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 .
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, 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.
Claim(s) 1-3, 7-12, 15-16 and 18-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhou in US20240099040.
Regarding Claim 1: Zhou teaches a quantum dot composition comprising a first quantum dot and a second quantum dot, wherein the difference between a photoluminescence peak wavelength of the first quantum dot and the second quantum dot is less than or equal to 10 nm (See Paragraph 10). Zhou thus teaches two quantum dots, wherein a first quantum dot may have a maximum emission wavelength of a photoluminescence spectrum that is greater (by 10 nm or less) than a maximum emission wavelength of a PL spectrum of the second quantum dot.
Zhou teaches that the first and second quantum dot are disposed in a red, green or blue light emitting layer. Zhou teaches that each of the quantum dots may have a core shell structure in which a material for the core is chosen from CdSe, CdS, CdTe, CdSeTe, CdZnS, Pb Se, ZnTe, CdSeS, PbS, PbTe, HgS, HgSe, HgTe, GaN, GaP, GaAs, InP, InAs, InZnP, InGaP, or InGaN. The material of the shell of each of the quantum dots may be chosen from ZnSe, ZnS, or ZnSeS (See Paragraph 61). Each of the first and second quantum dot may have such a shell covering its core (See Paragraph 4 and 61).
Zhou teaches that the first and second quantum dots may be manufactured using the same or different materials (See Paragraph 108). Those of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to choose the first and second quantum dots having the same or different core composition and the same or different shell composition as long as the quantum dots as created were capable of providing the emission characteristics as described by Zhou. Thus it would have been obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art to choose a first and second semiconductor composition from the range of compositions as set forth at paragraph 61, wherein the first and second semiconductor were compositionally different.
Regarding Claim 2-3: Zhou teaches that the quantum dots are provided in terms of particular colors. Zhou teaches that this may be provided as a red, green or blue light emitting layers. Green light is light having a wavelength from 500-570 nm. Those of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to provide the first and second quantum dots having a maximum emission wavelength of a PL spectrum in the range from 500-520 nm, 520-540 nm, or within a range spanning each of the individual ranges (e.g. 510-530 nm).
Regarding Claim 7: Zhou teaches that the quantum dot film may comprise a plurality of quantum dot populations. For example, if 4 different quantum dots are used a suitable ratio of quantum dots may be 2:3:3:2 (wherein the quantum dots in this ratio are arranged in terms of increasing emission wavelength; See Paragraph 73). Thus providing the claimed first and second quantum dots, wherein the first quantum dot has a peak PL emission of a longer wavelength than the second quantum dots, in a ratio of 2:3, 2:2, or 3:2 would have been obvious over Zhou. These ratios fall within the claimed range.
Regarding Claim 8: Zhou teaches that the first and second semiconductor compounds are selected from group IV, group II-V, group II-VI, group III-V, group IV-VI, group VI-VI, group VIII-VI, group IIIV-VI and group II-IV-V compounds. Zhou teaches explicit compositions that include Group II-VI (combinations of one or more of Cd, Pb, Zn, Hg cations with one or more of S, Se, or Te anions) and Group III-V (combinations of one or more of Al, In, Ga cations with one or more of P, N or As cations). Zhou thus teaches an overlapping range of compositions (See Paragraph 61).
Regarding Claim 9: Zhou teaches that the first and second semiconductor compound may be chosen from various indium containing quantum dot compositions including InP, InAs, InZnP, InGaP, and InGaN (See Paragraph 61). Those of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to choose the first and second semiconductor to be different Indium containing compositions as Zhou explicitly teaches that the material of each quantum dot may be different (See paragraph 108).
Regarding Claim 10: Zhou teaches that the first and second semiconductor compound may be chosen from compounds that do not comprise any gallium (CdSe, CdS, CdTe, CdSeTe, CdZnS, Pb Se, ZnTe, CdSeS, PbS, PbTe, HgS, HgSe, HgTe, InP, AnAs, InZnP) and compositions that do comprise gallium (GaN, GaP, GaAS, InGaP). Those of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to choose the first and second semiconductor compounds to be different compounds, wherein a difference between the first and second compound is the presence of Ga in the second compound and its absence in the second. Zhou explicitly teaches that the material of each quantum dot may be different (See paragraph 108).
Regarding Claim 11-12: Zhou teaches that each of the first and second quantum dot may be provided as a core-shell material. Zhou teaches that the shell may be chosen from ZnSe, ZnS or ZnSeS. The shell of the first quantum dot of Zhou may be considered a third semiconductor compound while the shell of the second quantum dot of Zhou may be considered a fourth semiconductor compound. Zhou teaches that each of the quantum dots may be created from a different material. Based on the use of different materials, those of ordinary skill in the art would have found the selection of different compounds for the third and fourth semiconductor compounds to be obvious. It is noted that all of the shell materials taught by Zhou contain Zn.
Regarding Claim 15: Zhou teaches that the described composition above (in terms of claim 1) may be used in a quantum dot light-emitting layer (See Paragraph 9). The quantum dot light-emitting layer of Zhou is an optical member as claimed.
Regarding Claim 16: Zhou teaches that the described composition above (in terms of claim 1) may be used I quantum dot light emitting diode (See Paragraph 6). The quantum dot light-emitting diode of Zhou is an electronic apparatus as claimed.
Regarding Claim 18-19: Zhou teaches that the electronic apparatus comprises a light emitting device comprising a first electrode (10), a second electrode facing the first electrode (60), and an emission layer located between the two (40), wherein the emission layer contains the quantum dot composition as described (See Figure 1m, Paragraph 52).
Regarding Claim 20: Zhou teaches that the quantum dots as described may be provided such that they are a green light emitting layer (See Paragraph 61). Green light is light emitting within the range from 500-570 nm. Zhou shows by way of example that quantum dots having a EL emission between 520-530 nm may be provided in a suitable layer (See Example 1). Thus the use of quantum dots having emission within the claimed range in such a device would have been obvious.
Claim(s) 1, 3-8, 11-13, and 15-17 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi in US20200381596.
Regarding Claim 1: Choi teaches a quantum dot composition comprising a transparent body containing a first quantum dot (154) and a second quantum dot (156) (See Figure 1 and Paragraph 29). The first and second quantum dot each individually comprise a core and shell, wherein the shell covers at least a portion of the core. The composition of the first and second quantum dot may be independently chosen from the group consisting of InP/ZnS, InP/ZnSe, CdSe/CdS, CdSe/ZnS, PbS/ZnS, InP/ZnSe/ZnS, and InP/GaP/ZnS (See Paragraph 32). Thus the core of the first and second quantum dot may be chosen from InP, PbS or CdSe. Those of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to select any of the taught compositions as the first and second quantum dot. Thus it would have been obvious to provide a first and second quantum dot core composition that are different from one another or are the same. The selection of such would have been obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art when providing quantum dots with desired photoluminescent properties. In terms of those photoluminescent properties, Choi teaches that the first quantum dot emits light having a peak emission in the range from 510 nm to 550 nm, while the second quantum dot emits light having a peak emission in the range from 610-660 nm (See Paragraph 31). Thus in terms of the claimed quantum dots, the second quantum dot of Choi corresponds to the claimed first quantum dot, while the first quantum dot of Choi corresponds to the claimed second quantum dot.
Regarding Claim 3: The second quantum dot has a peak emission wavelength of a PL spectrum of 510-540 nm (See Paragraph 31). Choi thus teaches an overlapping range of emission.
Regarding Claim 4: Choi teaches that each of the quantum dots is provided in a size from 3.5 to 12 nm (3-10 nm core 0.5 to 2 nm shell). Choi teaches that the size of the quantum dots can be adjusted in order to tune the wavelength of light emitted by said quantum dot. Those of ordinary skill would have found it obvious to provide a first and second quantum dot of various compositions and sizes as is taught by Choi. The selection of first quantum dots being larger in size than second quantum dots would have been obvious based on the need to provide a quantum dot having longer wavelength emission (See Paragraph 33-34).
Regarding Claim 5-6: Choi teaches that each of the first and second quantum dots is provided in an average diameter (size) from 3.5 to 12 nm (3-10 nm core 0.5 to 2 nm shell; See Paragraph 33). Choi thus teaches an overlapping range of quantum dot sizes. Overlapping ranges have been held to present a prima facie case of obviousness over the prior art. Those of ordinary skill in the art would only need to select from the overlapping portion of the range to arrive at the invention as claimed.
Regarding Claim 7: Choi teaches that the claimed second quantum dot may be included in an amount of 5-10 wt% relative to the whole composition, while the first quantum dot may be included in an amount from 1-5 wt%. Thus the ratio of the first to second quantum dot in Choi ranges from 1:1 to 1:10. This range overlaps the claimed range. Overlapping ranges have been held to present a prima facie case of obviousness over the prior art. Those of ordinary skill in the art would only need to select from the overlapping portion of the range to arrive at the invention as claimed.
Regarding Claim 8: The first and second semiconductor compound of Choi may be II-VI semiconductor compound ( CdSe PbS) or a III-V semiconductor compound (InP).
Regarding Claim 11-12: Choi teaches that the shell of the first and second quantum dot may comprise a third and fourth semiconductor composition. These compositions may also be different from one another as is taught at Paragraph 32. Each of said shells may contain Zn. The third compound may be ZnS, while the fourth compound may be ZnSe for example.
Regarding Claim 13: Choi teaches that the first and second quantum dot may be chosen such that the first or second quantum dot has a multilayer while the other quantum dot has a single layer. Choi teaches both quantum dots having single layer shells (CdSe/CdS) and multilayer shells (InP/ZnSe/ZnS InP/GaP/ZnS). It would have been obvious to select any of these compositions as the first quantum dot, including those having a multilayer. It would have been obvious to select any of these compositions as the second quantum dot, including those with a single layer.
Regarding Claim 15: Choi shows the use of the quantum dot composition as discussed above in terms of claim 1 in an optical member, such as a wavelength conversion film (See Paragraph 29 and Figure 1).
Regarding Claim 16-17: Choi teaches that the wavelength conversion film discussed above may be used in conjunction with an electronic apparatus. The electronic apparatus of Choi includes a light source, wherein the light source is configured to emit light (See Figure 1, 132, 134)), and a color conversion member located on a pathway of light from the light source, wherein the quantum dot composition is comprised in the color conversion member (See Paragraph 29 and Figure 1, 150).
Claim(s) 14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Choi as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Wegner in their publication “Gallium- a versatile element for tuning the photoluminescence properties of InP quantum dots”
Choi teaches the creation of wavelength conversion members comprising at least a first and second quantum dot as is discussed in terms of Claim 1 above. Choi teaches that the first or second quantum dot may be a gallium containing quantum dots in terms of InP/GaP/ZnS (See Paragraph 32).
Choi is silent in terms of the contents of GaP in such a composition.
However, Wegner teaches InP/GaP/ZnS and shows that the content of gallium can be used to adjust the properties of the quantum dot in terms of its emission properties (See Figures 1 and 2). Particularly, Figure 1 shows that quantum dots can be produced having from 0 mol% to about 37 mol% on the basis of 100% of the Indium in the quantum dot (Figure 1C; calculation based on gallium oleate 0.07 mmol- EDAX date: gallium ~ 14% indium ~ 38%; 14/38=36.8%). Increasing the content of gallium relative to indium is shown to increase the emission wavelength of the quantum dot from about 510 nm to 650 nm. Those of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to provide the amounts of gallium taught by Wegner in order to provide quantum dots having the emission peaks desired by Choi. Particularly, those of ordinary skill in the art would have found it obvious to provide gallium in an amount from about 0-37 mol% (See Figure 1) to provide for an InP/GaP/ZnS quantum dot having red emission as is taught by Choi. Those of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivation to combine the teachings of Choi and Wegner to produce the desired emission wavelengths in the InP/GaP/ZnS system, which is taught explicitly by Choi.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. 9978974 (IDS) is noted as being relevant to the claims to a similar extent as Choi or Zhou.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW E HOBAN whose telephone number is (571)270-3585. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30am-6:00pm.
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/Matthew E. Hoban/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1734