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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Title
The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed. (see MPEP § 606.01).
This may result in slightly longer titles, but the loss in brevity of title will be more than offset by the gain in its informative value in indexing, classifying, searching, etc.
The following title is suggested:
“Semiconductor light-emitting apparatus with a Raised Sealing Member over a Flip-Chip Light-Emitting Element”
because it identifies the principal structural arrangement disclosed throughout the application: a flip-chip semiconductor light-emitting element covered by a raised sealing member, enabled by a frame body having an upper surface lower than that of the light-emitting element. It is descriptive without reciting the intended benefits (e.g., improved reliability or light extraction) and remains consistent with the disclosed embodiments.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 1-2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Lin (US 20230207766).
Regarding claim 1. Lin discloses A semiconductor light-emitting apparatus comprising:
a package substrate 210 (Figs. 2-4);
a semiconductor light-emitting element (LED chip) 220 flip-chip bonded on the package substrate 210 (Fig. 3; [0032]);
a frame body (patterned conductive layer) 230 provided around the semiconductor light-emitting element on the package substrate (Fig. 2; [0028]-[0031]); and
a sealing member (encapsulation layer) 240 that covers an upper surface of the semiconductor light-emitting element, covers an upper surface of the frame body, and has translucency at an emission wavelength of the semiconductor light-emitting element (Figs. 2 and 4; [0028], [0033]-[0035]);
wherein a height of the upper surface of the frame body 230 is smaller than a height of the upper surface of the semiconductor light-emitting element 220, as shown in Fig. 4, where the upper surface of patterned conductive layer 230 is disposed below the upper surface of LED chip 220;
wherein the upper surface of the semiconductor light-emitting element 220 has a plurality of corner portions (Fig. 2); and
wherein a distance from each of the plurality of corner portions to the frame body is smaller than a width of the upper surface of the frame body, as shown in Fig. 2, where the semiconductor light-emitting element 220 is disposed within and surrounded by the frame body 230 such that the spacing between each corner portion of the semiconductor light-emitting element 220 and the frame body 230 is less than the width of the upper surface of the frame body 230.
Regarding claim 2. Lin discloses The semiconductor light-emitting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
a protective element, namely packaging protection layer 260, disposed on the package substrate 210 and covered by the sealing member (encapsulation layer) 240 (Fig. 15; [0057]);
wherein a distance from the protective element 260 to the frame body 230 is smaller than the width of the upper surface of the frame body, as shown in Fig. 15, where the packaging protection layer 260 extends to and contacts the frame body 230 such that the distance between the protective element 260 and the frame body 230 is zero, which is smaller than the width of the upper surface of the frame body 230; and
wherein a distance from the semiconductor light-emitting element 220 to the protective element 260 is smaller than the width of the upper surface of the frame body, as shown in Fig. 15 and described in [0057], where the packaging protection layer 260 covers the upper surface and side wall of the semiconductor light-emitting element 220 such that the distance between the semiconductor light-emitting element 220 and the protective element 260 is zero, which is smaller than the width of the upper surface of the frame body 230.
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.
Claims 3-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (US 20230207766) in view of Yoon (US 20190181297).
Regarding claim 3. Lin discloses the semiconductor light-emitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor light-emitting element includes an anode electrode 2251 and a cathode electrode 2252 bonded to the package substrate, and a semiconductor layer 2220 on the anode electrode and the cathode electrode (Fig. 3; [0032]). Lin further discloses that the upper surface of the frame body is disposed above the lower portion of the semiconductor light-emitting element, as shown in Fig. 4.
But Lin does not expressly disclose that the semiconductor light-emitting element further includes a translucent substrate on the semiconductor layer.
However, Yoon teaches a flip-chip light-emitting device including a translucent substrate 21 on which semiconductor layers are formed. Yoon further teaches that substrate 21 may comprise sapphire, SiC, ZnO, GaN, or other materials having excellent light transmittance (Fig. 1; [0046]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to include the translucent substrate taught by Yoon because translucent substrates, such as sapphire, were well known in flip-chip LEDs to provide mechanical support for epitaxial semiconductor layers while permitting efficient transmission of emitted light. The substitution merely employs a known substrate material in a known flip-chip LED structure to obtain its recognized advantages and would have yielded predictable results. As modified, the semiconductor light-emitting element would include an anode electrode, a cathode electrode, a semiconductor layer, and a translucent substrate on the semiconductor layer, while retaining the relative height relationship disclosed by Lin, whereby the height of the upper surface of the frame body is greater than the height of the lower surface of the translucent substrate.
Regarding claim 4. Lin in view of Yoon discloses the semiconductor light-emitting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the height of the upper surface of the frame body is larger than or equal to one-half of the thickness of the translucent substrate. Specifically, Yoon teaches that substrate 21 is a translucent substrate (Fig. 1; [0046]). Lin teaches, in the embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4, a flip-chip semiconductor light-emitting apparatus having the structure recited in claim 3. Lin further teaches, in the embodiment of Figs. 9 and 10, a waterproof layer 280 formed around the periphery of encapsulation layer 240 [0047]. Under the broadest reasonable interpretation, waterproof layer 280 constitutes the claimed frame body, as claim 4 does not limit the frame body to any particular material, structure, or function. Lin further teaches that waterproof layer 280 has a thickness greater than or equal to the thickness of encapsulation layer 240 [0047], and that encapsulation layer 240 has a first thickness T31 of 250 μm [0041]. Lin also teaches a substrate thickness of 300 μm to 400 μm or 400 μm to 500 μm [0032].
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the embodiment of Figs. 3 and 4 by incorporating the waterproof layer 280 of the embodiment of Figs. 9 and 10, because Lin teaches that the waterproof layer improves waterproof performance while maintaining the light-emitting device structure [0047]. The resulting apparatus would have a frame body having an upper surface at a height of at least 250 μm, which is greater than or equal to one-half of the thickness of the translucent substrate (150–250 μm), as claimed.
Regarding claim 5. Lin, as modified by Yoon, discloses the semiconductor light-emitting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a height from the upper surface of the semiconductor light-emitting element to an apex portion of the sealing member is smaller than the thickness of the translucent substrate. Specifically, Lin teaches that the first thickness T31, measured from the upper surface S221 of the semiconductor light-emitting element (LED chip) 220 to the apex portion 243 of the encapsulation layer 240, is 100 μm to 400 μm (Fig. 4; [0036]). Lin further teaches that the LED substrate has a thickness of 300 μm to 400 μm or 400 μm to 500 μm ([0032]). Yoon teaches that the LED substrate is a translucent substrate (substrate 21) (Fig. 1; [0046]). Therefore, the disclosed height T31 from the upper surface of the semiconductor light-emitting element to the apex portion of the sealing member is smaller than the thickness of the translucent substrate, as claimed.
Regarding claim 6. Lin, as modified by Yoon, discloses the semiconductor light-emitting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a thickness of the translucent substrate is 300 μm to 500 μm. Specifically, Lin teaches that the thickness of the LED substrate may be 300 μm to 400 μm or 400 μm to 500 μm [0032], which collectively teaches the claimed thickness range of 300 μm to 500 μm.
Claim 7 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (US 20230207766) in view of Cheng (US 20200185569).
Regarding claim 7, Lin discloses the semiconductor light-emitting apparatus according to claim 1, but Lin does not expressly disclose a gap between the package substrate and the sealing member.
However, Cheng teaches a light-emitting package including a substrate 10, a cover element 20 (the claimed sealing member), and an accommodation space (gap) 12 provided between the substrate 10 and the cover element 20, in which the light-emitting unit 30 is accommodated (Fig. 1; [0025]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Lin by providing the gap between the package substrate and the sealing member as taught by Cheng, because Cheng teaches that the gap accommodates the light-emitting unit while the cover element is sealed to the substrate by sealant 40 to seal the accommodation space, thereby protecting the light-emitting unit from the external environment. The resulting semiconductor light-emitting apparatus would include a gap between the package substrate and the sealing member, as claimed.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (US 20230207766).
Regarding claim 8, Lin discloses the semiconductor light-emitting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the semiconductor light-emitting element 220 is disposed within and surrounded by frame body 230 (Figs. 2 and 4).
But Lin does not expressly disclose that a distance from each of the plurality of corner portions to the frame body is equal to or more than 10 μm and equal to or less than 300 μm.
However, Lin further teaches, in the seventh embodiment, that the minimum distance from each protruding column 270 to the corresponding corner of the LED chip along a diagonal line ranges from 10 μm to 300 μm ([0067]-[0072]).
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the embodiment of Figs. 2-4 by positioning the frame body 230 such that the distance from each corner portion of the semiconductor light-emitting element to the frame body is within the same range taught for protruding columns 270, because Lin teaches that spacing within the range of 10 μm to 300 μm reduces mechanical stress in the encapsulation layer while maintaining light emission efficiency ([0067]-[0074]). Furthermore, the claimed distance range is not shown to be critical, nor has Applicant demonstrated that selecting a distance within the claimed range produces any unexpected result. Accordingly, selecting a distance of 10 μm to 300 μm between the corner portions of the semiconductor light-emitting element and the frame body would have been an obvious matter of routine design choice yielding predictable results.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Changhyun Yi whose telephone number is (571)270-7799. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday: 10A-3P.
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/Changhyun Yi/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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