DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
This action is responsive to the following communications: the Amendment filed -7/16/2024.
Claims 1-15 and 17-24 are pending. Claim 16 is cancelled. Claims 22-24 are new. Claims 1 and 21 are independent.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 12/17/2023 and 9/13/2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claim 15 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Claim 15 recites the limitation “wherein the first and second reflection layer, the first, second, and third connecting layer are transparent” in lines 1-2 of the claim, which the Examiner suggests amending to “wherein the first and second reflection [layer,] layers and the first, second, and third connecting [layer] layers are transparent.”
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 22 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claims 22 and 24 recite the limitation “wherein the second light emitting layer emits green light”, which does not appear to be supported by the originally filed Specification, because the second light emitting layer is associated with the third mesa structure (as required in claims 1 and 21, which claims 22 and 24 depend from, respectively) and as noted in paragraph [0025] of the Specification the light emitting layer in the third mesa structure emits blue light, not green light as required by the claims limitations. Thus, claims 22 and 24 fail to comply with the written description requirement.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 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, 6-15, 17-21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Xu et al. (US 2021/0384181 A1, hereinafter “Xu”).
Regarding independent claim 1, Figure 4B of Xu discloses a micro LED structure, comprising:
an IC back plane 404 (“substrate”, including 406- ¶0268);
at least three mesa structures stacked along a vertical axis, the at least three mesa structures comprising:
a first mesa structure 408/409/410/412/414 (collectively 408, 409, 410, 412 and 414) formed on the IC back plane 404;
a second mesa structure 456/427/428/430/432 (collectively 456, 427, 428, 430 and 432) formed on the first mesa structure 408/409/410/412/414; and
a third mesa structure 460/435/434/436/438 (collectively 460, 435, 434, 436 and 438) formed on the second mesa structure 456/427/428/430/432; and
a top contact 440 (“contact pad”- ¶0312) formed above the at least three mesa structures;
wherein the second mesa structure 456/427/428/430/432 comprises:
a first connecting layer 428 (“conductive layer”- ¶0295);
a first reflection layer 427 (“reflective layer”- ¶0276) formed on the first connecting layer 428, since 427 is formed on an underside of 428;
a first bonding layer 456 (“bonding layer”- ¶0293) formed on the first reflection layer 427, since 456 is formed on an underside of 427;
a first light emitting layer 430 (“light emitting layer”- ¶0271) formed on the first bonding layer 456, the first light emitting layer 430 comprising a first semiconductor layer (i.e., “P-type GaN/InGaN light-emitting layer”- ¶0304) and a second semiconductor layer (i.e., “N-type GaN”- ¶0304) formed on the first semiconductor layer; and
a second connecting layer 432 (“conductive layer”- ¶0298) formed on the first light emitting layer 430;
wherein the third mesa structure 460/435/434/436/438 comprises:
a second reflection layer 435 (“reflective layer”- ¶0277) formed on the second connecting layer 432;
a second bonding layer 460 (“bonding layer- ¶0309) formed on the second reflection layer 435, since 460 is formed on an underside of 435;
a second light emitting layer 436 (“light emitting layer”- ¶0271) formed on the second bonding layer 460, the second light emitting layer 436 comprising a third semiconductor layer (i.e., “P-type GaN/InGaN light-emitting layer”- ¶0318) and a fourth semiconductor layer (i.e., “N-type GaN”- ¶0318) formed on the third semiconductor layer; and
a third connecting layer 434 (“conductive layer”- ¶0309) formed on the second light emitting layer 436, since 434 is formed on an underside of 436;
wherein the first connecting layer 428 and the third connecting layer 438 are electrically connected with the IC back plane 404 via 426 and 452, respectively (¶¶0268, 0295, 0309),
wherein the second connecting layer 432 is connected with the top contact 440, since layer 432 is physically connected to 440 via intervening layers/elements; and
wherein the first and fourth semiconductor layers have a first conductive type, and the second and third semiconductor layers have a second conductive type (¶¶0304, 0318).
Regarding claim 2, Figure 4B of Xu discloses wherein the first, second, and third mesa structures respectively form a first outline, a second outline, and a third outline in plan view, the third outline being disposed within the second outline, the second outline being disposed within the first outline, since the top portion of the second mesa structure 456/427/428/430/432 is smaller than the first mesa structure 408/409/410/412/414 and the top portion of the third mesa structure 460/435/434/436/438 is smaller than the second mesa structure 456/427/428/430/432.
Regarding claim 6, Figure 4B of Xu discloses wherein:
a sidewall (i.e., right sidewall of 456) of the first bonding layer 456 is aligned with a sidewall (i.e., right sidewall of 430) of the first light emitting layer 430;
a sidewall (i.e., left sidewall of 460) of the second bonding layer 460 is aligned with a sidewall (i.e., left sidewall of 436) of the second light emitting layer 436.
Regarding claim 7, Figure 4B of Xu discloses wherein each of the first and second bonding layers 456, 460 comprises:
a metal (¶¶0284, 0293, 0307);
a composite metal; or
a transparent conductive material.
Regarding claim 8, the limitation “wherein the transparent conductive material is indium tin oxide (ITO), aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO), or gallium doped zinc oxide (GZO)” is moot, because Xu discloses that the first and second bonding layers 456, 460 comprises a metal in claim 7, which satisfies the claim limitation.
Regarding claim 9, Figure 4B of Xu discloses wherein each of the first, second, and third connecting layers 428, 432, 434 comprises a transparent conductive material (¶¶0295, 0298, 0309).
Regarding claim 10, Figure 4B of Xu discloses wherein the transparent conductive material is indium tin oxide (ITO) (¶¶0295, 0298, 0309).
Regarding claim 11, Figure 4B of Xu discloses wherein a sidewall of the first reflection layer 427 is aligned with a sidewall of the first bonding layer 456.
Regarding claim 12, Figure 4B of Xu discloses wherein a sidewall of the second reflection layer 435 is aligned with a sidewall of the second bonding layer 460.
Regarding claim 13, Figure 4B of Xu discloses wherein the first and second reflection layers 427, 435 each comprise:
stacked transparent layers;
metal omnidirectional refection (ODR) layers;
stacked distributed Bragg reflection (DBR) layers (¶¶0231, 0332); or
high-reflectivity metal.
Regarding claim 14, Figure 4B of Xu discloses wherein each of the first and second reflection layers 427, 435 is electrically insulative (¶¶0231, 0332).
Regarding claim 15, Figure 4B of Xu discloses wherein the first and second reflection layer 427, 435, the first, second, and third connecting layer 428, 432, 434 are transparent (¶¶0232, 0295, 0298, 0309, 0332).
Regarding claim 17, Figure 4B of Xu discloses wherein the first and second conductive types are P type and N type, respectively; or the first and second conductive types are N type and P type, respectively (¶¶0304, 0318).
Regarding claim 18, Figure 4B of Xu discloses the micro LED structure further comprising a first sidewall connecting structure 426/452 (collectively 426 and 452) and a second sidewall connecting structure (i.e., the “connections” to 440- ¶0269), wherein:
the first sidewall connecting structure 426/452 is formed on the first connecting layer 428 and surrounds sidewalls of the first reflection layer 427 and the first bonding layer 456; and
the second sidewall connecting structure is formed on the third connecting layer 434 and surrounds sidewalls of the second reflection layer 435 and the second bonding layer 460.
Regarding claim 19, Figure 4B of Xu discloses wherein each of the first and second sidewall connecting structures 426/452 comprises a transparent conductive material (i.e., ITO- ¶0269).
Regarding claim 20, Figure 4B of Xu discloses wherein the transparent conductive material is indium tin oxide (ITO) (¶0269).
Regarding independent claim 21, Figure 4B of discloses a full color micro LED panel, comprising a micro LED array, the micro LED array comprises a plurality of micro LED structures (¶¶0022, 0280), wherein each of the plurality of micro LED structures comprises:
an IC back plane 404 (“substrate”, including 406- ¶0268);
at least three mesa structures stacked along a vertical axis, the at least three mesa structures comprising:
a first mesa structure 408/409/410/412/414 (collectively 408, 409, 410, 412 and 414) formed on the IC back plane 404;
a second mesa structure 456/427/428/430/432 (collectively 456, 427, 428, 430 and 432) formed on the first mesa structure 408/409/410/412/414; and
a third mesa structure 460/435/434/436/438 (collectively 460, 435, 434, 436 and 438) formed on the second mesa structure 456/427/428/430/432; and
a top contact 440 (“contact pad”- ¶0312) formed above the at least three mesa structures;
wherein the second mesa structure 456/427/428/430/432 comprises:
a first connecting layer 428 (“conductive layer”- ¶0295);
a first reflection layer 427 (“reflective layer”- ¶0276) formed on the first connecting layer 428, since 427 is formed on an underside of 428;
a first bonding layer 456 (“bonding layer”- ¶0293) formed on the first reflection layer 427, since 456 is formed on an underside of 427;
a first light emitting layer 430 (“light emitting layer”- ¶0271) formed on the first bonding layer 456, the first light emitting layer 430 comprising a first semiconductor layer (i.e., “P-type GaN/InGaN light-emitting layer”- ¶0304) and a second semiconductor layer (i.e., “N-type GaN”- ¶0304) formed on the first semiconductor layer; and
a second connecting layer 432 (“conductive layer”- ¶0298) formed on the first light emitting layer 430;
wherein the third mesa structure 460/435/434/436/438 comprises:
a second reflection layer 435 (“reflective layer”- ¶0277) formed on the second connecting layer 432;
a second bonding layer 460 (“bonding layer- ¶0309) formed on the second reflection layer 435, since 460 is formed on an underside of 435;
a second light emitting layer 436 (“light emitting layer”- ¶0271) formed on the second bonding layer 460, the second light emitting layer 436 comprising a third semiconductor layer (i.e., “P-type GaN/InGaN light-emitting layer”- ¶0318) and a fourth semiconductor layer (i.e., “N-type GaN”- ¶0318) formed on the third semiconductor layer; and
a third connecting layer 434 (“conductive layer”- ¶0309) formed on the second light emitting layer 436, since 434 is formed on an underside of 436;
wherein the first connecting layer 428 and the third connecting layer 438 are electrically connected with the IC back plane 404 via 426 and 452, respectively (¶¶0268, 0295, 0309),
wherein the second connecting layer 432 is connected with the top contact 440, since layer 432 is physically connected to 440 via intervening layers/elements; and
wherein the first and fourth semiconductor layers have a first conductive type, and the second and third semiconductor layers have a second conductive type (¶¶0304, 0318).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-5 and 23 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.
Regarding claim 3 (which claims 4-5 and 23 depend from), the prior art of record including Xu, either singularly or in combination, does not disclose or suggest the combination of limitations including, but not limited to, “wherein the first mesa structure comprises: a third bonding layer formed on and electrically connected to the IC back plane; a third light emitting layer formed on the first bonding layer, the third light emitting layer comprising a fifth semiconductor layer and a sixth semiconductor layer formed on the fifth semiconductor layer, the fifth semiconductor layer having the first conductive type, and the sixth semiconductor layer having the second conductive type; and a fourth connecting layer formed on the first light emitting layer and electrically connected to the top contact; and wherein the micro LED structure further comprises a first dielectric layer formed between the first connecting layer and fourth connecting layer”.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
Chae (US 2022/0005792 A1), which discloses a light emitting display comprising stacked light emitting structures.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JAY C CHANG whose telephone number is (571)272-6132. The examiner can normally be reached Mon- Fri 12pm-10pm.
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/JAY C CHANG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817