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 .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Status of the application
This office Action is in response to Applicant's Application filled on 12/10/2025. Claims 1-15 are pending for this examination.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed on 01/10/2023.
Oath/Declaration
The oath or declaration filed on 11/21/2022 is acceptable.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of species I (Fig 1A): claims 1-3 and 10 in the reply filed on 12/10/2025 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 § 818.03(a)). The election is without traverse because the response is incomplete.
This office action considers claims 1-15 pending for prosecution, wherein claims 4-9 and 11-15 are withdrawn from further consideration, and 1-3 and 10 are presented for examination.
Claim Objections
Claim 10 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 10 recites the limitation “wherein the light-emitting layer is between the hole-transport layer and the cathode or between the electron-transport layer and the anode” in line 4-5, lacks proper antecedent basis. For the purpose of examination, Examiner interpreted, “wherein the light-emitting layer is between the hole-transport layer and the cathode or between a electron-transport layer and the anode”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejection- 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 of this title, 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 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DAI et al (US 2021/0098709 A1; hereafter DAI) in view of Yutaka Noguchi (Spontaneous orientation polarization in organic light-emitting diodes, NPL filed on 02/21/2023, hereafter Yutaka)
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Regarding claim 1. DAI discloses an organic semiconductor element comprising:
a first electrode (Fig 1, 2 ITO anode, Para [ 0026]) and a second electrode (10 cathode, Para [ 0026]) over a substrate (1 substrate, Para [ 0026]); and
a hole-transport layer (4 first hole transport layer, 5 second hole transport layer, Para [ 0026]) and an active layer (6 light emitting layer, Para [ 0026]) between the first electrode (Fig 1, 2 ITO anode, Para [ 0026]) and the second electrode (10 cathode, Para [ 0026]),
wherein the hole-transport layer comprises a first hole-transport layer and a second hole-transport layer (4 first hole transport layer, 5 second hole transport layer, Para [ 0026]), wherein the first hole-transport layer (4 first hole transport layer Para [ 0026]) is closer to the substrate (1 substrate, Para [ 0026]) than the second hole-transport layer is ( 5 second hole transport layer, Para [ 0026]), wherein the first hole-transport layer and the second hole-transport layer are in contact with each other (4 first hole transport layer, 5 second hole transport layer, Para [ 0026]),
DAI further discloses first hole transport layer 4, N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-(1-naphthyl)-1,1′-biphenyl-4,4′-diamine (alpha-NPD), is deposited on the hole injection layer 3 by vacuum vapor deposition to a thickness of 50 nm, for serving as the first hole transport layer 4 ( Para [ 0102]) ; and
the material of the second hole transport layer 5, 1,3-dicarbazole-9-ylbenzene (mCP), is deposited on the first hole transport layer 4 by vacuum vapor deposition to a thickness of 10 nm, for serving as the second hole transport layer 5 (Para [ 103]).
But DAI does not disclose explicitly wherein a value obtained by subtracting a giant surface potential slope of the second hole-transport layer from a giant surface potential slope of the first hole-transport layer is less than or equal to 10 mV/nm, and wherein the giant surface potential slope is a parameter represented by V/d when surface potential and thickness of a film are V and d, respectively.
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In a similar field of endeavor, Yutaka discloses wherein a value obtained by subtracting a giant surface potential slope of the second hole-transport layer from a giant surface potential slope of the first hole-transport layer is less than or equal to 10 mV/nm, and wherein the giant surface potential slope is a parameter represented by V/d when surface potential and thickness of a film are V and d, respectively (Giant surface potential (GSP) property for light transport material property , Page 3-4, see alpha NPD 5.3 mV/nm and mCP-3.9 mV/nm. Therefore, based on the property of alpha NPD and mCP, desire value of giant surface potential slope can be achieved for second hole-transport layer and the first hole-transport layer).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine DAI in light of Yutaka teaching “wherein a value obtained by subtracting a giant surface potential slope of the second hole-transport layer from a giant surface potential slope of the first hole-transport layer is less than or equal to 10 mV/nm, and wherein the giant surface potential slope is a parameter represented by V/d when surface potential and thickness of a film are V and d, respectively (Giant surface potential (GSP) property for light transport material property , Page 3-4, see alpha NPD 5.3 mV/nm and mCP-3.9 mV/nm. Therefore, based on the property of alpha NPD and mCP, desire value of giant surface potential slope can be achieved for second hole-transport layer and the first hole-transport layer)” for further advantage such as improve charge transfer efficiency.
Regarding claim 10. DAI in light of Yutaka discloses an organic EL element comprising a structure of the organic semiconductor element according to claim 1, DAI further discloses wherein one of the first electrode (Fig 1, 2 ITO anode, Para [ 0026]) and the second electrode is an anode (Fig 1, 2 ITO anode, Para [ 0026]) and the other is a cathode (10 cathode, Para [ 0026]), wherein the active layer is a light-emitting layer (6 light emitting layer, Para [ 0026]), and wherein the light-emitting layer (6 light emitting layer, Para [ 0026]) is between the hole-transport layer (4 first hole transport layer, 5 second hole transport layer, Para [ 0026]) and the cathode (10 cathode, Para [ 0026]) or between the electron-transport layer (first electron transport layer, 8) and the anode (Fig 1, 2 ITO anode, Para [ 0026]).
Claims 2-3 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DAI et al (US 2021/0098709 A1; hereafter DAI) in view of Yutaka Noguchi (Spontaneous orientation polarization in organic light-emitting diodes, NPL filed on 02/21/2023, hereafter Yutaka) as applied claims above and further in view of HARUYAMA et al (US 2020/0140422 A1; hereafter HARUYAMA).
Regarding claim 2. DAI in light of Yutaka discloses the organic semiconductor element according to claim 1, But DAI in light of Yutaka does not disclose explicitly
wherein the first electrode is electrically connected to a transistor.
In a similar field of endeavor, HARUYAMA discloses wherein the first electrode is electrically connected to a transistor (Para [ 0207]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine DAI and Yutaka in light of HARUYAMA teaching “wherein the first electrode is electrically connected to a transistor (Para [ 0207])” for further advantage such as to obtain light-emitting elements which exhibit various colors.
Regarding claim 3. DAI in light of Yutaka discloses the organic semiconductor element according to claim 1, But DAI in light of Yutaka does not disclose explicitly
wherein an external connection electrode is over the substrate.
In a similar field of endeavor, HARUYAMA discloses wherein an external connection electrode (Fig 2, electrode 207, Para [ 0208]) is over the substrate (Fig 2, substrate 201, Para [ 0207]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of the ordinary skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine DAI and Yutaka in light of HARUYAMA teaching “wherein an external connection electrode (Fig 2, electrode 207, Para [ 0208]) is over the substrate (Fig 2, substrate 201, Para [ 0207])” for further advantage such as improve element characteristics of such a light-emitting element.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOIN M RAHMAN whose telephone number is (571)272-5002. The examiner can normally be reached 8:30-5:00pm.
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/MOIN M RAHMAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898