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 .
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(s) 1-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over TAKABAYASHI(USPGPUB DOCUMENT: 2012/0243824, hereinafter TAKABAYASHI) in view of Iguchi (USPGPUB DOCUMENT: 2003/0151057, hereinafter Iguchi) and Jung (USPGPUB DOCUMENT: 2020/0313397, hereinafter Jung).
Re claim 1 TAKABAYASHI discloses in Fig 1A/1B a semiconductor light-receiving device comprising: an input optical waveguide(20) disposed on a substrate(30); a tapering optical waveguide(21) disposed on the substrate(30) and connected to the input optical waveguide(20); and a light detection unit(22) disposed on the substrate(30) and connected to the tapering optical waveguide(21), wherein the input optical waveguide(20) includes a first core(32 in region of 20) and a first cladding layer(33 in region of 20), the first core(32 in region of 20) being disposed between the substrate(30) and the first cladding layer(33 in region of 20), the tapering optical waveguide(21) has a width increasing in a direction from the input optical waveguide(20) toward the light detection unit(22) (see Fig 1A), the tapering optical waveguide(21) includes a second core(32 in region of 21) and a second cladding layer(33 in region of 21), the second core(32 in region of 21) being disposed between the substrate(30) and the second cladding layer(33 in region of 21), the second core(32 in region of 21) being optically coupled to the first core(32 in region of 20), the light detection unit(22) includes a light-absorbing layer(37), a first III-V compound semiconductor layer(38/31) of a first conductivity type(n-type)[0061], the light-absorbing layer(37) being disposed between the substrate(30) and the first III-V compound semiconductor layer(38/31), the light-absorbing layer(37) being optically coupled to the second core(32 in region of 21),
TAKABAYASHI do not discloses a second III-V compound semiconductor layer(38) of the first conductivity type(n-type)[0061], the first III-V compound semiconductor layer(38/31) being disposed between the light-absorbing layer(37) and the second III-V compound semiconductor layer(38), the second III-V compound semiconductor layer(38) having a dopant concentration higher than a dopant concentration of the first III-V compound semiconductor layer(38/31), and the second core(32 in region of 21) has a first thickness[0040 of Jung], and the light-absorbing layer(37) has a second thickness[0040 of Jung], the second thickness[0040 of Jung] being smaller than the first thickness[0040 of Jung] (since the thickness[0040 of Jung] of 32 in region of 21 in Fig 1A is smaller than the thickness[0040 of Jung] of 37 in region 22, it may be interpreted that the second thickness[0040 of Jung] being smaller than the first thickness[0040 of Jung]).
Iguchi discloses a second III-V compound semiconductor layer(26a/b/c of Iguchi) of the first conductivity type(n-type)[0055,0056 of Iguchi],
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to apply the teachings of Iguchi to the teachings of TAKABAYASHI in order to realize sufficient absorption of light [0005, Iguchi]. In doing so, the first III-V compound semiconductor layer(38/31) being disposed between the light-absorbing layer(37) and the second III-V compound semiconductor layer(26a/b/c of Iguchi)
TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi do not discloses the second core(32 in region of 21) has a first thickness[0040 of Jung], and the light-absorbing layer(37) has a second thickness[0040 of Jung], the second thickness[0040 of Jung] being smaller than the first thickness[0040 of Jung]; the second III-V compound semiconductor layer(38) having a dopant concentration higher than a dopant concentration of the first III-V compound semiconductor layer(38/31),
Jung disclose the second core(214) has a first thickness[0040], and the light-absorbing layer(212) has a second thickness[0040], the second thickness being smaller than the first thickness;
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to apply the teachings of Jung to the teachings of TAKABAYASHI in order to achieve long-term reliability [0030, Jung].
TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung do not discloses the second III-V compound semiconductor layer(38) having a dopant concentration higher than a dopant concentration of the first III-V compound semiconductor layer(38/31),
Although the combination of TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung do not discloses the second III-V compound semiconductor layer(38) having a dopant concentration higher than a dopant concentration of the first III-V compound semiconductor layer(38/31), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to disclose the second III-V compound semiconductor layer(38) having a dopant concentration higher than a dopant concentration of the first III-V compound semiconductor layer as the result effective variable meet the claims as varied through routine experimentation in order to optimize the functionality of the device and when the prior art discloses the general conditions of the claimed invention, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only ordinary skill in the art to optimize the light emitting characteristics[0005, Iguchi]. See MPEP 2144.05.
Further, the specification contains no disclosure of either the critical nature of the claimed invention or any unexpected results arising therefromRe claim TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the law is replete with cases in which the difference between the claimed invention and the prior art is some range or other variable within the claims. In such a situation, the applicant must show that the particular range is critical, generally by showing that the claimed range achieves unexpected results relative to the prior art range. In reWoodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990)
Re claim 2 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the first III-V compound semiconductor layer(38/31) has a third thickness[0040 of Jung], and the second III-V compound semiconductor layer(38) has a fourth thickness[0040 of Jung], the third thickness[0040 of Jung] being smaller than the fourth thickness[0040 of Jung].
Re claim 3 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 2, wherein the third thickness[0040 of Jung] is smaller than the second thickness[0040 of Jung].
Re claim 4 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 2, wherein the third thickness[0040 of Jung] is 300 nm or less.
Re claim 5 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 2, wherein the fourth thickness[0040 of Jung] is 400 nm or less.
Re claim 6 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the second III-V compound semiconductor layer(38) has a cross-section orthogonal to a thickness[0040 of Jung] direction of the second III-V compound semiconductor layer(38), wherein an area of the cross-section is 8 μm2 or more and 120 μm2 or less.
Re claim 7 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the light detection unit(22) further includes a third III-V compound semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type[0058], the third III-V compound semiconductor layer being disposed between the substrate(30) and the light-absorbing layer(37).
Re claim 8 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 7, wherein a thickness[0040 of Jung] of the third III-V compound semiconductor layer is 300 nm or less.
Re claim 9 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 7, wherein the light detection unit(22) further includes a fourth III-V compound semiconductor layer of an i-type, the fourth III-V compound semiconductor layer being disposed between the third III-V compound semiconductor layer and the light-absorbing layer(37).
Re claim 10 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 9, wherein the fourth III-V compound semiconductor layer includes GaInAsP.
Re claim 11 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 9, wherein a thickness[0040 of Jung] of the fourth III-V compound semiconductor layer is 300 nm or less.
Re claim 12 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the light detection unit(22) further includes a first electrode(27/28) connected to the second III-V compound semiconductor layer(38).
Re claim 13 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 12, further comprising a fifth III-V compound semiconductor layer of a second conductivity type[0058], the fifth III-V compound semiconductor layer being disposed between the substrate(30) and the light detection unit(22).
Re claim 14 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 13, further comprising a second electrode(27/28) connected to the fifth III-V compound semiconductor layer.
Re claim 15 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 14, wherein a series resistance between the first electrode(27/28) and the second electrode(27/28) is 60 ohm or less.
Re claim 16 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 14, wherein a capacitance between the first electrode(27/28) and the second electrode(27/28) is 40 femtofarad or less.
Re claim 17 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 12, wherein a junction area between the first electrode(27/28) and the second III-V compound semiconductor layer(38) is 80 μm2 or less.
Re claim 18 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the second thickness[0040 of Jung] is 500 nm or less.
Re claim 19 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 1, wherein at an interface between the tapering optical waveguide(21) and the light detection unit(22), an upper surface of the second cladding layer(33 in region of 21) is closer to the substrate(30) than a lower surface of the second III-V compound semiconductor layer(38) is to the substrate(30).
Re claim 20 TAKABAYASHI and Iguchi and Jung disclose the semiconductor light-receiving device according to claim 1, wherein the first cladding layer(33 in region of 20) has a fifth thickness[0040 of Jung] at an input end face of the input optical waveguide(20) and a sixth thickness[0040 of Jung] at an output end face of the input optical waveguide(20), the sixth thickness[0040 of Jung] being smaller than the fifth thickness[0040 of Jung].
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim(s) 1-20 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
Conclusion
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/PATRICIA D VALENZUELA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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