DETAILED ACTION
Examiner’s Notes
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 without traverse of Group II (claims 12-18) in the reply on 02/16/2026 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-11 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to nonelected Group, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112:
(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 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 12-18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 12 recites multiple “selenium” in line 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 16, respectively. It is unclear whether the claimed “selenium” is identical to or a different feature from the claimed “selenium” in line 5. For the purpose of office action, the recitation will be treated as if it recites “the selenium”. All claims which depend on clam 12 are rejected by virtue of dependency. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 16 recites “an absorber layer” in line 1. It is unclear whether the claimed “an absorber layer” is identical to or a different feature from the claimed “an absorber layer” in claim 1. For the purpose of office action, the recitation will be treated as if it recites “the absorber layer”. All claims which depend on clam 16 are rejected by virtue of dependency. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim 16 recites “(b) disposing the absorber layer on the selenium source layer; and (c) introducing selenium into at least a portion of the absorber layer” in lines 3-4. However, the step (b) and the step (c) are recited as a part of the process for providing “the absorber layer”. The claim language appears to treat the absorber layer both as a final structure being provided and as a pre-existing element that is disposed in step (b) and step (c). It is unclear how the absorber layer, which is the result of the “providing” step, can already exist and be disposed on the selenium source layer as recited. Accordingly, the claim language renders the scope of the claim unclear. All claims which depend on clam 16 are rejected by virtue of dependency. Appropriate correction is required. (Examiner’s Note: In case of amendment to the claim(s), further search and consideration are required).
Claim 16 recites “selenium” in line 4. It is unclear whether the claimed “selenium” is identical to or a different feature from the claimed “selenium” in claim 1. For the purpose of office action, the recitation will be treated as if it recites “the selenium”. All claims which depend on clam 16 are rejected by virtue of dependency. Appropriate correction is required.
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 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 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by JASIENIAK (US 20130280854 A1).
Regarding claim 12, JASIENIAK teaches a method of making a photovoltaic device (see the making a solar cell device with the structure ITO/CdTe/CdSe0.9Te0.1/CdSe0.5Te0.5/CdSe0.1Te0.9/ZnO/Al, see the Detailed Description for the device fabrication, Fig. 1), comprising: providing an absorber layer on a layer stack (see providing “CdSe0.9Te0.1/CdSe0.5Te0.5/CdSe0.1Te0.9” layer on the layer stack of “ITO/CdTe”), wherein the layer stack is transparent (“ITO/CdTe” is transparent), and the absorber layer is configured to receive solar radiation through the layer stack (see P42, In the devices of the invention, illumination occurs through the absorbing CdTe layer with the transparent ZnO layer at the back of the device), wherein:
the absorber layer comprises selenium (see the Se in the “CdSe0.9Te0.1/CdSe0.5Te0.5/CdSe0.1Te0.9” layer);
an atomic concentration of selenium varies across a thickness of the absorber layer (see the variance in atomic concentration of selenium across the thickness of the “CdSe0.9Te0.1/CdSe0.5Te0.5/CdSe0.1Te0.9” layer);
the absorber layer comprises a first region (see the CdSe0.9Te0.1 region) and a second region (see the CdSe0.1Te0.9 region), the first region disposed proximate to the layer stack relative to the second region (see the structure ITO/CdTe/CdSe0.9Te0.1/CdSe0.5Te0.5/CdSe0.1Te0.9/ZnO/Al);
an average atomic concentration of selenium in the first region is greater than an average atomic concentration of selenium in the second region (The average atomic concentration of selenium in the CdSe0.9Te0.1 region (45 at%) is greater than the average atomic concentration of selenium in the CdSe0.1Te0.9 region (5 at%);
a ratio of the average atomic concentration of selenium in the first region to the average atomic concentration of selenium in the second region is greater than 2 (see the discussion above; 45 at% / 5 at% = 9); and
at least a portion of the selenium is present in the absorber layer in the form of a ternary compound of cadmium, selenium, and tellurium (see the “CdSe0.9Te0.1/CdSe0.5Te0.5/CdSe0.1Te0.9” layer).
Regarding claim 13, Applicant is directed above for a full discussion as applied to claim 12.
JASIENIAK teaches the step of providing an absorber layer comprises: co-depositing a selenium source material (see CdSex) and a semiconductor material (see CdTe1-x) (P44, The CdSex:CdTe1-x solutions were coated onto a substrate and subjected to CdCI2 and thermal treatment to yield CdSexTe1-x thin-films, which teaches co-depositing CdSex and CdTe1-x).
Regarding claim 14, Applicant is directed above for a full discussion as applied to claim 12.
JASIENIAK teaches the step of providing an absorber layer comprises: contacting a semiconductor material (see CdTe1-x) with a selenium source (see CdSex) (P44, The CdSex:CdTe1-x solutions were coated onto a substrate and subjected to CdCI2 and thermal treatment to yield CdSexTe1-x thin-films, which teaches contacting CdTe1-x with CdSex).
Regarding claim 15, Applicant is directed above for a full discussion as applied to claim 12.
JASIENIAK teaches the selenium source comprises at least one of: elemental selenium, cadmium selenide, hydrogen selenide, or organo-metallic selenium (see CdSex); and the selenium source contacted to the semiconductor material is in the form of a layer (P44, The CdSex:CdTe1-x solutions were coated onto a substrate and subjected to CdCI2 and thermal treatment to yield CdSexTe1-x thin-films, which makes a layer of CdSex and CdTe1-x).
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TAE-SIK KANG whose telephone number is 571-272-3190. The examiner can normally be reached on 9:00am – 5:00pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Matthew T. Martin can be reached on 571-270-7871. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/TAE-SIK KANG/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1728