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 .
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 1-8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Akita et al. (US 2012/0236410) in view of Takahashi et al. (US 2008/0129931).
As to claim 1, Akita discloses a wire grid polarizing element ([0001]) comprising:
a substrate where an uneven pattern having periodicity is formed on a transparent sheet surface ([0032], [0033]) and a cross-sectional shape of the uneven pattern taken along an arrangement direction of the uneven pattern is a continuous corrugated shape, ([0038]: "The cross-sectional shape is preferably a shape having a width narrowing from a bottom portion... toward the top portion. A specific cross-sectional shape may, for example, be a triangle, a trapezoid or a rectangle." [0033]: "... with flat portions formed between the ridges...". Akita discloses triangular/trapezoidal ridges but also flat portions between ridges.) and a conductor layer that is disposed on the surface of the substrate ([0043]) and covers a conductor protrusion portion and a surface portion excluding each of convex portion tip portions, ([0044]: "The metal layer covers at least one side surface extending along the longitudinal direction of each ridge...". [0046]: "The metal layer may cover a part or all of the top portion of each ridge." [0094]: "With respect to the height Ht of the first metal layer 20 present above ... the top portion 19 of the ridge 12..." Akita discloses metal on side surfaces and possibly above/on top portions, but not verbatim a layer "covering a conductor protrusion portion and a surface portion excluding each convex portion tip portion", however this is implicitly derivable from the drawings and dimensions.) the conductor protrusion portion being formed to further protrude from the convex portion tip portion in a tip direction, ( [0094]: "With respect to the height Ht of the first metal layer 20 present above ... the top portion 19 of the ridge 12, Ht/Hp is preferably from 0.05 to 0.7...".[0109]: "With respect to the height Ht of the first metal layer 20 present above the top portion 19 of the ridge 12..." Akita discloses metal layer height above the ridge top, which corresponds to a protruding metal portion, even if the expression "conductor protrusion portion" is not used.) and the convex portion tip portion being formed to extend in a longitudinal direction in the uneven pattern, ([0036]: "each of the ridges is a portion projecting from a principal surface of the light transmitting substrate, which extends in one direction." [0040]: "The top portion of the ridge means a portion that is the highest portion in the cross-sectional shape and that continues in the longitudinal direction of the ridge.") wherein a period (a) of the uneven pattern of the substrate surface is 100 to 400 nm, ([0078]: "Pp is preferably at most 300 nm, more preferably from 50 to 250 nm.” Table 2, Example 11: "Pp 140 nm".) an average depth (b) from the convex portion tip portion to a valley portion of a concave portion in the uneven pattern of the substrate surface is 200 to 600 nm, ([0082]: "The height Hp of the ridge 12 is preferably from 120 to 1000 nm." Table 2, Example 11: "Hp 200 nm".) an average occupancy ([2d/a] x 100) of the conductor layers represented by a ratio of an average width (d) in the arrangement direction of two conductor layers present in one period to the period (a) is 18 to 40%, (Table 2, Example 11: "Pp 140...Da1 10...Dr1 30...Da2 10...Dr2 30". [0076]: "dimensions of the ridge and the metal layer...are each obtained by measuring...and averaging..." Akita does not explicitly disclose the claimed parameter "average occupancy ([2d/a] x 100)" or "average width (d)" in that form, however values within that broad range are derived from the disclosed layer thicknesses.) and an average thickness (h) in the tip direction of the conductor protrusion portion provided in the convex portion tip portion of the uneven pattern is 1.5 times or more the average width (d) in the arrangement direction of the conductor layers. (Table 2, Example 11: "H1 60...Da1 10...Dr1 30...Da2 10...Dr2 30", Fig. 3 rendering values with h ≥ 1.5d as claimed.)
Akita does not disclose the corrugated shape being continuous, but instead discloses ridges with flat portions between the ridges. However, the use of a continuous wave-like or triangular profile without flat portions is already known in the art. Takahashi discloses in figure 2 and [0024], wave/triangle profiles with no flat portions (e and f) being equivalent to profiles having flat portions (a-c). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Akita by providing a substrate profile without flat portions between adjacent convex portions because it was an art recognized equivalent profile as disclosed by Takahashi.
As to claim 7, Akita discloses a method for producing a wire-grid polarizer, [0001]: "The present invention relates to a wire-grid polarizer and a process for producing the polarizer." Akita discloses preparing a light-transmitting substrate having periodic ridges and forming a metal layer on it, [0052]: "The wire-grid polarizer of the present invention is produced by preparing a light-transmitting substrate having a
surface on which a plurality of ridges are formed in parallel with one another at a
predetermined pitch, and subsequently forming the metal layer...". Akita also discloses physical vapor deposition methods for forming the metal layer, [0067]: "The metal layer is preferably formed by a vapor deposition method. As the vapor deposition method, a physical vapor deposition method (PVD) or a chemical vapor deposition method (CVD) are mentioned ... ", "the vapor deposition method is preferably a vacuum vapor deposition method, a sputtering method or an ion plating method ... ". Akita further discloses triangular or trapezoidal ridge profiles, [0038]: "A specific cross-sectional shape may, for example, be a triangle, a trapezoid or a rectangle." As previously stated, Akita, [0033], however, discloses ridges with flat portions: "a light-transmitting substrate having a surface on which a plurality of ridges are formed in parallel with one another at a predetermined pitch with flat portions formed between the ridges...". For the physical deposition alternative, claim 7 further specifies that the conductor layer and protrusion portion are formed "with a physical deposition method of introducing a deposition material from above in a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface". Akita discloses physical vapor deposition generally, [0067]. Although it primarily teaches oblique deposition, perpendicular deposition is also considered to be implicitly disclosed.
Akita does not disclose the corrugated shape being continuous, but instead discloses ridges with flat portions between the ridges. However, the use of a continuous wave-like or triangular profile without flat portions is already known in the art. Takahashi discloses in figure 2 and [0024], wave/triangle profiles with no flat portions (e and f) being equivalent to profiles having flat portions (a-c). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify Akita by providing a substrate profile without flat portions between adjacent convex portions because it was an art recognized equivalent profile as disclosed by Takahashi.
As to claim 2, Akita in view of Takahashi discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Akita further discloses preferred ratios between upper and lower metal-layer thicknesses, see [0107]. Even if the ratio h/d = 1.5-5 is not expressly stated in using the same variables, Akita discloses dimensions from which comparable ratios are derivable. In Example 11, H1 = 60 nm; the side metal thicknesses are given as Da1 = 10 nm, Dr1 = 30 nm, Da2 = 10 nm, Dr2 = 30 nm. Depending on whether the relevant conductor width is taken as the upper thickness or an average thickness, the resulting h/d is within the claimed range.
As to claim 3, Akita in view of Takahashi discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Akita does not use the claim variable d, but it discloses metal-layer thicknesses corresponding to conductor widths in the claimed order of magnitude, including values of 10 nm and 30 nm in Example 11 and preferred ranges overlapping 14-70 nm. The claimed interval 14-70 nm overlaps with the preferred metal thickness values disclosed by Akita.
As to claim 4, Akita in view of Takahashi discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Takahashi explicitly discloses wave-shaped and triangular profiles for the same type of polarizing structures. Takahashi further teaches that flat portions may be absent. Removing the flat portions from the profile of Akita results in a continuous corrugated shape being a continuous shape of an isosceles triangle.
As to claim 5, Akita in view of Takahashi discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Akita discloses a metal layer protruding above the ridge top but does not expressly define the protrusion cross-section as one of the shapes as defined. Takahashi shows that rectangular, metal layer
cross-sections are conventional in reflective polarizing plates. Note the rectangular metal layer cross-sections 2 in figure 3 (a and e). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to further modify Akita by providing a metal protrusion having a rectangular cross-section as disclosed by Takahashi because conventional structures were known to be cost-effective and reliable.
As to claim 6, Akita in view of Takahashi discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 1. Akita further discloses aluminum, silver and chromium. See [0051].
As to claim 8, Akita in view of Takahashi discloses all of the elements of the claimed invention discussed above regarding claim 7. Akita further discloses that the physical vapor deposition method is preferably a vacuum vapor deposition method, a sputtering method or an ion plating method. See [0067].
Conclusion
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/DAVID Y CHUNG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2871
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