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 § 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.
Claims 1-2, 5, and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chae et al. (US 2022/0165718 A1) in view of Zhang (US 2022/0045295 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Chae discloses stacked luminescent device (see abstract, Fig. 64A) having a staircase region and a light emitting region adjacent to each other (annotated Fig. 63 below), when the stacked luminescent device comprises:
a plurality of electro luminescent devices (523, 533, 543), wherein
each electroluminescent device comprises a substrate (500, 553, 555, 557), an encapsulation layer (561, 563), and a light-emitting diode (stacks include an LED) device sandwiched between the substrate and the encapsulation layer,
wherein the plurality of electroluminescent devices are stacked with each other along a direction perpendicular to a top surface of the substrate (shown by Fig 64A) on the light emitting region to form a staircase structure on the staircase region (annotated Fig. 63 below), and the staircase region does not overlap with the light emitting region; and
a plurality of conductive lines (575, interconnection line), respectively connected to the plurality of LED devices in the plurality of electroluminescent devices along the staircase structure,
wherein the substrates and the encapsulation layer of each electroluminescent device are made of light-transmitting materials (see [0756]-[0759] for the substrates and [0762] wherein encapsulation layers are made of silicon oxide or silicon nitride which are light-transmitting).
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Chae does not teach the device with QLED features and each electroluminescent device has a bidirectional emission light toward above and below the electroluminescent device.
Zhang teaches a stacked luminescent device using quantum dot light emitting diodes (QLED).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the stacked light-emitting device of Chae by substituting a QLED / quantum-dot light-emitting structure for the disclosed LED stacks, because both technologies are known display-emission devices used to generate color light in a stacked pixel architecture. The proposed substitution would have amounted to the predictable use of a known alternative emitter in the same structure to achieve the expected result of color display emission in a compact stacked configuration.
Chae teaches a vertically stacked display architecture including multiple electroluminescent devices arranged in a vertical stack, such that light from lower devices is emitted through upper layers of the stack.
Zhang teaches quantum-dot light-emitting layers used in display panels, including red, green, and blue quantum-dot emissive portions.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Chae’s stacked display structure to incorporate Zhang’s quantum-dot emissive layers in order to obtain a compact stacked display having predictable color-specific emission. To the extent the limitation requires emission toward both above and below, such emission is an inherent and predictable result of arranging light-emitting devices in a vertically stacked configuration with transmissive upper layers, or alternatively would have been obvious to implement to maximize extraction of light from the stacked display.
Regarding claim 2, Chae in view of Zhang teaches the stacked luminescent device of claim 1,
Chae teaches a display stack including a first light-emitting stack, a second light-emitting stack disposed on the first light-emitting stack, and a third light-emitting stack disposed on the second light-emitting stack capable of emitting RGB light, thereby disclosing the claimed vertical arrangement in which the second device is disposed between the first and third devices (See [0822]).
Zhang teaches display panels having quantum-dot light-emitting layers with distinct red, green, and blue light-emitting portions, including red QD, green QD, and blue QD regions.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to modify Chae’s stacked light-emitting structure to employ the quantum-dot light-emitting portions of Zhang in order to obtain a compact stacked RGB display with predictable color-specific emission.
Regarding claim 5, Chae in view of Zhang discloses the stacked luminescent device of claim 1.
Chae et al. discloses the stacked luminescent device, including a plurality of electroluminescent devices arranged in a stacked configuration.
Zhang discloses, for at least one electroluminescent device, a first electrode layer and a second electrode layer, a light-emitting layer disposed between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, a hole transport layer disposed between the first electrode layer and the light-emitting layer, and an electron transport layer disposed between the second electrode layer and the light-emitting layer.
In particular, Zhang teaches display panel embodiments in which carrier functional layers, including hole transport and electron transport layers, are arranged adjacent to the light-emitting layer to facilitate carrier injection and transport.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to incorporate the electrode/light-emitting-layer/transport-layer configuration of Zhang into the stacked luminescent device of Chae et al., because Zhang teaches a known and predictable arrangement of electrode layers and carrier transport layers for an electroluminescent device, and Chae et al. teaches the desirability of arranging multiple electroluminescent devices in a stacked configuration. The proposed modification would merely combine known display-layer structures to achieve the predictable result of improved carrier injection and transport within the stacked luminescent device of Chae et al.
Regarding claim 6, Chae et al. discloses the stacked luminescent device of claim 1, including a plurality of electroluminescent devices arranged in a stacked configuration.
As set forth with respect to claim 5, Zhang discloses an electroluminescent device including a first electrode layer, a second electrode layer, a light-emitting layer disposed between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer, a hole transport layer disposed between the first electrode layer and the light-emitting layer, and an electron transport layer disposed between the second electrode layer and the light-emitting layer.
Zhang further discloses embodiments in which the light-emitting layer comprises quantum-dot light-emitting portions, i.e., a quantum dot layer, and discloses different emission structures in which the electrode polarity may be selected according to the device architecture.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the stacked luminescent device of Chae et al., as further modified by Zhang, so that the first electrode layer and second electrode layer are configured as an anode/cathode pair or a cathode/anode pair as taught by Zhang, and so that the light-emitting layer comprises a quantum dot layer. Zhang expressly teaches quantum-dot-based emissive layers in display panel embodiments having selectable electrode polarity depending on whether the device is configured as a conventional, top-emission, bottom-emission, or inverted structure. Thus, the claimed electrode-polarity arrangement and quantum dot light-emitting layer would have been a predictable design choice within the stacked luminescent device of Chae et al., yielding the expected result of a stacked electroluminescent device with quantum-dot emission and appropriate carrier injection characteristics.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chae et al. (US 2022/0165718 A1) in view of Zhang (US 2022/0045295 A1) as applied to claim 1 above, further in view of Zeng et al. (CN 112968012 A).
Chae et al. in view of Zhang teaches a vertically stacked display architecture including a plurality of electroluminescent devices arranged in a stacked configuration, thereby disclosing the claimed stacked luminescent device framework.
Zhang teaches a display panel having a base substrate, first and second electrode layers, and a light-emitting layer including quantum-dot light-emitting portions.
Zeng further teaches a fan-out type stacked package structure having a stacked structure, a rewiring structure disposed on one surface of the stacked structure, and a plurality of bump structures disposed on the rewiring structure, with the structure providing outward electrical connection of multiple I/O terminals through the rewiring structure. Zeng also teaches routing of electrical connections from a stacked structure to external connection structures and the use of an outward leadout arrangement for connection to other circuitry.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time the invention was made to modify the stacked luminescent device of Chae et al. in view of Zhang, to include the external connection and leadout arrangement taught by Zeng, because outward routing and fan-out style interconnection are known techniques for providing electrical access to stacked structures and for facilitating external electrical connection in compact packaging arrangements.
Incorporating such a known rewiring/outward connection scheme into the stacked device of Chae et al. in view of Zhang would have predictably improved electrical accessibility and interconnection flexibility. To the extent claim 4 requires a plurality of gold fingers disposed on an edge of a bottommost substrate, this feature would have been an obvious design choice in view of the known use of edge-disposed external interconnect structures for stacked package routing and leadout, as suggested by the teachings of Zeng regarding rewiring, outward leadout, and external electrical connection of stacked units.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims have been considered but are not persuasive. Applicant’s arguments are directed toward the electrical routing, however, the amended language appears to incorporate the overall location of the stacked structure along with its material. Prior art is maintained as it teaches the amended language as described above.
Conclusion
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/CARNELL HUNTER III/Examiner, Art Unit 2893 /SUE A PURVIS/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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