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 .
Status of the Claims
Preliminary amendment filed 13 October 2022 is acknowledged. Claims 1, 6-16, 18-24, and 26-31 have been amended. Claims 1-31 are pending.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of species a, FIGs. 1, 2, and 10-15, claims 1, 2, 6-9, 11, 12, 19, 20, 26, and 29-31, in the reply filed on 17 March 2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 3-5, 10, 13-18, 21-25, 27, and 28 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 17 March 2026.
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
Information disclosure statements filed 13 October 2022, 25 January 2024, 29 February 2024, and 12 November 2025 have been fully considered.
Specification
The preliminary amendments to the abstract and the specification were received on 13 October 2022. These preliminary amendments to the abstract and the specification are acceptable.
The specification is objected to as failing to provide proper antecedent basis for the claimed subject matter. See 37 CFR 1.75(d)(1) and MPEP § 608.01(o). Correction of the following is required: the subject matter of claim 29, “wherein the two-dimensional material layer includes any material selected from a group consisting of [ ] borophene,” must find support in the specification.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 2 recites the limitation, “an insulating film [ ] forms an opening that opens another part of the semiconductor layer.” It is unclear how an opening of the insulating film “opens” another part of the semiconductor layer. For the purposes of applying art, the opening in the insulating will be considered as “exposing” another part of the semiconductor layer.
Claim 2 recites the limitation, “the other part of the semiconductor layer.” There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purposes of applying art, the limitation will be interpreted as, “the another part of the semiconductor layer.”
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, 6-9, 11, 12, 29, and 30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Heo et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2016/0020280, hereinafter Heo ‘280) of record.
With respect to claim 1, Heo ‘280 teaches (FIG. 1) an electromagnetic wave detector as claimed, comprising:
a semiconductor layer (N10) ([0095]);
a two-dimensional material layer (GP10) electrically connected to the semiconductor layer (N10) ([0093]);
a first electrode (E10) electrically connected to the two-dimensional material layer (GP10) without the semiconductor layer (N10) interposed therebetween ([0094]);
a second electrode (E20) electrically connected to the two-dimensional material layer (GP10) with the semiconductor layer (N10) interposed therebetween ([0094]); and
a ferroelectric layer (F10) ([0097]),
wherein the two-dimensional material layer (GP10) includes a first portion that is electrically connected to the semiconductor layer (N10), a second portion that is in contact with the first electrode (E10), and a third portion electrically connecting the first portion to the second portion ([0093]), and
the ferroelectric layer (F10) is in contact with at least one of the first portion and the third portion of the two-dimensional material layer (GP10), or is disposed at a distance from the two-dimensional material layer and overlaps with at least a part of the two-dimensional material layer ([0097]).
With respect to claim 6, Heo ‘280 teaches wherein the first portion is in contact with the semiconductor layer (N10) or a conductive member electrically connected to the semiconductor layer, and at least a part of the two-dimensional material layer (GP10) includes the first portion ([0093]).
With respect to claim 7, Heo ‘280 teaches wherein the first portion is in contact with the semiconductor layer (N10) or a conductive member electrically connected to the semiconductor layer, and at least a part of the two-dimensional material layer (GP10) includes the third portion ([0093]).
With respect to claim 8, Heo ‘280 teaches wherein at least a part of the two-dimensional material layer (GP10) includes only the first portion or the third portion ([0093]).
With respect to claim 9, Heo ‘280 teaches wherein the first portion or the conductive member forms a Schottky junction with the semiconductor layer (N10) ([0093]).
With respect to claim 11, Heo ‘280 teaches wherein the first portion has an end of the two-dimensional material layer (GP10) in planar view ([0093]).
With respect to claim 12, Heo ‘280 teaches wherein the ferroelectric layer (F10) is disposed on a side opposite to the semiconductor layer (N10) with respect to the two-dimensional material layer (GP10) ([0097]).
With respect to claim 29, Heo ‘280 teaches wherein the two-dimensional material layer (GP10) includes any material selected from a group consisting of transition metal di-chalcogenide, graphene, black phosphorus, silicene, germanene, graphene nanoribbons, and borophene ([0093]).
With respect to claim 30, Heo ‘280 teaches wherein the first electrode (E10), the two-dimensional material layer (GP10), the semiconductor layer (N10), and the second electrode (E20) are electrically connected in order of the first electrode, the two-dimensional material layer, the semiconductor layer, and the second electrode, and the electromagnetic wave to be detected is detected as a change in a current value flowing between the first electrode and the second electrode ([0093-0095]).
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.
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heo ‘280 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Lee et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2017/0256667, hereinafter Lee ‘667).
With respect to claim 2, Heo ‘280 teaches the device as described in claim 1 above with the exception of the additional limitation further comprising an insulating film that is in contact with a part of the semiconductor layer, and forms an opening that opens another part of the semiconductor layer, wherein the two-dimensional material layer is electrically connected to the other part of the semiconductor layer in the opening, and extends from above the opening to above the insulating film.
However, Lee ‘667 teaches (FIG. 2) a graphene-semiconductor Schottky junction photodetector comprising an insulating film (120) that is in contact with a part of a semiconductor layer (100), and forms an opening that opens another part of the semiconductor layer, wherein a two-dimensional material layer (110) is electrically connected to the other part of the semiconductor layer in the opening, and extends from above the opening to above the insulating film ([0028]) to insulate an electrode (130) from the semiconductor layer and to insulate the graphene-semiconductor Schottky junction photodetector from other devices ([0031]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed the electromagnetic wave detector of Heo ‘280 further comprising an insulating film that is in contact with a part of the semiconductor layer, and forms an opening that opens another part of the semiconductor layer, wherein the two-dimensional material layer is electrically connected to the other part of the semiconductor layer in the opening, and extends from above the opening to above the insulating film as taught by Lee ‘667 to insulate an electrode from the semiconductor layer and to insulate the electromagnetic wave detector from other devices.
Claim 19 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heo ‘280 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Shimatani et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2023/0332942, hereinafter Shimatani ‘942) of record.
With respect to claim 19, Heo ‘280 teaches the device as described in claim 1 above with the exception of the additional limitation wherein a polarization direction of the ferroelectric layer is a direction perpendicular to an extending direction of the two-dimensional material layer.
However, Shimatani ‘942 teaches (FIG. 11) a polarization direction of a ferroelectric layer (5) is a direction perpendicular to an extending direction of a two-dimensional material layer (1) as a preferred polarization direction to extract an electric signal ([0170]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed a polarization direction of the ferroelectric layer of Heo ‘280 in a direction perpendicular to an extending direction of the two-dimensional material layer as taught by Shimatani ‘942 as a preferred polarization direction to extract an electric signal.
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heo ‘280 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Ogawa et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2023/0343882, hereinafter Ogawa ‘882).
With respect to claim 20, Heo ‘280 teaches the device as described in claim 1 above with the exception of the additional limitation wherein the two-dimensional material layer includes a region in contact with the ferroelectric layer and a region in contact with the semiconductor layer, and the ferroelectric layer is provided so as to generate an electric field in a direction perpendicular to an extending direction of the two-dimensional material layer in at least one of the region in contact with the ferroelectric layer of the two-dimensional material layer and the region in contact with the semiconductor layer.
However, Ogawa ‘882 teaches (FIG. 1) a two-dimensional material layer (1) including a region in contact with a ferroelectric layer (4; [0216]) and a region in contact with a semiconductor layer (2) such that the ferroelectric layer is provided so as to generate an electric field in a direction perpendicular to an extending direction of the two-dimensional material layer in at least one of the region in contact with the ferroelectric layer of the two-dimensional material layer and the region in contact with the semiconductor layer ([0048]) in an arrangement to selectively detect only an electromagnetic wave in a specific wavelength band and to have high detection sensitivity ([0008]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed the two-dimensional material layer of Heo ‘280 including a region in contact with the ferroelectric layer and a region in contact with the semiconductor layer, and the ferroelectric layer is provided so as to generate an electric field in a direction perpendicular to an extending direction of the two-dimensional material layer in at least one of the region in contact with the ferroelectric layer of the two-dimensional material layer and the region in contact with the semiconductor layer as taught by Ogawa ‘882 in an arrangement to selectively detect only an electromagnetic wave in a specific wavelength band and to have high detection sensitivity.
Claim 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heo ‘280 as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Fukushima et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2022/0392934, hereinafter Fukushima ‘934).
With respect to claim 26, Heo ‘280 teaches the device as described in claim 1 above with the exception of the additional limitation wherein the two-dimensional material layer includes a turbulent layer structure.
However, Fukushima ‘934 teaches (FIG. 35) a two-dimensional material layer (1) including a turbulent layer structure to improve carrier mobility ([0240]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed the two-dimensional material layer of Heo ‘280 including a turbulent layer structure as taught by Fukushima ‘934 to improve carrier mobility.
Claim 31 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Heo ‘280 in view of Ogawa et al. (WO Publication 2018/012076, hereinafter Ogawa ‘076) of record.
With respect to claim 31, Heo ‘280 teaches an electromagnetic wave detector array substantially as claimed, comprising the electromagnetic wave detector according to claim 1 (see the 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) rejection of claim 1 above).
Thus, Heo ‘280 is shown to teach all the features of the claim with the exception of: a plurality of the electromagnetic wave detectors, wherein the plurality of electromagnetic wave detectors are arranged side by side along at least one of a first direction and a second direction.
However, Ogawa ‘076 teaches (FIG. 15) a plurality of the electromagnetic wave detectors (100), wherein the plurality of electromagnetic wave detectors are arranged side by side along at least one of a first direction and a second direction to form an electromagnetic wave detector array (1000) ([0089]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to have formed the electromagnetic wave detector of Heo ‘280 as a plurality of the electromagnetic wave detectors, wherein the plurality of electromagnetic wave detectors are arranged side by side along at least one of a first direction and a second direction as taught by Ogawa ‘076 to form an electromagnetic wave detector array.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: Wang et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2020/0127155); and Ogawa et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2024/0426887) teach electromagnetic wave detectors comprising a semiconductor layer, a two-dimensional material layer, and a ferroelectric layer.
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/C.M.R./Examiner, Art Unit 2893
/YARA B GREEN/Supervisor Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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