DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Specification
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 5-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 5-8, 10, 12, 15, 17 and 20, line 2, the limitation “in-pixel separation section” renders the claim indefinite. It is not clear which “in-pixel separation section” is refer to a first refractive index or a second refractive index.
Claim 11, lines 2 and 4, the limitation “in-pixel separation section” renders the claim indefinite. It is not clear which “in-pixel separation section” is refer to a first refractive index or a second refractive index.
Claim 13, lines 2 and 6, the limitation “in-pixel separation section” renders the claim indefinite. It is not clear which “in-pixel separation section” is refer to a first refractive index or a second refractive index.
Claim 18, lines 2 and 3, the limitation “in-pixel separation section” renders the claim indefinite. It is not clear which “in-pixel separation section” is refer to a first refractive index or a second refractive index.
Claim 19, lines 3 and 4, the limitation “in-pixel separation section” renders the claim indefinite. It is not clear which “in-pixel separation section” is refer to a first refractive index or a second refractive index.
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 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by OGASAHARA et al [US 2022/0165770].
With respect to claim 1, OGASAHARA et al (fig. 3) disclose an imaging device, comprising:
a semiconductor substrate (20, pp [0066]) which has a first surface and a second surface opposed to each other, and in which a plurality of pixels (10, pp [0065]) is arranged in a matrix, the semiconductor substrate including a plurality of photoelectric conversion sections (21, pp [0066]) that each generate electric charge corresponding to a light receiving amount by photoelectric conversion for each of the pixels;
an inter-pixel separation section (23, pp [0067]) provided between the pixels adjacent to each other, electrically and optically separating the adjacent pixels from each other, and having a first refractive index (pp [0070]); and
an in-pixel separation section (22, pp [0067]) provided between the photoelectric conversion sections adjacent to each other inside each of the pixels, electrically separating the adjacent photoelectric conversion sections, and having a second refractive index (pp [0071]), a difference between the second refractive index and a refractive index of the semiconductor substrate (pp [0073]) being smaller than a difference between the first refractive index and the refractive index of the semiconductor substrate.
With respect to claim 2, OGASAHARA et al (fig. 3, pp[0067]) disclose wherein the second refractive index is higher than the first refractive index.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3-4 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art of record fails to disclose wherein the second refractive index of the in-pixel separation section differs for each of the pixels depending on a wavelength of light to be photoelectrically converted in the plurality of photoelectric conversion sections inside each of the pixels (claim 3).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to HOAI V PHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-1715. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:30a.m-10:00p.m.
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/HOAI V PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2892
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