DETAILED ACTION
The office action sent 3/27/2026 has been withdrawn and a new Non-final rejection recited below.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of 1-14 in the reply filed on 2/5/2026 is acknowledged.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see page 6 of the arguments, filed 6/29/2026, with respect to the rejection(s) of claim 1 under 102(a)(2) have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made in view of Lee (US 2015/0137072).
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, 8-9, and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102a(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lee (US 2015/0137072).
With regard to claim 1, figs. 2d and 5 of Lee discloses a semiconductor structure, comprising: a first substrate 1; a mask layer 20, located on the first substrate 1, wherein the mask layer 20 is provided with a window 22 exposing the first substrate 1, the window 22 comprises an open end (top of 22), and an area of an orthographic projection of the open end (top of 22) on a plane where the first substrate 1 is located is less (width of opening 22 less than distance from bottom of left sidewall to top right sidewall of 22 along the horizontal plane) than an area of an orthographic projection of the window 22 on the plane (horizontal plane) where the first substrate 1 is located; and a second substrate 4 and a first epitaxial layer 5, wherein the second substrate 4 and the first epitaxial layer 5 are located in the window 22, and the first epitaxial layer 5 is located on a side (top of 4), away from the first substrate 1, of the second substrate 4.
With regard to claim 2, figs. 2d and 5 of Lee discloses that the window 22 further comprises a bottom end (bottom of 22) located on a surface of the first substrate 1, and the orthographic projection of the open end (top of 22) on the plane where the first substrate 1 is located is at least partially staggered from the bottom end (bottom of 22).
With regard to claim 3, figs. 2d and 5 of Lee discloses that the window 22 is an oblique columnar window 22.
With regard to claim 4, figs. 2d and 5 of Lee discloses that the window 22 further comprises a bottom end (bottom of 22) located on a surface of the first substrate 1, and the orthographic projection of the open end (top of 22) on the plane where the first substrate 1 is located is within an orthographic projection of the bottom end (bottom of 22) on the plane of the bottom end (bottom of 22) on the plane where the first substrate 1 is located.
With regard to claim 8, figs. 2d and 5 of Lee discloses that a material of the first epitaxial layer MQW comprises any one or a combination of a GaN-based material (“InGaN”, par [0053]), a GaAs-based material, and an InP-based material.
With regard to claim 9, figs. 2d and 5 of Lee discloses that a second epitaxial layer (p-GaN in fig. 5) located on a side, away from the first substrate 1, of the first epitaxial layer MQW, wherein a material of the second epitaxial layer (p-GaN in fig. 5) is any one or a combination of a GaN-based material (“p-GaN”, par [0053]), a GaAs-based material and an InP-based material.
With regard to claim 14, figs 2d and 5 of Lee discloses that a material of the first substrate 1 comprises at least one of silicon (“silicon substrate”, par [0053]), germanium, sapphire and silicon carbide.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 5-7, and 10-13 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.
Regarding claim 5, Lee (US 2015/0137072) does not disclose a cross-sectional area of the window gradually decreases in a direction from the bottom end to the open end.
Regarding claim 6, Lee (US 2015/0137072) does not disclose a material of the second substrate is any one of monocrystalline silicon, monocrystalline germanium, monocrystalline silicon germanium, and monocrystalline silicon carbide. Claim 7 depends on objected claim 6 and is also objected. Regarding claim 10, Lee (US 2015/0137072) does not disclose that the second epitaxial comprises: an N-type semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a P-type semiconductor layer stacked in sequence. Claim 11 depends on objected claim 10 and is also objected.
Regarding claim 12, Lee (US 2015/0137072) does not disclose that the second epitaxial comprises: a channel layer and a barrier layer stacked in sequence. Claim 13 depends on objected claim 12 and is also objected.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN T LIU whose telephone number is (571)272-6009. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11:00am-7:30pm.
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, Yara J Green can be reached at 571 270-3035. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/BENJAMIN TZU-HUNG LIU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
Prosecution Insights