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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) was submitted on 12/04/2023. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because the abstract contains information already present in the title. The abstract states “A light-receiving element includes a substrate…”. The title of the invention already states “light-receiving element”. The abstract should be corrected to not repeat information given in the title of the invention. A corrected abstract of the disclosure is required and must be presented on a separate sheet, apart from any other text. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Par. [0036] states “As shown in FIG. 1… a substrate 10, an n-type contact layer 21, a light receiving layer 31…”. It appears that paragraph [0036] is referring to figure 2, as figure 1 does not show the numerals 21, 31, or 10 but figure 2 does show the numerals stated in paragraph [0036]. Figure 2 should be included before introducing the numerals being described. One possible solution is to change the sentence to state “As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2…”.
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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) 1, 3, 6, 9 - 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20210066521 A1 hereinafter Iguchi in further view of US 20230118125 A1 hereinafter Yanai.
For claim 1, Iguchi teaches a light-receiving element (Iguchi, fig. 14) comprising: a substrate (fig. 14 numeral 10) having a first main surface (fig. 14 numeral 10a); a first contact layer provided on the first main surface (fig. 14 numeral 21), the first contact layer being of a first conductivity type (Par. [0052]); a light receiving layer provided on the first contact layer (fig. 14 numeral 22), a pixel separation adjusting layer provided on the light receiving layer (fig. 14 numeral 30), a second contact layer provided on the pixel adjusting layer, the second contact layer being of a second conductivity type (fig. 14 numeral 42); a plurality of first grooves separating the second contact layer and the pixel separation adjusting layer into a plurality of pixels in a first direction parallel to the first main surface (fig. 14 shows a first groove separating the second contact layer and the pixel separation layer into two pixels, see figure below; fig. 16 shows the first grooves formed in a plurality of first grooves; fig. 17 shows the device separated into pixels); a second groove formed in the second contact layer, the pixel separation adjusting layer, and the light receiving layer on an outer side of the plurality of the first groove in the first direction, the second groove reaching the first contact layer (fig. 14 shows a second groove on the outer side of the first groove coinciding with the electrode 61); a first electrode in contact at a bottom of the second groove with the first contact layer (fig. 14 numeral 61); and a second electrode provided on the second contact layer (fig. 14 numeral 62). Iguchi is silent regarding the light receiving layer have a plurality of first regions provided for each of the pixels, the first regions having a first electric resistance, and wherein the light-receiving element has a second region provided between the first regions adjacent to each other, the second region having a second resistance higher than the first electric resistance.
Yanai teaches a light-receiving element (Yanai, fig. 5) comprising: a substrate (fig. 5 numeral 2) having a first main surface (fig. 5 numeral 2a); a first contact layer provided on the first main surface (fig. 5 numeral 33), the first contact layer being of a first conductivity type (Par. [0031]); a light receiving layer provided on the first contact layer (fig. 5 numeral 31; Par. [0005]; Par. [0073]); a second contact layer provided on the light receiving layer, the second contact layer being of a second conductivity type (fig. 5 numeral 32; Par. [0031]); a plurality of first grooves separating the second contact layer into a plurality of pixels in a first direction parallel to the first main surface (fig. 5 shows grooves separating pixels 3A(3) and 3C(3) and separating pixels 3C(3) and 3B(3)); a second groove formed in the second contact layer, the light receiving layer on an outer side of the plurality of first grooves in the first direction, the second groove reaching the first contact layer (fig. 5 numeral 5D); a first electrode in contact at a bottom of the second groove with the first contact layer (fig. 5 numeral 12a) and a second electrode provided on the second contact layer (fig. 5 numeral 11). The light receiving layer has a first region provided for each pixels, the first region having a first electric resistance (fig. 5 shows the light receiving layer in each pixel, the first region being a part of the light receiving layer 31 and having the resistance of the light receiving layer) and wherein the light-receiving element has a second region between the first regions adjacent to each other (fig. 5 shows second regions marked by numeral 37) and wherein the second region has a second electric resistance higher than the first electric resistance (Par. [0035] describes the groove 37 electrically separating the pixels while being between the separated first regions of the light receiving layers. As the groove 37 electrically separates the pixels, it is a region with greater electrical resistance than the light receiving layer 31). Examiner is interpreting a region having a greater electrical resistance is to include areas where no electrical current substantially flows through based on the immediate specification paragraph [0046].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the immediate invention to combine the second regions with higher electrical resistances in Yanai with the light receiving element in Iguchi to prevent electrical damage caused by current surges or electrical faults traveling form pixel to pixel and/or to isolate each pixel (Yanai, Par. [0035]).
For claim 3, Iguchi and Yanai teach all of claim 1. Yanai also teaches the second region including third grooves each being continuous with a bottom surface of a corresponding one of the first grooves and extending into the light receiving layer (Yanai, fig. 5 numeral 37 shows a third groove in the first groove between pixels and extending into the light receiving layer 31).
For claim 6, Iguchi and Yanai teach all of claim 3. Yanai also teaches the third groves (Yanai, fig. 5 numeral 37) reaching the first contact layer (fig. 5 numeral 33).
For claim 9, Iguchi and Yanai teach all of claim 1. Iguchi also teaches a circuit board connected to the light-receiving element (Iguchi, fig. 17 numeral 200; Par. [0082]).
Claim(s) 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20210066521 A1 hereinafter Iguchi in view of US 20230118125 A1 hereinafter Yanai in further view of US 20150325726 A1 hereinafter Yasuhiro.
For claim 10, Iguchi and Yanai teach all of claim 9. Iguchi and Yanai area silent regarding a resin layer provided between the light-receiving element and the circuit board.
Yasuhiro teaches a light receiving device (Yasuhiro, fig. 7D numeral 1b), a circuit board connected to the light receiving device (fig. 7D numeral 5), and a resin provided between the light-receiving element and the circuit board (fig. 7D numeral 7).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the immediate invention to combine the resin in Yasuhiro with the light-receiving element in Iguchi and Yanai in order to protect the device from being exposed to the outside atmosphere, debris, or moisture.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 4 – 5, and 7 – 8 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.
For claim 2, Iguchi, Yanai, and Yasuhiro are silent regarding the width of the second region that has the higher electrical resistance than the first region.
For claim 4, Iguchi, Yanai, and Yasuhiro are silent regarding having a reflecting film inside the third groove that directs light from the second region towards the first region.
For claim 5, Iguchi, Yanai, and Yasuhiro are silent regarding having an absorption film inside the third groove that absorbs light transmitted through the second region.
For claim 7, Iguchi, Yanai, and Yasuhiro are silent regarding the second region having an impurity region containing a higher concentration than the first region.
Claim 8 is allowable primarily as depending on an allowable claim, but is objected to for depending on a rejected base claim.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB T NELSON whose telephone number is (571)272-1031. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
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/J.T.N./Examiner, Art Unit 2815
/MONICA D HARRISON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815
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