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 Group I (claims 1-6) in the reply filed on 6/17/26 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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) 1, 3, 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0026382 (Yao), cited by Applicant.
Yao discloses
1. (Original) An optical sensor using ferroelectrics, comprising:
a substrate 85;
a first type semiconductor 42 stacked on the substrate 45; and
a second type semiconductor 41 in contact with the first type semiconductor 42 to form a heterojunction structure 416 ([0065]),
wherein at least one of the first type semiconductor 42 or the second type semiconductor 41 is ferroelectrics ([0065]).
Yao discloses
3. (Original) The optical sensor using ferroelectrics of claim 1, wherein the first type 42 is a p-type, the second type 41 is an n-type, and the second type semiconductor 41 has ferroelectricity ([0064]-[0074]).
Yao discloses
4. (Original) The optical sensor using ferroelectrics of claim 1, further comprising:
a first electrode 44 in electrical communication with the first type semiconductor 42, and
a second electrode 43 in electrical communication with the second type semiconductor 41.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 2, 5, 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yao as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2020/0203381 (Rabkin).
Yao discloses
2. (Original) The optical sensor using ferroelectrics of claim 1, wherein the first type semiconductor 42 and the second type semiconductor 41 are vertically deposited,
Yao fails to disclose
and the first type semiconductor and the second type semiconductor are 2-dimensional (2D) semiconductor materials.
Rabkin teaches
An optical sensor comprising:
the first type semiconductor and the second type semiconductor are 2-dimensional (2D) semiconductor materials.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use 2-D semiconductor materials in Yao. The motivation would be to provide improved interface quality, reduced dangling bonds, and enhanced optoelectronic performance as taught by Rabkin ([0153]-[0155], [0169], [0206], [0225], [0247], [0281]).
Rabkin teaches (Table 2, [0226], [0227], [0246], [0264], [0267], [0276])
5. (Original) The optical sensor using ferroelectrics of claim 3, wherein the p-type 2D semiconductor material is a 2D material having a smaller bandgap than 3LWSe2 or WSe2, and the n-type 2D ferroelectric semiconductor material is α-In2Se3.
Rabkin teaches polarization ([0079])
This is essentially the functional consequence of using ferroelectric polarization.
6. (Original) The optical sensor using ferroelectrics of claim 1, wherein the optical sensor changes in photoresponsivity depending on a direction in which a bias is applied to the optical sensor, and is determined according to a carrier polarization direction in the semiconductor rather than the ferroelectrics.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to employ polarization in Yao. The motivation would be to obtain the known benefit of electrically tunable photodetection as taught by Rabkin.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. U.S. Patent Application Publication Nos. 2013/0069110 (Gray), 2015/0172556 (Hamada), 2016/0043242 (Jeong), 2025/0094380 (Mazed), JP Publication Nos. 6365839 (Takayuki), JP H056653 (Kojima).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TERESA M ARROYO whose telephone number is (703)756-1576. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday (8:30 A.M. E.T. - 5:00 P.M. E.T.).
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/TERESA M. ARROYO/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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