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 of Group II (claims 6 and 8-16) in the reply filed on May 06, 2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)). Claims 1-5 and 7-21 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Group.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to as failing to comply with 37 CFR 1.84(p)(5) because they include the following reference characters not mentioned in the description: 4a, 4b, and 4c. Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d), or amendment to the specification to add the reference character(s) in the description in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(b) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities. In paragraph [0031], the brief description of the drawings for Figure 1 and Figure 2 should be changed to the following:
Figure 1a shows a dielectric based OTFT structure, Figure 1b shows a bi-layered dielectric based OTFT structure, and Figure 1c shows a tri-layered dielectric based OTFT structure, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention
Figure 2a shows a dielectric based capacitor structure; Figure 2b shows a bi-layered dielectric based capacitor structure, and Figure 2c shows a tri-layered dielectric based capacitor structure, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention
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(d):
(d) REFERENCE IN DEPENDENT FORMS.—Subject to subsection (e), a claim in dependent form shall contain a reference to a claim previously set forth and then specify a further limitation of the subject matter claimed. A claim in dependent form shall be construed to incorporate by reference all the limitations of the claim to which it refers.
Claim 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint, regards as the invention. The term “the PLA layer” in line 2 lacks antecedent basis. This rejection can be overcome by changing the claim dependency to claim 14.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(d) as being of improper dependent form for failing to further limit the subject matter of the claim upon which it depends, or for failing to include all the limitations of the claim upon which it depends. Claim 16 is identical to and has the same scope as claim 13, which is the claim that it is dependent upon. This rejection can be overcome by changing the claim dependency to either claim 14 or claim 15.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 6 and 8-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1)/(a)(2) as being anticipated by Wu et al. (US Pub 2010/0140705).
Regarding claim 6, Wu discloses an organic thin-film transistor (OTFT) comprising: a) a substrate component, b) a gate component, c) a multi-layered dielectric component, d) a source component, and e) a drain component (Figure 1, [0068], claim 1).
Regarding claims 8 and 9, Wu discloses that the multi-layered dielectric component comprises a lower-k polymer phase layer and a higher-k polymer phase layer ([0051], [0066]).
Regarding claims 10 and 11, Wu discloses that the multi-layered dielectric component can consists of only organic and biodegradable materials ([0036]-[0038], [0043]).
Claims 12-14 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 15 and 16 would be allowable if rewritten to overcome the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b)/(d) set forth in this Office action and to include all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
None of the prior art documents disclose or suggest the claimed OTFT wherein the multi-layered dielectric component comprises a polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose nanocrystal blended dielectric (PVAc) layer and a toluene diisocyanate-terminated polycaprolactone (TPCL) layer deposited above the PVAc layer.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Blaine Copenheaver whose telephone number is (571)272-1156. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8-5.
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, Frank Vineis can be reached at (571)270-1547. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/BLAINE COPENHEAVER/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1781
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