This Office Action is in response to the response filed on August 17, 2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I, claims 1-15, is acknowledged. Claims 16-20 are withdrawn from further consideration.
Claims 14 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claim 14 is indefinite because “the gate insulating film” (last line) lacks clear antecedent basis in that claim 14 earlier recites “the gate insulating film” (line 7) and “a gate insulating film” (line 13). Claim 14’s “a gate insulating film” (line 13) should apparently be “the gate insulating film.”
Claim 15 depends on claim 14 and is thus similarly indefinite.
Claims 1-6 and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim (United States Patent Application Publication 2022/0173128).
As to independent claim 1, Kim discloses a display device (see the entire reference, including the Fig. 5 disclosure), comprising:
a circuit layer ACT disposed on a substrate SUB and comprising a first transistor; and a light-emitting element LED disposed on the circuit layer and electrically connected to the first transistor, wherein
the first transistor comprises:
a first active area CA;
a first drain electrode DA disposed on a side of the first active area;
a first source electrode SA disposed on another side of the first active area;
a gate insulating film GI disposed on the first active area;
an oxygen-providing film OS2 disposed on the gate insulating film; and
a first gate electrode GE disposed on the oxygen-providing film, and
the oxygen-providing film has a higher oxygen ratio than the gate insulating film.
As to dependent claim 2, Kim’s oxygen-providing film OS2 overlaps the first active area CA in the first transistor.
As to dependent claim 3, Kim’s first active area CA is disposed under the oxygen-providing film OS2.
As to dependent claim 4, Kim’s oxygen-providing film OS2 directly contacts the gate insulating film GI, and the gate insulating film directly contacts the first active area CA.
As to dependent claim 5, Kim’s oxygen-providing film OS2 is spaced apart from the first active area CA, and the gate insulating film GI is disposed between the oxygen-providing film and the first active area.
As to dependent claim 6, an amount of oxygen released from Kim’s oxygen-providing film OS2 is greater than an amount of oxygen released from the gate insulating film GI.
As to dependent claim 13, Kim’s first active area CA comprises at least one of an ITGZO-based semiconductor, an ITGO-based semiconductor, and an IGO-based oxide semiconductor (page 3, paragraphs [0052 and 0057]).
Claims 7-12 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.
Registered practitioners can telephone the examiner at (571) 272-1843. Any voicemail message left for the examiner should include the registration number of the registered practitioner calling. The examiner’s supervisor is Wael Fahmy, whose telephone number is (571) 272-1705.
/MARK V PRENTY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2814
