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 .
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and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114.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 6/17/2026 has been entered.
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgement is made of Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) form PTO-1449. The IDS has been considered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 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.
Claims 2-3, 6, and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
(Re Claims 2-3, 6, and 8) As “a lamination direction” is introduced in claim 1, it is unclear how many lamination directions are present after reciting again “a lamination direction”.
During examination, additional instances of “a lamination direction” were read as “the lamination direction”.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-4 and 6-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US 2016/0126381) of record.
(Re Claim 1) Wang teaches a photodetector comprising: a first conduction-type semiconductor layer (labelled P Si; Fig. 29); a semiconductor light absorption layer (labelled I-Si; Fig. 29) provided on the first conduction-type semiconductor layer; and a second conduction-type semiconductor layer (labelled N-Si; Fig. 29) provided on the semiconductor light absorption layer, wherein inside the semiconductor light absorption layer, finely modified portions (¶211; Fig. 29 markup showing the finely modified portions within dashed line boxes; note that the finely modified portions are separated from the layers labeled “P Si” and “N-Si or P-I-N Si”) are provided in a manner of being separated from the second conduction-type semiconductor layer (Fig. 29), and
wherein the finely modified portions include at least modified portions (the material outside of the voids but within the solid black boxes shown in the Fig. 29 markup are respectively modified portions; these modified portions are formed as a consequence of modifying the material I-Si to produce a particular void pattern; see the discussion around the formation of voids formation in ¶210 and Fig. 26-27; “Anisotropic epitaxial growth can result in void formation, with the shape of the void being determined by many factors including: side wall slope, crystal orientations of the side wall, growth conditions, pressure, temperature, flow rate, growth technique (CVD, MBE, ALD or a combination of growth methods), surface preparation, and surface oxidation.” (¶210)) and cavity portions (2800 inside the finely modified portions identified in the Fig. 29 markup; also, note that the cavity portions are separated from each of the modified portions as the modified portions are the portions within the solid line boxes in the Fig. 29 markup and does not include those portions overlapping with the line), wherein one of the modified portions and one of the cavity portions (each belonging to the finely modified portion on the left as seen in the Fig. 29 markup) are arrayed in a lamination direction of the semiconductor light absorption layer (top to bottom; Fig. 29).
Wang does not explicitly teach the photodetector finely modified portions forming a localized inhomogeneous electric field inside the semiconductor light absorption layer by scattering incident light.
However, as the prior art has been shown to be identical to the claimed structure of the invention, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would find it obvious for Wang’s finely modified portions to form a localized inhomogeneous electric field inside the semiconductor light absorption layer by scattering incident light (Wang: From ¶206, “the void formation is exploited to generate a buried and/or embedded microstructured void arrays that can behave as HCG and or light trapping structures that concentrate the optical field and/or resonance through interference of the optical field (amplitude and phase), scattering, near field, linear and non-linear optical effects to enhance the bulk film absorption coefficient by one to several orders of magnitude“ (emphasis added)).
Where the claimed and prior art devices are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). "When the PTO shows a sound basis for believing that the products of the applicant and the prior art are the same, the applicant has the burden of showing that they are not." See MPEP 2112, particularly 2112.01.
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(Re Claim 2) Wang teaches the photodetector according to claim 1 wherein the finely modified portions are arrayed in an intersection direction (left to right; Fig. 29) intersecting a lamination direction (top to bottom; Fig. 29) of the semiconductor light absorption layer with respect to the first conduction-type semiconductor layer.
(Re Claim 3) Wang teaches the photodetector according to claim 1, but has not been shown to explicitly teach the photodetector wherein the finely modified portions are arrayed in a plurality of stages in a lamination direction of the semiconductor light absorption layer with respect to the first conduction-type semiconductor layer.
Wang teaches forming additional finely modified portions in each layer of silicon material (Fig. 30).
A person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would find it obvious to form a layer of finely modified portions in the first conduction-type layer and the second conduction-type semiconductor layer, as shown in Fig. 30 of Wang, in order to enhance absorption (“an example of a PIN PD/PV structure 3000 with microstructured voids to enhance absorption, reduce bulk refractive index, reduce capacitance and increase mechanical flexibility of large sheets of PV on semiconductor material, according to some embodiments….In addition to PV, the techniques are also applicable to PD, APD…” (emphasis added); ¶217).
Doing so results in finely modified portions arrayed in a plurality of stages (a stage, comprising a layer of finely modified portions, in each of the first conduction-type layer, semiconductor light absorption layer, and first conduction-type layer; the claims do not preclude the presence of finely modified portions outside of the semiconductor light absorption layer; rather, the constraint in terms of extent is that inside semiconductor light absorption layer the finely modified portions are provided in a manner of being separated from the second conduction-type semiconductor layer) in a lamination direction (top to bottom; Fig. 29) of the semiconductor light absorption layer with respect to the first conduction-type semiconductor layer.
(Re Claim 4) Wang teaches the photodetector according to claim 1 wherein the finely modified portions are surrounded by the semiconductor light absorption layer (Fig. 29).
(Re Claim 6) Wang teaches the photodetector according to claim 1 wherein widths of the finely modified portions in the intersection direction intersecting a lamination direction of the semiconductor light absorption layer with respect to the first conduction-type semiconductor layer are equal to or shorter than 1200 nm (widths ranging from 10-5000 nm; ¶211).
(Re Claim 7) Wang teaches the photodetector according to claim 1 further comprising: an extraction electrode (lower 2902 ring; ¶212) provided on the second conduction-type semiconductor layer and extracting photocurrent generated in the semiconductor light absorption layer (“In PV mode, no external bias is applied and the PV is basically a current generator. All the electrical connections are for DC current from the PV”; ¶253).
Wang has not been shown to explicitly teach the photodetector wherein the photocurrent generated in the semiconductor light absorption layer is due to formation of the localized inhomogeneous electric field.
However, as the prior art has been shown to be identical to the claimed structure of the invention, a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would find it obvious for Wang’s finely modified portions to form a localized inhomogeneous electric field inside the semiconductor light absorption layer by scattering incident light that generates a photocurrent (Wang: From ¶206, “the void formation is exploited to generate a buried and/or embedded microstructured void arrays that can behave as HCG and or light trapping structures that concentrate the optical field and/or resonance through interference of the optical field (amplitude and phase), scattering, near field, linear and non-linear optical effects to enhance the bulk film absorption coefficient by one to several orders of magnitude“ (emphasis added)).
Where the claimed and prior art devices are identical or substantially identical in structure or composition, a prima facie case of either anticipation or obviousness has been established. In re Best, 562 F.2d 1252, 1255, 195 USPQ 430, 433 (CCPA 1977). "When the PTO shows a sound basis for believing that the products of the applicant and the prior art are the same, the applicant has the burden of showing that they are not." See MPEP 2112, particularly 2112.01.
(Re Claim 8) Wang teaches the photodetector according to claim 7, wherein the finely modified portions are positioned in a region not overlapping the extraction electrode when viewed in a lamination direction of the semiconductor light absorption layer with respect to the first conduction-type semiconductor layer (Fig. 29).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 6/17/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicant argues that the material identified in the rejection as belonging to modified portions are distributed laterally, rather than in a direction corresponding to the lamination direction of the semiconductor light absorption layer (remarks, p. 1). However, the modified portions are also distributed in a lamination direction, as they surround the cavity. See the rejection of claim 1.
The remainder of Applicant’s arguments are moot.
Conclusion
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/CHRISTOPHER A. SCHODDE/Examiner, Art Unit 2898
/JESSICA S MANNO/SPE, Art Unit 2898
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