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 .
Response to Amendment
The Examiner acknowledges and accepts the amending of claim 11 and cancellation of claims 1-10 and 12-13 in the amendment filed on 01/21/26.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 11 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
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 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a1 as being anticipated by WO 2018208274 A2 (hereafter WO’274).
Regarding claim 11, WO’274 discloses a method for manufacturing a surface emitting laser apparatus (FIGS. 4-7), comprising:
forming a first reflector layer (106, FIG. 7, col. 8 lines 6-7);
forming an active light-emitting layer (interpreted to comprise an active region 105 formed between 106/104, FIG. 7, col. 8 lines 8-9) on the first reflector layer;
forming a current confinement layer (101, FIG. 7, col. 8 lines 10-15), wherein the current confinement layer defines a confinement hole (102, FIG. 4, col. 8 lines 10-15) and includes an intrinsic semiconductor layer (101 may be undoped, col. 8 lines 18-20);
forming a second reflector layer (104, FIG. 7, col. 8 lines 6-7);
wherein the step of forming the current confinement laver includes:
forming an initial semiconductor layer on the active light-emitting layer (forming 101 on the active region 105, FIG. 4); and
forming the confinement hole in the initial semiconductor laver by an etching process (forming 102 by etching, FIG. 5, col. 8 lines 15-17), so as to expose a part of the active light-emitting layer (the active region 105 is exposed via 102, FIG. 5); and
wherein, after the step of forming the second reflector layer, a part of the second reflector layer is filled into the confinement hole (a part of 104 is filled into 102, FIG. 6).
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to YUANDA ZHANG whose telephone number is (571)270-1439. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:30 AM - 6:30 PM.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, MINSUN HARVEY can be reached at (571)272-1835. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/YUANDA ZHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2828