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 .
Introduction
Any rejections and/or objections, made in the previous Office Action, and not repeated below, are hereby withdrawn. The rejection of the claims 23-26 and 28 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) as indefinite has been overcome by the amendments to the claims. The rejection of claims 22-29 under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by Jorgenson (US 2014/0008660 A1) has been overcome by the amendments to claim 22.
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
Claims 22-27 and 29 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Hu et al. (CN 106601883 A)(Hu) as evidenced by PolySim (Melting Point of Silicon Nitride, 2026)1.
The rejection below cites to the translation which accompanies this action. The examiner added paragraph numbering to the translation but did not otherwise alter the translation downloaded from the USPTO database.
As to claims 22 and 23, Hu discloses an intermediate product for forming an LED. See the title. The intermediate product has a substrate (10), buffer layer (20) and a nucleation layer (30). See the Figure 1 and paragraph [0040]. This intermediate product has subsequent layers grown thereon and is therefore considered a “growth substrate.”
The nucleation layer includes alternating sub-layers of SiN (i.e., intermediate layers of a nitride of silicon) and AlxGa(1-x)N (i.e., III-V semiconducting layers). Id.
Hu does not disclose that the SiN (intermediate) layer is stable at a temperature of 1400°C or more (claim 22) or 1600°C or more (claim 29). However, silicon nitride has a melting point of 1900°C. See PolySim, Melting Point of Silicon Nitride, 2026. Therefore, silicon nitride is presumed to inherently be stable at 1400°C or more (claim 22) or 1600°C or more (claim 29).
As to claim 24, Hu discloses the layers of SiN and AlxGa(1-x)N may be alternated 10 to 80 times. See paragraph [0048].
As to claim 25 and 26, Hu discloses the SiN sub-layer or AlxGa(1-x)N sub-layer may be the layer adjacent to the buffer layer/substrate (which collectively correspond to the claimed substrate). See paragraph [0090].
As to claim 27, Hu discloses the semiconductor layer has a thickness of 2 to 30 nm, which is sufficiently specific to anticipate the claimed range. See paragraph [0043] of Hu; and MPEP 2131.03.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments 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.
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 David Sample whose telephone number is (571)272-1376. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday 7AM to 3:30 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Humera Sheikh can be reached at (571)272-0604. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/David Sample/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1784
1 A reference need not be available as prior art to show a universal fact. See MPEP 2124.
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