DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
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.
Domestic Benefit
No claim to an application for domestic benefit.
Foreign Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers (i.e., application number 202211477432.2 filed in China on 11/23/2022) required by 37 CFR 1.55, electronically retrieved 09/01/2023.
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
The following title is suggested:
-- MULTI-QUANTUM WELL SEMICONDUCTOR STRUCTURE INCLUDING A SCANDIUM NITRIDE INSERTATION LAYER --.
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.
Claims 1-4, 6, 8-10, 12-14 AND 16-17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by CN 114975704 A to Xie et al. (“Xie”).
Regarding independent claim 1, Xie teaches in Figure 1 of a semiconductor structure (see Technical field: “The invention relates to the technical field of semiconductor, especially relates to a LED epitaxial wafer and preparation method.”), comprising:
a first semiconductor layer 10 (translation; “the substrate 10 (substrate) is a wafer made of semiconductor” OR see translation “the existing GaN-based epitaxial LED comprises a substrate, and a low-temperature buffer sequentially, a three-dimensional nucleation layer, an un-doped GaN layer, an N-type GaN layer” such that the claimed layer may be the N-type GaN layer) (bolded for emphasis);
a multiple quantum well layer 720 formed on the first semiconductor layer 10, wherein the multiple quantum well layer 720 comprises a plurality of quantum barrier layers 721 (GaN) and a plurality of quantum well layers 710 alternately arranged;
an insertion layer 722 (ScAlGaN) formed on each of the plurality of quantum well layers 710; and
a second semiconductor layer 80 (or as per translation: “and depositing a P-type layer on the multi-quantum well layer”) formed on the multiple quantum well layer 720;
wherein a material of the insertion layer 722 is a nitride containing a scandium component (ScAlGaN).
Regarding claim 2, Xie teaches wherein the material of the insertion layer 722 comprises one or more combinations of ScxGa1-xN, ScxAlyGa1-x-yN (i.e., ScAlGaN), ScxInyGa1-x-yN, or ScxAlyInzGa1-x-y-zN.
Regarding claim 3, Xie teaches wherein a content of the scandium component x in the insertion layer is greater than or equal to 0.01 and less than or equal to 0.5 (see translation: “the ScAlGaN layer is ScaAlbGa1-a-bN layer, wherein a is 0.1 to 0.18”: this is squarely within the claimed range).
Regarding claim 4, Xie teaches wherein the semiconductor structure comprises a plurality of insertion layers 722, and in a direction from the first semiconductor layer 10 to the multiple quantum well layer 720, a content change of the scandium Sc component of each of the plurality of insertion layers 722 comprises one or more combinations of uniform invariance, linear increasing, linear decreasing, stepped increasing, stepped decreasing, and delta changing (see translation: “Further, in the M of the first periodic structure, the ScaAlbGa1-a-bN layer in the Sc component a gradually reduced from bottom to top”).
Regarding claim 6, Xie teaches wherein a doping type of the insertion layer is n-type doping (see translation: “Further, the doping elements of the first sub-layer and the second sub-layer are Si, and the doping concentration thereof is as follows: 1 E18 ~ 5E18atoms/cm3”; this is therefore n-type) or p-type doping.
Regarding claim 8, Xie’s Figure 1 teaches wherein in a direction from the first semiconductor layer (see claim 1 rejection supra; “N-type GaN layer”) to the multiple quantum well layer 720, the insertion layer 722 is a multi-layer structure (see Figure 1).
Regarding claim 9, Xie teaches wherein materials of the multi-layer structure are the same and comprise one of ScxGa1-xN, ScxAlyGa1-x-yN (see entire specification ScAlGaN), ScxInyGa1-x-yN, or ScxAlyInzGa1-x-y-zN.
Regarding claim 10, Xie teaches wherein the multi-layer structure comprises a first scandium component layers and a second scandium component layer, away from the quantum well layer, stacked in layers (i.e., because the claim does not require a difference in Sc – therefore Xie teaches this limitation by having multiple 722).
Regarding claim 12, Xie teaches wherein materials of the multi-layer structure are different and comprise a combination of multiple sequential structures or periodic structures of ScxGa1-xN, ScxAlyGa1-x-yN (see translation: “the component of Al in the Sc-containing component quantum barrier layer is gradually increased, so that the closer to the P-type electron blocking layer of Al is higher”: therefore Al is a different combination because of different concentration), ScxInyGa1-x-yN, or ScxAlyInzGa1-x-y-zN.
Regarding claim 13, Xie teaches wherein a content of the scandium component x in the multi-layer structure is the same or different (translation “Further, in the M of the first periodic structure, the ScaAlbGa1-a-bN layer in the Sc component a gradually reduced from bottom to top” – therefore Sc concentration changes).
Regarding claim 14, Xie teaches wherein the insertion layer comprises a plurality of sub-regions in a horizontal direction (given the broadest reasonable interpretation: this is a broad claim such that 722 may be divided into sub-regions in a horizontal direction such as edges versus middle portion).
Regarding claim 16, Xie teaches wherein the quantum well layer is an InGaN quantum well layer 710, and the quantum barrier layer is a GaN quantum barrier layer 721 (further see translation: “Substrate 10). Buffer layer 20). Three-dimensional nucleating layer 30). Two-dimensional merged layer 40. Undoped GaN layer 50). N-type GaN layer 60). Multi-quantum well layer 70 InGaN quantum well layer 710 A quantum barrier layer containing Sc component 720 GaN layer 721 ScAlGaN layer 722. P-type layer 80). P-type electron blocking layer 810 P-type non-doped GaN layer 820 P-type Mg-doped GaN layer 830 P-type contact 840” (bolded for emphasis)).
Regarding claim 17, Xie teaches wherein the first semiconductor layer is an n-type layer (see claim 1 rejection supra: “N-type GaN layer”), the second semiconductor layer 80 (i.e., 830 is P-type and part of 80; see translation: “Substrate 10). Buffer layer 20). Three-dimensional nucleating layer 30). Two-dimensional merged layer 40. Undoped GaN layer 50). N-type GaN layer 60). Multi-quantum well layer 70 InGaN quantum well layer 710 A quantum barrier layer containing Sc component 720 GaN layer 721 ScAlGaN layer 722. P-type layer 80). P-type electron blocking layer 810 P-type non-doped GaN layer 820 P-type Mg-doped GaN layer 830 P-type contact 840”) is a p-type layer (see translation: “and depositing a P-type layer on the multi-quantum well layer”), and materials of the first semiconductor layer (“N-type GaN layer”) and the second semiconductor layer 830 are GaN-based materials (as quoted directly above).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5, 7, 11 and 15 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claim 5 contains allowable subject matter, because the closest prior art of record, singularly or in combination, fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the other elements of claim 5, wherein the semiconductor structure comprises a plurality of insertion layers, and a thickness of each of the plurality of insertion layers is greater than or equal to 0.5 nm and less than or equal to 5 nm.
The prior art of Xie teaches of the Sc layer 722 being only 1-2 angstroms in order to control the stresses appropriately. Xie warns against a too thick 722 layer.
Claim 7 contains allowable subject matter, because the closest prior art of record, singularly or in combination, fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the other elements of claim 7, wherein the semiconductor structure comprises a plurality of insertion layers, and in a direction from the first semiconductor layer to the multiple quantum well layer, contents of the scandium component x in the plurality of insertion layers increase uniformly or jumps layer by layer.
Xie teaches of reducing the Sc concentration from bottom to top.
Claim 11 contains allowable subject matter, because the closest prior art of record, singularly or in combination, fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the other elements of claim 11, wherein a content of the scandium component x in the first scandium component layer is greater than a content of the scandium component x in the second scandium component layer.
Claim 15 contains allowable subject matter, because the closest prior art of record, singularly or in combination, fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the other elements of claim 15, wherein contents of the scandium component x in at least two sub-regions of the plurality of sub-regions are different.
Conclusion
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02 January 2026
/John P. Dulka/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817