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 .
Response to Arguments
Regarding claim 18 that is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b), applicant amendment has been fully considered. The amendment overcomes the 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejections, hence 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection is withdrawn for claim 18.
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claim 1 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Applicant argues that the applied references fail to disclose a fiber layer having nanometer-scale pores located in the wiring substrate and receiving the transferred light emitting elements. However, the rejection relies on the combined teachings of the reference, not on any one reference alone. Zou teaches the underlying micro-LED transfer-and-binding process, including transfer of the light emitting elements to the receiving side and subsequent pressure/heat processing through auxiliary substrate 213 and polymer 214 so that ACF 203 interconnects the micro-LEDs with the corresponding pads. Koo teaches that the receiving-side layer may be a tacky layer that absorbs kinetic energy, prevents the attached micro-LED chips from becoming askew, and temporally fixes the attached chips, and further teaches that the layer may function as a cushion pad. Sakurai teaches a fiber-based porous layer because it discloses a base layer that is made of fibers, has a plurality of holes, and plays the role of a cushion material. Hsieh teaches that the fiber layer may have nanometer-scale pores, because Hsieh discloses polymer-based nanofibers having a plurality of nanometer-size pores, including pores formed inside and on the surface of the nanofibers. Accordingly, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to implement Zou’s receiving-side layer, as further supported by Koo, as a fiber-based porous cushioning layer having nanometer-scale pores as taught by Sakurai and Hsieh in order to cushion the descending light emitting elements during transfer, reduce skew, and temporarily hold the transferred elements prior to pressure bonding.
Applicant's arguments regarding claim 15 rejection have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues that Shim’s partition walls are not for supporting a porous transfer-target layer and there is no motivation to combine the references. However, the rejection does not rely on Shim for teaching the porous fiber layer. Rather, Zou teaches the transfer-and-bonding process, Ko teaches a receiving-side layer that absorbs kinetic energy, prevents chips from becoming askew, and temporarily fixes them, Sakurai teaches a fiber-based porous cushioning layer, and Hsieh teaches nanometer-scale pores in the fiber structure. Shim is relied on only for teaching a partition-wall/groove structure (partition wall 1040, assembly groove 1050) that establishes a spaced assembly region relative to the underlying electrode region. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art to incorporate Shim’s partition-wall structure into the applied combination in order to support the porous fiber receiving layer in a spaced relationship relative to the electrode pads, thereby preserving the cushioning function of the fiber layer during transfer while preventing premature contact with the electrode pads before pressure bonding.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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 13-14, 16, 18-19 and 21 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zou (US 20170330857 A1) in view of Koo (US 20210050336 A1) further in view of Sakurai (US 20140010991 A1) and further in view of Hsieh (US 20040241436 A1).
Re: Independent Claim 13 (Currently amended), Zou discloses a manufacturing method of a display device using light emitting elements comprising:
preparing an assembly comprising a wiring substrate on which electrode pads are formed (Zou, Fig. 4A, receiving substrate 204 having signal leads 205 and electrode pads 205' for connecting the micro-LEDs);
locating the light emitting elements arranged on a base substrate at positions of the electrode pads on the assembly (Zou, Fig 4A, base substrate 201 having micro-LEDs 202, aligned with the pads on receiving substrate 204);
transferring the light emitting elements onto the fiber layer (Zou teaches, in Figs. 4A-4C, transferring micro-LEDs 202 onto the anisotropic conductive layer 203 on the receiving substrate 204; Zoe is silent regarding the layer that the light emitter elements are transferred to is a fiber layer, which is taught by Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh as explained below);
locating an adhesive layer on the transferred light emitting elements (Zou, Fig 4J, ¶ [0104], auxiliary substrate 213 coated with polymer 214 (adhesive layer) is positioned over the transferred micro-LEDs as an adhesive layer to stabilize them);
and bonding the light emitting elements to the electrode pads by applying pressure to the adhesive layer toward the light emitting elements (Zou, Fig 4K, ¶ [0105], pressure applied via auxiliary substrate 213 through adhesive layer 214 during processing ACF 203 on receiving substrate 204).
Zou is silent regarding a fiber layer having nanometer-scale pores which is located on the wiring substrate, and that the light emitting elements are transferred onto that fiber layer.
However, Koo teaches, in ¶¶ [0042] - [0045] a receiving side bonding layer 14 associated with anisotropic conductive film 12 on the substrate 11, where bonding layer 14 is a tacky layer which absorbs kinetic energy of the transferred micro-LED chips 20, prevents the attached micro-LED chips 20 from becoming askew and temporally fixes the attached micro-LED chips 20.
Sakurai teaches implementing such a cushioning layer as fiber-based porous layer. In particular, Sakurai teaches a base layer 1 that is a substrate made of fibers and has plural holes inside, and expressly teaches that this base layer plays role of a cushion material. Sakurai also teaches that the base layer may be a porous member and that the holes may penetrate through the base layer toward the side touching the adhesive layer.
Hsieh, in ¶ [0007], teaches that the fiber layer may have nanometer-scale pores. In particular, Hsieh teaches polymer-based nano-fibers having a plurality of nanometer size pores (nanopores), teaches that nanometer size pores can be formed inside the nanofibers and on the surface of the nanofibers, teaches continuous fiber compositions having nanometer sized diameters and surface pores.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zou's receiving side-assembly so that the layer receiving the transferred light emitting elements is implemented as a fiber layer having nanometer-scale pores, as taught by Sakurai and Hsieh while retaining the impact-absorbing and temporary fixing function taught by Koo’s bonding layer 14, in order to provide a compliant porous fiber receiving layer that cushions the descending light emitting elements during transfer, reduces skew of transferred elements, and temporarily holds the transferred elements in place prior to pressure bonding. Zou already teaches transferring the micro-LEDs to a receiving-side layer and then applying pressure through polymer 214/auxiliary substrate 213 so that ACF 203 interconnects the micro-LEDs with the corresponding pads. Koo teaches the desirability of a receiving-side layer that absorbs kinetic energy and functions as a cushion pad; Sakurai teaches a fiber-made porous layer with holes that functions as a cushion material; and Hsieh teaches nanoporous nanofiber/membrane structures having nano-scale pores. Using known nanoporous fiber layer structure of Hsieh in the fiber-based cushioning layer taught by Sakurai to implement Koo’s receiving-side cushioning layer in Zou’s process would therefore have been no more than the predictable use of known porous fiber-layer materials for the same cushioning and temporary-holing purpose at the transfer interface.
Re: Claim 14 (Original), Zou, Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh disclose all the limitations of claim 13 on which this claim depends.
Koo further teaches,
wherein the light emitting elements are electrically connected to the electrode pads by conductive balls located on the electrode pads (Koo, Figs. 2A-2E, conductive pad 22 which is a part of micro-LEDs 20 are electrically connected to electrode pads 110 by conductive particles 122 (conductive balls 122).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement Zou's pad-to-micro-LEDs electrical connection on the receiving substrate 204/pads 205' using conductive balls at the pad site as taught by Koo (e.g., conductive ball in the bonding layer region over the electrode pad) in order to provide a robust, repeatable electrical interconnect during the pressure bonding step of Zou while maintaining the same overall ACF-based assembly/transfer process. (Koo, ¶¶ [0033,0034]).
Re: Claim 16 (Currently amended), Zou, Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh disclose all the limitations of claim 13 on which this claim depends.
Zou further teaches,
wherein transferring the light emitting elements onto the fiber layer comprises irradiating a laser on the light emitting elements from a base substrate side (Zou, in Fig. 4B, ¶ [0095], teaches that, during transfer of the micro-LEDs 202 from the original/base substrate 201 to the receiving substrate 204 (having ACF 203), a laser 206 is irradiated from the original/base substrate (201) side to selectively lift -off the micro-LEDs 202 onto the ACF 203).
Re: Claim 18 (Currently amended), Zou, Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh disclose all the limitations of claim 13 on which this claim depends.
Koo further teaches,
wherein the fiber layer and the adhesive layer have the same thermal characteristics with respect to heat so that both the fiber layer and the adhesive layer are partially or completely liquefied and then hardened ( Koo teaches an anisotropic conductive film 12 and a bonding layer 14, teaches, in ¶¶ [0054]-[0057], that heat and pressure may be applies after the micro-LED 20 are seated, teaches that the anisotropic conductive film 12 and the bonding layer 14 are cured to fix the periphery of the conductive structure of the micro LED chip 20, and teaches that during the curing process the bonding layer 14 and the anisotropic conductive film 12 may be partially mixed together by chemical or physical reaction. Accordingly, this teaches that the two layer are selected to have compatible thermal-response characteristics such that upon heating, they soften/flow together and then harden as an integrated cured structure).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement Zou's adhesive layer (e.g., polymer 214 applied/ positioned via auxiliary substrate 213) so that it has the same heat-directional/thermal-response characteristics as the porous fiber receiving layer as taught by Koo in view of Sakurai and Hsieh (i.e., compatible flow/softening and curing/hardening behavior under the bonding thermal budget), as taught by Koo's co-curing/co-mixing of bonding layer 14 with ACF 12, in order to promote an integrated cured bond structure and fix the periphery of the conductive structure of the micro LED chip (Koo, ¶ [0056]).
Re: Claim 19 (Original), Zou, Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh disclose all the limitations of claim 13 on which this claim depends.
Koo further teaches,
wherein the base substrate comprises a sacrificial layer to which the light emitting elements are attached (Koo teaches, in Fig 2D, ¶ [0047] - [0049], micro-LEDs 20 are attached onto base substrate 31 by means of bonding agent 32, and that when laser L1 is radiated, the bonding agent 32 is ablated, hence, 32 is the sacrificial layer).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to implement Zou's laser lift transfer lift-off transfer from the base substrate using a sacrificial attachment layer as taught by Koo in order to provide controlled laser-based transfer of the light emitting elements for the base substrate.
Re: Claim 21 (New), Zou, Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh disclose all the limitations of claim 13 on which this claim depends.
Hsieh further teaches
wherein sizes of the nanometer-scale pores are approximately 60 nm to 80 nm (Hsieh, in ¶ [0116], nanopore diameters ranging from 8 to 60nm. Because the claim requires range approximately 60nm to 80nm, Hsieh teaches a pore size at the lower end of the claimed approximate range. It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to select pore sizes at or about 60nm, and values close thereto).
Claims 15 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zou (US 20170330857 A1) in view of Koo (US 20210050336 A1) further in view of Sakurai (US 20140010991 A1), further in view of Hsieh (US 20040241436 A1) and further in view of Shim (WO 2020251070 A1).
Re: Claim 15 (Currently Amended), Zou, Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh disclose all the limitations of claim 13 on which this claim depends.
Zou, Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh are silent regarding,
wherein the assembly comprises partition walls configured to support the fiber layer to space the fiber layer apart from the electrode pads.
However, Shim teaches wherein the assembly comprises partition walls configured to support the fiber layer to space the fiber layer apart from the electrode pads (Shim, Fig. 10a-d and 11a-d, Shim teaches providing raised partition wall 1040 on an insulating layer 1030 over substrate 1010, with the partition wall 1040 also disposed on/over an assembly electrode 1020, such that the partition wall defines an assembly grove 1050, and the groove width is slightly wider than the width of the assembly surface of the vertical semiconductor light-emitting device, that the partition wall height/groove depth is selected for stable assembly position. In this configuration, the raised partition wall structure functions as a standoff/support feature that establishes a spaced region relative to the underlying electrode).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to incorporate Shim's partition walls (1040) into Zou's assembly, as modified by Koo (substrate 204 having circuit part/electrode pads 205/205' with the shock-absorbing bonding layer as taught by Koo thereon), Sakurai and Hsieh in order to support the porous fiber layer and maintain separation/controlled spacing relative to the electrode-pad regions, while also improving pixel-to-pixel isolation (i.e., limiting spread), and preserving the cushioning and temporary-fixing functions of the receiving-side layer and improve placement control during transfer and bonding.
Claims 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zou (US 20170330857 A1) in view of Koo (US 20210050336 A1) further in view of Sakurai (US 20140010991 A1), further in view of Hsieh (US 20040241436 A1), and further in view of Andry (US 20140106473 A1).
Re: Claim 20 (Original), Zou, Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh disclose all the limitations of claim 19 on which this claim depends.
Zou, Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh are silent regarding,
wherein the sacrificial layer comprises a UV absorbing layer.
However, Andry teaches wherein the sacrificial layer comprises a UV absorbing layer (Andry teaches, in Fig. 2 and ¶ [0046], release layer 24 between transparent handler (22) and a device wafer (21), where the release layer (24) is highly specialized to absorb UV laser wavelengths used for laser ablation, and is irritated by UV laser (25)).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to select modify Koo's sacrificial bonding agent (32) such that it comprises a UV-absorbing layer as taught by Andry's UV-absorbing release layer (24) in order to increase absorption of UV irradiation during laser release thereby enabling more efficient ablation of the sacrificial layer (Andry, ¶ [0056]).
Claims 22-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zou (US 20170330857 A1) in view of Koo (US 20210050336 A1) further in view of Sakurai (US 20140010991 A1), further in view of Hsieh (US 20040241436 A1), and further in view of Qi (US 6774497 B1).
Re: Claim 22 (New), Zou, Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh disclose all the limitations of claim 19 on which this claim depends.
Zou, Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh are silent regarding,
wherein the transferring the light emitting elements onto the fiber layer is performed in a state in which conductive balls are attached to the light emitting elements.
However, Qi teaches
wherein the transferring the light emitting elements onto the fiber layer is performed in a state in which conductive balls are attached to the light emitting elements (Qi, in Fig. 2B and column 6 lines 1-20, teaches a bumped flip chip 210 having an active surface 212, pads 214, and a plurality of connective bumps 220 extending from the active surface where the connective bumps may comprise solder bumps or solder balls, and each bump has a side region 222. As previously taught by the applied combination for claim 13 above, particularly Zou’s micro-LEDs 202 and Koo’s micro-LED chips 20 teach light-emitting elements itself. Accordingly, the bumped flip chip 210 with solder balls/solder bumps 220 of Qi teaches the claimed state in which conductive balls are attached to the element prior to attachment to the substrate).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Zou/Koo/ Sakurai/Hsieh combination so that the light emitting elements are transferred onto the fiber layer in a state in which conductive balls are attached to the light-emitting elements, as taught by the bumped chip configuration of Qi, in order to facilitate subsequent electrical interconnection to the electrode pads during the later bonding step and to use a known pre-bumped interconnect arrangement for the transferred element. Since Zou already teaches transfer of the light-emitting elements to the receiving side followed by a later bonding operation, and Qi teaches a chip having solder balls/bumps already attached before substrate attachment, applying that known pre-bumped configuration to the transferred light-emitting elements would have been a predictable variation.
Re: Claim 23 (New), Zou, Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh disclose all the limitations of claim 19 on which this claim depends.
Zou, Koo, Sakurai and Hsieh are silent regarding,
wherein the transferring the light emitting elements onto the fiber layer is performed in a state in which a protective cap is coated on an outer surface of the light emitting elements and is coated on conductive balls attached to the light emitting elements.
However, Qi teaches
wherein the transferring the light emitting elements onto the fiber layer is performed in a state in which a protective cap is coated on an outer surface of the light emitting elements and is coated on conductive balls attached to the light emitting elements (Qi, in Fig. 2A-2C and their description, teaches a bumped flip chip 210 having an active surface 212, pads 214, and connective bumps 220 extending from the active surface, where the connective bumps may comprise solder bumps or solder balls. Qi further teaches applying a thin layer of underfill material 230 to the active surface 212 of the bumped flip chip and to a portion of the side regions 222 of the connective bumps 220. Qi also teaches that the underfill material provides a coating that protects the traces and pads of the bumped flip chip and provides strain/stress relief for the solder bumps or solder balls. Accordingly, Qi teaches the added limitation of an element being in a bumped state with a protective coating on the outer surface of the element and on the conductive balls attached thereto).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the Zou/Koo/ Sakurai/ Hsieh combination so that the light-emitting elements are transferred onto the fiber layer in a state in which conductive balls are attached to the light-emitting elements and a protective cap is coated on the outer surface of the light-emitting elements on the conductive balls, as taught by the bumped-and-coated chip configuration of Qi (flip chip 210, active surface 212, conductive bumps 220, underfill material 230), in order to protect the bumped interconnect structure during handling and transfer and still permit subsequent electrical interconnection to the electrode pads during the later bonding steps.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BIPANA ADHIKARI DAWADI whose telephone number is (571)272-4149. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 11:30am-7:30pm.
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/BIPANA ADHIKARI DAWADI/Examiner, Art Unit 2898
/JESSICA S MANNO/SPE, Art Unit 2898
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