DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA Status
The present application is being examined under the pre-AIA first to invent provisions.
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on April 24, 2026 has been entered.
Drawing Objection
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “second isolation layer forms a flat plane across the first light-emitting structure unit and the second light-emitting structure unit” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 112, 2nd ¶
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 112, 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.
Claim 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. § 112, 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 pre-AIA the applicant, regards as the invention.
As to claim 26, it is unclear how “second isolation layer forms a flat plane across the first light-emitting structure unit and the second light-emitting structure unit” because the second isolation layer 17 instead forms a variety of angled surfaces, not merely a flat plane, across the first light-emitting structure unit 10A and the second light-emitting structure unit 10B in instant FIG. 1.
Indication of Allowable Subject Matter
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: claims 1-7, 11, 13-16, 21, 22, 24, 25, and 27-29 are indicated as being allowable because prior art fails to teach “an isolation layer formed on the first sidewall and the second sidewall, comprising a first end on the first light-emitting structure unit and wherein an acute angle is formed between two connected surfaces of the first end in a cross-sectional view” (claim 1) and “the mesa area surrounding the upper semiconductor layer of the second light-emitting structure unit” (claim 13) and “a first isolation layer, formed in the trench” (claim 21).
As to claims 1 and 13, the limitations have not changed and the Examiner maintains the same reasons for allowance as delineated in the Notice of Allowability issued on January 26, 2026.
As to claim 21, Seo et al. (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0163900 A1), as cited in the IDS and hereafter “Seo”, teaches in FIG. 20 a first light-emitting structure unit LS1 and a second light-emitting structure unit LS2; a trench (FIG. 2, FIG. 7, part of 21a), formed between the first and second light-emitting structure units; a first isolation layer 51; a second isolation layer 63, formed on the first isolation layer; and an electrical connection 65, formed on the second isolation layer and electrically connecting the first light-emitting structure unit and the second light-emitting structure unit.
However, Seo does not teach the first isolation layer 51 formed in the trench.
Claim 21 was also evaluated for double patenting against U.S. Patent No. 10,062,730 B2 and U.S. Patent No. 11,942,509 B2.
Conclusion
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/SUBERR L CHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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