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 .
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In paragraph [0078], reference numerals 50 and 150 both are defined as the “passivation structure” and thereby is unclear which recitation is the “passivation structure” as disclosed.
Appropriate correction is required.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they do not include the following reference sign(s) mentioned in the description:
Reference Label 50 in paragraph [0078] of the specification, designated as “passivation structure” is not shown in the figures.
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. 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 § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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, 14 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Goto (US 20230327645).
As per Claims 1-2, 14 and 21:
Goto discloses in Figure 5A:
A surface acoustic wave resonator (SAW) (“acoustic wave device”, 500) comprising an interdigital transducer (IDT) (“IDT”, 508) over a piezoelectric structure (“piezoelectric material”, 506) exposing portions of the piezoelectric structure through the IDT (as is evident by the exposing portions of 506 through 508 as further shown in related Figures 5D and 5E) and the IDT comprising a plurality of first and second electrode fingers (“electrode fingers of each IDT”, [0119]) extending in a transverse direction and interleaved with one another along a longitudinal direction orthogonal to the transverse direction (as is evident by the interleaving of the fingers in Figure 5A, [0119]), with a passivation structure (“protective layer”, 1818, as shown by the identical structure, [0174], in related Figure 18D) at least partially covering the IDT and the exposed surfaces (as is evident by 1818 covering the identical “IDT” 1808 and exposed “piezoelectric material” 1806 in related Figure 18D), and the IDT having at least one edge region (“edge regions”, E) extending in a longitudinal direction spanning across certain ones of the plurality of first and second electrode fingers (as is evident by Figure 5A where the edge portions E span longitudinally and overlap with the IDT fingers connected to the “second bus bars” 512), wherein the at least one edge region (E) is realized in the IDT by at least one (as per claim 1) or both (as per claim 21) thickness variation of a thickness variation of the piezoelectric structure (as per claims 1 and 2, 506) and a thickness variation of the passivation structure (as per claims 1 and 14, 1818, the effective thickness of the IDTs 508 (corresponding to IDTs 1808) is increased by the trench portions 510 (corresponding to trench portions 1810) within the edge regions E, [0127], therefore the thickness of the piezoelectric structure is varied and the protective layer 1818 is also inherently varied due to the placement above the trench portions 1810 and above the IDTs 508 and 1808 as shown in identical Figure 18D, [0182]), and wherein an acoustic wave propagates in the at least one edge region (E) at a different velocity than other regions in the IDT (508, the trench portions 510 slow down the acoustic velocity at the edge of the active region, [0123], the edge corresponding to the “edge regions” E and therefore having a differing velocity than the “central region” C).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-13, 15-20, and 22-24 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ABIGAIL YALDO whose telephone number is (703)756-1784. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 7 AM - 4 PM.
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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) 272-5918. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ABIGAIL AMIR YALDO/ Examiner, Art Unit 2843
/ANDREA LINDGREN BALTZELL/ Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2843
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