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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) filed on January 30, 2023 and IDS filed on February 15, 2023 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDSs are considered by the examiner.
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 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, 14, 15 and 20 are rejected are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bae US 2014/0339537.
Regarding claim 1, Bae teaches a thin film transistor (e.g., Fig. 3; also see Fig. 4 for more details; [50]-[94]), comprising:
an active layer (e.g., 124, Fig. 3);
a first loose layer (e.g., 115b, Fig. 3, [66], [89]; the layer 115b is considered as the claimed loose layer because the material of the layer 115b corresponds to that of the loose layer 111 disclosed in [145] of Applicant’s original disclosure) that is at least disposed on a first surface of the active layer (e.g., first surface of 124 on which 115b is disposed, Fig. 3) perpendicular to a thickness direction of the active layer, and is in contact with the active layer (e.g., Fig. 3), wherein a material of the first loose layer includes a first inorganic oxide insulating material (e.g., [66], [89]); and
a first oxygen release layer (e.g., 115c, Fig. 3, [92], [93]; the layer 115c is considered as the claimed oxygen release layer because the material of the layer 115c corresponds to that of the oxygen release layer 121 disclosed in [145] of Applicant’s original disclosure) that is disposed on a surface of the first loose layer (e.g., surface of 115b on which 115c is disposed, Fig. 3) facing away from the active layer, and is in contact with the first loose layer (e.g., Fig. 3), wherein a material of the first oxygen release layer is a first oxygen-containing insulating material (e.g., [92], [93]).
Bae does not explicitly teach wherein a porosity of the first loose layer is different from a porosity of the first oxygen release layer, and/or an oxygen content of the first loose layer is different from an oxygen content of the first oxygen release layer.
Bae, however, recognizes that the first oxygen release layer 115c and the first loose layer 115b both include silicon oxide, and the first oxygen release layer 115c has a high density and the first loose layer 115b has a porous property that implies a low density (e.g., [92], [66]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that in Bae a porosity of the first loose layer may be different from a porosity of the first oxygen release layer for the purpose of reducing oxygen deficiency and an external affection for example (e.g., [65]-[67]).
Regarding claim 14, Bae teaches the thin film transistor according to claim 1, wherein a material of the active layer includes an oxide semiconductor material (e.g., [51]).
Regarding claim 15, Bae teaches the thin film transistor according to claim 1, further comprising: a gate (e.g., 121, Fig. 3) disposed at a side of the active layer away from the first loose layer; a source and a drain (e.g., 122, 123, Fig. 3), wherein the source and the drain are disposed on the first surface of the active layer and are in direct contact with the active layer (e.g., Fig. 3); and at least one of a first silicon nitride layer (e.g., 115a, Fig. 3, [74]) or a second silicon nitride layer, wherein the first silicon nitride layer is disposed at a side of the active layer proximate to the gate (e.g., Fig. 3), and the second silicon nitride layer is disposed on a surface of the first oxygen release layer facing away from the gate.
Regarding claim 20, Bae teaches an array substrate e.g., [178], [10]; because the TFTs of Bae are implemented to form an LCD device, they may be arranged in an array form similar to that of the LCD device in Fig. 1), comprising: a base (e.g., 110, Fig. 3, [51]); and a plurality of thin film transistors (e.g., [178]) each according to claim 1 disposed above the base.
Claim 9 is rejected are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bae US 2014/0339537 in view of Yang et al. CN 108461403 (the original document and a machine-generated English translation thereof are used in rejection).
Regarding claim 9, Bae teaches the thin film transistor according to claim 1 as discussed above.
Bae does not explicitly teach the transistor further comprising: a second loose layer that is at least disposed on a second surface of the active layer opposite to the first surface and is in contact with the active layer, wherein a material of the second loose layer includes a second inorganic oxide insulating material, and the first loose layer is in contact with the second loose layer at at least one side face of the active layer.
Bae, however, recognizes that the layer l15a (e.g., Fig. 3, [74]) being a gate insulating layer is disposed on the second surface of the active layer 124 opposite to the first surface and is in contact with the active layer 124. Yang teaches a second loose layer (e.g., 32 of the gate dielectric layer 3, Fig. 4, translation: [65], [84], [90]; the layer 32 is considered as the claimed loose layer because the material of the layer 32 corresponds to that of the loose layer 112 disclosed in [145] of Applicant’s original disclosure) that is at least disposed on a second surface of the active layer (e.g., 4, Fig. 4, translation: [66]) opposite to the first surface and is in contact with the oxide active layer, wherein a material of the second loose layer includes a second inorganic oxide insulating material (e.g., translation: [65], [84]), and the first loose layer (e.g., 61, Fig. 4, translation: [72], [90]) is in contact with the second loose layer at at least one side face of the oxide active layer.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the transistor of Bae to include a second loose layer that is at least disposed on a second surface of the active layer opposite to the first surface and is in contact with the active layer, wherein a material of the second loose layer includes a second inorganic oxide insulating material, and the first loose layer is in contact with the second loose layer at at least one side face of the active layer as suggested by Yang, for the purpose of reducing film defects (oxygen vacancies of the oxide active layer) more efficiently for example (e.g., Yang, translation: [58], [34]).
Claim 16 is rejected are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bae US 2014/0339537 in view of Yamazaki US 2011/0263082.
Regarding claim 16, Bae teaches the thin film transistor according to claim 1, further comprising: a gate (e.g., 121, Fig. 3) disposed at a side of the active layer away from the first loose layer; a source and a drain (e.g., 122, 123, Fig. 3), wherein the source and the drain are disposed at a side of the active layer away from the gate (e.g., Fig. 3), and the source and the drain are each in contact with the active layer (e.g., Fig. 3); and at least one of a first silicon nitride layer (e.g., 115a, Fig. 3, [74]) or a second silicon nitride layer, wherein the first silicon nitride layer is disposed at a side of the active layer proximate to the gate (e.g., Fig. 3), and the second silicon nitride layer is disposed on a surface of the first oxygen release layer facing away from the gate.
Bae does not explicitly teach the source and the drain are each in contact with the active layer through at least one via hole formed in a first insulating layer including both the first loose layer and the first oxygen release layer.
Yamazaki teaches the source and the drain are each in contact with the active layer through at least one via hole formed in a first insulating layer including both the first loose layer and the first oxygen release layer (e.g., Fig. 13D, [211]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the transistor of Bae to include the source and the drain are each in contact with the active layer through at least one via hole formed in a first insulating layer including both the first loose layer and the first oxygen release layer as suggested by Yamazaki because an electrical connection of the thin film transistor is a matter of obvious design choice and thus the claimed arrangement could be achieved by the general skill of a worker in the art through ordinary means of routine work for a desired purpose for example (e.g., Yamazaki, [213]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-8, 10-13 and 17-19 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Bo Bin Jang whose telephone number is (571) 270-0271. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM EST.
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/BO B JANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818 February 7, 2026