DETAILED ACTION
This Office action is in response to the Election submitted on 26 August 2026. Claims 1-19 are pending in the application.
This application is a continuation of application Serial No. 17/654,221, filed on 09 March 2022, now US Patent 12,635,296; which is a continuation of application Serial No. 16/990,349; filed on 11 August 2020; now US Patent 11,342,484.
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 Invention I, on which claims 1-12 are readable, in the reply filed on 26 August 2026 is acknowledged. Claims 13-19 are hereby withdrawn from consideration.
Specification
The originally-filed specification is objected to under 35 U.S.C. 132(a) because it introduces new matter into the disclosure. The added material which is not supported by the original disclosure is as follows: Paragraph [0515] of parent application 16/990,349, now US Patent 11,342,484, and paragraph [0516] of parent application 17/654,221, now US Patent 12,635,296, disclose “The present disclosure uniquely utilizes the sublimation of Lithium-Fluoride LiF bulk crystal within a Knudsen cell to provide a compositional constituent of both Li and F which is co-deposited during elemental Ga and Al beams under an activated oxygen environment supplying the growth surface. Such a technique enables the incorporation of Li and F atoms within an epitaxially formed Ga.sub.2O.sub.3 or LiGaO.sub.2 host.” However, the specification of the instant application discloses material which was not disclosed in the parent applications, such as, sublimating a lithium fluoride (LiF) bulk crystal within a Knudsen cell to provide both Li and F; co-depositing the Li and F with an elemental Ga beam under an activated oxygen environment; growing an epitaxial layer on a growth surface of a substrate, the epitaxial layer including the Li, the F, the Ga, and the activated oxygen within an epitaxially formed Ga.sub.2O.sub.3 or LiGaO.sub.2 host (paragraph [0017]). Admittedly, paragraph [0520] of the instant application is identical to paragraphs [0515] and [0516] of the patent applications, however, the method of paragraph [0017] is not disclosed in the parent application. Moreover, the parent applications do not disclose a method which further includes growing, on a growth surface of a substrate, an epitaxial layer including the Li, the F, the Ga, and the activated oxygen within an epitaxially formed Ga.sub.2O.sub.3 or LiGaO.sub.2 host, or a structure comprising a single crystal substrate and an epitaxial layer on the single crystal substrate, the epitaxial layer comprising the composition of matter of claim 1, wherein the single crystal substrate comprises Ga2O3, Al2O3, or LiGaO2, as set forth in claim 3 or a structure comprising a single crystal substrate and an epitaxial layer on the single crystal substrate, the epitaxial layer comprising the composition of matter of claim 7, wherein the single crystal substrate comprises Ga2O3, Al2O3, or LiGaO2, as set forth in claim 9.
Applicant should cancel the new matter in the reply to this Office Action.
Priority
This application repeats a substantial portion of prior Application No. 16/990,349, filed 11 August 2020, and adds disclosure not presented in the prior application. Because this application names the inventor or at least one joint inventor named in the prior application, it may constitute a continuation-in-part of the prior application.
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 and 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being clearly anticipated by Kanai et al., JP 2001-294853.
With respect to claim 1, Kanai et al. disclose a composition of matter comprising Li and F atoms (see paragraphs [0014]-[0016]) within a single crystal Ga2O3 host (see paragraphs [0009]-[0012]) comprising a monoclinic, orthorhombic, cubic, corundum, or hexagonal crystal symmetry (see paragraphs [0003] and [0013]: “This phosphor has a garnet structure”.).
With respect to claim 2, the composition of matter of Kanai et al. further comprises Al atoms, see paragraphs [0009]-[0012].
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.
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kanai et al., JP 2001-294853, in view of Marezio, the article entitled “The Crystal Structure of LiGaO2”.
With respect to claim 7, Kanai et al. disclose a composition of matter comprising Li and F atoms (see paragraphs [0014]-[0016]) within a single crystal LiGaO2 host (see paragraphs [0009], [0014], and [0015]). Kanai et al. lack anticipation of the LiGaO2 host comprising an orthorhombic or trigonal crystal symmetry.
With respect to claim 8, the composition of matter of Kanai et al. further comprises Al atoms, see paragraphs [0009]-[0012].
Claims 3-4 and 9-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kakushima et al., WO 2020/085214, in view of Kanai et al., JP 2001-294853.
With respect to claim 3, Kakushima et al. disclose a x-ray detector comprising a substrate (3) and an epitaxial layer (2) which is provided on the substrate, and on which radiation rays are incident, as shown in Fig. 1. Kanai et al. disclose a composition of matter of claim 1 which can be used in an x-ray detector, see paragraphs [0009]-[0012]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the composition of matter disclosed by Kanai et al. for the gallium oxide epitaxial layer used in the known x-ray detector of Kakushima et al., since the composition of matter disclosed by Kanai et al. has a high emission efficiency of X-rays, extremely slight afterglow and low radiation quality dependence, and provides a low-afterglow radiation detector capable of generating a high optical output even on a low-energy side.
With respect to claim 4, in the structure of Kakushima et al., the single crystal substrate comprises Ga2O3, see the Abstract.
With respect to claim 9, Kakushima et al. disclose a x-ray detector comprising a substrate (3) and an epitaxial layer (2) which is provided on the substrate, and on which radiation rays are incident, as shown in Fig. 1. Kanai et al. disclose a composition of matter of claim 7 which can be used in an x-ray detector, see the Abstract and paragraphs [0009]-[0012]. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute the composition of matter disclosed by Kanai et al. for the gallium oxide epitaxial layer used in the known x-ray detector of Kakushima et al., since the composition of matter disclosed by Kanai et al. has a high emission efficiency of X-rays, extremely slight afterglow, and low radiation quality dependence, and provides a low-afterglow radiation detector capable of generating a high optical output even on a low-energy side. Therefore, the combination of Kakushima et al. and Kanai et al. would yield a structure comprising a single crystal substrate and an epitaxial layer on the single crystal substrate, the epitaxial layer comprising the composition of matter of claim 7.
With respect to claim 10, in the structure of Kakushima et al., the single crystal substrate comprises Ga2O3, see the Abstract.
Claims 5-6 and 11-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kakushima et al., WO 2020/085214, in view of Kanai et al., JP 2001-294853, as applied to claims 3 and 9 above, further in view of Oda et al., EP 3 301 725.
Kakushima et al. and Kanai et al. are applied as above. Although in the structure of Kakushima et al., the single crystal substrate comprises Ga2O3, see the Abstract, neither Kakushima et al. nor Kanai et al. disclose the substrate comprises Al2O3 or
LiGaO2. However, Oda et al. disclose a semiconductor device comprising a crystalline oxide semiconductor layer formed on a crystalline substrate, see the section entitled “Film Formation Process”. Oda et al. disclose the substrate can comprise Ga2O3, Al2O3, or LiGa2O3 (lithium gallate) , see the section entitled “A Substrate”. Since Oda et al. discloses the functional equivalence of Ga2O3, Al2O3, or LiGa2O3 (lithium gallate) as a substrate for an oxide semiconductor film, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to substitute Al2O3 or LiGa2O3 for the Ga2O3 substrate used in the known structure of Kakushima et al.
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 5 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.
Claim 5 incorrectly indicates the substrate as comprising Al2O3.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MARY A WILCZEWSKI whose telephone number is (571)272-1849. The examiner can normally be reached M-TH 7:30 AM-5:00 PM.
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MARY A. WILCZEWSKI
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2898
/MARY A WILCZEWSKI/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
