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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species E and L (Fig. 5, 12 and 13; Claims 1-5, 9-11, 14, 21-23) in the reply filed on 11/17/2025 is acknowledged.
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.
Claim(s) 21 and 23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(A1) as being anticipated by Kim (US 2018/0351039 A1).
Regarding Claim 21, Kim ((Fig. 1-6) discloses a di-chromic device, comprising:
a first conductivity type semiconductor region (first conductive semiconductor layer 130);
a color region (active layer 140) disposed on the first conductivity type semiconductor region (130); and
a second conductivity type semiconductor region (second conductive semiconductor layer 160) disposed on the color region (140), wherein:
the color region (170) includes a first color portion (the light emitted by the second well layer Q2 is defined as blue light) and a second color portion (the first well layer Q1 is defined as green light) [0068], the first color portion is configured to generate blue light, the second color portion is configured to generate green or yellow light, each of the first color portion and the second color portion includes a plurality of sub-color portions (B, Q1 and Q2), and a number of sub-color portions in the first color portion is greater than a number of sub-color portions in the second color portion. (See Fig. 3, 5)
Regarding Claim 23, Kim in view of Park discloses the di-chromic device of claim 21, wherein:
the second color portion generates green light, and the number of sub-color portions in the first color portion is 2 to 7 times of the number of sub-color portions in the second color portion. (See Q1=1 and Q2=3 in Fig. 1)
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(s) 1-4, 9, 10, 14 and 22 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US 2018/0351039 A1) in view of Park et al. (US 2018/0261724 A1).
Regarding Claim 1, Kim (Fig. 1-6) discloses a di-chromic device, comprising:
a base (120 buffer);
a first conductivity type semiconductor region (first conductive semiconductor layer 130) disposed on the base (120);
a control portion (a trigger layer 180) disposed on the first conductivity type semiconductor region (130) [0104-0106];
a color region (active layer 140) formed on the control portion (180); and
a second conductivity type semiconductor region (second conductive semiconductor layer 160) disposed on the base (120), wherein:
the color region (140) includes a first color portion (the light emitted by the second well layer Q2 is defined as blue light) and a second color portion (he first well layer Q1 is defined as green light) [0068], and the first color portion includes a color material having a different composition than that of the second color portion, [See content of indium in Q1 and Q2; 0072-0074]
the first color portion generates blue light (“the light emitted by the second well layer Q2 is defined as blue light”), [0068]
the second color portion generates green or yellow light (“the light emitted by the first well layer Q1 is defined as green light”) [0068],
each of the first color portion and the second color portion includes a plurality of sub-color portions (a plurality of sub-color portions Q1 and Q2 in Fig. 3) , and
a number of sub-color portions in the first color portion is greater than a number of sub-color portions in the second color portion. (See Fig.3).
Kim does not explicitly disclose that the control portion is configured to relieve strain in the color region.
Park (Fig.6, 7) discloses a control portion (300) is configured to relieve strain in a color region. (410) (super-lattice layer 300 can prevent propagation of defects such as dislocation by relieving stress and strain applied to the active layer”) [0032].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify a di-chromic device in Kim in view of Park such that the control portion is configured to relieve strain in the color region in order to can prevent propagation of defects such as dislocation by relieving stress and strain applied to the active layer [0032]
Regarding Claim 2, Kim in view of Park discloses the di-chromic device of claim 1, wherein:
the di-chromic device implements white light by a combination of blue light from the first color portion and green or yellow light from the second color portion. [Kim 0075]
Regarding Claim 3, Kim in view of Park discloses the di-chromic device of claim 1, wherein:
the second color portion generates green light, (“the light emitted by the first well layer Q1 is defined as green light”) [Kim 0068].
Regarding Claim 4, Kim in view of Park discloses the di-chromic device of claim 1, wherein
the number of sub-color portions in the first color portion is 2 to 7 times of the number of sub-color portions in the second color portion (See Q1=1 and Q2=3 in Fig. 1 Kim)
Regarding Claim 9, Kim in view of Park discloses the di-chromic device of claim 1, further comprising:
pad electrodes (171, 172 Kim) electrically connected to the first conductivity type semiconductor region (130 Kim) and the second conductivity type semiconductor region (160), respectively. [0062 Kim]
Regarding Claim 10, Kim in view of Park discloses the di-chromic device of claim 9, wherein
the color region is formed of a nitride semiconductor, and emits light having a number of peak wavelengths equal to or greater than the number of the pad electrodes. (See Fig. 4 of Kim)
Regarding Claim 14, Kim in view of Park discloses the di-chromic device of claim 1, wherein:
each of the first and second color portions (Q1 and Q2) includes a plurality of barrier layers (B) and a plurality of well layers (Q1, Q2) disposed between the barrier layers (b), the well layers of the first color portion have a band gap wider (“An energy band gap of the well layer Q may decrease as a content of indium (In) increases, and conversely, the energy band gap thereof may increase as the content thereof decreases. Accordingly, the content of In of the first well layer Q1 may be higher than that of the second well layer Q2. That is, the energy band gap of the first well layer Q1 may be less than that of the second well layer Q2.” [0072]] than the well layers of the second color portion, and the first color portion (Q1) is closer to the first conductivity type semiconductor region (130) than the second color portion (Q2).
Regarding Claim 22, Kim ((Fig. 1-6) discloses a di-chromic device of claim 21, further comprising a control portion (a trigger layer 180) located between the first conductivity type semiconductor region (130) and the color region (140).
Kim does not explicitly disclose that the control portion is configured to relieve strain in the color region.
Park (Fig.6, 7) discloses a control portion (300) is configured to relieve strain in a color region. (410) (super-lattice layer 300 can prevent propagation of defects such as dislocation by relieving stress and strain applied to the active layer”) [0032].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify a di-chromic device in Kim in view of Park such that the control portion is configured to relieve strain in the color region in order to can prevent propagation of defects such as dislocation by relieving stress and strain applied to the active layer [0032].
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US 2018/0351039 A1) in view of Park et al. (US 2018/0261724 A1) and further in view of Kurihara et al. (US 2015/0125980A1).
Regarding Claim 5, Kim in view of Park discloses the di-chromic device of claim 1, discloses the di-chromic device emits white light under a current density. [0063]
Kim in view of Park does not explicitly disclose that the di-chromic device emits white light under a current density within a range of 1.75 Å/cm.sup.2 or more and less than 35 Å/cm.sup.2.
Kurihara (Fig. 8 and 9) discloses device emits white light under a current density within a range of 1.75 Å/cm.sup.2 or more and less than 35 Å/cm.sup.2. [0176, 0177].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify a di-chromic device in Kim in view of Park and Kurihara such that t di-chromic device emits white light under a current density within a range of 1.75 Å/cm.sup.2 or more and less than 35 Å/cm.sup.2. in order to e luminescent spectrum and output of the device [0177]
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (US 2018/0351039 A1) in view of Park et al. (US 2018/0261724 A1) and further in view of Jean et al. (US 2016/0043279 A1).
Regarding Claim 11, Kim in view of Park discloses the di-chromic device of claim 9.
Kim in view of Park does not explicitly disclose that bump electrodes electrically connected to the pad electrodes, respectively.
Jean (Fig. 12) discloses bump electrodes (1152b, 1152a) electrically connected to pad electrodes (1151b, 1151a), respectively.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify a di-chromic device in Kim in view of Park and Jean such that that bump electrodes electrically connected to the pad electrodes, respectively in order to be electrically connect the device in a wire bonding scheme or a flip-chip bonding scheme [0133-0135]
Conclusion
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/DMITRIY YEMELYANOV/Examiner, Art Unit 2891