DETAILED ACTION
This Office action responds to the application filed on 03/20/2024.
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 . In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for a 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.
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.
Claim 8 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.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the first surface passivation layer" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. The limitation is established in claim 7, while claim 8 depends on claim 6.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-7, 9, & 10 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding the limitations of Claim 1, “there are a first doped region and a second doped region that are arranged in stagger, and a third region for separating the first doped region and the second doped region;
forming a first mask layer on merely a surface of the first doped layer that is located within the first doped region; removing the first doped layer and the first interface passivation layer that are located within the second doped region and the third region;… forming a second mask layer on merely a surface of the second doped layer that is located within the second doped region; removing the second doped layer and the second interface passivation layer that are located on the first mask layer and the third region, and maintaining merely the second interface passivation layer and the second doped layer that are located within the second doped region,” there is no prior art that neither anticipates nor renders obvious the limitations of Claim 1.
The closest prior art, Hieda (see, e.g., figs. 1-10) shows a similar method of forming a back contact solar cell, but is missing key features of the method. Hieda fails to show establishing a first doped region, a second doped region, and a third region. Additionally, doesn’t show the steps of forming of the first mask layer in only the first doped region then removing the first doped layer and first interface passivation layer in the second and third region, and alternating to form the second mask layer only on the second doped region then removing the second doped layer and the second interface passivation layer from the first mask layer and the third region.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to FERNANDO JOSE RAMOS-DIAZ whose telephone number is (571) 270-5855. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8am-5pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven Loke can be reached on 571-272-1657. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/FERNANDO JOSE RAMOS-DIAZ/ Examiner, Art Unit 2818
/STEVEN H LOKE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2818
Prosecution Insights