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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 4-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wakabayashi et al. (US 20230114451 A1) hereafter referred to as Wakabayashi in view of Haas et al. (US 11653522 B2) hereafter referred to as Haas
In regard to claim 1 Wakabayashi teaches a [“FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the imaging device 100”] light detection device comprising:
a lower structure [see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, see 47, 62 and the layers below “Note that the plugs 47A, 47B, and 47C illustrated in FIG. 2 are collectively indicated as a plug 47 in FIG. 3. Illustration of the semiconductor substrate 31, the various transistors, the wiring line, and the like is omitted in FIG. 3” “As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the imaging device 100 includes plug top electrodes 60, plugs 62, and protective films 70”] that is provided in a detection area [“As illustrated in FIG. 3, the imaging device 100 includes the pixel region 101 and the peripheral region 102” “peripheral region 102 is a region in a shape of a frame that surrounds the pixel region 101 in plan view”] and in a frame area surrounding the detection area;
a plurality of pixel electrodes [“pixel electrodes 50 and the plugs 47” “pixels 110 form a pixel region 101 by being arranged two-dimensionally, that is, in a row direction and a column direction on a semiconductor substrate”] that are provided in array on the lower structure in the detection area;
an organic photoelectric conversion layer [“photoelectric conversion film 51 is made of an organic semiconductor, for example”] that is provided on the plurality of pixel electrodes and continuously formed [see Fig. 3] on the detection area and a part of the frame area;
an upper electrode [“transparent electrode 52”] that is provided on the organic photoelectric conversion layer; and
a conductive protective layer [“plug top electrodes 60 also have a function to protect the plugs 62 as with the protective films 70. However, the protection of the plugs 62 is not sufficiently reliable due to a possible variation in film quality among the plug top electrodes 60. In this embodiment, the protective films 70 are provided above the plug top electrodes 60, and the protective films 70 completely cover the plugs 62 in plan view. Accordingly, it is possible to protect the plugs 62 more reliably. For example, the plugs 62 can be kept from damage and corrosion attributed to etching”] that is provided on the lower structure in at least a part of the frame area
but does not specifically state that the conductive protective layer is transparent nor that it is “and at least partially disposed under a part of a peripheral edge portion of the organic photoelectric conversion layer formed in the frame area”.
However the Examiner notes that “plug top electrodes 60 also have a function to protect the plugs 62” means that 60 is a conductive protective layer and as can be seen in Fig. 3 that “plug top electrodes 60” extends under “photoelectric conversion film 51” thus the claim limitation of “and at least partially disposed under a part of a peripheral edge portion of the organic photoelectric conversion layer formed in the frame area” is satisfied under broadest reasonable interpretation.
Regarding limitation of “transparent” see “The plug top electrode 60 is formed by using the same material as the pixel electrode 50, for example”, “pixel electrode 50 is formed by using a metal such as aluminum and copper or by using a conductive material such as polysilicon doped with an impurity and thud provided with conductivity”.
See the reason for “protective films 70” is oxygen “In this instance, the plugs 62 are covered with the protective films 70. Accordingly, the plugs 62 are protected against the oxygen-containing gas to be used for etching the photoelectric conversion film 51A, for example”. See materials for 70 in paragraphs 0124, 0125 “protective film 70 may be formed by using a conductive material. The material used for forming the protective film 70 is not limited to a particular material as long as the material has low permeability to the corrosion source”.
See Haas teaches transparent electrode material “sub-pixel electrode 202” “pixel electrode 102 is a layer of aluminum (Al) or any other metal, with a typical thickness of 20 nm to 1000 nm, preferably from 100 nm to 300 nm, optionally covered with a fine layer of TiN or MoO.sub.3, or a transparent conductive oxide (abbreviated to TCO) or similar”, see that in Fig. 4 of Haas that “sub-pixel electrode 202” is similar to 50 and 60 of Wakabayashi and includes upper layer of TCO below the “OLED layers 105”. See properties of TCO “common electrode 107 must be deposited by a technique allowing conformal deposition. It may be produced by the technique of atomic deposition of thin films (known by the abbreviation ALD, “atomic layer deposition”) or by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of a transparent conductive oxide (TCO). Among the TCOs that may be suitable mention is made of ZnO, possibly doped with aluminum (known by the abbreviation AZO (aluminum-doped zinc oxide)), SnO.sub.2, and indium oxide doped with tin (known by the abbreviation ITO (indium tin oxide)); these TCOs are known to persons skilled in the art. At the periphery (not shown in the figure), this common electrode 107 is connected to an electrical potential suitable for switching on the OLED 105 when the corresponding pixel electrode 102 is addressed. If a top electrode 106 is deposited by evaporation of a metal, this electrode will be (more or less) pixelated by the separators 104 and, in this case, the common conformal electrode 107 will make the electrical connection between the small tiles of the top injection layer 106” “Another advantage of this architecture is that the conformal common electrode 107, in particular deposited by ALD, is a dense impervious thin film that acts as an encapsulation and protects the OLED stack 105 from moisture and oxygen”.
Thus, it 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 to modify “pixel electrodes 50” and “plug top electrodes 60” of Wakabayashi to include an upper layer of TCO (i.e. replacing “protective films 70” ) below and in contact with “photoelectric conversion film 51” i.e. to modify Wakabayashi to include that the conductive protective layer is transparent and that it is “and at least partially disposed under a part of a peripheral edge portion of the organic photoelectric conversion layer formed in the frame area”.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is that TCO is useful to block moisture and oxygen and gives excellent electrical contact as upper layer of pixel electrodes and plug top electrodes.
In regard to claim 2 Wakabayashi and Haas as combined teaches wherein the transparent conductive protective layer is provided so as [see combination it is top layer of “plug top electrodes 60” and “pixel electrodes 50” beneath “photoelectric conversion film 51” see Wakabayashi Fig. 3] to surround the detection area, and the entire peripheral edge portion of the organic photoelectric conversion layer is disposed [see Wakabayashi Fig. 3] in the frame area.
In regard to claim 4 Wakabayashi and Haas as combined teaches wherein a common line connecting portion [see Wakabayashi Fig. 3 see that “The plug 62 is coupled to the plug top electrode 60” “The wiring line 61 electrically couples the transparent electrode 52 to the plug top electrode 60” “As with the photoelectric conversion film 51, the transparent electrode 52 is continuously formed across the pixels 110. To be more precise, the transparent electrode 52 is formed into a shape of a single flat plate in such a way as to cover the majority of the pixel region 101 in plan view”] electrically connected to a common line is provided on a surface of the lower structure in the frame area, a part of the transparent conductive protective layer covers at least a part [see combination it is top layer of “plug top electrodes 60” and “pixel electrodes 50” beneath “photoelectric conversion film 51” see Wakabayashi Fig. 3] of the common line connecting portion, and the part of the transparent conductive protective layer that covers [see combination it is a conductive top layer of “plug top electrodes 60” and “pixel electrodes 50” beneath “photoelectric conversion film 51” see Wakabayashi Fig. 3] the common line connecting portion is electrically connected to the upper electrode.
In regard to claim 5 Wakabayashi and Haas as combined teaches wherein the plurality of pixel electrodes and the transparent conductive protective layer are [see Wakabayashi “The plug top electrode 60 is formed by using the same material as the pixel electrode 50, for example” see combination see obviousness of to modify “pixel electrodes 50” and “plug top electrodes 60” of Wakabayashi to include an upper layer of TCO] made of a same material.
In regard to claim 6 Wakabayashi and Haas as combined teaches wherein the transparent conductive protective layer [see Wakabayashi “The plug top electrode 60 is formed by using the same material as the pixel electrode 50, for example” see combination see obviousness of to modify “pixel electrodes 50” and “plug top electrodes 60” of Wakabayashi to include an upper layer of TCO, see Haas “Among the TCOs that may be suitable mention is made of ZnO, possibly doped with aluminum (known by the abbreviation AZO (aluminum-doped zinc oxide)), SnO.sub.2, and indium oxide doped with tin (known by the abbreviation ITO (indium tin oxide))”] is made of indium-based oxide.
In regard to claim 7 Wakabayashi and Haas as combined teaches wherein the transparent conductive protective layer is made [see Wakabayashi “The plug top electrode 60 is formed by using the same material as the pixel electrode 50, for example” see combination see obviousness of to modify “pixel electrodes 50” and “plug top electrodes 60” of Wakabayashi to include an upper layer of TCO, see Haas “Among the TCOs that may be suitable mention is made of ZnO, possibly doped with aluminum (known by the abbreviation AZO (aluminum-doped zinc oxide)), SnO.sub.2, and indium oxide doped with tin (known by the abbreviation ITO (indium tin oxide))”] of indium tin oxide (ITO).
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wakabayashi and Haas as combined and further in view of Lee et al. (US 20200091247 A1) hereafter referred to as Lee
In regard to claim 3 Wakabayashi and Haas as combined teaches further comprising a sealing structure [see Wakabayashi Fig. 3 see “Next, the passivation film 54 is formed substantially on the entire surface so as to cover the interlayer insulating layer 43, the plug top electrodes 60, the wiring line 61, the protective films 70, and the insulating layer 53” “Each of the insulating layer 53 and the passivation film 54 is formed by using an insulating material. For example, the insulating layer 53 is formed from any of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, organic or inorganic polymer materials, and the like. The insulating layer 53 and the passivation film 54 are transparent relative to the light with the wavelength to be detected by the imaging device 100, for example”]
but does not state that includes a first inorganic layer, a resin layer, and a second inorganic layer, the first inorganic layer being provided on the upper electrode in the detection area and the frame area, the resin layer being provided on the first inorganic layer, the second inorganic layer being provided on the resin layer, wherein the transparent conductive protective layer is disposed inside the second inorganic layer in a plan view.
See Lee teaches see paragraph 0069 “interlayer insulation layer 123 may include a silicon nitride (SiNx) or a silicon oxide (SiO.sub.x)” “A passivation layer 180 is disposed on the interlayer insulation layer 123, the source electrode 161, and the drain electrode 162. The passivation layer 180 planarizes the interlayer insulating layer 123, the source electrode 161, and the drain electrode 162 by covering them, and accordingly, a pixel electrode 191 can be formed on the passivation layer 180 without having a step difference. The passivation layer 180 may be formed of an organic material such as a polyacrylate resin, a polyimide resin, and the like, or formed of a stacked layer of an organic material and an inorganic material”.
Thus, it 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 to modify Wakabayashi to include that includes a first inorganic layer, a resin layer, and a second inorganic layer, the first inorganic layer being provided on the upper electrode in the detection area and the frame area, the resin layer being provided on the first inorganic layer, the second inorganic layer being provided on the resin layer, wherein the transparent conductive protective layer is disposed inside the second inorganic layer in a plan view.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is to to provide good protection, electrical isolation and structural strength and also planarizing.
Claim(s) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wakabayashi et al. (US 20230114451 A1) hereafter referred to as Wakabayashi in view of Haas et al. (US 11653522 B2) hereafter referred to as Haas
In regard to claim 8 Wakabayashi teaches a [“FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of the imaging device 100”] method for manufacturing a light detection device, comprising the steps of:
forming a lower structure [see Fig. 2, Fig. 3, see 47, 62 and the layers below “Note that the plugs 47A, 47B, and 47C illustrated in FIG. 2 are collectively indicated as a plug 47 in FIG. 3. Illustration of the semiconductor substrate 31, the various transistors, the wiring line, and the like is omitted in FIG. 3” “As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the imaging device 100 includes plug top electrodes 60, plugs 62, and protective films 70”] in a detection area [“As illustrated in FIG. 3, the imaging device 100 includes the pixel region 101 and the peripheral region 102” “peripheral region 102 is a region in a shape of a frame that surrounds the pixel region 101 in plan view”] and in a frame area surrounding the detection area;
forming a plurality of pixel electrodes [“pixel electrodes 50 and the plugs 47” “pixels 110 form a pixel region 101 by being arranged two-dimensionally, that is, in a row direction and a column direction on a semiconductor substrate”] in array on the lower structure in the detection area;
forming a conductive protective layer [see Fig. 10, Fig. 11 “A deposition film 70a constituting a base of the protective films 70 is formed as illustrated in FIG. 10. The deposition film 70a is formed on the entire upper surface 43a of the interlayer insulating layer 43 in such a way as to cover the pixel electrodes 50 and the plug top electrodes 60”] in at least a part of the frame area on the lower structure so as to be adjacent to the detection area;
etching the organic photoelectric conversion layer [see Figs. 12, Fig. 13 “A photosensitive resist is coated on the insulating film 53A, and a portion of the coated photosensitive resist is left only at a location that corresponds later to the photoelectric conversion film 51 by using photolithography and the like. Thereafter, portions of the insulating film 53A, the conductive film 52A, and the photoelectric conversion film 51A not covered with the photosensitive resist are collectively removed by etching” ] with a mask that covers the detection area and a part of an area in the frame area; and
forming an upper electrode [“transparent electrode 52”, see that in Fig. 14 i.e. after etching, the “Thus, the wiring line 61 is formed as illustrated in FIG. 14, which is joined to the plug top electrodes 60 at the upper surface 43a of the interlayer insulating layer 43 and joined to the side surfaces of the transparent electrode 52 as well as the portions on the upper surface of the transparent electrode 52 exposed inside of the through holes 53a” thus under broadest reasonable interpretation the portion of the wiring line 61 touching “transparent electrode 52” can be considered as part of the “upper electrode”, thus the claim limitation of “etched organic” is satisfied] on the etched organic photoelectric conversion layer,
but does not specifically state that the conductive protective layer is transparent nor that the “mask that covers” is “in which the conductive protective layer is formed”.
However the Examiner notes that “plug top electrodes 60 also have a function to protect the plugs 62” means that 60 is a conductive protective layer and as can be seen in Fig. 3 that “plug top electrodes 60” extends under “photoelectric conversion film 51” thus the claim limitation of “in which the conductive protective layer is formed” is satisfied under broadest reasonable interpretation.
Regarding limitation of “transparent” see “The plug top electrode 60 is formed by using the same material as the pixel electrode 50, for example”, “pixel electrode 50 is formed by using a metal such as aluminum and copper or by using a conductive material such as polysilicon doped with an impurity and thud provided with conductivity”.
See the reason for “protective films 70” is oxygen “In this instance, the plugs 62 are covered with the protective films 70. Accordingly, the plugs 62 are protected against the oxygen-containing gas to be used for etching the photoelectric conversion film 51A, for example”. See materials for 70 in paragraphs 0124, 0125 “protective film 70 may be formed by using a conductive material. The material used for forming the protective film 70 is not limited to a particular material as long as the material has low permeability to the corrosion source”.
See Haas teaches transparent electrode material “sub-pixel electrode 202” “pixel electrode 102 is a layer of aluminum (Al) or any other metal, with a typical thickness of 20 nm to 1000 nm, preferably from 100 nm to 300 nm, optionally covered with a fine layer of TiN or MoO.sub.3, or a transparent conductive oxide (abbreviated to TCO) or similar”, see that in Fig. 4 of Haas that “sub-pixel electrode 202” is similar to 50 and 60 of Wakabayashi and includes upper layer of TCO below the “OLED layers 105”. See properties of TCO “common electrode 107 must be deposited by a technique allowing conformal deposition. It may be produced by the technique of atomic deposition of thin films (known by the abbreviation ALD, “atomic layer deposition”) or by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of a transparent conductive oxide (TCO). Among the TCOs that may be suitable mention is made of ZnO, possibly doped with aluminum (known by the abbreviation AZO (aluminum-doped zinc oxide)), SnO.sub.2, and indium oxide doped with tin (known by the abbreviation ITO (indium tin oxide)); these TCOs are known to persons skilled in the art. At the periphery (not shown in the figure), this common electrode 107 is connected to an electrical potential suitable for switching on the OLED 105 when the corresponding pixel electrode 102 is addressed. If a top electrode 106 is deposited by evaporation of a metal, this electrode will be (more or less) pixelated by the separators 104 and, in this case, the common conformal electrode 107 will make the electrical connection between the small tiles of the top injection layer 106” “Another advantage of this architecture is that the conformal common electrode 107, in particular deposited by ALD, is a dense impervious thin film that acts as an encapsulation and protects the OLED stack 105 from moisture and oxygen”.
Thus, it 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 to modify “pixel electrodes 50” and “plug top electrodes 60” of Wakabayashi to include an upper layer of TCO (i.e. replacing “protective films 70” ) below and in contact with “photoelectric conversion film 51” i.e. to modify Wakabayashi to include that the conductive protective layer is transparent and that the “mask that covers” is “in which the conductive protective layer is formed”.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is that TCO is useful to block moisture and oxygen and gives excellent electrical contact as upper layer of pixel electrodes and plug top electrodes.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SITARAMARAO S YECHURI whose telephone number is (571)272-8764. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-4:30 PM.
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/SITARAMARAO S YECHURI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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