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 .
Response to Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention I, claims 1-15 and 20 in the reply filed on 1/9/2026 is acknowledged.
Invention II, claims 16-19 are withdrawn.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant's claim for foreign priority based on an application KR 10-2022-0121572 filed in Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) on 9/26/2022 and receipt of a certified copy thereof.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) filed on 7/21/2023 and IDS filed on 12/6/2023 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the IDSs are considered by the examiner.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure does not commence on a separate sheet in accordance with 37 CFR 1.52(b)(4) and 1.72(b). A new abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text.
Claim Objections
Claims 1, 4, 10, 16 and 18 are objected to because of the following informalities:
In claim 1, line 6, “fan-out lines disposed in a metal layer” should read --fan-out lines formed of a metal layer-- (emphasis added).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sano et al. (US 2017/0256600; hereinafter ‘Sano’) in view of Lee et al. (US 2013/0037804; hereinafter ‘Lee’), Kim et al. (US 2020/0395419; hereinafter ‘Kim’), and Yamazaki et al. (JP 2008-53700; hereinafter ‘Yamazaki’).
Regarding claim 12, Sano teaches a display device (DSP, Figures 1-3, [0021]) comprising:
a first substrate (SUB1, [0022]) comprising a first contact hole (a contact hole for T, [0058]; hereinafter ‘CH1’);
an insulating layer (11 of IL, [0052, 0101]) disposed on the first substrate (SUB1);
a first barrier insulating layer (12 of IL) disposed on the insulating layer (11);
fan-out lines (P1 and 3, [0052]; hereinafter ‘FOL’) disposed in a metal layer (6) on the first barrier insulating layer (12) and comprising pad portions (P1) inserted into second contact holes (contact holes for FOL, FIGS. 3 and 5, [0067]) provided in the first barrier insulating layer (12) and the insulating layer (11);
a second barrier insulating layer (13 of IL) disposed on the metal layer (6);
a second substrate (transparent resin 14, [0033], wherein the term “second substrate” is broadly interpreted as a base member including a polymer resin in view of Applicant’s specification [0086]) disposed on the second barrier insulating layer (13); and
a display layer (a display layer including OLED, FIG. 2, [0029]) disposed on the second substrate (14).
Sano does not teach the display device comprising: a laser absorption layer disposed on the first substrate and containing amorphous silicon; a third contact hole provided in the second barrier insulating layer, the first barrier insulating layer, and the laser absorption layer disposed between the pad portions; wherein the second substrate comprises an etched portion recessed from a surface of the laser absorption layer.
Lee teaches a display device (101, FIG. 1, [0032]) comprising: a laser absorption layer (200, [0033]) disposed on the first substrate (100) and containing amorphous silicon (200 containing amorphous silicon, [0046]).
As taught by Lee, one of ordinary skill in the art would utilize and modify the above teaching into Sano to obtain and achieve the display device comprising: a laser absorption layer disposed on the first substrate and containing amorphous silicon as claimed, because such a layer absorbs incident laser energy and protects underlying layers, thereby improving device reliability [0045-0046]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to employ the teaching as taught by Lee in combination with Sano due to above reason.
Sano in view of Lee does not teach the display device comprising: a third contact hole provided in the second barrier insulating layer, the first barrier insulating layer, and the laser absorption layer disposed between the pad portions; wherein the second substrate comprises an etched portion recessed from a surface of the laser absorption layer.
Kim teaches a display device (FIG. 4A, [0074]) comprising: a third contact hole (a continuous opening including BOP, UOP, OP1, and OP1’, FIG. 6B, [0149-0150]; hereinafter ‘CH3’) provided in the second barrier insulating layer and the first barrier insulating layer disposed between the pad portions (CH3 provide through multiple insulating layers corresponding the first and second barrier insulating layers and formed in a pad area PDA, [0146]); wherein the second substrate (an imide-based polymer 119, FIG. 4A, [0119], wherein the term “second substrate” is broadly interpreted as a base member including a polyimide in view of Applicant’s specification [0086]) comprises an etched portion recessed from a surface of an insulating layer (recessed profile formed relative to 117, FIG. 4A, [0098]).
As taught by Kim, one of ordinary skill in the art would utilize and modify the above teaching into Sano in view of Lee to obtain and achieve the display device comprising: a third contact hole provided in the second barrier insulating layer and the first barrier insulating layer disposed between the pad portions; wherein the second substrate comprises an etched portion recessed from a surface of the insulating layer as claimed, because forming a contact hole as one single, continuous opening extending through multiple insulating layer enables reliable electrical connection between conductive layers at different depths and improves step coverage [0150, 152-154]. Furthermore, providing a recessed portion at a region where an upper layer contacts an underlying insulating layer accommodates underlying topography and prevents corrosion propagation, thereby enhancing structural reliability [0135-0138].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to employ the teaching as taught by Kim in combination with Sano in view of Lee due to above reason.
Sano in view of Lee and Kim does not teach the display device comprising: a third contact hole provided in the laser absorption layer; wherein the second substrate comprises an etched portion recessed from a surface of the laser absorption layer.
Yamazaki teaches a display device [0001] comprising: a third contact hole(790, Figure 1, [0034]) provided in the laser absorption layer (790 extending through 721, Figure 1 (D)); wherein the second substrate (a polyimide polymer 302, Figure 4, [0091, 0178], wherein the term “second substrate” is broadly interpreted as a base member including a polyimide in view of Applicant’s specification [0086]) comprises an etched portion (304 and 306, Figure 4 (C) and (D), [0093]) recessed from a surface of the laser absorption layer (301).
As taught by Yamazaki, one of ordinary skill in the art would utilize and modify the above teaching into Sano in view of Lee and Kim to obtain and achieve the display device comprising: a third contact hole provided in the laser absorption layer; wherein the second substrate comprises an etched portion recessed from a surface of the laser absorption layer as claimed, because forming a contact hole as a single, continuous opening extending through multiple layers enables simply and reliable electrical connection [0168], furthermore, such a recessed portion, having a predetermined shape and depth, defines a region in which a conductive material can be formed and enhances structural control within the opening [0096-0097].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to employ the teaching as taught by Yamazaki in combination with Sano in view of Lee and Kim due to above reason.
Regarding claim 13, Sano in view of Lee, Kim, and Yamazaki teaches the display device, but does not explicitly teach the display device wherein adjacent pad portions among the pad portions are spaced apart from each other with the etched portion disposed between the adjacent pad portions.
Kim, however, teaches pad portions arranged to define a space therebetween (FIG. 3, [0075]), where an opening portion is formed corresponding to the space between adjacent conductive elements.
Further, Yamazaki teaches that an opening (i.e., etched portion) is selectively formed in a region to electrically connect conductive layers [0005-0007, 0027].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to employ and modify the teachings of Kim and Yamazaki to obtain and achieve the display device wherein adjacent pad portions among the pad portions are spaced apart from each other with the etched portion disposed between the adjacent pad portions as claimed, because the spacing between adjacent pad portions inherently defines an available region in which an opening or recessed structure may be formed (Kim, [0075]), and selectively forming such an opening at a desired region for electrical connection allows efficient layout and integration without interfering with pad functionality (Yamazaki, [0005-0007, 0027]).
Regarding claim 14, Sano in view of Lee, Kim, and Yamazaki teaches the display device of claim 12, but does not explicitly teach the display device wherein side surfaces of adjacent pad portions among the pad portions are exposed by the third contact hole.
Yamazaki, however, teaches forming an opening (i.e., contact hole) through stacked layers and subsequent etching, whereby side surfaces of underlying structures are exposed along sidewalls of the opening (Figure 4, [0092-0093]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to employ and modify the teachings of Yamazaki to obtain and achieve the display device wherein side surfaces of adjacent pad portions among the pad portions are exposed by the third contact hole as claimed, because when an opening is formed between adjacent structures, side surfaces of the structures are inherently exposed at the opening extends therebetween, thereby enabling electrical connection and structural definition [0092-0093].
Regarding claim 15, Sano in view of Lee, Kim, and Yamazaki teaches the display device of claim 12, but does not explicitly teach the display device wherein the third contact hole has an undercut structure in which an upper area is smaller than a lower area of the third contact hole.
Yamazaki, however, teaches an opening having a tapered shape [0051], with its profile controllable through laser etching conditions to achieve a predetermined shape and depth [0096-0097], such that the taper may be formed in either direction depending on process conditions, including a configuration in which a lower portion is wider than an upper portion or vice versa.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to employ and modify the teachings of Yamazaki to obtain and achieve the display device wherein the third contact hole has an undercut structure in which an upper area is smaller than a lower area of the third contact hole as claimed, because the tapered shape achieves a desired opening profile through controlled laser etching processing, resulting in different cross-sectional areas at different depths and allowing the opening to be formed with a predetermined shape and depth.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-11 and 20 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The applied prior art neither anticipates nor renders the claimed subject matter obvious because it fails to teach the claimed a silicon carbide semiconductor device,
“the second substrate is inserted into a third contact hole provided in the second barrier insulating layer, the first barrier insulating layer, and the laser absorption layer disposed between the pad portions” as in the context of claim 1, and
“the second substrate is inserted into a third contact hole provided in the second barrier insulating layer, the first barrier insulating layer, and the laser absorption layer disposed between the pad portions” as in the context of claim 20.
In particular, while the applied prior art teaches forming contact holes through multiple layers, including insulating layers and a laser absorption layer (e.g., Sano, Kim, and Yamazaki), and further teaches polymer-based substrates or base members disposed over such layers (e.g., Sano), the prior art fails to disclose or suggest a structure in which a portion of the second substrate is inserted into a contact hole extending through the second barrier insulating layer, the first barrier insulating layer, and the laser absorption layer.
In the applied prior art, the substrate or polymer-based layer is merely disposed over the stacked layers, whereas the claimed invention requires that a portion of the second substrate extend into and occupy a contact hole that penetrates through the second barrier insulating layer, the first barrier insulating layer, and the laser absorption layer, thereby establishing a distinct positional and structural relationship with respect to the laser absorption layer and surrounding layers that is not shown or suggested by the prior art.
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
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/JIYOUNG OH/Examiner, Art Unit 2818
/DUY T NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818 5/4/26
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