DETAILED ACTION
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The reference cited within the IDS document submitted on December 11, 2023 has been considered.
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, 2, 6-16, and 20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jung (US 2023/0363211 A1).
As to claim 1, Jung teaches a display device comprising:
a plurality of anode electrodes (AE1, AE2) spaced apart from each other on a substrate (SUB);
an inorganic insulating layer (ISL) disposed on the substrate and the plurality of anode electrodes and exposing a part of each of the plurality of anode electrodes;
a bank member (BNS) disposed on the inorganic insulating layer and comprising an opening (OPE1, OPE2) overlapping the plurality of anode electrodes;
a light emitting layer (EL1, EL2) disposed on each of the plurality of anode electrodes and including at least a portion disposed on the inorganic insulating layer; and
a cathode electrode (CE1, CE2) disposed on the light emitting layer and including at least a portion in contact with the bank member (BNS), wherein
the bank member (BNS) comprises:
a first bank layer (BN1), and
a second bank layer (BN2) disposed on the first bank layer, including a metal material different from that of the first bank layer (paragraph 0131-0133), and comprising a tip portion (TIP) protruding than the first bank layer at a sidewall of the opening of the bank member, and
a lateral side of the inorganic insulating layer defining a pattern opening exposing the anode electrode and an end portion of the tip portion of the second bank layer are substantially aligned to each other. See figures 6 and 7.
As to claim 2, Jung teaches the end portion of the tip portion of the second bank layer and the lateral side of the inorganic insulating layer are aligned along a same virtual line extending in a direction perpendicular to an upper surface of the substrate. See figures 6 and 7.
As to claim 6, Jung teaches at least a part of each of the plurality of anode electrodes (e.g. AE1) overlaps the first bank layer (BN1). See figures 6 and 7.
As to claim 7, Jung teaches each of the plurality of anode electrodes has an outer portion which overlaps the first bank layer and does not overlap the pattern opening of the inorganic insulating layer. See figures 6 and 7.
As to claim 8, Jung teaches a diameter of the opening of the first bank layer is smaller than a diameter of each of the plurality of anode electrodes. See figure 7.
As to claim 9, Jung teaches a part of the inorganic insulating layer (ISL) is spaced apart from an upper surface of each of the plurality of anode electrodes (AE1),
the display device further comprises a residual pattern layer (RP) disposed between the inorganic insulating layer and the upper surface of each of the plurality of anode electrodes. See figure 7.
As to claim 10, Jung teaches the inorganic insulating layer covers a side surface of each of the plurality of anode electrodes. See figure 7.
As to claim 11, Jung teaches the first bank layer includes aluminum (Al) or molybdenum (Mo), and the second bank layer includes titanium (Ti). See paragraph 0133.
As to claim 12, Jung teaches a part of the light emitting layer (EL1) is directly disposed on a side surface of the first bank layer (BN1), and
the cathode electrode (CE1) covers the light emitting layer and a part of the cathode electrode is disposed directly on the side surface of the first bank layer. See figure 7.
As to claim 13, Jung teaches the light emitting layer (EL1) and the cathode electrode (CE1) are spaced apart from the second bank layer (BN2). See figure 7.
As to claim 14, Jung teaches an organic pattern layer disposed on the second bank layer, the organic pattern layer and the light emitting layer including a same material; and an electrode pattern layer disposed on the organic pattern layer, the electrode pattern layer and the cathode electrode including a same material (see para. 0145-156).
As to claim 15, Jung teaches a method of fabricating a display device, the method comprising:
forming a plurality of anode electrodes spaced apart from each other on a substrate, a sacrificial layer disposed on the plurality of anode electrodes, an inorganic insulating layer disposed on the substrate and the sacrificial layer, and a first bank material layer and a second bank material layer disposed on the inorganic insulating layer (figure 11);
a first etching step of etching the first bank material layer, the second bank material layer, and the inorganic insulating layer to form a first hole exposing an upper surface of the sacrificial layer (also figure 12);
a second etching step of further etching the first bank material layer to remove a part of the sacrificial layer exposed by the first hole (figure 13); and
forming a light emitting layer disposed on each of the plurality of anode electrodes and a cathode electrode disposed on the light emitting layer in an opening formed by etching the first hole in the second etching step, and forming a first inorganic layer on the cathode electrode and the second bank material layer, wherein
in the second etching step, the second bank material layer forms a tip portion protruding than a sidewall of the first bank material layer (figure 14), and
a lateral side of the inorganic insulating layer defining a pattern opening exposing the plurality of anode electrodes and an end portion of the tip portion of the second bank material layer are substantially aligned to each other.
As to claim 16, Jung teaches a diameter of each of the plurality of anode electrodes is greater than a diameter of the opening of the first bank material layer formed in the second etching step, and at least a part of each of the plurality of anode electrodes, which does not overlap the pattern opening of the inorganic insulating layer, overlaps the first bank material layer. See figures 6, 7, and 11-14.
As to claim 20, Jung teaches a part of the light emitting layer and the cathode electrode is in direct contact with the first bank material layer on a sidewall in the opening. See figures 6, 7, and 11-14.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3 and 17 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. (Claims 4, 5, 18, and 19 are also objected to, as being dependent upon objected claims.)
Cited Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: see the attached form PTO-892 for pertinent cited art.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Scott B. Geyer (telephone: 571-272-1958). The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday, 10AM - 4PM (ET). 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.
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/SCOTT B GEYER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812