Doc Code: AP.PRE.REQ
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`PRE-APPEAL BRIEF REQUEST FOR REVIEW
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`Docket Number (Optional)
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`10031004211
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`on 03/28/2016
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`Application Number
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`Filed
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`14/504771
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`10/02/2014
`
`First Named Inventor
`Peter John COUSINS
`
`Signature /Patrick D. Benedicto/
`
`name
`Typed or printed PATRICK D. BENEDICTO
`
`Examiner
`
`1
`PILLAY DEVINA
`
`Applicant requests review of the final rejection in the above-identified application. No amendments are being filed
`with this request.
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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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`lam the
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`I:
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`applicant.
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`attorney or agent of record.
`Registration number
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`40,909
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`/Patrick D. Benedicto/
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`Signature
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`PATRICK D. BENEDICTO
`Typed or printed name
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`408.436.2110
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`Telephone number
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`[:I attorney or agent acting under 37 CFR 1.34.
`Registration number if acting under 37 CFR 1.34 _—
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`March 23, 2017
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`Date
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`

`

`Application No.: 14/504,771
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`ARGUMENTS
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`Claim Rejection -- 35 U.S.C. § 103 gMeier/Okayasu/Borden!
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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), and in
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`View of Borden (US WO 2009/094578 A2). The rejection is respectfully traversed.
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`1.
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`External emitter that forms a backside junction with the substrate
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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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`Claim 1 recites a structure of a solar cell. In the embodiment of claim 1, the solar
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`cell has an emitter that is disposed over a tunnel dielectric and forms a backside junction
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`With the substrate. It is respectfully submitted that this feature of claim 1 is not taught or
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`suggested by the combination of Meier, Okayasu, and Borden.
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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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`
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`220
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`F/G. JD
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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 primary
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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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`

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`Application No.: 14/504,771
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`Meier discloses a solar cell structure where the emitter that forms a backside
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`junction with the substrate is within the substrate and in contact with the electrode. In the
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`solar cell structure of Meier there is no intervening layer (such as a tunnel dielectric)
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`between the emitter and the electrode because of the required diffusion of aluminum from
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`the electrode to the emitter. Accordingly, Meier does not disclose a solar cell structure
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`where an external emitter forms a backside junction with the substrate.
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`Okayasu does not disclose a solar cell structure that cures the deficiencies of
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`Meier. Okayasu FIG. 1 is reproduced below.
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`
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`The purpose of Okayasu is “to realize a BSF type solar cell having high photoelectric
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`conversion efficiency by forming an n+ poly-Si layer by thermal CVD using
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`B2H6/SiH4/SiF4 as a material gas thereby improving the quality‘of n+ poly-Si layer”
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`(Okayashu abstract) (emphasis added). More particularly, 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. Because the layer 5 is a
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`back surface field (B SF) layer, the layer 5 is necessarily on the back surface and has the
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`same polarity as the substrate 1. Accordingly, the BSF layer 5 cannot form a backside
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`junction with the substrate.
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`Therefore, like Meier, Okayasu does not disclose a solar cell structure where an
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`external emitter forms a backside junction with the substrate.
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`In the solar cell of
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`Okayasu, the backside is a BSF layer in accordance with the purpose of Okayasu and, in
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`such a BSF structure, the junction is formed on the front side of the solar cell, not on the
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`backside where the BSF layer is (Okayasu, paragraph 2; paragraph 14, lines 1-6).
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`

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`Application No.: 14/504,771
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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. The
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`appellant respectfully disagrees.
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`First, Meier’s solar cell is not a BSF type solar cell. Okayasu does not teach or
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`suggest that its method is applicable to non-BSF type solar cells -- Okayasu has no
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`relevant teaching regarding formation of a backside junction. The suggestion to use the
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`BSF method of Okayasu to form the emitter of Meier would use the BSF method of
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`Okayasu for a totally different function and structure in Meier.
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`Second, Okayasu discloses a method of forming the high-low junction (HL) on
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`the front side of a BSF solar cell structure (Okayasu, paragraphs 1 and 2) . Instead of
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`using thermal diffusion (Okayasu, paragraphs 5-7) or plasma CVD (Okayasu, paragraphs
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`8-12), Okayasu suggests forming the HL junction by thermal CVD (Okayasu, paragraph
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`14) to minimize foreign matter or to control deposition thickness. It is respectfully
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`submitted that this suggested method of Okayasu pertains to manufacture of the HL
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`junction of a BSF type solar cell, i.e., structures on the front side of a BSF solar cell. The
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`method of Okayasu is for the structure taught by Okayasu, which is a BSF solar cell. In
`other words, Okayasu does not teach or suggest solar cell structure where ‘an external
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`emitter forms a backside junction with the substrate.
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`2.
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`Backside junction with tunnel dielectric
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`It is respectfully submitted that Meier modified with Okayasu does not teach or
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`suggest a tunnel dielectric between the backside junction emitter and the substrate. The
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`final office action suggests that Borden (paragraphs 8 and 16) discloses use of a tunnel
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`oxide between polysilicon and substrate.
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`First, it is respectfully submitted that the final office action has not established
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`that Borden is prior art to the present application. Borden has an international filing date
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`of January 23, 2009, whereas the present application has a priority date of February 20,
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`2008 by claiming priority to US 8,878,053 and US 8,222,516. It is acknowledged that
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`Borden claims priority from a provisional application 61/023,342. However, the final
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`office action cites to the international publication of Borden (which on its face is not prior
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`art to the present application as explained), not to the provisional application.
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`3
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`Application No.: 14/504,771
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`Furthermore, the provisional application of Borden does not appear to be publicly
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`accessible.
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`Second, Borden does not disclose that the polysilicon/tunnel oxide/substrate is for
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`forming a backside junction. There is no teaching or suggestion in Borden that such
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`tunnel oxide structure may be applied to the teachings of Meier and Okayasu to read on
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`the solar cell of claim 1.
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`Claims 2-4 and 6-8 are patentable over the combination of Meier, Okayasu, and
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`Borden at least for depending from claim 1.
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`Claim 9 is patentable over the combination of Meier, Okayasu, and Borden at
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`least for reciting: “an emitter over the back surface of the substrate, the emitter forming a
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`backside junction with the substrate; a first dielectric between the emitter and the back
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`surface.” It is respectfully submitted that the combination of Meier, Okayasu, and
`
`Borden does not teach or suggest a solar cell with an emitter that is over a dielectric that
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`forms a backside junction with the substrate.
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`Claims 10-14 are patentable over the combination of Meier, Okayasu, and Borden
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`at least for depending from, claim 9.
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`Claim Re'ection -- 35 U.S.C.
`
`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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`Foglietti (US 2002/0142500), and further in View of Gan (Polysz'lz'con Emitters for Silicon
`
`Concentrator Solar Cells). The rejection is respectfully traversed.
`
`1.
`
`External emitter that forms a backside junction with the substrate
`
`Claim 1 is patentable over the combination of Meier, Okayasu, Foglietti, and Gan
`
`at least for reciting: “an emitter disposed over the first tunnel dielectric, the emitter
`
`forming a backside junction with the substrate.”
`
`Claim 1 recites a structure of a solar cell. In the embodiment of claim 1, the solar
`
`cell has an emitter that is disposed over the tunnel dielectric and forms a backside
`
`

`

`Application No.: 14/504,771
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`junction with the substrate. It is respectfully submitted that this feature of claim 1 is not
`
`taught or suggested by the combination of Meier, Okayasu, Foglietti, and Gan.
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`The final office action suggests that in the cited combination, Meier modified
`
`with the teachings of Okayasu discloses the above-recited features of claim 1. As
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`explained, the combination of Meier and Okayasu does not teach or suggest a solar cell
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`structure Where an external emitter forms a backside junction with the substrate.
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`2.
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`Backside junction with tunnel dielectric
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`It is respectfully submitted that Meier modified with Okayasu does not teach or
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`suggest a tunnel dielectric between the backside junction emitter and the substrate. The
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`final office action suggests that Gan discloses that doped emitter can be replaced with a
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`polysilicon emitter and that Foglietti discloses using a thin oxide. It is respectfully
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`submitted that Gan and Foglietti does not disclose structures where polysilicon emitters
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`and tunnel oxides are employed in backside junctions. There is no teaching or suggestion
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`in Gan and Foglietti to apply their teachings to arrive at a structure where an external
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`polysilicon emitter separated from the substrate by a tunnel oxide forms a backside
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`junction with the substrate.
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`Therefore, it is respectfully submitted that claim 1 is patentable over the
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`combination of Meier, Okayasu, Foglietti, and Gan. Claims 2-4 and 6-8 are patentable
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`over the combination of Meier, Okayasu, Foglietti, and Gan at least for depending from
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`claim 1.
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`Claim 9 is patentable over the combination of Meier, Okayasu, Foglietti, and Gan
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`at least for reciting: “an emitter over the back surface of the substrate, the emitter forming
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`a backside junction with the substrate; a first dielectric between the emitter and the back
`
`surface.” It is respectfully submitted that the combination of Meier, Okayasu, Foglietti,
`
`and Gan does not teach or suggest a solar cell with an emitter that is 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, Foglietti,
`and Gan at least for depending from claim 9.
`
`