DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to Application filed May 24, 2023.
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 without traverse of Group I, Species A, Subspecies a, Sub-subspecies I and Sub-sub-subspecies I, claims 1-4, 7, 9, 11-13, 16, 17 and 25, in the reply filed on September 12, 2025 is acknowledged.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 7, 9, 13, 16 and 17 are objected to because of the following informalities:
On lines 2-3 of claim 1, the limitations should be amended, because when there is one quantum well, there would be no “repeating periods of a heterostructure” recited on line 3.
On line 1 of claim 7, “the well layers comprise” should be amended to, for example, “the well layer comprises” to avoid indefiniteness, because (a) claim 1 from which claim 7 depends recites “a well layer” on line 4 of claim 1, and (b) furthermore, claim 1 recites “one or more quantum wells” on line 2 of claim 1, and therefore, when there is one quantum well, there would be only one well layer rather than “the well layers”.
On line 1 of claim 9, “the barrier layers comprise” should be amended to, for example, “the barrier layer comprises” to avoid indefiniteness, because (a) claim 1 from which claim 9 depends recites “a barrier layer” on line 7 of claim 1, and (b) furthermore, claim 1 recites “one or more quantum wells” on line 2 of claim 1, and therefore, when there is one quantum well, there would be only one barrier layer rather than “the barrier layers”.
On lines 2-3 of claim 13, “a thickness” should be replaced with “the thickness”.
On line 2 of claim 16, “or n-type” should be replaced with “or an n-type”.
On line 8 of claim 17, “the” before “recombination” should be deleted to avoid indefiniteness.
Appropriate correction is required.
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 4, 12 and 13 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.
(1) Regarding claim 4, the limitation “the light-emitting diode” recited on line 1 lacks the antecedent basis, because (a) claims 1 and 2 from which claim 4 depends does not recite “a light-emitting diode”, (b) rather, claim 3 from which claim 4 does not depend recites “a light-emitting diode”, and (c) therefore, it is not clear whether claim 4 should depend on claim 3, or the limitation “the light-emitting diode” is a typo of “the light-emitting device”.
(2) Regarding claim 12, it is not clear whether the limitation recited in claim 12 is directed to Applicants’ intention or a design of the barrier layer or an actual configuration of the barrier, because (a) as shown in Fig. 4(a) of Khan et al. (“Impact of Mg level on lattice relaxation in a p-AlGaN hole source layer and attempting excimer laser annealing on p-AlGaN HSL of UVB emitters,” Nanotechnology 32 (2021) 055702), even if one of ordinary skill in the art attempts to obtain an Al content profile recited in claim 12, an actual Al content cannot increase or decrease through a thickness of the barrier layer since (i) the barrier layer formed of AlyGa1-yN or AlkInlGa1-k-lN is in contact with semiconductor material layers that have distinct material compositions such as one of 1.5 nm-thick In0.02Ga0.98N well layers when the barrier layer is not the topmost barrier layer, or the 100-nm thick p-GaN layer when the barrier layer is the topmost barrier layer, and the barrier layer is also in contact with the underlying 1.5 nm-thick GaN as shown in Fig. 4B of current application, and (ii) therefore, as shown in Fig. 4(a) of Khan et al., an actual Al content of the barrier layer formed of AlGaN or AlInGaN would have a peak inside the barrier layer, i.e. the Al content would increase and then decrease inside the barrier layer rather than exhibiting the profile where “an Al content” “increases or decreases through a thickness of the barrier layer” as recited in claim 12, since Al atoms constituting the AlGaN or AlInGaN would diffuse into the neighboring layers that do not comprise Al, (b) therefore, it appears that the claim limitation of claim 12 is directed to Applicants’ intention or design of an Al content in the barrier layer formed of AlGaN or AlInGaN rather than an actual and thus measurable profile of an Al content in the barrier layer formed of AlGaN or AlInGaN, and (c) depending on whether the claimed Al content is an actual Al content profile or Applicants’ intention or design of an Al content profile that is not an actual Al content profile, the actual profile of the Al content measured from the claimed light-emitting device would be distinct from each other. Claim 13 depends on claim 12, and therefore, claim 13 is also indefinite.
(3) Regarding claims 13 and 25, it is not clear whether the claimed “graded composition through a thickness of the barrier layer (emphasis added)” is an actual composition of the barrier layer or Applicants’ intention or design of the composition of the barrier layer for the same reasons stated above with regard to “an Al content” recited in claim 12.
(4) Regarding claim 13, it is not clear what the “graded composition” recited on line 2 refers to, because (4-i) if the “graded composition” is directed to a graded composition of Al of the AlyGa1-yN or AlkInlGa1-k-lN, which appears to be the case, then claim 13 is indefinite for the following reasons: a broad range or limitation together with a narrow range or limitation that falls within the broad range or limitation (in the same claim) may be considered indefinite if the resulting claim does not clearly set forth the metes and bounds of the patent protection desired, see MPEP § 2173.05(c); in the present instance, claim 13 recites the broad recitation “graded composition”, and the claim also recites “an Al content that increases or decreases through a thickness of the barrier layer” in claim 12 which is the narrower statement of the range/limitation, because the “graded composition” recited in claim 13 does not necessarily have to be a monotonous or monotonic increase or decrease of the Al content in claim 12; the claim is considered indefinite because there is a question or doubt as to whether the feature introduced by such narrower language is (a) merely exemplary of the remainder of the claim, and therefore not required, or (b) a required feature of the claims, and (4-ii) if the “graded composition” is not directed to a graded composition of Al of the AlyGa1-yN or AlkInlGa1-k-lN, it is not clear which atom(s) or element(s) exhibit(s) the claimed graded composition.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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.
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.
Claims 1-4, 7, 9, 11 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as anticipated by or, in the alternative, under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Li et al. (“High-efficiency near-UV light-emitting diodes on Si substrates with InGaN/GaN/AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells,” Journal of Materials Chemistry C 8 (2020) 883)
Regarding claims 1, Li et al. disclose a light-emitting device (Title) comprising: an active region (InGaN/GaN/AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells) comprising one or more quantum wells, wherein the one or more quantum wells are formed by one or more repeating periods of a heterostructure comprising: a well layer comprising InzGa1-zN, where 0 < z ≤ 0.3 (In0.08Ga0.92N on line 6 of left side column of page 884), or AlilnjGa1-i-jN, where 0 < i ≤ 1 and 0 < j ≤ 1; an interlayer comprising GaN; and a barrier layer comprising AlyGa1-yN, where 0 < y ≤ 1 (Al0.15Ga0.85N on line 7 of left side column of page 884), or AlkInlGa1-k-lN, where 0 < k ≤ 1 and 0 < l ≤ 1; a first electrically conductive contact inherently in electrical communication with a first side of the active region to form a functioning light-emitting device, because (a) as shown in Fig. 1 of Li et al., an n-GaN layer is deposited under the active region, and (b) Li et al. further disclose an injection current in Fig. 3; a second electrically conductive contact inherently in electrical communication with a second, opposing side of the active region to form the functioning light-emitting device, because (a) as shown in Fig. 1 of Li et al., a p-GaN layer is deposited over the active region, and b) Li et al. further disclose an injection current in Fig. 3; and a voltage source inherently connected to the first and second electrically conductive contacts to form the functioning light-emitting device to bias the n-GaN layer and the p-GaN layer shown in Fig. 1 of Li et al., because Li et al. further disclose an injection current in Fig. 3; wherein the first electrically conductive contact, the second electrically conductive contact, and the voltage source are inherently configured to apply an electric field across the active region to form the functioning light-emitting device, because Fig. 1 of Li et al. shows a light-emitting device structure that is configured to apply an electric field across the active region.
If Applicant can prove or show that it is not inherent that a first electrically conductive contact is in electrical communication with a first side of the active region; a second electrically conductive contact is in electrical communication with a second, opposing side of the active region; and a voltage source is connected to the first and second electrically conductive contacts; wherein the first electrically conductive contact, the second electrically conductive contact, and the voltage source are configured to apply an electric field across the active region, it would still have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that a first electrically conductive contact can be in electrical communication with a first side of the active region; a second electrically conductive contact can be in electrical communication with a second, opposing side of the active region; and a voltage source can be connected to the first and second electrically conductive contacts; wherein the first electrically conductive contact, the second electrically conductive contact, and the voltage source are configured to apply an electric field across the active region, because an n-side electrode has been commonly formed on an n-GaN layer and a p-side electrode has been commonly formed on a p-GaN layer in GaN-based light-emitting diodes in semiconductor industry to operate the GaN-based light-emitting diodes with a voltage source; in this case, the first electrically conductive contact, the second electrically conductive contact, and the voltage source would be configured to apply an electric field across the active region.
Regarding claims 2-4, 7, 9 and 11, Li et al. further disclose that the well layer (3 nm In0.08Ga0.92N) has a thickness of no greater than 15 nm, the interlayer (2 nm GaN) has a thickness of no greater than 15 nm, and the barrier layer (9 nm Al0.15Ga0.85N) has a thickness of no greater than 25 nm (claim 2), the light-emitting device is a light-emitting diode (Title) (claim 3), the light-emitting diode further comprises: an electron-injection layer (n-GaN in Fig. 1) comprising n-GaN, n-InGaN, n-AlGaN, or n-AlInGaN; and a hole-injection layer (p-GaN in Fig. 1) comprising p-GaN, p-InGaN, p-AlGaN, or p-AlInGaN; wherein the active region (9-periods MQWs in Fig. 1) is disposed between the electron-injection layer and the holeinjection layer (claim 4), the well layers (3 nm In0.08Ga0.92N) comprise the InzGa1-zN (claim 7), the barrier layers (9 nm Al0.15Ga0.85N) comprise the AlyGa1-yN (claim 9), and the well layers (3 nm In0.08Ga0.92N) comprise the InzGa1-zN and the barrier layers (9 nm Al0.15Ga0.85N) comprise the AlyGa1-yN (claim 11).
Please refer to the explanations of the corresponding limitations above.
Regarding claim 17, Li et al. disclose a method of generating light (Fig. 3), the method comprising applying an electric field across an active region (InGaN/GaN/AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells) of a light-emitting device (Fig. 1), which is inherent for the light-emitting device structure shown in Fig. 1 of Li et al., the active region comprising: a well layer comprising InzGa1-zN, where 0 < z ≤ 0.3 (In0.08Ga0.92N on line 6 of left side column of page 884), or AlilnjGa1-i-jN, where 0 < i ≤ 1 and 0 < j ≤ 1; an interlayer comprising GaN; and a barrier layer comprising AlyGa1-yN, where 0 < y ≤ 1 (Al0.15Ga0.85N on line 7 of left side column of page 884), or AlkInlGa1-k-lN, where 0 < k ≤ 1 and 0 < l ≤ 1, whereby light is generated in the active region by the recombination of holes and electrons in the active region, which is inherent when an injection current shown in Fig. 3 of Li et al. flows through the light-emitting device structure shown in Fig. 1 of Li et al.
If Applicant can prove or show that it is not inherent that the method disclosed by Li et al. comprises applying an electric field across the active region of the light-emitting device, it would still have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that a first electrically conductive contact can be in electrical communication with a first side of the active region; a second electrically conductive contact can be in electrical communication with a second, opposing side of the active region, wherein the first electrically conductive contact, the second electrically conductive contact, and a voltage source are configured to apply an electric field across the active region, because an n-side electrode has been commonly formed on an n-GaN layer and a p-side electrode has been commonly formed on a p-GaN layer in GaN-based light-emitting diodes in semiconductor industry to operate the GaN-based light-emitting diodes with a voltage source; in this case, the first electrically conductive contact, the second electrically conductive contact, and the voltage source would be configured to apply an electric field across the active region.
Claims 12, 13, 16 and 25, as best understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as obvious over Li et al. (“High-efficiency near-UV light-emitting diodes on Si substrates with InGaN/GaN/AlGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells,” Journal of Materials Chemistry C 8 (2020) 883) The teachings of Li et al. are discussed above.
Regarding claims 12, 13 and 25, Li et al. differ from the claimed invention by not showing that the AlyGa1-yN or AlkInlGa1-k-lN of at least one of the one or more quantum wells has an Al content that increases or decreases through a thickness of the barrier layer (claim 12), wherein the AlyGa1-yN or AlkInlGa1-k-lN of at least one of the one or more quantum wells has a graded composition through a thickness of the barrier layer (claim 13), and the AlyGa1-yN of at least one of the one or more quantum wells has a graded composition through a thickness of the barrier layer (claim 25).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the AlyGa1-yN or AlkInlGa1-k-lN of at least one of the one or more quantum wells can have an Al content that increases or decreases through a thickness of the barrier layer, wherein the AlyGa1-yN or AlkInlGa1-k-lN of at least one of the one or more quantum wells can have a graded composition through a thickness of the barrier layer, because (a) it has been commonly practiced in semiconductor industry to form an AlGaN layer having a gradient composition when the AlGaN layer is in contact with other material layers having a distinct material compositions than the AlGaN layer, (b) for example, the 10 nm-thick Al0.09Ga0.91N barrier layer shown in Fig. 4B of current application is in contact with an underlying GaN interlayer, and therefore, it would have been better for the bottommost portion of the 10 nm-thick Al0.09Ga0.91N barrier layer to have a zero Al content such that the bottommost portion of the AlGaN barrier layer has the same material composition with the underlying GaN interlayer, (c) the claimed Al content profile that increases or decreases through the thickness of the barrier layer would also allow the AlGaN barrier layer to apply strain to the InGaN well layer to obtain a desired spectrum of wavelength of light emitted from the light-emitting device, and (d) it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use, In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Regarding claim 16, Li et al. differ from the claimed invention by not showing that at least one of the InzGa1-zN, AlilnjGa1-i-jN, GaN, AlyGa1-yN, or AlkInlGa1-k-lN is externally doped with a p-type or n-type dopant.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that at least one of the InzGa1-zN, AlilnjGa1-i-jN, GaN, AlyGa1-yN, or AlkInlGa1-k-lN can be externally doped with a p-type or n-type dopant, because (a) Applicants do not specifically claim what the phrase “externally doped” implies, and what the source and process of the external doping is, (b) therefore, when any of the material compositions recited above are doped intentionally or unintentionally, the doping process can be referred to be “externally doped”, (c) also, the limitation “externally doped” is directed to a product by process limitation, (d) it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that at least one of the InzGa1-zN, AlilnjGa1-i-jN, GaN, AlyGa1-yN, or AlkInlGa1-k-lN can be (externally) doped with a p-type or n-type dopant since (i) Applicants do not specifically claim where these material compositions are located out of the “one or more quantum wells”, and how much at least one of them are doped, (ii) therefore, the claimed InzGa1-zN, AlilnjGa1-i-jN, GaN, AlyGa1-yN, and AlkInlGa1-k-lN can be the bottommost InzGa1-zN, AlilnjGa1-i-jN, GaN, AlyGa1-yN, and AlkInlGa1-k-lN, and (iii) it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the bottommost InzGa1-zN, AlilnjGa1-i-jN, GaN, AlyGa1-yN, or AlkInlGa1-k-lN can be (externally) doped with a p-type or n-type dopant as the n-type dopant contained in the n-GaN layer shown in Fig. 1 of Li et al. would diffuse into at least one of the bottommost InzGa1-zN, AlilnjGa1-i-jN, GaN, AlyGa1-yN, and AlkInlGa1-k-lN layer during the deposition of the 9-periods MQWs shown in Fig. 1 of Li et al. due to the growth process at an elevated temperature to obtain high quality semiconductor layers, which is conducive to diffusion of the already-deposited atoms into the subsequently deposited material layers.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
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Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAY C KIM whose telephone number is (571) 270-1620. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM EST.
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/JAY C KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815
/J.K./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815 October 29, 2025
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