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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on 06/20/2025 and 01/26/2026 have been considered by the examiner.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 1-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2008/0272377 (NAKAHATA).
Regarding claims 1-3: The reference discloses a GaN substrate having a doped GaN epitaxial layer grown thereon. The substrate surface is inclined from the (0001) plane at an angle of 0.03o or more. See [0070]. The dopant concentration is from 3x1017 cm-3 to 5x1019 cm-3. See [0061]. It is recognized that the reference does not specify:
In claim 1, “a total of bottom areas of recessed defects on a surface of the Si-doped GaN layer is
15% or less of an area of the entire surface of the Si-doped GaN layer.”
In claim 2, “a value represented by {(b/a) X 100} (%) is 90% or more, in which a (atoms/cm³) represents a Si concentration of the Si-doped GaN layer, and b (atoms/cm³) represents a carrier concentration of the Si-doped GaN layer.”
In claim 3, “a value represented by [{(α - ß)/α} X 100] (%) is 10% or less, in which α (atoms/cm³)
represents a maximum value of the Si concentration of a surface of the Si-doped GaN layer,
and ß (atoms/cm³) represents a minimum value of the Si concentration of a surface of the Si-
doped GaN layer.”
However, the reference does disclose the same HPVE method of forming the doped GaN layer under the same conditions, i.e. temperature, pressure, doing gases, etc. The doped layer is formed with minimal defects/cracks. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would expect a doped GaN layer formed by the same method to have a low percentage of surface defects. Further, the reference shows that it is known to adjust the dopant and carrier concentrations by adjusting the growth conditions. See [0059-62].
Regarding claim 4: See [0058] for GaN layer thickness.
Regarding claim 5-7 and 14-17: The reference discloses the same HPVE method of forming the doped GaN layer under the same conditions, i.e. temperature, pressure, doing gases, etc. The doped layer is formed with minimal defects/cracks. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would expect a doped GaN layer formed by the same method to have a low percentage of surface defects.
Regarding claims 8-10 and 18-19: The reference does disclose the same HPVE method of forming the doped GaN layer under the same conditions, i.e. temperature, pressure, doing gases, etc. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art would expect a doped GaN layer formed by the same method to have similar resistance values.
Regarding claims 11-12: The Si concentration is 3x1017 cm-3 to 5x1019 cm-3. See [0061].
Regarding claim 13: See [0058] for diameter of 50mm.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ELIZABETH EVANS MULVANEY whose telephone number is (571)272-1527. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-4:30pm M-F.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Mark Ruthkosky can be reached at 571-272-1291. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ELIZABETH E MULVANEY/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1785
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