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 .
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(s) 1-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jeong(USPGPUB DOCUMENT: 2013/0155522, hereinafter Jeong) in view of Karakida (USPGPUB DOCUMENT: 2015/0056743, hereinafter Karakida).
Re claim1 Jeong discloses an anti-reflective nanostructure[claim 1] comprising: a base part(100) having a top surface; and a plurality of nanostructures(200/300) arranged in a first direction on the top surface and each having a shape in which an upper portion(upper portion of 200/300), a lower portion(lower portion of 200/300) has a width greater than that of the upper portion(upper portion of 200/300), and the width gradually increases in a direction from the upper portion(upper portion of 200/300) to the lower portion(lower portion of 200/300).
Jeong does not discloses a plurality of nanostructures(200/300) has a thin and sharp shape,
Karakida discloses in Fig 1-3 a plurality of nanostructures(200/300) has a thin and sharp shape,
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to apply the teachings of Karakida to the teachings of Jeong in order to improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency in the solar cell manufactured in this manner [0009, Karakida].
Re claim 2 Jeong and Karakida disclose the anti-reflective nanostructure[claim 1] of claim 1, wherein the nanostructure comprises: a pillar having a triangular cross-sectional shape; and a Protrusion(5 of Karakida) that Protrudes from an upper end of the pillar.
Re claim 3 Jeong and Karakida disclose the anti-reflective nanostructure[claim 1] of claim 2, wherein the pillar has a shape extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the pillar has a pair of triangular base faces arranged in parallel to the first direction to face each other and rectangular lateral faces disposed between the pair of base faces to extend in the second direction, and wherein the Protrusion(5 of Karakida) has a shape extending in the second direction.
Re claim 4 Jeong and Karakida disclose the anti-reflective nanostructure[claim 1] of claim 2, wherein the Protrusion(5 of Karakida) has a width of 30 nm.
Re claim 5 Jeong and Karakida disclose the anti-reflective nanostructure[claim 1] of claim 1, wherein the nanostructure has a reflectance greater than 0 and less than 0.05 for light having a wavelength of 700 nm to 800 nm.
Re claim 6 Jeong discloses an optical sensor comprising: a surface; and an anti-reflective nanostructure[claim 1] disposed on the surface, wherein anti-reflective nanostructure[claim 1] comprises: a base part(100) having a top surface; and a plurality of nanostructures(200/300) arranged in a first direction on the top surface and each having a shape in which an upper portion(upper portion of 200/300), a lower portion(lower portion of 200/300) has a width greater than that of the upper portion(upper portion of 200/300), and the width gradually increases in a direction from the upper portion(upper portion of 200/300) to the lower portion(lower portion of 200/300).
Jeong does not discloses a plurality of nanostructures(200/300) has a thin and sharp shape,
Karakida discloses in Fig 1-3 a plurality of nanostructures(200/300) has a thin and sharp shape,
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to apply the teachings of Karakida to the teachings of Jeong in order to improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency in the solar cell manufactured in this manner [0009, Karakida].
Re claim 7 Jeong and Karakida disclose the optical sensor of claim 6, wherein the nanostructure(200/300) comprises: a pillar having a triangular cross-sectional shape; and a Protrusion(5 of Karakida) that Protrudes from an upper end of the pillar.
Re claim 8 Jeong and Karakida disclose the optical sensor of claim 7, wherein the pillar has a shape extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the pillar has a pair of triangular base faces arranged in parallel to the first direction to face each other and rectangular lateral faces disposed between the pair of base faces to extend in the second direction, and wherein the Protrusion(5 of Karakida) has a shape extending in the second direction.
Re claim 9 Jeong and Karakida disclose the optical sensor of claim 7, wherein the Protrusion(5 of Karakida) has a width of 30 nm.
Re claim 10 Jeong and Karakida disclose the optical sensor of claim 6, wherein the nanostructure(200/300) has a reflectance greater than 0 and less than 0.05 for light having a wavelength of 700 nm to 800 nm.
Re claim 11 Jeong discloses an method for manufacturing an anti-reflective nanostructure[claim 1], comprising: a patterning step of patterning photoresist (PR[0050]) applied on a silicon substrate to form a PR[0050] pattern layer; a reactive ion etching[0061] (RIE) step of forming a plurality of nanograting structures or a plurality of nano-pillar structures(200/300) on the silicon substrate by using a RIE Process; the PR[0050] pattern layer disposed on the plurality of nanograting structures or the plurality of nano-pillar structures(200/300); and an etching[0061] step of forming a nanostructure by etching[0061] the silicon substrate comprising the plurality of nanograting structures or the plurality of nano-pillar structures(200/300),
Jeong does not discloses a removal step of removing the PR[0050] pattern layer; and an alkaline etching[0061] from which the PR[0050] patter layer is removed, in a mixed solution of an alkaline solution and isopropyl alcohol (IPA).
Karakida discloses in Fig 1-3 discloses a removal step of removing the PR pattern layer[0088 of Karakida]; and an alkaline etching[0088 of Karakida] from which the PR patter layer is removed, in a mixed solution of an alkaline solution and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) [0100 of Karakida].
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to apply the teachings of Karakida to the teachings of Jeong in order to improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency in the solar cell manufactured in this manner [0009, Karakida].
A reactive ion etching (RIE) for an etching process would have been obvious because a particular known technique was recognized as part of the ordinary capabilities of one skilled in the art. KSR, see MPEP 2143.
Re claim 12 Jeong and Karakida disclose the method of claim 11, wherein a nanostructure has a shape in which an upper portion(upper portion of 200/300) has a thin and sharp shape, a lower portion(lower portion of 200/300) has a width greater than that of the upper portion(upper portion of 200/300), and the width gradually increases in a direction from the upper portion(upper portion of 200/300) to the lower portion(lower portion of 200/300).
Re claim 13 Jeong and Karakida disclose the method of claim 11, wherein the alkaline solution[0100 of Karakida] is KOH or tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) of 1.5wt% at 65°C.
Re claim 14 Jeong and Karakida disclose the method of claim 11, wherein in the patterning step, a plurality of PR[0050] pattern layers is formed on a top surface of the silicon substate in a first direction, and each of the PR[0050] pattern layers extends in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.
Re claim 15 Jeong and Karakida disclose the method of claim 11, wherein in the patterning step, a plurality of PR[0050] pattern layers is formed on a top surface of the silicon substate in a first direction and a second direction, which are perpendicular to each other.
Conclusion
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/PATRICIA D VALENZUELA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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