bradley such that it comprises applying a ramping voltage to the gate electrode. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of identifying an analyte (Bondavalli; ¶128).
18. Claim 18 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Bradley in view of Gupta (US 2018/0333086).
Per claim 18, Bradley does not teach the method of claim 16, comprising sending a report dataset comprising the material characteristic to a task scheduler system for automatic schedule investigation of a test site.
In contrast, Gupta teaches a calcium sensor comprising a calcium-selective binding portion wherein a data transmission schedule is implemented that may be based on a time since last transmittal (¶30 and 44).
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 apparatus of Bradley such that it comprises sending a report dataset comprising the material characteristic to a task scheduler system for automatic schedule investigation of a test site. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of transmitting collected data to an external device according to a stored schedule (Gupta; ¶30 and 44).
19. Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being obvious over Bradley in view of Shkunov et al. (US 2020/0057019 – hereinafter “Shkunov”).
Per claim 19, Bradley does not teach the method of claim 16, wherein the material characteristic comprises an amount of the second material, the method comprising: determining if the amount of the second material is greater than a threshold amount of the second material; and issuing an alert.
In contrast, Shkunov teaches a gas sensor comprising a functionalized nanowire wherein, if the concentration of a gas molecule exceeds a threshold, an alert is triggered (¶102).
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 apparatus of Bradley such that the material characteristic comprises an amount of the second material, the method comprising: determining if the amount of the second material is greater than a threshold amount of the second material; and issuing an alert. One of ordinary skill would make such a modification for the purpose of alerting a user when dangerous amount of analyte is present (Shkunov; ¶102).
Claim Objections
20. Claim 3 is objected to due to the following informality.
Per claim 3, it appears that the phrase “an back gate electrode” in lines 1-2 should be revised to “a back gate electrode.”
Conclusion
21. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAS A. SANGHERA whose telephone number is (571)272-4787. The examiner can normally be reached M-Th, alt. Fri, 8-5 EST.
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/JAS A SANGHERA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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