DETAILED ACTION
This Office Action is in response to Application filed August 9, 2023.
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
Applicants’ election without traverse of Group II, Species B drawn to a semiconductor layer support as recited in claim 11 and Subspecies g drawn to the embodiment shown in Figs. 6A, 27 and 28B, claims 11, 12 and 14, in the reply filed on March 16, 2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claim 12 is 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.
(1) Regarding claim 12, it is not clear how “the formation surface” can be “provided with a groove” as recited on line 4, because (a) a two-dimensional object such as the formation surface cannot be provided with a three-dimensional object such as the groove, and (b) in other words, while the formation surface may be provided with a two-dimensional opening, the formation surface cannot exactly be provided with the groove.
(2) Further regarding claim 12, it is not clear how the groove can be formed to extend in the first and second direction that are parallel to the formation surface as recited on lines 4-6, because the groove is an empty space, and therefore, the extension direction of the groove may not be unambiguously defined, not to mention the two directions recited in claim 12.
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 11 and 12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Watanabe et al. (JP 2006086388 A, which Applicants filed on August 9, 2023 together with IDS; attached English translation of JP 2006086388 A is used for current Office Action)
Regarding claim 11, Watanabe et al. disclose a semiconductor layer support structure (structure shown in Fig. 5 after p-side electrode layer 21 and adhesive layer 23 are bonded, and before step shown in Fig. 6 is performed) comprising: a plurality of islands (islands comprising layers 13-15) (second and third paragraph under [First Embodiment] on page 4) each including a semiconductor layer (one or more of layers 13-15) containing a nitride semiconductor and a support (any arbitrary structure including contact metal layer 19 and/or connecting plug layer 20 (and insulating layer 17)) (last three paragraphs on page 4) formed on the semiconductor layer, because (a) the preposition “on” does not necessarily suggest “directly on”, (b) Applicants do not specifically claim what “a support” does, and what it is formed of, (c) Applicants’ support 13 in Fig. 27 of current application does not exactly support the underlying semiconductor layer 40, but rather is disposed between the semiconductor layer 40 and the adhesive member 14 just like the support 19/20 of Watanabe et al., and (d) the support 19/20 of Watanabe et al. would mechanically support the transfer substrate or retention substrate 22 after the two structures shown in Fig. 5 of Watanabe et al. are bonded to each other; and a retention substrate (22) (last paragraph on page 4) to which the supports of the plurality of islands are joined by using an adhesive member (23) (last paragraph on page 4), because (a) as can be seen in Fig. 5 of Watanabe et al., each support belonging to each island is bonded to the transfer substrate 22 via the single adhesive layer 23, (b) Applicants do not specifically claim what “a retention substrate” refers to, and (c) Applicants claim a structure rather than a method, and therefore, any substrate that is a part of the claimed semiconductor layer support structure can be referred to as “a retention substrate”, especially when Applicants do not specifically claim what the “retention substrate” retains.
Regarding claim 12, Watanabe et al. further disclose that the semiconductor layer (one or more of 13-15) has a formation surface (any surface of 13-15, especially top surface of 15) on which the support is formed, because the preposition “on” does not necessarily suggest “directly on”, wherein the formation surface is provided with a groove (gap between neighboring mesas comprising 13-15) formed to extend in a first direction (lateral or into/out of page direction) and a second direction (into/out of page or lateral direction) that are parallel to the formation surface and orthogonal to each other, and wherein a part of the support (17) fits into the groove and is joined to a bottom part and a side face of the groove.
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 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Watanabe et al. (JP 2006086388 A) The teachings of Watanabe et al. are discussed above.
Watanabe et al. differ from the claimed invention by not showing that the adhesive member is softer than the semiconductor layer and the support.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention that the adhesive member can be softer than the semiconductor layer and the support, because (a) an adhesive member has been commonly formed of a polymer material such as an epoxy resin, and (b) therefore, the adhesive member can be softer than the semiconductor layer and the support, both of which are formed of hard and sturdy materials to sustain the structural integrity of the device.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Minato et al. (US 2010/0320479)
Mitani et al. (US 2012/0241919)
Mizutani et al. (US 8,436,373)
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAY C KIM whose telephone number is (571) 270-1620. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM EST.
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/JAY C KIM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815
/J. K./Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815 April 14, 2026
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