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 .
Specification
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.
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.
Claim(s) 1-10 and 16-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Inoue (US 2008/0283728 A1).
Claim 1, Inoue teaches an image sensor (Fig. 3) comprising:
a first light detection device and a second light detection device being different from each other in at least one of a material and a structure (first pixel 11 and second pixel 12; paragraph 0045 and Fig. 3); and
a main body configured to generate an image based on electrical signals received from the first light detection device and the second light detection device (image signal is generated from signals obtained through photoelectric conversion; paragraph 0083), and comprising a first groove and a second groove that have different cross-sectional shapes and accommodate the first light detection device and the second light detection device, respectively (holes 34 and 42 corresponding to pixels 12 and 11, respectively; paragraph 0038, 0047 and Fig. 3).
Claim 2, Inoue further teaches wherein the first light detection device has a cross-sectional shape that is incompatible with the second groove, and the second light detection device has a cross-sectional shape that is incompatible with in the first groove (pixel 12 and hole 34 have different dimensions than that of pixel 11 and hole 42; Fig. 3).
Claim 3, Inoue further teaches wherein an area ratio of the second groove to the first groove is in a range from about 0.8 to about 1.2 (thickness of silicon nitride film for each of pixel 11 and pixel 12 can be about 300 to 1,000nm; paragraph 0047, 0052).
Claim 4, Inoue further teaches wherein a cross-sectional shape of the first light detection device is same as the cross-sectional shape of the first groove (light receiving portion 22 is shaped to fit in hole 34; Fig. 3), and a cross-sectional shape of the second light detection device is same as the cross-sectional shape of the second groove (light receiving portion 21 is shaped to fit in hole 42; Fig. 3).
Claim 5, Inoue further teaches wherein each of a cross-sectional shape of the first light detection device and a cross-sectional shape of the second light detection device is one of a circle, an ellipse, and a polygon (see polygonal cross-section of holes 34, 42; Fig. 3).
Claim 6, Inoue further teaches wherein a gap between a lower surface of the first light detection device and a bottom surface of the first groove is less than or equal to a thickness of the first groove (gap between filler material 38 and bottom of hole 34 is less than the thickness of the groove; see Fig. 3).
Claim 7, Inoue further teaches wherein circuit layers of the first light detection device and the light detection layers of the first light detection device are sequentially arranged from a bottom surface of the first groove (see arrangement of transistors 23 and wirings 31; Fig. 3).
Claim 8, Inoue further teaches wherein a width of an upper surface of the first light detection device is greater than a width of a lower surface of the first light detection device (upper portion of hole 34 is wider than that of a bottom portion of hole 34; Fig. 3).
Claim 9, Inoue further teaches wherein an upper surface of the first light detection device extends onto an upper surface of the main body (see lens 62 on an upper surface of film 60; paragraph 0067 and Fig. 3).
Claim 10, Inoue further teaches wherein a cross-sectional shape of an upper surface of the first light detection device is equal to a cross-sectional shape of an upper surface of the second light detection device (see cross-sections of lenses 62; Fig. 3).
Claim 16, Inoue further teaches wherein a material included in the first light detection device is absent in the second light detection device (first pixel 11 includes an infrared light filter layer 51 but the second pixel 12 does not; see Fig. 3).
Claim 17, Inoue further teaches wherein each of the first light detection device and the second light detection device comprises any one of a light detection device based on a group IV semiconductor (passivation film 43 may be formed from a silicon nitride film; paragraph 0047), a light detection device based on a group III-V semiconductor, a light detection device based on a quantum dot, and a light detection device based on a structure smaller than a wavelength of detected light.
Claim 18, Inoue further teaches wherein the first light detection device is configured to detect visible light (first pixel 11 receives visible light; paragraph 0031), and the second light detection device is configured to detect infrared light or ultraviolet rays (second pixel receive near-infrared light; paragraph 0031).
Claim 19, Inoue further teaches wherein the main body comprises a third light detection device disposed in an upper region of the main body (R, G, and B pixels are configured as first pixels 11; see paragraph 0031 and plan view of Fig. 1), configured to detect visible light (pixel having a color in a visible light region; paragraph 0031) , and output an electrical signal corresponding to light detected by the third light detection device (signal obtained through photoelectric conversion; paragraph 0017), and thicknesses of the first groove and the second groove are substantially same as a thickness of the third light detection device (the additional R,G,B pixels are composed as first pixels 11 and have the same characteristics; see paragraph 0031 and Fig. 3).
Claim 20, Inoue teaches an image sensor (solid-state image pickup device 2; paragraph 0044) comprising:
a main body comprising a plurality of grooves (holes 34, 42; paragraph 0038, 0047 and Fig. 3) with a plurality of different cross-sectional shapes (see Fig. 3);
a plurality of semiconductor chips classified into two or more different chip types based on a material and a structure (semiconductor chip structure of first pixel 11 and semiconductor chip structure of second pixel 12; see paragraph 0040 and Fig. 3), wherein among the plurality of semiconductor chips, semiconductor chips of a same chip type have a same cross-sectional shape, and semiconductor chips of different chip types have different cross-sectional shapes (first pixels 11 have the same cross-section shapes and second pixels 12 have the same cross-section shapes, different from that of first pixels 11; see Fig. 3 and paragraph 0040), and
wherein each of the plurality of grooves is configured to accommodate only a semiconductor chip with a corresponding cross-sectional shape and a corresponding electrode pattern, among the plurality of semiconductor chips with a plurality of different sectional shapes and a plurality of different electrode patterns (holes 42 only accommodate the structure of pixel 11 while holes 34 only accommodate the structure of pixel 12; see Fig. 3).
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.
Claim(s) 11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inoue in view of Kato (US 2017/0257586 A1).
Claim 11, Inoue teaches the image sensor of claim 1, but is silent regarding:
an electrode pattern configured to electrically connect each of the first light detection device and the second light detection device to the main body, wherein a shape of the electrode pattern connecting the first light detection device to the main body is different from a shape of the electrode pattern connecting the second light detection device to the main body.
Kato teaches an electrode pattern configured to electrically connect each of the first light detection device and the second light detection device to the main body (electrodes 801-803; paragraph 0028), wherein a shape of the electrode pattern connecting the first light detection device to the main body is different from a shape of the electrode pattern connecting the second light detection device to the main body (see placement of electrodes 801, 802 for first pixel type 800 and placement of electrode 803 for second pixel type 900; Figs. 2A, 2C).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have used the teaching of Kato with that of Inoue in order to improve sensitivity of certain infrared pixels used for focusing (see paragraph 0032 of Kato).
Claim(s) 12 and 13 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inoue in view of Maruyama (US 2024/0038814 A1).
Claim 12, Inoue teaches the image sensor of claim 1, and electrodes in the first and second groove (wirings 31; Fig. 3) but is silent regarding:
a first electrode, a second electrode, and a third electrode that are spaced apart from each other in the first groove and are configured to electrically connect the first light detection device to the main body.
Maruyama teaches a first electrode (metal pad 65e; Figs. 3-4), a second electrode (metal pad 65c; Figs. 3-4), and a third electrode (metal pad 65a; Figs. 3-4) that are spaced apart from each other in the first groove and are configured to electrically connect the first light detection device to the main body (see paragraph 0133 and Fig. 3).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have used the teaching of Maruyama with that of Inoue in order to improve the photosensitivity of an infrared photoelectric conversion element (see paragraph 0206 of Maruyama).
Claim 13, Maruyama further teaches wherein the first electrode is configured to apply a ground signal from the main body to the first light detection device (metal pad 65e is connected to ground wiring V7; paragraph 0068 and Fig. 3), the second electrode is configured to apply a driving signal from the main body to the first light detection device (metal pad 65c transmits signal to enable TRG1; paragraph 0068 and Fig. 3), and the third electrode is configured to apply the electrical signal from the first light detection device to the main body (metal pad 65a is connected to readout circuit 15; paragraph 0146 and Fig. 3).
Claim(s) 14 and 15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Inoue in view of Shiina (US 2023/0362518 A1).
Claim 14, Inoue teaches the image sensor of claim 1, and further teaches wherein each of the first light detection device and the second light detection device comprises a light detection layer configured to detect light (photodiode 22, 21; paragraph 0031), and a circuit layer configured to output a voltage corresponding to the detected light (electrodes 23 and wiring 31; Fig. 3),
but Inoue is silent regarding wherein the main body comprises:
a plurality of analog-to-digital converters respectively corresponding to the circuit layers of the first light detection device and the second light detection device, respectively, and configured to convert the voltages received from the corresponding circuit layers into digital signals; and
an image processor configured to generate the image by using the digital signals output from the plurality of analog-to-digital converters.
Shiina teaches an image sensor (Fig. 7) comprising a first light detection device and a second light detection device (photodiodes PD1 and PD2, respectively; Fig. 6) and a circuit layer (wirings 67, 68; paragraph 0172 and Fig. 8), wherein a main body comprises:
a plurality of analog-to-digital converters respectively corresponding to the circuit layers of the first light detection device and the second light detection device, respectively (AD conversion circuits 103A, 103B; paragraph 0129 and Fig. 7), and configured to convert the voltages received from the corresponding circuit layers into digital signals (paragraph 0129); and
an image processor configured to generate the image by using the digital signals output from the plurality of analog-to-digital converters (data processing circuit 108 generates an output image; paragraph 0111 and Fig. 2).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to a have used the teaching of Shiina with that of Inoue in order to reduce the size of the image sensor and to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the detected light (see paragraph 0145 and 0169 of Shiina).
Claim 15, Shiina further teaches wherein each of the first light detection device and the second light detection device comprises a light detection layer configured to detect light (photodiodes PD1 and PD2, respectively; Fig. 6) and a first circuit layer configured to output a floating diffusion signal (floating diffusion regions FD1, FD2; paragraph 0150 and Fig. 7-8) corresponding to the detected light, and the main body comprises:
a plurality of second circuit layers respectively corresponding to the first circuit layers of the first light detection device and the second light detection device (wirings 67, 68; paragraph 0172 and Fig. 8), respectively, and configured to output voltages corresponding to the floating diffusion signals received from the corresponding first circuit layers (see pixel circuits of Fig. 7);
a plurality of analog-to-digital converters respectively corresponding to the plurality of second circuit layers and configured to convert the voltages received from the corresponding second circuit layers into digital signals (data processing circuit 108 generates an output image; paragraph 0111 and Fig. 2); and
an image processor configured to generate the image by using the digital signals output from the plurality of analog-to-digital converters (data processing circuit 108 generates an output image; paragraph 0111 and Fig. 2).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. See PTO-892 attached.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHIAWEI A CHEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1707. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 12:00pm - 9:00pm EST.
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/CHIAWEI CHEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2637
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