Ex Parte Stan et al

Patent Trial and Appeal Board

May 27, 2016

12123864 (P.T.A.B. May. 27, 2016)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS
P.O. Box 1450
Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450
www.uspto.gov
APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO.
12/123,864 05/20/2008 Mark A. Stan 8001 (9456-105936) 1626
128940 7590 05/27/2016
SolAero Technologies Corp.
10420 Research Road SE
Albuquerque, NM 87123
EXAMINER
CHERN, CHRISTINA
ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER
1755
MAIL DATE DELIVERY MODE
05/27/2016 PAPER
Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding.
The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication.
PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07)

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE
____________

BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD
____________

Ex parte MARK A. STAN, ARTHUR CORNFELD,
and BENJAMIN CHO1
__________

Appeal 2015-000897
Application 12/123,864
Technology Center 1700
____________

Before PETER F. KRATZ, BEVERLY A. FRANKLIN and
MICHAEL P. COLAIANNI, and, Administrative Patent Judges.

COLAIANNI, Administrative Patent Judge.

DECISION ON APPEAL
Appellants appeal under 35 U.S.C. § 134 the final rejection of claims
1, 4, 5, 7, 9-11, 13-19, 29, and 31-34. We have jurisdiction over the appeal
pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 6(b).
We AFFIRM.

1 Appellants identify the real party in interest as “Emcore Solar Power, Inc.”
(Appeal Brief filed June 30, 2014 (“App. Br.”) 1).
Appeal 2015-000897
Application 12/123,864

2
Appellants’ invention relates to solar cell semiconductor devices,
particularly, to multijunction solar cells including a window layer adjacent
an emitter layer and lattice mismatched thereto (Spec. 3, ¶13; 5, ¶19; claim
1).
Claims 1, 10, and 29 are the independent claims. Claim 1 is
illustrative (emphasis added.)
1. A method of forming a multijunction solar cell comprising a first
solar cell, a second solar cell and a third solar cell, the method comprising:
providing a first substrate for the epitaxial growth of
semiconductor material; forming a first solar subcell on said
substrate, the first solar substrate having a first band gap,
said first solar subcell including a base layer and an emitter
layer, and a pseudomorphic InA10.65P window layer adjacent to said
emitter layer and lattice mismatched thereto, having a lattice constant
which differs from the lattice constant of the emitter layer by less than
0.9%;
forming a second solar subcell over said first subcell having a
second band gap smaller than said first band gap;
forming an (InxGa1-x)yAl1-yAs grading interlayer over said
second solar subcell, said grading interlayer having a third band gap
greater than said second band gap, wherein 0