DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to Amendment filed March 25, 2026.
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventors, at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
(1) As originally disclosed in paragraph [0027] and [0055] of current application, Applicants did not originally disclose what the material compositions of the first and second period layer are such that “Al composition of the first period layer of the nth period is greater than Al composition of the first period layer of the (n+1)th period, and Al composition of the second period layer of the nth period is greater than Al composition of the second period layer of the (n+1)th period; or Al composition of the first period layer of the nth period is greater than Al composition of the first period layer of the (n+1)th period, and the Al composition of the second period layer of the nth period is less than Al composition of the second period layer of the (n+1)th period” as disclosed in paragraph [0055] of current application, which is recited on lines 6-11 of claim 11.
(2) In addition, Applicants originally disclosed in paragraph [0054] of current application that “Optionally, the V-shaped groove enlargement layer 2 is a first superlattice structure including a plurality of periods, and the minimum repeating unit of the V-shaped groove enlargement layer 2 includes any of AlxGa(1-x)N/AlyGa(1-y)N and AlN/AlxGa(1-x)N/AlyGa(1-y)N, and x>y (emphasis added).” Therefore, the amended claim 11 reciting that “the first period layer and the second period layer comprise AlxGa(1-x)N and AlyGa(1-y)N respectively, and x>y” on lines 3-4 implies that the optionally selected AlxGa(1-x)N and AlyGa(1-y)N would exhibit the Al composition profiles where “Al composition of the first period layer of the nth period is greater than Al composition of the first period layer of the (n+1)th period, and Al composition of the second period layer of the nth period is greater than Al composition of the second period layer of the (n+1)th period; or Al composition of the first period layer of the nth period is greater than Al composition of the first period layer of the (n+1)th period, and the Al composition of the second period layer of the nth period is less than Al composition of the second period layer of the (n+1)th period” as disclosed in paragraph [0055] of current application, which Applicants did not originally disclose in any specific manner.
(3) Even if arguendo Applicants originally disclosed that the Al composition profiles where “Al composition of the first period layer of the nth period is greater than Al composition of the first period layer of the (n+1)th period, and Al composition of the second period layer of the nth period is greater than Al composition of the second period layer of the (n+1)th period; or Al composition of the first period layer of the nth period is greater than Al composition of the first period layer of the (n+1)th period, and the Al composition of the second period layer of the nth period is less than Al composition of the second period layer of the (n+1)th period” disclosed in paragraph [0055] of current application are constructed from one of the exemplar sets of the material compositions disclosed in paragraph [0054] of current application, the originally disclosed and the claimed Al composition profiles recited on lines 6-11 of claim 11 do not have to be achieved by the pair of AlxGa(1-x)N and AlyGa(1-y)N recited on lines 3-4 of the amended claim 11, but rather can be achieved by the set of AlN/AlxGa(1-x)N and AlyGa(1-y)N, which was also disclosed in paragraph [0054] of current application.
(4) Therefore, the claim limitations of the amended claim 11 fail to comply with the written description requirement, because Applicants did not originally disclose any specific pair of material compositions for the first and second period layer for the Al composition profiles recited on lines 6-11 of claim 11.
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 and 11 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 2, it is not clear how “a first superlattice structure” of the V-shaped groove enlargement layer recited on line 12 of claim 1 can be “a multi-layer structure comprising one or more of AlN, AlGaN, GaN, InGaN and AlInGaN (emphasis added)”, because (a) when there is only one of AlN, AlGaN, GaN, InGaN and AlInGN for the V-shaped groove enlargement layer, the V-shaped groove enlargement layer cannot be “a first superlattice structure”, which should comprise at least four sub-layers such as AlN/GaN/AlN/GaN, and (b) the V-shaped groove enlargement layer, which is a superlattice structure, should comprise at least two distinct material compositions and at least four sub-layers, and therefore, depending on whether the “AlN, AlGaN, GaN, InGaN and AlInGaN” are material compositions or sub-layers, the phrase “one or more of” should correspond to certain, but unspecified, lower limits of the number of material compositions or the number of sub-layers.
(2) Regarding claim 11, it is not clear how the newly added limitation “the first period layer and the second period layer comprise AlxGa(1-x)N and AlyGa(1-y)N, respectively, and x>y” recited on lines 3-4 can exhibit the Al composition profiles recited on lines 6-11, because (a) the material compositions expressed by the formulas of AlxGa(1-x)N and AlyGa(1-y)N, and x>y appear to be directed to constant or uniform x and y values since otherwise the relationship x>y may not be well-defined, (b) if arguendo the limitations directed to the Al composition profiles recited on lines 6-11 are associated with the claimed AlxGa(1-x)N and AlyGa(1-y)N, it is not clear whether the relationship of “AlxGa(1-x)N and AlyGa(1-y)N, respectively, and x>y” recited on lines 3-4 should be met for all of the periods including the n-th and (n+1)th periods, or the relationship of “AlxGa(1-x)N and AlyGa(1-y)N, respectively, and x>y” recited on lines 3-4 can be met for only one of the periods including the n-th and (n+1)th periods.
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, 2 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) or (a)(2) as being anticipated by Meyer et al. (US 2018/0083160)
In the below prior art rejection, the claim limitation “groove enlargement” specifies an intended use or field of use, because any layer that enlarges an underlying groove, whether they are a light emitting layer, a buffer layer, a nucleation layer, a channel layer, etc., can be referred to as a groove enlargement layer, and is treated as non-limiting since it has been held that in device claims, intended use must result in a structural difference between the claimed invention and the prior art in order to patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art. If the prior art structure is capable of performing the intended use, then it meets the claim. In re Casey, 152 USPQ 235 (CCPA 1967); In re Otto, 136 USPQ 458, 459 (CCPA 1963). A claim containing a “recitation with respect to the manner in which a claimed apparatus is intended to be employed does not differentiate the claimed apparatus from a prior art apparatus” if the prior art apparatus teaches all the structural limitations of the claim. Ex Parte Masham, 2 USPQ 2d 1647 (Bd. Pat. App. & Inter. 1987).
Regarding claims 1, 2 and 19, Meyer et al. disclose a semiconductor structure (Figs. 2 and 4), comprising: a substrate (6 in Fig. 2) ([0036]); a V-shaped groove layer (2 in Fig. 4), a V-shaped groove enlargement layer (3) ([0034]) and a semiconductor epitaxial layer (1) ([0004], [0009], [0036] and [0039]) stacked from bottom to top, wherein the V-shaped groove enlargement layer is a multi-layer structure (plurality of pairs of 31 and 32n); a first V-shaped groove (V-shaped groove of 2 in Fig. 4), located on a surface of the V-shaped groove layer (2) close to the V-shaped groove enlargement layer (3); and a second V-shaped groove (V-shaped groove of topmost 31 or recess 4) ([0044]), located on a surface of the V-shaped groove enlargement layer (3) close to the semiconductor epitaxial layer, wherein a size of the second V-shaped groove is greater than a size of the first V-shaped groove, and the semiconductor epitaxial layer (1) fills the second V-shaped groove (4) and is located on the V-shaped groove enlargement layer, wherein the V-shaped groove enlargement layer (3) is a first superlattice structure, the V-shaped groove enlargement layer comprises a plurality of sub-layers (31 and 32n), and a surface of each of the plurality of sub-layers away from the V-shaped groove layer (2) comprises a V-shaped groove corresponding to the second V-shaped groove, a topmost V-shaped groove (4) is the second V-shaped groove, and an opening width or an opening depth of the V-shaped groove in each of the plurality of sub-layers (31 and 32n) gradually increases along a direction from the V-shaped groove layer (2) to the semiconductor epitaxial layer (1) (claim 1), wherein the V-shaped groove enlargement layer (3) is a multi-layer structure comprising one or more of AlN, AlGaN, GaN, InGaN and AlInGaN ([0042]) (claim 2), and a projection of the second V-shaped groove (4) on the substrate (6) corresponds to a projection of the first V-shaped groove (V-shaped groove in 2) on the substrate in a one-to-one relationships (claim 19).
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 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Meyer et al. (US 2018/0083160) The teachings of Meyer et al. are discussed above.
Meyer et al. further disclose for the semiconductor structure according to claim 1 that the V-shaped groove enlargement layer (3) comprises a plurality of periods (plurality of periods of 31 and 32n).
Meyer et al. differ from the claimed invention by not showing that a minimum repeating unit of each of the plurality of periods comprises any one of AlxGa(1-x)N/ AlyGa(1-y)N and AlN/ AlxGa(1-x)N/ AlyGa(1-y)N, and x>y.
Meyer et al. further disclose in paragraph [0042] that “The quantum well layers 31 and the barrier layers 32 may be based on a III-V compound semiconductor material, for instance on gallium nitride”, that “For example, the quantum well layers are indium gallium nitride layers and the barrier layers are gallium nitride layers”, and that “Furthermore, the active zone 3 may contain indium or aluminum, wherein the indium content and the aluminum content in the quantum well layers 31 and in the barrier layers 32 may differ from each other (emphases added).”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that a minimum repeating unit of each of the plurality of periods can comprise any one of AlxGa(1-x)N/ AlyGa(1-y)N and AlN/ AlxGa(1-x)N/ AlyGa(1-y)N, and x>y, because (a) Meyer et al. disclose aluminum-containing active zone 3, (b) Applicants do not specifically claim what the x and y values are, and therefore, y can be zero, in which case, the above expressions would be AlxGa(1-x)N/GaN and AlN/ AlxGa(1-x)N/GaN, (c) it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the minimum repeating unit of each of the plurality of periods can be AlGaN/GaN, i.e. the former expression recited in claim 10, since (i) the V-shaped groove enlargement layer 3 is an active zone or a light emitting layer of a light emitting device, and (ii) a quantum well layer formed of GaN and a barrier layer formed of AlGaN have been commonly employed to manufacture light emitting devices emitting light with a wavelength corresponding to the bandgap of GaN, and (d) if y is not zero, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the minimum repeating unit of each of the plurality of periods can be AlxGa(1-x)N/ AlyGa(1-y)N since such (i) the V-shaped groove enlargement layer 3 is an active zone or a light emitting layer of a light emitting device, and (ii) a quantum well layer and a barrier layer both formed of AlGaN with different Al composition ratios have been commonly employed to manufacture light emitting devices emitting light with a wavelength corresponding to the bandgap of AlGaN, which corresponds to ultraviolet.
Response to Arguments
Applicants’ arguments with respect to claim 1 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
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Chen et al. (US 12,538,615)
Applicants' amendment necessitated the new grounds of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicants are 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 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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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joshua Benitez can be reached at (571) 270-1435. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/JAY C KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815
/J. K./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815 April 17, 2026
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