DETAILED ACTION
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it appears to be directed to the claims from the parent application. The Examiner suggests replacing the abstract with subject matter directed towards the method of manufacturing recited in claim 1 of this application. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is requested and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed, i.e., the method of manufacturing recited in the claims.
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
In paragraph 0001 under “Cross-Reference to Related Applications”, please also indicate that Application No. 18/678,681 is now U.S. Patent Number 12,444,436.
Appropriate correction is requested by the Examiner.
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.
Claims 2, 3, 5 & 6 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.
Claims 2, 3, 5 & 6 recite “the waveguide core”, which lacks antecedent basis because there is no previous mention of this limitation in the claims.
Claim 5 recites “the hard disk drive” in line 5, which lacks antecedent basis because there is no previous mention of this limitation in the claims.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1 & 4 are allowed over the prior art of record.
Claims 2, 3, 5 & 6 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
The closest prior art of record, Staffaroni et al. (US 2018/0096702) discloses: in regard to claim 1, a method for manufacturing a waveguide blocker for a near field transducer (NFT) of a write head (see abstract), the method comprising: disposing a metallic layer (Figure 4A, elements 105, 110, 115, 120) over a leading shield (40) and a SiO2 layer (190); disposing a photo-resist (Figure 4C, element 250) over a part of the metallic layer.
However, Staffaroni et al. does not disclose: in regard to claim 1, forming the photoresist into a parabolic shape and etching a portion of the metallic layer to form a tapered side of the metallic layer at an angle of around 45 degrees; and disposing a full film of SiO2 over the metallic layer.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon (see attached PTO-892 form) is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Gan et al. (US 10,403,313) discloses a heat-assisted magnetic recording head having a trench that serves to improve and/or reduce a thermal curvature, δ, of a hot spot by effectively narrowing the thickness, tgap. which results in a higher downtrack gradient compared to a recording head without a trench.
Goulakov (US 2017/0092309) discloses heat assisted magnetic recording wherein a photoresist structure has a circular footprint and is used to form a hemispherical (or half-parabolic) sacrificial mask.
Maletzky et al. (US 2019/0066722) discloses a thermally assisted magnetic recording head that includes pre-focusing structures that concentrate plasmon energy by the creation of surface plasmon polaritons which are converted to more narrowly confined plasmons by excitation by a tapered waveguide; and a waveguide blocker at the distal end of a waveguide enhances the formation of surface plasmon polaritons at the interface between the blocker and the distal end of the waveguide.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Peter Vincent Agustin whose telephone number is (571) 272-7567. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday - Thursday 8:30 am - 6:30 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Lim can be reached on 571-270-1210. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Peter Vincent Agustin/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2688
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