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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Species IA of Group I, claims 1-8, in the reply filed on 6/18/26 is acknowledged.
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, 5-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Na et al. (US 2017/0062508).
Regarding claim 1, Na discloses an image sensor pixel comprising:
a semiconductor substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposing the first surface (502, fig. 5 and paragraph 0057);
a photosensitive element formed in the first surface of the semiconductor substrate and configured to sense light in a first range of wavelengths (fig. 5 and paragraph 0057);
an interconnect stack formed on the first surface of the semiconductor substrate (above 502, fig. 5); and
a thin-film diode formed in the interconnect stack and configured to sense light in a second range of wavelengths different than the first range of wavelengths (fig. 5 and paragraph 0058).
Regarding claim 5, Na further discloses trench isolation structures formed in the second surface of the semiconductor substrate; and a dielectric layer lining the trench isolation structures (paragraph 0031).
Regarding claim 6, Na further discloses light scattering structures formed between at least two of the trench isolation structures, the light scattering structures being configured to scatter light in a third range of wavelengths different than the first and second ranges of wavelengths (paragraphs 0028-0031.
Regarding claim 7, Na further discloses a color filter element (110, fig. 1 and paragraphs 0028-0029) disposed on the second surface of the semiconductor substrate; and a microlens disposed on the color filter element (112, fig. 1 and paragraphs 0028-0029).
Regarding claim 8, Na further discloses wherein the first range of wavelengths comprise one or more wavelengths in a visible spectrum, and wherein the second range of wavelengths comprise one or more wavelengths in a short wave infrared (SWIR) spectrum (paragraphs 0004-0009, 0028-0031).
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Na et al. (US 2017/0062508) in view of Kim et al. (US 2018/0294294).
Regarding claim 2, Na discloses the image sensor pixel of claim 1, as mentioned above, and further discloses wherein the thin-film transistor is located on the side with the metal connection electrodes (fig. 5). Na does not disclose wherein the thin-film diode comprises:
a first conductor formed in a first routing layer in the interconnect stack; a second conductor formed in a second routing layer in the interconnect stack; and semiconducting oxide material disposed between the first and second conductors.
However, the use of conductor/semiconducting oxide material/conductor for use in infrared photodetectors was well known in the art at the time of filing and would therefore be deemed obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing. To illustrate such known practices see Kim (photosensor 120, fig. 1 and paragraphs 0016, 0036).
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:
Regarding claim 3, there is no teaching or suggestion in the art of record disclosing the image sensor pixel of claim 2, wherein the first conductor further comprises a plurality of protruding structures extending in a direction orthogonal to the first surface of the semiconductor substrate.
Regarding claim 4, there is no teaching or suggestion in the art of record disclosing the image sensor pixel of claim 1, wherein the thin-film diode further comprises: a first plurality of metal fingers;
a second plurality of metal fingers stacked above the first plurality of metal fingers; and semiconducting oxide material disposed between the first plurality of metal fingers and the second plurality of metal fingers.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US Patent Application Publications 2020/0105812 and 2019/0096932 both disclose image sensors with stacked photodetectors to capture light of different wavelength bands.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOUGLAS M MENZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1877. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm.
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, Jacob Choi can be reached at 469-295-9060. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DOUGLAS M MENZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897 8/25/26
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