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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-14 group II [method of making] in the reply filed on 03/31/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 15-20 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 filed on 03/31/2026.
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 13-14 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.
Claims 13-14 recites the limitation "the second anode" in claim 13. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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, 5, 8, and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20220093893 A1 Zhang et al here after “Zhang and further in view of US 20240057464 A1 Eguchi et al here after “Eguchi”.
Claim 1 Zhang teaches a method of manufacturing a display panel, the method comprising:
forming a lower layer (a1 fig. 5) on a base layer (10 fig. 5);
forming a preliminary anode (a2 and a3 fig. 5) including a first initial layer (a2 fig. 5) and a second initial layer (a3 fig. 5) sequentially laminated on the lower layer [explicitly disclosed paragraph 0005 “the auxiliary electrode layer includes a first protective electrode, a metal electrode and a second protective electrode which are laminated in a direction that is perpendicular to and away from the substrate” wherein the electrode layers qualify as anodes and the protective electrode qualifies as a lower layer];
patterning the preliminary anode so as to form an anode including a first layer (d fig. 8 and 30 fig. 13) and a second layer (c fig. 8 and 40 fig. 13 ) [sufficiently illustrated fig. 5-8, and 14];
forming an emission part (60 fig. 18) on the anode; and
forming a cathode (70 fig. 20) on the emission part,
wherein the patterning of the preliminary anode includes:
forming a photoresist layer(b fig. 6 and e fig. 9) on the second initial layer;
etching the first and second initial layers so as to form the first layer and the second layer respectively from the first initial layer and the second initial layer [sufficiently illustrated fig. 7 and 8];
removing the photoresist layer [sufficiently illustrated fig. 13]; and
a removal step [fig. 10-11],
wherein the lower layer includes a first portion overlapping the anode and a second portion exposed from the anode [sufficiently illustrated fig. 10, a1 contacting d], and
at least a part of the second portion is removed during at least one of the removing of the first removal step [sufficiently illustrated fig. 10-11, a1 not contacting d fig. 10, the examiner is relying on the embodiment of during “the first cleaning”].
Zhang does not explicitly teach the removal step is a first cleaning nor at least a part of the second portion is removed during at least one of the removing of the photoresist layer or the first cleaning
Eguchi teaches cleaning after etching for the benefit of removal of residual gas components, residues and deposited matter [sufficiently disclosed Paragraph 0126].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zhang in view of Eguchi such that “the removal step is a first cleaning”.
The reason for making such a modification is that combining and/or substituting equivalents known for the same purpose is prima facie type obviousness [See MPEP 2144.06]. in this both the removal process of Zhang and the cleaning process of Eguchi are known for removing residual material such as the second portion of the lower layer after an etching process.
In view of the above modification the limitation “at least a part of the second portion is removed during at least one of the removing of the photoresist layer or the first cleaning” is necessarily met wherein the removal step is embodies during “the first cleaning”.
Claim 5 Zhang in view of Eguchi teach the method of claim 1,
Zhang in view of Eguchi does not explicitly teach wherein the first cleaning is performed for about 30 seconds to about 120 seconds.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Zhang in view of Eguchi such that “the first cleaning is performed for about 30 seconds to about 120 seconds”.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to as a part of routine optimization of the result affected variables defects (residual material and/ matter) on the surfaces cleaned [the amount of material removed in particular amount of time is determined by the materials etch (strip/clean) rate for the given etchant and/or cleaning solution] and residual water saturating the substrate during the cleaning process [Sufficiently disclosed paragraph 0236 Eguchi]. [See MPEP 2144.05 II]
Claim 8 Zhang in view of Eguchi teach as shown above the method of the method of
wherein the second portion is entirely removed during one of the removing of the photoresist layer or the first cleaning, thus forming a lower pattern from the lower layer, and
wherein the lower pattern corresponds to the first portion [sufficiently illustrated a1 fig. 10 patterned to 20 fig. 11 Zhang in view of the modification Eguchi the removal process is a cleaning process as shown above].
Claim 12 Zhang in view of Eguchi teach as shown above the method of claim 1, wherein the base layer includes a silicon wafer [10 is disclosed with sufficient specificity as comprising silicon and illustrated as a fig. 4, “silicon” disclosed paragraph 0068-0069 Zhang in “materials of the buffer layer 13 may include an inorganic material, such as silicon nitride, silicon oxide, and silicon oxynitride” and “Optionally, materials of the active layer pattern 14 may include a semiconductor material, such as polysilicon, amorphous silicon, and oxide semiconductors” ].
Claims 2-4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Eguchi as shown above and in further view of US 20210273167 A1 Liu et al here after Liu.
Claim 2 Zhang in view of Eguchi teach the method of claim 1,
Zhang in view of Eguchi does not teach a strip solution is used in the removing of the photoresist layer, and the lower layer is soluble in the strip solution.
Liu teaches a cleaning process comprising a striping solution (deionized water, acetone, and surfactant) that includes a photoresist strip process [Disclosed Paragraph 0029].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zhang in view of Eguchi in further view of Liu such that “a strip solution is used in the removing of the photoresist layer, and the lower layer is soluble in the strip solution”.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to reduce the number of step and/or processing fluids in the manufacturing process and/or cost of the manufacturing process [this need is evidenced by US 20060024855 A1 Sano Paragraph 0003 “he photolithography process, however, needs a number of steps after depositing an object to be patterned, such as photoresist coating, resist pre-bake, pattern exposure, pre-development bake, development, post-bake, etching, ashing, resist stripping, and washing, resulting in higher cost of manufacturing facilities. In addition, a large amount of chemicals, deionized water, gas and the like needs to be used, leading to higher operation cost for materials, wastewater treatment and the like”].
Further combining equivalents known for the same purpose is prima facie type obviousness [See MPEP 2144.06], in this case it is cleaning processes for removing residual material.
Claim 3 Zhang in view of Eguchi teach the method of claim 1, wherein
Zhang in view of Eguchi does not explicitly teach the first cleaning solution is used in the first cleaning, and the lower layer is soluble in the first cleaning solution.
Liu teaches a cleaning process comprising a striping solution (deionized water, acetone, and surfactant) [Disclosed Paragraph 0029].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zhang in view of Eguchi in further view of Liu such that “the first cleaning solution is used in the first cleaning, and the lower layer is soluble in the first cleaning solution”.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to necessarily strip and/or clean the lower layer and/or remove residual material from the underlying layers for further manufacturing processes with the cleaning processes.
Further combining equivalents known for the same purpose is prima facie type obviousness [See MPEP 2144.06], in this case it is cleaning processes for removing residual material.
Claim 4 Zhang in view of Eguchi and Liu teach the method of claim 3, wherein the first cleaning solution includes deionized (DI) water [met in view of Liu as shown above].
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Eguchi as shown above and in further view of US 20130285042 A1 Komatsu et al hereafter “Komatsu”.
Claim 6 Zhang in view of Eguchi teaches the method of claim 1, wherein
the first initial layer includes metal (sufficiently disclosed Paragraph 0085 Zhang “The material of the second conductive film may include a metallic material, such as metallic aluminum, metallic molybdenum, metallic silver, or an alloy”), and
the second initial layer includes a transparent conductive oxide ( sufficiently disclosed Paragraph 0085 Zhang “the third conductive film may include a transparent conductive material, such as indium tin oxide (ITO) or indium zinc oxide (IZO)”).
Zhang does not teach the lower layer includes any one of tungsten oxide and molybdenum titanium.
Komatsu teaches the tungsten oxide is formed between the auxiliary wiring and the transparent electrode material to form a Schottky ohmic contact [Sufficiently disclosed paragraph 0066].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zhang in view of Eguchi in further view of Komatsu such that “the lower layer includes any one of tungsten oxide and molybdenum titanium”.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to form a Schottky ohmic contact and/or achieve the desired work function with anode and/or transparent conductive electrode layers.
In addition, it is prima facie type obviousness to select a known material for its known material properties [See MPEP 2144.06] in this case it is its conductive properties and wet etch and/or clean selectivity and/or solubility.
Claim 7 Zhang in view of Eguchi teaches the method of claim 1,
Zhang in view of Eguchi does not explicitly teach a thickness of the lower layer is about 10 nanometers or less.
Komatsu teaches it is desirable to guarantee at least 2 nm for stable Schottky ohmic contact between the auxiliary wiring in the hole injection layer, and to guarantee at least 2 nm for stable Schottky ohmic contact between the hole injection layer and the metal layer. A thickness of at least 4 nm in total is therefore considered even more desirable [sufficiently disclosed paragraph 0078].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zhang in view of Eguchi in further view of Komatsu such that “a thickness of the lower layer is about 10 nanometers or less”.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to ensure stable Schottky ohmic contact.
Claims 13-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhang in view of Eguchi as shown above and in further view of US 20220384747 A1 Sun et al hereafter “Sun”.
Claim 13 Zhang in view of Eguchi teaches as shown above the method of claim 1, further comprising, after the forming of the cathode:
forming an encapsulation layer (80 fig. 20) on the cathode; and a second anode (disclosed with sufficient specificity in view of the diode/pixel array as illustrated fig. 21)
Zhang in view of Eguchi does not teach forming, on the encapsulation layer, a color filter layer including a first color filter overlapping the first anode and a second color filter overlapping the second anode.
Sun teaches after forming a cathode (33 fig. 8),
Forming an encapsulation layer (40 fig. 9) on the cathode,
Forming, on the encapsulation, a color filter layer (60, 51, 52, 53 fig. 10) including a first color filter (52 fig. 10) overlapping the first anode and a second color filter overlapping a second anode (sufficiently disclosed in view of the LED array illustrated fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zhang in view of Eguchi in further view of Sun such that “forming, on the encapsulation layer, a color filter layer including a first color filter overlapping the first anode and a second color filter overlapping the second anode”.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to achieve the desired resulting light color and/or to filter the light into its RGB components.
Claim 14 Zhang in view of Eguchi and Sun teach the method of claim 13,
Zhang in view of Eguchi does not teach forming a lens layer including a first mounted lens arranged on the first color filter and a second mounted lens arranged on the second color filter.
Sun teaches forming a lens layer including a first mounted lens (72 fig. 12) arranged on the first color filter and a second mounted lens arranged on the second color filter (sufficiently disclosed in view of the LED array as illustrated fig. 1).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zhang in view of Eguchi in further view of Sun such that “forming, on the encapsulation layer, a color filter layer including a first color filter overlapping the first anode and a second color filter overlapping the second anode”.
A person of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make this modification to achieve enlarge an image displayed by the LED array [sufficient disclosed paragraph 0009 Sun “the thickness adjusting layer and the micro-lens layer are configured to enlarge an image displayed by the plurality of island-shaped display regions”] and/or to direct the light and/or focus the light produced by the emission layer/LED.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-11 allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 9 recites the limitation “a third portion that is thinner than the second portion,
the third portion is entirely removed during the first cleaning”
Claim 10 and dependent claims recites the limitation “a part of the second portion is removed during the patterning of the preliminary anode, thus forming a fourth portion that is thinner than the second portion, the fourth portion is entirely removed during the second cleaning”.
During the course of search the examiner did not find prior art that teaches the disclosed limitations in the of the rest of the claim limitations nor obvious reason to modify prior art of record such that all limitation are met.
As allowable subject matter has been indicated, applicant's reply must either comply with all formal requirements or specifically traverse each requirement not complied with. See 37 CFR 1.111(b) and MPEP § 707.07(a).
Claims 9-11 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.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to William C Trice whose telephone number is (703)756-1875. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30am-5:00pm.
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/WCT/Examiner, Art Unit 2893
/Britt Hanley/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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