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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant's election with traverse of Species 1a and 2a in the reply filed on January 9, 2025 is acknowledged. The traversal is on the ground(s) that Srinlvas (US 20240079856 A1) fails to disclose the limitations of claim 1 which is the basis for restriction.
Specifically, that Srinlvas discloses “no epitaxial structure grows within the resulting concave shapes 403, and epitaxial structures only grow on the opening regions 405” and Srinlvas does not disclose “the light-emitting structure layer is located between the first reflector layer and the second reflector layer”, instead disclosing “a long-cavity resonating cavity 412 between two light reflecting mirrors”.
This is not found persuasive because, as outlined in the previous Office Action, Srinlvas discloses all the limitations of claim 1. In response to the argument that Srinlvas does not disclose epitaxial structure with the concave shape, Srinlvas discloses, in ¶ [0486] and Fig. 4(f), “the III-nitride epitaxial layers 105 take the concave shape 403 at the window on either side of the open region 405”. In response to the argument that Srinlvas discloses a resonant cavity between the reflector layers rather than the light-emitting structure layer, Srinlvas discloses, in ¶ [0152] and Fig. 4(g), “the top and bottom DBR mirrors of the removed III-nitride epitaxial layers 105, 106, 109 at the wing region of the ELO III-nitride layers 105 can be used as a resonant cavity”, meaning the resonant cavity 412 includes the light-emitting structure layer. Therefore, Srinlvas discloses all the limitations of claim 1.
The requirement is still deemed proper and is therefore made FINAL.
Claims 4 and 11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected Species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Applicant timely traversed the restriction (election) requirement in the reply filed on January 9, 2025.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-3, 5, 8, 13-15, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Srinlvas et al. (US 20240079856 A1) herein after “Srinlvas”.
Regarding claim 1, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose a method for manufacturing a light-emitting device (“a method for fabricating good quality light emitting apertures of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) on wings of an Epitaxial Lateral Overgrowth (ELO) region”, ¶ [0016]), comprising
providing an epitaxial base (Fig. 4(a), substrate 101, layer 401, ¶ [0472]) with a first concave portion (Fig. 4(d), concave shapes 403, ¶ [04716), wherein an inner surface of the first concave portion (403) is a curved surface;
epitaxially growing a light-emitting structure layer (Fig. 4(f), epitaxial layers 105, base layers 106, ¶ [0486]) on the epitaxial base (101, 401), wherein the light-emitting structure layer (105, 106) comprises a first surface (top surface in Fig. 4(f)) and a second surface (bottom surface in Fig. 4(f)) opposite the first surface, and the second surface protrudes towards the first concave portion (Fig. 4(f), “the III-nitride epitaxial layers 105 take the concave shape 403 at the window on either side of the open region 405”, ¶ [0486]);
forming a first reflector layer (Fig. 4(g), reflecting mirrors 408, ¶ [0487]) on the first surface; and
removing the epitaxial base (Fig. 4(g), “devices 111 are then removed from the substrate 101”, ¶ [0489]) to form a second reflector layer (Fig. 4(g), reflecting mirrors 413, ¶ [0487]) covering the second surface (Fig. 4(g), “the top and bottom DBR mirrors of the removed III-nitride epitaxial layers 105, 106, 109 at the wing region of the ELO III-nitride layers 105 can be used as a resonant cavity”, ¶ [0152]).
Regarding claim 2, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, and further disclose wherein the epitaxial base (101, 401) comprises a substrate (Fig. 4(a), layer 401, ¶ [0472]), and the first concave portion (403) is formed in the substrate (Fig. 4(d), “The highly doped III-nitride layer 401 is selectively etched… The resulting concave shapes 403 can appear at the selectively etched regions”, ¶ [0474-0475]).
Regarding claim 3, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, and further disclose wherein the epitaxial base (101, 401) comprises a substrate (401) and a nucleation layer (Fig. 4(e), growth restrict mark 404, ¶ [0471]) from bottom to top, the first concave portion (403) is formed in the substrate (401), and the nucleation layer (404) is formed on the substrate (401) in a same shape with the first concave portion (Fig. 4(e), “The resulting concave shapes 403 are covered with a growth restrict mark 404”, ¶ [0476]).
Regarding claim 5, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, and further disclose wherein the first concave portion (403) is plural in number (shown in Fig. 4(d)).
Regarding claim 8, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, and further disclose wherein the second reflector layer (413) is made of insulating material (“The second reflecting layer is a combination of one or more dielectric layers”, ¶ [0231]).
Regarding claim 13, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, and Figs. 1(c) and 4(g) further disclose a light-emitting device (Fig. 1(c), a VCSEL device 111, ¶ [0120]), wherein the light-emitting device is manufactured by the method of claim 1 (“FIG. 4(g) is a VCSEL device 111 fabricated using the substrate 101”, ¶ [0127]).
Regarding claim 14, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, and Fig. 4(g) further discloses wherein area of the first reflector layer (408) is smaller than area of an opening of the first concave portion (403).
Regarding claim 15, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, and Fig. 4(g) further discloses wherein a plurality of first reflector layers (408) corresponds to a plurality of first concave portions (403) one by one.
Regarding claim 17, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, and Fig. 4(g) further discloses further comprising: forming a support layer (Fig. 4(g), p-pad 409, ¶ [0488]) wrapping the first reflector layer (408).
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.
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Srinlvas (US 20240079856 A1) in view of Liu et al. (US 20210066549 A1) herein after “Liu”.
Regarding claim 6, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, but Srinlvas fails to disclose wherein the light-emitting structure layer further comprises a side wall connecting the first surface and the second surface, and forming the second reflector layer covering the second surface comprises:
forming the second reflector layer covering the side wall of the light-emitting structure layer and the second surface.
In the similar field of endeavor of light emitting devices, Fig. 29 of Liu discloses wherein the light-emitting structure layer (Fig. 29, epitaxial layered structure 120, ¶ [0024]) further comprises a side wall connecting the first surface (bottom surface in Fig. 29) and the second surface (top surface in Fig. 29), and forming the second reflector layer (Fig. 29, reflective insulating member 153, ¶ [0061]) covering the second surface comprises:
forming the second reflector layer (153) covering the side wall of the light-emitting structure layer (120) and the second surface(top surface in Fig. 29).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filling date of the invention to modify the light-emitting device of Srinlvas with the second reflector as disclosed by Liu, to improve the light extraction efficiency (see Liu, ¶ [0060]).
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Srinlvas (US 20240079856 A1) in view of Huang et al. (CN 107369746 A) herein after “Huang”.
Regarding claim 7, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, but Srinlvas fails to explicitly disclose wherein the second reflector layer has a reflectivity of 50%-80%.
In the similar field of endeavor of light emitting devices, Fig. 1 of Huang discloses wherein the second reflector layer has a reflectivity of 50%-80% (Fig. 1, “DBR 9 is the exit mirror of the resonant cavity, with a reflectivity of approximately 55%”, ¶ [0065]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filling date of the invention to modify second reflector layer of Srinlvas with the reflectivity as disclosed by Huang, to obtain desired light output (see Huang, ¶ [0065]).
Claims 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Srinlvas (US 20240079856 A1) in view of Pan (US 20110114917 A1).
Regarding claim 9, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, but Srinlvas fails to disclose wherein the light-emitting structure layer further comprises an active layer, which comprises a first conductive type semiconductor layer, a light-emitting layer, and a second conductive type semiconductor layer from top to bottom, and the method further comprising:
forming a first electrode electrically connected to the first conductive type semiconductor layer; and
forming a second electrode electrically connected to the second conductive type semiconductor layer.
In the similar field of endeavor of light emitting devices, Fig. 5I of Pan discloses wherein the light-emitting structure layer further comprises an active layer, which comprises a first conductive type semiconductor layer (Fig. 5I, Group III-V compound layer 440, ¶ [0058]), a light-emitting layer (Fig. 5I, quantum-well layer 430, ¶ [0058]), and a second conductive type semiconductor layer (Fig. 5I, Group III-V compound layer 420, ¶ [0058]) from top to bottom, and the method further comprising:
forming a first electrode (Fig. 5I, upper electrode 460, ¶ [0058]) electrically connected to the first conductive type semiconductor layer (440); and
forming a second electrode (Fig. 5I, lower electrode 470, ¶ [0058]) electrically connected to the second conductive type semiconductor layer (420).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filling date of the invention to modify the light-emitting structure of Srinlvas with the layers as disclosed by Pan, to optimize light emission (see Pan, ¶ [0015]).
Regarding claim 10, Srinlvas and Pan together disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 9 as applied above, and Srinlvas further discloses wherein the first electrode (p-electrode) and the second electrode (n-electrode) are respectively disposed on both sides of the light-emitting structure layer (“the top and bottom electrode configuration”, ¶ [0152]).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Srinlvas (US 20240079856 A1) in view of Otoma et al. (US 6661823 B1) herein after “Otoma”.
Regarding claim 12, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, but Srinlvas fails to disclose wherein the light-emitting structure layer comprises an active layer and an oxide layer stacked, and the oxide layer comprises a low resistance region and a high resistance region surrounding the low resistance region.
In the similar field of endeavor of light emitting devices, Fig. 1B of Otoma discloses wherein the light-emitting structure layer comprises an active layer (Fig. 1B, active layer 103, col. 10, line 29) and an oxide layer (Fig. 1B, AlAs layer 104, col. 10, line 32) stacked, and the oxide layer (104) comprises a low resistance region (Fig. 1B, non-oxidized region 104B, col. 19, lines 18-19) and a high resistance region (Fig. 1B, oxidized region 104A, col. 19, line 18) surrounding the low resistance region (104B).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filling date of the invention to modify the light-emitting structure of Srinlvas with the layers as disclosed by Otoma, to limit the current path (see Otoma,col. 1, lines 50-51).
Claims 16 and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Srinlvas (US 20240079856 A1) in view of Futagawa et al. (US 20150044795 A1) herein after “Futagawa”.
Regarding claim 16, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, but Srinlvas fails to disclose further comprising: forming an ITO layer on the first surface.
In the similar field of endeavor of manufacturing a light emitting element, Fig. 5 of Futagawa discloses further comprising: forming an ITO layer (Fig. 5, second electrode 32, ¶ [0096]) on the first surface (Fig. 5, second surface 22b, ¶ [0096]) (“the transparent conductive material that configures the second electrode include indium tin oxide”, ¶ [0087]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filling date of the invention to modify the light-emitting structure of Srinlvas with the ITO layer as disclosed by Futagawa, to efficiently supply a current to the element region (see Futagawa, ¶ [0078]).
Regarding claim 18, Figs. 4(a)-4(g) of Srinlvas disclose the method for manufacturing a light-emitting device according to claim 1 as applied above, but Srinlvas fails to disclose further comprising: forming a metal protection layer covering the first reflector layer.
In the similar field of endeavor of manufacturing a light emitting element, Fig. 5 of Futagawa discloses further comprising: forming a metal protection layer (Fig. 5, bonding layer 25, ¶ [0101]) covering the first reflector layer (42) (“a bonding layer 25 formed from a solder layer including a gold (Au) layer or a tin (Sn) layer”, ¶ [0101]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filling date of the invention to modify the light-emitting structure of Srinlvas with the metal protection layer as disclosed by Futagawa, to support the device (see Futagawa, ¶ [0101]).
Conclusion
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/C.A.N./ Examiner, Art Unit 2893
/YARA B GREEN/ Supervisor Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2893