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 group I in the reply filed on 06/24/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 26-30 are withdrawn since claims 26-30 have anti reflective layer, buffer grid, barrier grid; which were not present in the elected group, since those layers and grids make the invention in claim 26 mutually exclusive from the claim 1.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the claim 2 limitation “and a distance between the fifth sidewall and the sixth sidewall decreases as a distance from the substrate increases”; and the claim limitation 22 “a metal grid and a nitride grid between the metal grid and the oxide grid”; must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 2 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. With respect to claim limitation “a distance between the fifth sidewall and the sixth sidewall decreases as a distance from the substrate increases” is not shown any where in the specification.
Claims 22-25 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 applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. With respect to claim limitation “a metal grid and a nitride grid between the metal grid and the oxide grid”, is no where presented in the specification.
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.
Claim(s) 1,3-7,10,21 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Cheng et al (US Pub No. 20180374884).
With respect to claim 1, Cheng et al discloses a grid structure (all 313) over the substrate (where 101 is formed), wherein from a cross-sectional view, the grid structure comprises: a first grid (the middle one) having a lower portion (306a) that has a first sidewall (left sidewall) and a second sidewall (right sidewall) opposing the first sidewall; and a second grid over the first grid (308 in the middle), the second grid having a third sidewall (left side) and a fourth sidewall opposing the third sidewall (right sidewall), wherein a distance between the third sidewall and the fourth sidewall (in the x direction) is less than a distance between the first sidewall and the second sidewall (in the x direction); and a color filter extending through the grid structure (Fig.4).
With respect to claim 3, Cheng et al discloses, wherein from the cross-sectional view (Fig.4), the first grid of the grid structure has an upper portion (portion of 306a near it’s top side and it’s top side included), and a top end of the upper portion of the first grid (it’s top surface) has a narrower width than a bottom end of the upper portion of the first grid (Fig.4) .
With respect to claim 4, Cheng et al discloses the top end of the upper portion of the first grid (it’s top side) has a same width as a bottom end of the second grid (because they are in direct contact with each other), and the bottom end of the upper portion of the first grid (horizontal line in middle of the 306) has a same width as a top end of the lower portion of the first grid (because the bottom portion ends in the middle of the 306).
With respect to claim 5, Cheng et al discloses wherein from the cross-sectional view, the top end of the upper portion of the first grid (it’s top surface,Fig.4) has a narrower width than a top end of the lower portion of the first grid (the horizontal line in the middle of the first grid).
With respect to claim 6, Cheng et al discloses wherein from the cross-sectional view, the bottom end of the upper portion of the first grid (as was described above,Fig.4) has a wider width (Fig.4) than a bottom end of the second grid (the bottom side of the second grid,Fig.4).
With respect to claim 7, Cheng et al discloses wherein from the cross-sectional view, the upper portion of the first grid has a trapezoidal profile (portion of the first grid from the middle to it’s top side,Fig.4).
With respect to claim 10, Cheng et al discloses wherein the first grid (Para 50) is made of a different material than the second grid (Para 58).
With respect to claim 21, Cheng et al discloses: a substrate (where 106 is formed); a grid structure over the substrate (313), wherein from a cross-sectional view, the grid structure comprises: an oxide grid (308, para 55 silicon oxide) the oxide grid having a lower portion that has a first sidewall (lower portion= from it’s middle portion to it’s lower side; the lower portion’s let sidewall) and a second sidewall (right sidewall) opposing the first sidewall; and an oxynitride grid over the oxide grid (310, para 57) the oxynitride grid having a third sidewall (left sidewall) and a fourth sidewall (right sidewall) opposing the third sidewall, wherein a distance between the third sidewall and the fourth sidewall (in x axis) is less than a distance between the first sidewall and the second sidewall (Fig.4); and a color filter extending through the grid structure (316).
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) 8-9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheng et al (US Pub No. 20180374884), in view of Chou et al (US Pub No. 20160276394).
With respect to claim 8, Cheng et al does not explicitly disclose wherein from the cross-sectional view, the lower portion of the first grid has a rectangular profile. On the other hand, Chou et al discloses that wherein from the cross-sectional view, the lower portion of the first grid (124,Fig.1A) has a rectangular profile (Fig.1A). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the filing of the invention to modify Cheng et al according to the teachings of the Chou et al such that the lower portion of the first grid has a rectangular profile as a design choice.
With respect to claim 9, Chou et al discloses wherein from the cross-sectional view, the second grid (126,Fig.1B) has a rectangular profile (Fig.1b).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ALI N NARAGHI whose telephone number is (571)270-5720. The examiner can normally be reached 10am-6pm.
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/ALI NARAGHI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817
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