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 .
DETAILED ACTION
In response to a restriction requirement mailed on 05/04/2026, the Applicant elected Invention I (Group) drawn to a micro-light-emitting diode encompassing claims 1-8, without traverse on 07/02/2026. Non-elected Invention II (Group II) drawn to a method encompassing claims 9-14 is withdrawn. Elected claims 1-8 are examined below.
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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 1-8 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Section 2173.02.I. of the MPEP provides the following guidance on how pre-issuance claims under examination are construed differently than patented claims:
Patented claims are not given the broadest reasonable interpretation during court proceedings involving infringement and validity, and can be interpreted based on a fully developed prosecution record. While "absolute precision is unattainable" in patented claims, the definiteness requirement "mandates clarity." Nautilus, Inc. v. Biosig Instruments, Inc., 527 U.S. __, 134 S. Ct. 2120, 2129, 110 USPQ2d 1688, 1693 (2014). A court will not find a patented claim indefinite unless the claim interpreted in light of the specification and the prosecution history fails to "inform those skilled in the art about the scope of the invention with reasonable certainty." Id. at 1689.
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The Office does not interpret claims when examining patent applications in the same manner as the courts. In re Packard, 751 F.3d 1307, 1312, 110 USPQ2d 1785, 1788 (Fed. Cir. 2014); In re Morris, 127 F.3d 1048, 1054, 44 USPQ2d 1023, 1028 (Fed. Cir. 1997); In re Zletz, 893 F.2d 319, 321-22 (Fed. Cir. 1989). The Office construes claims by giving them their broadest reasonable interpretation during prosecution in an effort to establish a clear record of what the applicant intends to claim. Such claim construction during prosecution may effectively result in a lower threshold for ambiguity than a court's determination. Packard, 751 F.3d at 1323-24, 110 USPQ2d at 1796-97 (Plager, J., concurring). However, applicant has the ability to amend the claims during prosecution to ensure that the meaning of the language is clear and definite prior to issuance or provide a persuasive explanation (with evidence as necessary) that a person of ordinary skill in the art would not consider the claim language unclear. In re Buszard, 504 F.3d 1364, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2007)( claims are given their broadest reasonable interpretation during prosecution "to facilitate sharpening and clarifying the claims at the application stage"); see also In re Yamamoto, 740 F.2d 1569, 1571 (Fed. Cir. 1984); In re Zletz, 893 F.2d 319, 322, 13 USPQ2d 1320, 1322 (Fed. Cir. 1989).
Here, the independent claim 1 is indefinite for three reasons:
First, it is unclear whether “the second anode” refers to “a second anode layer” or something else. For the purpose of advancing the examination of the instant application, “the second anode” has been interpreted as “the second anode layer.”
Second, it is unclear which “the corner mesa contact structures” in the last line of the claim 1 is referring to as “first to third corner mesa contact structures” have been recited.
Third, it is unclear what is meant by respectively, when the subject of “a cathode” and “a anode” in the last wherein clause is to be related to three apparent objects of “the first light-emitting structure, the first corner mesa contact structure and the second corner mesa contact structure.”
Claim 8 is further indefinite, because it is unclear what “the third corner mesa contact structure” is referring to.
Claims 2-8 are indefinite, because they depend from the indefinite independent claim 1.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 1021
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 1-3 and 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Pub. No. US 2021/0184076 A1 to Kim et al. ("Kim").
Fig. 5 of Kim has been annotated to support the rejections below:
[AltContent: arrow][AltContent: arrow][AltContent: textbox (CMCS3)][AltContent: textbox (CMCS1)][AltContent: textbox (CMCS2)][AltContent: arrow]
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Regarding independent claim 1, Kim teaches a micro-light-emitting diode having corner mesa contact structures comprising:
a substrate 5;
a first light-emitting structure 510, 520, 530 (para [0069] - “a first n-type semiconductor layer 510, a first active layer 520, a first p-type semiconductor layer 530”) formed on the substrate 5;
a first tunnel junction layer 540 (para [0069] - “a first tunnel junction layer 540”) formed on the light-emitting structure 510, 520, 530;
a first anode layer 550 (para [0072] - “The first contact n-type semiconductor layer 550 is formed on the first high-concentration n-type semiconductor layer 542.” The first contact n-type semiconductor layer 550 can be construed as an anode layer because it is electrically connected to a first anode 810.) formed on the first tunnel junction layer 540;
a second anode layer 650 (para [0074] - “a second contact n-type semiconductor layer 650”) formed on the first anode layer 550;
a second tunnel junction layer 640 (para [0074] - “a second tunnel junction layer 640”) formed on the second anode layer 650;
a second light-emitting structure 630, 620, 610 (para [0074] - “a second n-type semiconductor layer 610, a second active layer 620, a second p-type semiconductor layer 630”) formed on the second tunnel junction layer 640; and
a third light-emitting structure 730, 720, 710 (para [0079] - “a third n-type semiconductor layer 710, a third active layer 720, and a third p-type semiconductor layer 730.”) formed on the second light-emitting structure 630, 620, 610,
wherein the micro-light-emitting diode has first to third corner mesa contact structures CMCS1, CMCS2, CMCS3 formed by removing the higher layers relative to the first anode layer 550, the second anode 650, and a second n-type semiconductor layer 610 in the second light-emitting structure 630, 620, 610 to expose a portion of the upper surface of the first anode layer 550, the second anode layer 650, and the second n-type semiconductor layer 610, and
wherein the micro-light-emitting diode comprises a cathode 800 (para [0068] - “a common cathode 800”) commonly connected to the first light-emitting structure 510, 520, 530 and the second light-emitting structure 630, 620, 610 and an anode 810, 820 (para [0068] - “The currents flow from the first anode 810, the second anode 820, and the third anode 830 toward the common cathode 800 for a display operation.”) formed on the surface of the third light-emitting structure 730, 720, 710, the first corner mesa contact structure CMCS1, and the second corner mesa contact structure CMCS2, respectively, the cathode 800 and anode 810, 820 being connected to the top of the corner mesa contact structures CMCS3/CMCS1, CMS2, respectively.
Regarding claim 2, Kim teaches a current blocking layer 10 (para [0065] - “a first current blocking layer 10”) formed between the first anode layer 550 and the second anode layer 650.
Regarding claim 3, Kim teaches the current blocking layer 10 that consists of a p-type semiconductor or an insulating material (para [0073] - “The first current blocking layer 10 may be made of a P-type semiconductor or an insulating material.”).
Regarding claim 5, Kim teaches the first anode layer 550 and the second anode layer 650 that consist of an n-type semiconductor layer, the first anode layer 550 being connected in a reverse bias to the current direction of the first light-emitting structure 510, 520, 530 (para [0073] - “Due to a voltage applied to the first anode 810, the first contact n-type semiconductor layer 550 and the p-type first current blocking layer 10 are in a reverse-biased state.”), and the second anode layer 650 being connected in a reverse bias to the current direction of the second light-emitting structure 630, 620, 610 (para [0077] - “The second contact n-type semiconductor layer 650 is electrically connected to the second anode 820 to receive the second current. The second current flows through the second tunnel junction layer 640 which is in a reverse-biased state.”).
Regarding claim 6, Kim teaches the first light emitting structure 510, 520, 530 that generates light of a first wavelength (para [0070] - “The first active layer 520 forms light having a first wavelength and, preferably, blue light.”), the second light-emitting structure 630, 620, 610 that generates light of a second wavelength (para [0076] - “…it is preferable that the second active layer 620 form green light…”) that is longer than the first wavelength, and the third light-emitting structure 730, 720, 710 that generates light of a third wavelength (para [0092] - “it is preferable that the third active layer 720 form red light “) that is longer than the second wavelength.
Regarding claim 7, Kim teaches the light of the first wavelength is blue (B) (para [0070], the light of the second wavelength is green (G) (para [0076]), and the light of the third wavelength is red (R) (para [0092]).
Regarding claim 8, Kim teaches the first corner mesa contact structure CMCS1 that is formed by removing the higher layers relative to the first anode layer 550 to expose a portion of the upper surface of the first anode layer 550,
wherein the second corner mesa contact structure CMCS2 that is formed by removing the higher layers relative to the second anode layer 650 to expose a portion of the upper surface of the second anode layer 650, and
wherein the third corner mesa contact structure CMCS3 is formed by removing the higher layers relative to the second n-type semiconductor layer 610 to expose a portion of the upper surface of the second n-type semiconductor layer 610.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Pub. No. US 2024/0038822 A1 to Choi et al.
Pub. No. US 2020/0402964 A1 to Kim
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHAEL JUNG whose telephone number is (408) 918-7554. The examiner can normally be reached on 8:30 A.M. to 7 P.M.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Eliseo Ramos-Feliciano can be reached on (571) 272-7925. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MICHAEL JUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817 11 September 2026
1 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 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.
Prosecution Insights