Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/535,259

QW-QD LED With Suppressed Auger Recombination

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Dec 11, 2023
Examiner
ASSOUMAN, HERVE-LOUIS Y
Art Unit
2812
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
The United States Government (Department of the Navy)
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
91%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 3m
To Grant
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 91% — above average
91%
Career Allow Rate
590 granted / 648 resolved
+23.0% vs TC avg
Minimal +4% lift
Without
With
+4.1%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 3m
Avg Prosecution
42 currently pending
Career history
690
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
2.6%
-37.4% vs TC avg
§103
54.3%
+14.3% vs TC avg
§102
21.2%
-18.8% vs TC avg
§112
9.2%
-30.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 648 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
Notice of 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. DETAILED ACTION 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 1-9 and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a)(1) as being anticipated by Mi et al. , hereinafter Mi961 ( US 2016/0027961 A1 ). Regarding independent claim 1 : Mi961 teaches (e.g., Fig s . 1- 8) a n optoelectronic device, comprising: at least one quantum wire ([0073]: “t he nanowires have AlGaN shells 895 and are separated by polyimide 890 ”) , wherein the at least one quantum wire has a quantum wire band gap (inherent) ; and at least one quantum dot ([0073]: 840A) incorporated in the quantum wire, wherein the at least one quantum dot has a quantum dot band gap ([0073]) ; wherein the quantum wire band gap is larger than the quantum dot band gap ([0062], [0073]-[0076] and [0095]: inherent for light emitting device using dot-in-a-wire ) . Regarding claim 2 : Mi961 teaches the claim limitation of the optoelectronic device of claim 1, on which this claim depends, wherein the at least one quantum dot has a quantum dot diameter (Fig. 8; [0073] and [0099]) , wherein the at least one quantum wire has a quantum wire width (Fig. 8; [0073] and [0099]) , and wherein the quantum dot diameter is at least half a nanometer smaller than the quantum wire width (Fig. 8; [0073] and [0099]). Regarding claim 3 : Mi961 teaches the claim limitation of the optoelectronic device of claim 1, on which this claim depends, wherein the at least one quantum wire has a quantum wire effective mass (Fig. 8; [0073] and [0099]) , wherein the at least one quantum dot has a quantum dot effective mass (Fig. 8; [0073] and [0099]) , and wherein the quantum wire effective mass is larger than the quantum dot effective mass (Fig. 8; [0073] and [0099]; inherent) . Regarding claim 4 : Mi961 teaches the claim limitation of the optoelectronic device of claim 1, on which this claim depends, wherein the at least one quantum wire has a quantum wire composition (Fig. 8; [0073] and [0099]; inherent) , and wherein the quantum wire composition varies in a radial direction of the at least one quantum wire ( [0074] and [0079] : dopant modulated ) . Regarding claim 5 : Mi961 teaches the claim limitation of the optoelectronic device of claim 1, on which this claim depends, wherein the at least one quantum dot in a quantum wire comprises periodic quantum dot arrays ([0073]: ten quantum dots 840A through 840J, ) . Regarding claim 6 : Mi961 teaches the claim limitation of the optoelectronic device of claim 5 , on which this claim depends, wherein the periodic quantum dot arrays have an effective barrier height ([0073] -[0074] ) , a characteristic tunneling length ([0073]-[0074]: inherent) , and a distance between quantum dots ([0073]-[0074]: inherent) , and wherein the effective barrier height is adjusted by adjusting the distance between quantum dots ([0073]-[0074]: inherent) and by having a distance between quantum dots larger than the characteristic tunneling length ([0073]-[0074]: inherent) . Regarding claim 7 : Mi961 teaches the claim limitation of the optoelectronic device of claim 1, on which this claim depends, wherein there are more than one quantum dots in a quantum wire (Fig. 8; [0073]-[0074]) , and wherein the quantum dots in the quantum wire form a one-dimensional periodic array (Fig. 8; [0073]-[0074]) . Regarding claim 8 : Mi961 teaches the claim limitation of the optoelectronic device of claim 1, on which this claim depends, wherein there are more than one quantum dot in a quantum wire (Fig. 8; [0073]-[0074]) , and wherein the quantum dots in the quantum wires form a two-dimensional periodic array (Fig. 8; [0073]-[0074]) . Regarding claim 9 : Mi961 teaches the claim limitation of the optoelectronic device of claim 1, on which this claim depends, wherein there are more than one quantum dots in the quantum wire (Fig. 8; [0073]-[0074]) , and wherein the more than one quantum dots emit at more than one wavelength (Fig. 8; [0006], [0065], [0068] and [0073]-[0074]) . Regarding claim 11 : Mi teaches the claim limitation of the optoelectronic device of claim 1, on which this claim depends, wherein a conduction band discontinuity between the at least one quantum wire and the at least one quantum dot is larger than an optical phonon energy (Fig. 8; [0073]-[0074]: inherent based on device physics). Regarding claim 12 : Mi961 teaches the claim limitation of the optoelectronic device of claim 1, on which this claim depends, wherein a valence band discontinuity between the at least one quantum wire and the at least one quantum dot is larger than an optical phonon energy (Fig. 8; [0073]-[0074]: inherent based on device physics). Regarding claim 13 : Mi961 teaches device, comprising a vertically emitting LED comprising the optoelectronic device of claim 1 (Fig. 8; [0073]-[0074]) . Regarding claim 14 : a device, comprising a laterally emitting LED comprising the optoelectronic device of claim 1 (Fig. 8; [0073]-[0074]) . 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 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Mi et al. , hereinafter Mi961 ( US 2016/0027961 A1 ) in view of Mi et al, hereinafter Mi613, ( US 2012 / 0205613 A1 ). Regarding claim 10 : Mi teaches the claim limitation of the optoelectronic device of claim 1, on which this claim depends, wherein there are more than one quantum dots in the quantum wire (Fig. 8; [0073]-[0074]). Mi961 does not expressly teach that the more than one quantum dots sizes and compositions are such that they emit red, green, and blue light. Mi613 teaches (e.g., Figs. 3-28) an optoelectronic device comprising more than one quantum dots sizes ([0115], [0120]-[0122] and [0124]) and compositions are such that they emit red, green, and blue light ([0023]-[0024], [0029] and [0135]-[0136]). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention , to include in the device of Mi961, the more than one quantum dots sizes and compositions being such that they emit red, green, and blue light , as taught by Mi613, for the benefits of improving the display’s image quality by incorporating color rendering capacity. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FILLIN "Examiner name" \* MERGEFORMAT HERVE-LOUIS Y ASSOUMAN whose telephone number is FILLIN "Phone number" \* MERGEFORMAT (571)272-2606 . The examiner can normally be reached FILLIN "Work Schedule?" \* MERGEFORMAT M-F: 08:30 AM-5:30 PM . 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. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, FILLIN "SPE Name?" \* MERGEFORMAT DAVIENNE MONBLEAU can be reached at FILLIN "SPE Phone?" \* MERGEFORMAT 571-272-1945 . The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent- center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /HERVE-LOUIS Y ASSOUMAN/ Examiner, Art Unit 2812
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Dec 11, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 30, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
91%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+4.1%)
2y 3m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 648 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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