CTNF 18/578,799 CTNF 88433 Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status 07-03-aia AIA 15-10-aia 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 1/12/2024 has been considered by the examiner. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 07-06 AIA 15-10-15 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 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. 07-20-aia AIA 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. 07-21-aia AIA Claim 1-11, and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Miyanami (WO 2019240207, cited in IDS filed 1/12/2024) in view of Eda (JP 2017054890 cited in IDS filed 1/12/2024) and Akiyama (JP 2013080838 cited in IDS filed 1/12/2024) . Regarding Claim 1 , Miyanami (WO 2019240207, cited in IDS filed 1/12/2024) teaches an imaging apparatus comprising: a photoelectric converting section (51) that is disposed in a semiconductor substrate (11) and that generates, by photoelectric conversion, charge according to an amount of received light; a charge holding section (54) that is disposed on a first surface side (top, in z-direction) of the photoelectric converting section corresponding to a first surface of the semiconductor substrate opposite to a light incident surface (light enters at LNS) of the semiconductor substrate and that holds the charge transferred from the photoelectric converting section ([0029]); and a light shielding section (12) that is disposed between the photoelectric converting section and the charge holding section and that surrounds at least a part of the charge holding section (shown in Fig. 4A). Although Miyanami discloses much of the claimed invention, it does not explicitly teach the light shielding section wherein the light shielding section includes an electrically conductive section that is a partial region of the light shielding section and that is electrically conductive with the semiconductor substrate. Nonetheless the prior art at the time the application was filed renders such non-explicit feature differences obvious, as explained below. For example, Eda is in the same or analogous field, and it teaches a light shielding section (70,71) wherein the light shielding section includes an electrically conductive section (71) that is a partial region (shown) of the light shielding section and that is electrically conductive with a semiconductor substrate (6). Furthermore, also Akiyama teaches light shielding section (2; see [0011]) wherein the light shielding section includes an electrically conductive section that is a partial region of the light shielding section and that is electrically conductive with the semiconductor substrate (paragraphs [0015]-[0042], Fig. 2). A person having ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that modifying the light shielding section of Miyanami with the light shielding section suggested by Eda would be obvious. Specifically, the modification suggested by Eda would be to employ a partial region of the light shielding section and that is electrically conductive with the semiconductor substrate. The rationale for this obvious modification is that multi-functional features provide better density and more simple manufacturing. Regarding Claim 2 , Miyanami teaches the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding section includes a horizontal light shielding portion (12H) spreading in an in-plane direction (X) of the semiconductor substrate between the photoelectric converting section and the charge holding section (shown), and a vertical light shielding section (12V) shaped like a wall that is extending from the first surface of the semiconductor substrate in a depth direction (Z) and that is connected to the horizontal light shielding portion (shown). Regarding Claim 3 , Miyanami teaches the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding section includes a light shielding material section (12) including a conductive light shielding material (as taught in Eda, as applied in the rejection of claim 1), and an insulating film (18) covering a periphery of the light shielding material section (shown), and at the electrically conductive section, the light shielding material section connects to the semiconductor substrate without intervention of the insulating film (shown connected on sidewalls). Regarding Claim 4 , Akiyama, in view of claim 1, teaches the wherein the light shielding section does not include the electrically conductive section in an intra-effective- pixel region that is a region inside an effective pixel region of the imaging apparatus but includes the electrically conductive section in an extra-effective- pixel region that is a region outside the effective pixel region (paragraphs [0015]-[0042], Fig. 2). Regarding Claim 5 , Miyanami teaches the imaging apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the light shielding section includes a horizontal light shielding portion (12H) spreading in an in-plane direction (X) of the semiconductor substrate between the photoelectric converting section and the charge holding section, and a vertical light shielding section (12V) shaped like a wall that is extending from the first surface of the semiconductor substrate in a depth direction and that is connected to the horizontal light shielding portion, and a sequence of the horizontal light shielding portions of the light shielding section is disposed from the intra-effective-pixel region to the extra-effective- pixel region ([0052, 94, 123]). Regarding Claim 6 , Miyanami teaches the imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the electrically conductive section of the light shielding section includes a region where the light shielding material section comes into contact with a high-concentration P type region in the semiconductor substrate (paragraphs [0104]-[0116], fig. 17-19: describes a light-blocking part touching a high-concentration P-type region of a semiconductor substrate within an effective pixel region ( corresponding to claims 6 and 7 of the present application). Regarding Claim 7 , Miyanami teaches the imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the light shielding section includes the electrically conductive section in an intra-effective- pixel region that is a region inside an effective pixel region of the imaging apparatus, and the electrically conductive section includes a region where the light shielding material section comes into contact with a high-concentration P type region in the semiconductor substrate (paragraphs [0104]-[0116], fig. 17-19: describes a light-blocking part touching a high-concentration P-type region of a semiconductor substrate within an effective pixel region). Regarding Claim 8 , Miyanami teaches the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light shielding section includes the electrically conductive section (section is shown in the central portion of the substrate, not at the surface levels) in an internal region spaced from a second surface of the semiconductor substrate that is the light incident surface and from the first surface. Regarding Claim 9 , Miyanami teaches the imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor substrate includes a silicon substrate ([0044]). Regarding Claim 10 , Miyanami teaches the imaging apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the light shielding material section includes tungsten, titanium, tantalum, nickel, molybdenum, chromium, iridium, platiniridium, titanium nitride, aluminum, copper, cobalt, or a tungsten silicon compound ([0048]). Regarding Claim 11 , although the claim is a method of manufacturing, the citations are essentially the same as claim 3 (especially see Figs. 1-6, 13, 14, and 17-19). Regarding Claim 17 , the claim limitations are essentially taught by the same citations as claim 1 . Allowable Subject Matter 12-151-08 AIA 07-43 12-51-08 Claim s 12-16 ae 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. 13-03-01 AIA The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: Regarding Claim 12 , although the prior art shows substantial features of the claimed invention, the prior art reviewed by the examiner neither teaches nor reasonably suggests all the claimed limitations , including an insulating film removing step of removing the insulating film in a region corresponding to the electrically conductive section, and a light shielding material filling step of filling the cavity section with a light shielding material constituting the light shielding material section. Claims 13-16 are dependent on claim 12 . Conclusion 07-96 AIA The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US # 20210082974 US # 20150069471 Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHRISTOPHER A JOHNSON whose telephone number is (571)272-9475. The examiner can normally be reached normally working Monday to Friday between 9 am and 6 pm Eastern Time. 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, Brent Fairbanks can be reached on (408) 918-7532. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. 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If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000. /CHRISTOPHER A JOHNSON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899 Application/Control Number: 18/578,799 Page 2 Art Unit: 2899 Application/Control Number: 18/578,799 Page 3 Art Unit: 2899 Application/Control Number: 18/578,799 Page 4 Art Unit: 2899 Application/Control Number: 18/578,799 Page 5 Art Unit: 2899 Application/Control Number: 18/578,799 Page 6 Art Unit: 2899 Application/Control Number: 18/578,799 Page 7 Art Unit: 2899 Application/Control Number: 18/578,799 Page 8 Art Unit: 2899
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