Doc Code: AP.PRE.REQ
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`PTO/AIA/33 (03-13)
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` PRE-APPEAL BRIEF REQUEST FOR REVIEW
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`10031 .004211
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`I hereby certify that this correspondence is being facsimile transmitted to
`Filed Application Number
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`the USPTO, EFS—Web transmitted to the USPTO, or deposited with the
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`United States Postal Service with sufficient postage as first class mail in
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` 14/504,771 10/02/2014
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`an envelope addressed to “Mail Stop AF, Commissioner for Patents,
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`PO. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313-1450” [37 CFR 1.8(a)]
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`First Named Inventor
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`°" 12/16/2016
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`Peter John COUSINS
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`/Patrick D. Benedicto/
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`Examiner
`Signature
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`PILLAY, DEVINA
`Typed or printed PATRICK D. BENEDICTO
`name
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` Applicant requests review of the final rejection in the above-identified application. No amendments are being filed
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` This request is being filed with a notice of appeal.
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` The review is requested for the reason(s) stated on the attached sheet(s).
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`with this request.
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`Note: No more than five (5) pages may be provided.
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` /Patrick D. Benedicto/R
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`Signature
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`PATRICK D. BENEDICTO
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`applicant. E
`Typed or printed name
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` attorney or agent of record. 40,909
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`408,436.21 10
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`Registration number a
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` attorney or agent acting under 37 CFR 1.34.
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`December 16, 2016H
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`Registration number if acting under 37 CFR 1.34 —_—
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`Application No.: 14/504,771
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`ARGUMENTS
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`Claims 1—4 and 6-14 remain in the application and stand rejected.
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`Reconsideration of the rejection is respectfully requested in light of the following reasons.
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`Claim Rejection -- 35 U.S.C. § 103
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`Claims 1-4 and 6-14 are rejected under pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. §103(a) as being
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`unpatentable over Meier (US 6,262,359), in View of Okayasu (JP 07-106611), in View of
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`Ohmi (US 5,563,092), and further in View of Foglietti (US 2002/0142500). The rejection
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`is respectfully traversed.
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`Claim 1 is patentable over the combination of Meier, Okayasu, Ohmi, and
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`Foglietti at least for reciting: “an emitter disposed over the first tunnel dielectric, the
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`emitter forming a backside junction with the substrate.”
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`In the embodiment of claim 1, the emitter is disposed over the tunnel dielectric
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`and forms a backside junction with the substrate. It is respectfully submitted that this
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`feature of claim 1 is not taught or suggested by the combination of Meier, Okayasu,
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`Ohmi, and Foglietti.
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`The final office action suggests that in the cited combination, Meier discloses the
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`recited backside junction. Meier FIG. 3D is reproduced below for ease of discussion.
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`276
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`272
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`214
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`2’20
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`2‘70. 30
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`222
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`Meier discloses a solar cell with an aluminum alloy back junction (Meier, Title). More
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`specifically, Meier discloses forming a p+ layer 220 (“emitter”) that forms a backside
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`junction with the n-Si base layer 218 (“substrate”) within the base layer 218 by doping
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`using the aluminum contact layer 222 (Meier, col. 6, lines 51—54). That is, the main
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`1
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`Application No.: 14/504,771
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`teaching of Meier is to form an aluminum alloy back junction by forming the p+ layer
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`220 within the substrate by diffusion into the substrate using the aluminum alloy
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`electrode, thereby providing a strongly doped p—type emitter (Meier, abstract).
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`Accordingly, Meier does not teach an emitter over a tunnel oxide and that forms a
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`backside junction with the substrate. In Meier, the emitter that forms a backside junction
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`with the substrate is within the substrate and in contact with the electrode. There can be
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`no intervening layer (such as a tunnel dielectric) between the emitter and the electrode
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`because of the required diffusion of aluminum from the electrode to the emitter.
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`Okayasu does not cure the deficiencies of Meier. To the extent the appellant
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`understands the machine translation of the disclosure of Okayasu, Okayasu FIG. 1 shows
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`a solar cell with an N-type substrate 1, a layer 2 on the front side, an N+ BSF layer 5, an
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`electrode 6 on the backside, and an electrode 4 on the front side. It is respectfully
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`submitted that because the layer 5 is a back surface field (BSF) layer, the layer 5 is
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`necessarily on the back surface and has the same polarity as the substrate 1. Accordingly,
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`the BSF layer 5 cannotform a backsidejunction with the substrate, and thus cannot
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`correspond to the recited emitter. As Okayasu further explains, in such a BSF structure,
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`thejunction isformed on thefront side ofthe solar cell, not on the backside where the
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`BSF is (Okayasu, paragraph 2; paragraph 14, lines 1-6). It is thus respectfully submitted
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`that Okayasu has no teaching regarding a backside junction, external to the substrate or
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`otherwise.
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`The final office action suggests that it would have been obvious to use the BSF
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`formation technique of Okayasu to form the backside junction emitter of Meier. As
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`explained, Okayasu has no relevant teaching regarding formation of a backside junction.
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`There is no teaching or suggestion in Meier and Okayasu that the BSF layer of Okayasu
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`may be employed as an emitter. Such a modification would use the BSF layer of
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`Okayasu for a totally different function and structure in Meier, would require a change of
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`polarity relative to the substrate, and would require substantial redesign of the process of
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`Meier and Okayasu, as it is not clear how the internal aluminum alloy junction of Meier
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`can be changed to an external polysilicon junction.
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`Application No.: 14/504,771
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`Furthermore, Meier modified with Okayasu does not teach or suggest a tunnel
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`dielectric between the backside junction emitter and the substrate. The final office action
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`suggests that Foglietti and Ohmi disclose the benefits of using a thin oxide with
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`polysilicon. It is respectfully submitted that there is no teaching in Meier, Okayasu,
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`Foglietti, and Ohmi that this thin oxide can be advantageously implemented with a
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`backside junction emitter. Such a teaching is only in the present application, not in the
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`cited combination.
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`It is to be noted that Meier, Okayasu, Foglietti, and Ohmi disclose very different
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`processes. In Meier, the backside aluminum alloy back junction is achieved by diffusing
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`aluminum of an electrode into the substrate. In Okayasu, the BSF layer is formed by
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`reaction of SiF4 gas with the silicon substrate (Okayasu, paragraph 14). It is respectfully
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`submitted that the there is no teaching or suggestion in Meier, Okayasu, Foglietti, and
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`Ohmi that the processes of Meier and Okayasu would work with an intervening thin
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`dielectric between the silicon substrate and the emitter.
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`Therefore, it is respectfiilly submitted that claim 1 is patentable over the
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`combination of Meier, Okayasu, Ohmi, and Foglietti.
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`Claims 2-4 and 6-8 are patentable over the combination of Meier, Okayasu,
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`Foglietti, and Ohmi at least for depending from claim 1.
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`Claim 9 is patentable over the combination of Meier, Okayasu, Ohmi, and
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`Foglietti at least for reciting: “an emitter over the back surface of the substrate, the
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`emitter forming a backside junction with the substrate; a first dielectric between the
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`emitter and the back surface.” It is respectfully submitted that the combination of Meier,
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`Okayasu, Ohmi, and Foglietti does not teach or suggest a solar cell with an emitter that is
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`over a dielectric that forms a backside junction with the substrate.
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`Claims 10-14 are patentable over the combination of Meier, Okayasu, Ohmi, and
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`Foglietti at least for depending from claim 9.
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