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 .
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 03/04/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Invention I and Species A2 and B1 in the reply filed on 03/27/2026 is acknowledged. However, Applicant failed to point out the restriction was improper since the restriction was done under 35 USC 121 instead of 35 USC 371. Upon further examination, since the application does not contain lack of unity, the restriction requirement of 01/28/2026 is withdrawn.
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 7 and 9 recites the limitation "the segregation" in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
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.
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.
Claims 1-3, 6-10, 12-16, and 18-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi et al. (US Publication 20090140273) in view of Obata et al. (JP Publication 2010098070/machine Translation Document 04/15/2026).
Regarding independent claim 1, Takeuchi teaches a red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device (fig. 1), comprising:
a substrate (1);
a buffer layer (2 and 3) disposed on the substrate;
a first conductive contact layer (4) disposed on the buffer layer;
a first conductive confinement layer (5) disposed on the first conductive contact layer;
an active layer (6) disposed on the first conductive confinement layer;
a second conductive confinement layer (7) disposed on the active layer;
a second conductive contact layer (8) disposed on the second conductive confinement layer.
Takeuchi does not teach a current concentration structure disposed at least one side between the first conductive contact layer and the first conductive confinement layer or between the second conductive contact layer and the second conductive confinement layer, wherein the current concentration structure includes: a strain induced layer; and high-resistance layers that contact the strain induced layer and are distributed separately from each other to form a current barrier.
Obata teaches a current concentration structure (fig. 1, 112) disposed at least one side between the first conductive contact layer (24) and the first conductive confinement layer (21A) or between the second conductive contact layer (22A) and the second conductive confinement layer (22B, 112 can be rearranged to be disposed between 24 and 21A per MPEP 2144.04),
wherein the current concentration structure includes:
a strain induced layer (112B); and
high-resistance layers (112A) that contact the strain induced layer and are distributed separately from each other to form a current barrier (machine translation, page 11 paragraph 11).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of Takeuchi and the current concentration structure of Obata in order to suppress interference with the laser beam emitted from the end face (Obata, machine translation, page 11 paragraph 11).
Regarding dependent claim 2, Obata further teaches the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein the strain induced layer includes a semiconductor layer subjected to tensile strain (machine translation, page 11 paragraph 7).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of Takeuchi and the strain induced layer of Obata per the reason(s) stated above in claim 1.
Regarding dependent claim 3, Takeuchi in view of Obata teaches the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1.
Takeuchi in view of Obata does not explicitly teach wherein the strain induced layer includes a material of (AlxGa1-x)1-yInyP, however, Takeuchi discloses an n-type cladding layer 4 made of AlGaInP.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the AlGaInP material in the strain induced layer, since it has been held to be within the general skill of worker in the art to select known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design variation and choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Regarding dependent claim 6, Obata further teaches the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein the high-resistance layers include a segregation structure (fig. 1, areas of 112 between 112A correspond to segregation structure, see also figs. 4 and 5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of Takeuchi and the segregation structure of Obata per the reason(s) stated above in claim 1.
Regarding dependent claim 7, Obata further teaches the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein the segregation includes any one of aluminum (Al), gallium (Ga), and indium (In) (machine translation, page 11 paragraph 11).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of Takeuchi and the high-resistance layers of Obata per the reason(s) stated above in claim 1.
Regarding dependent claim 8, Obata further teaches the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein the high-resistance layers are formed by segregating at least one of indium (In), aluminum (Al), or gallium (Ga) in contact with the strain induced layer (machine translation, page 11 paragraph 11).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of Takeuchi and the high-resistance layers of Obata per the reason(s) stated above in claim 1.
Regarding dependent claim 9, Obata further teaches the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein the segregation is disposed inside a layer adjacent to the active layer (fig. 1, 112A disposed in 112 which is indirectly adjacent to active layer 23).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of Takeuchi and the segregation of Obata per the reason(s) stated above in claim 1.
Regarding dependent claim 10, Obata further teaches the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein the high-resistance layers are formed by artificial strain relaxation (machine translation, page 12 paragraph 2, use of electron beam can cause artificial strain relaxation).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of Takeuchi and the high-resistance layers of Obata per the reason(s) stated above in claim 1.
Regarding dependent claim 12, Obata further teaches the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1, wherein the current concentration structure is disposed adjacent to the active layer (fig. 1, 112 is indirectly adjacent to active layer 23).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of Takeuchi and the segregation of Obata per the reason(s) stated above in claim 1.
Regarding independent claim 13, Takeuchi teaches a method of manufacturing a red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device (fig. 1, paragraph 0031), comprising:
forming a buffer layer (2 and 3) on a substrate (1);
forming a first conductive contact layer (4) on the buffer layer;
forming an active layer (6) on the first conductive confinement layer;
forming a second conductive confinement layer (7) on the active layer; and
forming a second conductive contact layer (8) on the second conductive confinement layer.
Takeuchi does not teach forming a first strain induced layer on the first conductive contact layer, a lattice constant of the first strain induced layer being different from a lattice constant of the first conductive contact layer; forming a first high-resistance layer in contact with the first strain induced layer by forming a first conductive confinement layer on the first strain induced layer, the first conductive confinement layer having a lattice constant that applies strain to the first strain induced layer.
Obata teaches forming a first strain induced layer (fig. 1, 112B) on the first conductive contact layer (24, 112 can be rearranged to be disposed on 24 per MPEP 2144.04), a lattice constant of the first strain induced layer being different from a lattice constant of the first conductive contact layer (machine translation, page 11 paragraph 10);
forming a first high-resistance layer (112A) in contact with the first strain induced layer by forming a first conductive confinement layer (21A) on the first strain induced layer (112 can be rearranged to be formed between 24 and 21A per MPEP 2144.04), the first conductive confinement layer having a lattice constant that applies strain to the first strain induced layer (machine translation, page 12 paragraph 3).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of Takeuchi and the first strain induced layer and first high-resistance layer of Obata in order to suppress interference with the laser beam emitted from the end face (Obata, machine translation, page 11 paragraph 11).
Regarding dependent claim 14, Takeuchi further teaches the method of claim 13, further comprising forming a second strain induced layer (fig. 1, 9) on the second conductive confinement layer.
Regarding dependent claim 15, Takeuchi further teaches the method of claim 14, wherein the second strain induced layer is formed to have a strain critical thickness or more (fig. 2) to form a second high-resistance layer (fig. 1, 10) in contact with the second strain induced layer.
Regarding dependent claim 16, Takeuchi teaches the method of claim 14, wherein the second conductive contact layer has a smaller lattice constant than the second strain induced layer (fig. 2, y value of In in 8 is greater than the y value of In in 9, therefore 8 has a smaller lattice constant than 9).
Regarding dependent claim 18, Obata further teaches the method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the first strain induced layer or the second strain induced layer includes a semiconductor layer subjected to tensile strain (machine translation, page 11 paragraph 7).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the method of Takeuchi and the strain induced layer of Obata per the reason(s) stated above in claim 13.
Regarding dependent claim 19, Takeuchi in view of Obata teaches the method of claim 14.
Takeuchi in view of Obata does not explicitly teach wherein at least one of the first strain induced layer or the second strain induced layer includes a material of (AlxGa1-x)1-yInyP, however, Takeuchi discloses an n-type cladding layer 4 made of AlGaInP.
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use the AlGaInP material in the strain induced layer, since it has been held to be within the general skill of worker in the art to select known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design variation and choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Regarding dependent claim 20, Obata further teaches the method of claim 15, wherein at least one of the first high-resistance layer or the second high-resistance layer includes a segregation structure (fig. 1, areas of 112 between 112A correspond to segregation structure, see also figs. 4 and 5).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of Takeuchi and the segregation structure of Obata per the reason(s) stated above in claim 13.
Claims 4-5, 11, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Takeuchi in view of Obata as applied to claims 1, 3, and 14 above, and further in view of Seo et al. (US Publication 8482027).
Regarding dependent claim 4, Takeuchi in view of Obata teaches the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 3.
Takeuchi in view of Obata does not teach wherein y is less than 0.48.
Seo teaches wherein y is less than 0.48 (column 6, ln. 48-50).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of Takeuchi in view of Obata and the y value of Seo in order to adjust the emission wavelength (column 4, ln. 11-13).
Regarding dependent claim 5, Takeuchi in view of Obata teaches the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1.
Takeuchi in view of Obata does not teach wherein the strain induced layer has a thickness of 10 nm or more.
Seo teaches wherein the strain induced layer has a thickness of 10 nm or more (column 7, ln. 13-15).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of Takeuchi in view of Obata and the strain induced layer thickness of Seo in order to reduce the likelihood of crystal defects (column 7, ln. 23-25).
Regarding dependent claim 11, Takeuchi in view of Obata teaches the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of claim 1.
Takeuchi in view of Obata does not teach wherein the high-resistance layers are further included in the active layer.
Seo teaches wherein the high-resistance layers (fig. 2, 8) are further included in the active layer (2).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the red light-emitting semiconductor light-emitting device of Takeuchi in view of Obata and the high-resistance layers of Seo in order to reduce the likelihood of crystal defects (column 7, ln. 23-25).
Regarding dependent claim 17, Takeuchi in view of Obata teaches the method of claim 14.
Takeuchi in view of Obata does not teach further comprising forming a current diffusion layer between the second conductive confinement layer and the second strain induced layer.
Seo teaches further comprising forming a current diffusion layer between the second conductive confinement layer and the second strain induced layer (column 5, ln. 31-32).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to combine the method of Takeuchi in view of Obata and the current diffusion layer of Seo in order to achieve planar diffusion of the device (column 5, ln. 31-33).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to GRACE Y CHA whose telephone number is (703)756-5393. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Thursday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm and every other Friday 8:00 am - 4:00 pm.
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/GRACE CHA/Examiner, Art Unit 2897
/JACOB Y CHOI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2897
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