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 § 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.
Claims 1-19 are 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. Claims 1 and 13 recite that the second group of the auxiliary layer “and the ligands of the quantum dots in the quantum dot layer are bound with each other through a chemical reaction.” However, the description in the specification and claims 2 and 14 clearly state that said chemical reaction is exemplified by a ligand exchange reaction. Now, ligand exchange reaction substitutes a pre-installed ligand, e.g., TOPO, on the surface of the QDs with a new ligand. In other words, it is not a chemical reaction that binds the two ligands together. The claims are therefore unclear. Claims 1 and 13 are also indefinite for another reason. They recite that the binding force between the auxiliary layer and the QDs is greater than the binding force between the auxiliary layer and the substrate. However, since nothing is known about the substrate and the QDs, the recited binding forces are ambiguous. Specifically, if the substrate surface is functionalized with organic molecules, and the auxiliary layer is made of a single coupling agent such as 3-mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) wherein one of the methoxysilyl group reacts with one of the organic molecules on the substrate surface, which of the bonds should then be considered “the binding force between the auxiliary layer and the substrate”? Should the surface-functionalizing organic molecules be considered a part of the substrate or a part of the auxiliary layer? Similarly, quantum dots are often synthesized to be covered with ligands such as trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO), oleic acid or thioglycolic acid. As the bonding between these ligands and the metallic surface of the QDs is relatively weak, the ligands may be easily replaced by other ligands in a ligand exchange process. Now, assuming that the QDs come with pre-installed ligands that have a second functional group, e.g., a carbon-carbon double bond, and assuming that this second functional group is reacted with the second group of the auxiliary layer, what bond should then be considered “the binding force between the auxiliary layer and the quantum dots”? Should the pre-installed ligands be considered a part of the QDs or a part of the auxiliary layer?
Claims 2-12 and 14-19 are indefinite by dependency. Additionally, claim 8 depends on claim 7, which ultimately depends on claim 1, and recites that there are 2 additional layers between the substrate and the auxiliary layers: one is an electrode and the other is a carrier transport layer. This is contrary to claim 1 which requires a chemical bonding between the substrate and the auxiliary layer.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-19 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The claimed subject matter appears to be novel and unobvious. The most relevant prior art is by CN-110635057-A (~ US 2021/0098726 A1) to Zhang, which discloses a method of preparing a light-emitting device (see [0059]) comprising a step of depositing a photoresist on the surface of a substrate that has a silicon oxide layer, and a patterning step, wherein the exposed regions have the photoresist stripped off. A coupling agent, such as a mercaptosilane or an aminosilane, is then deposited, followed by a quantum dot layer, wherein the alkoxysilyl groups of the silane react with the alkoxysilyl groups of the silicon oxide layer of the substrate (see figures 2-4) while the thiol group or the amino group of the silane reacts with the quantum dot. As Zhang is silent about the surface of the quantum dots, it can only be assumed that the reaction between the coupling agent and the QDs is via ligand exchange. The resulting bonds are expected to be much weaker than the Si-O bond between the coupling agent and the substrate. Further, since the fabrication method does not involve a detachment of the linking layer, i.e., the layer formed by a reaction between the coupling agent and the silicon oxide layer, from the substrate, there is not a motivation for a POSITA to modify the device such that the binding force between the linking layer and the QDs is greater than the binding force between the linking layer and the substrate.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to VU ANH NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-5454. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00 AM-5:00 PM.
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/VU A NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1762