DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to the Election filed on October 30, 2025.
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 .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application filed in Japan on June 29, 2022. It is noted, however, that applicant has not filed a certified copy of the Japanese application as required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Group I, claims 1-23 and 25 in the reply filed on October 30, 2025 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claim 24 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply.
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.
Claims 1-19 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang et al. (US Pub. 2016/0086984 A1) in view of Iwata et al. (US Pub. 2018/0374886 A1).
In re claim 1, Wang et al. shows (figs. 1A, 1B) a photoelectric conversion apparatus comprising a pixel having a first surface (102) and a second surface (bottom) and including an array of a plurality of photoelectric conversion elements (108) a charge accumulation (110a, 110b, etc.) region arranged in each of the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements and configured to accumulate signal charge; a transfer gate (122a, 122b, etc.) arranged on the first surface and configured to transfer the signal charge output from at least a corresponding one of the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements; a floating diffusion (126) portion arranged between the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements in a plan view from a side of the first surface; first surface,
In re claim 2, Wang and Iwata combined show all of the elements of the claims including in the plan view from the side of the first surface, an element isolation region (Wang; 106) is arranged between the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements, and a height of a potential barrier of the first charge leak region with respect to the signal charge is lower than a height of a potential barrier of the element isolation region with respect to the signal charge.
In re claim 3, Wang and Iwata combined show all of the elements of the claims including the element isolation region (Wang; 106) has a conductivity type different from the conductivity type of the charge accumulation region.
In re claim 4, Wang and Iwata combined show all of the elements of the claims including the first charge leak region (Iwata; 103, 106) is not in contact with the floating diffusion portion.
In re claim 5, Wang and Iwata combined show all of the elements of the claims including floating diffusion portion, a part of the element isolation region, the first charge leak region, and another part of the element isolation region are arranged in order from the first surface to the second surface.
In re claim 6, Wang and Iwata combined show all of the elements of the claims including the plan view from the side of the first surface, the first charge leak region is arranged at a position overlapping at least a part of each of the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements. In Iwata, the first charge leak region (Iwata, 103, 106) overlap the photoelectric elements.
In re claims 7-9, Wang and Iwata combined show all of the elements of the claims including the element isolation region (Wang; 106) includes a trench structure, wherein the floating diffusion portion, a part of the element isolation region, the first charge leak region, another part of the element isolation region, and the trench structure are arranged in order from the first surface to the second surface. The trench structure (Wang 106) contains at least either of insulating material and metal.
In re claim 10, Wang and Iwata combined show all of the elements of the claims including the transfer gate (Wng; 122) extends from the first surface to the second surface.
In re claim 11, Wang and Iwata combined show all of the elements of the claims including the floating diffusion portion (Wang; 126) is shared by the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements.
In re claim 12, Wang and Iwata combined show all of the elements of the claims including an amount of the signal charge moving between the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements via the first charge leak region is larger than an amount of the signal charge moving between the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements via the element isolation region. This inherently occurs since the combined structure and materials are the same as the claimed invention.
In re claims 13-15, Wang and Iwata combined show all of the elements of the claims including the first charge leak region is in contact with the charge accumulation region. A microlens is shared by the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements and is arranged on a side of the second surface is a typical element used in the art of semiconductors to focus light and improve conversion. The plurality of photoelectric conversion elements sharing the microlens may be arranged in two rows and two columns, since it has been held that discovering an optimum value of a result effective variable involves only routine skill in the art. In re Boesch, 617 F.2d 272, 205 USPQ 215 (CCPA 1980).
In re claims 16-19, Wang and Iwata combined show all of the elements of the claims including a second charge leak region is arranged between the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements and is in contact with the plurality of photoclectric conversion elements in the plan view from the side of the first surface, and the second leak region is not in contact with the first charge leak region. Iwata shows (fig. 14F) multiple charge leak regions (103, 106). A microlens is shared by the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements and the color filters on a side of the second surface is a typical element used in the art of semiconductors to focus light and improve conversion.
In re claim 25, In re claim 2, Wang and Iwata combined show all of the elements of the claims including equipment comprising: the photoelectric conversion apparatus according to claim 1.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 20-23 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
In re claim 20, the prior art references, alone or in combination, do not show a photoelectric conversion apparatus comprising: a first leak region arranged between the plurality of photoelectric conversion elements in the plan view from the side of the first surface, wherein the isolation region and the first charge leak region have a conductivity type different from a conductivity type of the charge accumulation region, wherein an impurity concentration for making the first charge leak region into a region of the conductivity type is lower than an impurity concentration for making the element isolation region into a region of the conductivity type, wherein the floating diffusion portion is arranged at a first depth from the first surface, wherein the first charge leak region is arranged at a second depth deeper than the first depth from the first surface, and wherein, in the plan view from the side of the first surface, the first charge leak region is arranged at a position overlapping at least a part of the floating diffusion portion.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Chen (US Pub. 2024/0079423 A1), Shimotsusa (US Pub. 2014/030541 A1), Morikawa (WO-2-23106156 A1), Enomoto (WO-2019/106983 A1), Wang (CN-115548040-A), and Mun (CN-113921549-A) show various elements of the claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MATTHEW E WARREN whose telephone number is (571)272-1737. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10am - 6pm.
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/MATTHEW E WARREN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815