Appeal No. 2006-1628
Application No. 09/840,082
with a margin sufficient to block light incident on the metal thin film [answer,
pages 3-5].
The examiner cites Murade as teaching a light shielding member that
covers and extends over the source/drain region of a TFT to block incident light
onto the source/drain region. The examiner also indicates that Murade's light-
shielding member extends over the upper electrode of the storage capacitor
[answer, pages 5 and 6]. The examiner finds that it would have been obvious to
one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to extend the light-
shielding film of the admitted prior art to cover the drain electrode and upper
electrode of the storage capacitor to block incident light thereon to (1) minimize
TFT leakage current; (2) improve display contrast; and (3) display high-quality
images free from image-degrading effects, such as cross-talk [answer, page 6].
Regarding independent claims 1, 9, 11, and 19, appellants argue that
Murade does not suggest that the metal thin film of the drain electrode of the TFT
should be covered by the light-shielding layer with a margin sufficient to block
light incident on the metal thin film as claimed [brief, page 8; emphasis in
original]. Rather, appellants note that Murade only concerns shielding the
semiconductor channel region and LDD regions of the TFT from incident light to
minimize leakage current because light affects the electrical conductivity of
semiconductor/polysilicon materials [brief, pages 8 and 9; reply brief, page 2].
Murade, however, is not concerned with shielding the claimed metal thin film
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