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 § 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.
Claim(s) 16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Munday (10,403,781).
Re claim 16, Munday discloses a method of forming a sensor (a silicon-based photosensor which is easily integrated into commercial Si devices while absorbing approximately 80% of broadband IR radiation; FIG. 1, col. 3), the method comprising: forming an intermediate band layer comprising a plurality of dopant particles on a surface of a photo-sensitive silicon substrate (the silicon-based photosensor includes a silicon substrate 24 [photo-sensitive silicon substrate]) having a metal film 14 (intermediate band layer) disposed thereon, wherein the interface between the substrate 24 and the metal film forms a Schottky junction which is heavily doped; (figure 1; col. 6, lines 13-39; col. 9, lines 37-44), wherein the intermediate band layer is configured to absorb a portion of incident electromagnetic radiation (sub-bandgap photons 12 are absorbed in the metal film 14; FIG. 1; col. 6, lines 13-39) comprising a first range of wavelengths greater than 1100 nm (sub-bandgap photons 12 absorbed in the metal film 14 comprise a wavelength k_0 between 1.2 and 1.5 micrometers; FIG. 1; col 6, lines 13-39; col. 9, lines 10-15 & 50-61; claim 1 of Munday) and form optically induced minority carriers (absorption of the light 12 in the metal film 14 leads to carriers 16, 18; FIG. 1; col 6, lines 13-39).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 17-20 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.
Claims 1-15 and 21 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
With respect to claim 1, the known prior art does not teach the claim as a whole. In particular, the prior art does not disclose or fairly suggest a photo-sensitive silicon substrate configured to detect the electromagnetic radiation comprising a second range of wavelengths less than or equal to 1100 nm in combination with the remaining limitations recited in claim 1.
None of the prior art on record contains such a limitation, nor given the prior art on record is it obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to add said limitations as recited in claim 1. Therefore, claim 1 is allowed as it is not anticipated by or obvious over the teachings of the prior art on record. Furthermore, claims 2-15 are also allowed as they depend from an allowed base claim.
With respect to claim 21, the known prior art does not teach the claim as a whole. In particular, the prior art does not disclose or fairly suggest converting, via an n-p junction of the photo-sensitive silicon substrate, a minority carrier optically induced in the intermediate band layer to a carrier in a conduction band or a valence band of the silicon sensor in combination with the remaining limitations recited in claim 21.
None of the prior art on record contains such a limitation, nor given the prior art on record is it obvious to one ordinarily skilled in the art to add said limitations as recited in claim 21. Therefore, claim 21 is allowed as it is not anticipated by or obvious over the teachings of the prior art on record.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Citation of Pertinent Prior Art
The following prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: US 2017/0033246 A1 disclose a similar configuration for a sensor.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MICHELLE MANDALA whose telephone number is (571)272-1858. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00-5:00 PM.
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/MICHELLE MANDALA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893 June 1, 2026
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