DETAILED ACTION
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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on April 21, 2026 has been entered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The text of those sections of Title 35, U.S. Code not included in this action can be found in a prior Office action.
Claims 1-13 and 21-23are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over EP2571053 to Guillon et al in view of U.S. 11,292,085 to Kabetliz et al and vice versa.
Regarding claim 1, Guillon et al disclose a laser bonding method, comprising: removing material from a first portion (36) of a power terminal (16) to form a first cutout (42) in the first portion (36); disposing the first portion (36) over a substrate (22) of a semiconductor device (10); activating a laser device (see Col. 9, lines 39-41) to transform an interface (36) between the first portion-cutout and the substrate by melting with consecutive rapid solidification the first portion cutout and the substrate; and connecting the first portion cutout (42) of the power terminal to the substrate at the interface to create a bond between the power terminal and the substrate, wherein the material is removed from the first portion at the first cutout only above the interface (see Fig. 3), wherein each of the first portion and an adjacent second portion of the power terminal has a surface in direct contact with the substrate (see Fig. 1), wherein the first portion-cutout has a first dimension measured in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the substrate and the adjacent second portion of the power terminal has a second dimension measured in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate, wherein the first dimension is less than the second dimension (see Fig. 3), and wherein the bond spans an entirety of the first cutout portion (see Abstract) except for Guillon et al do not explicitly disclose the position of the laser device and the terminal. Kabelitz et al disclose the step of positioning the laser device (118) over the first portion (112, see Fig. 6) for forming a reliable mechanical and electrical connection (see Col. 10, lines 6-13). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention of Guillon et al by position the laser device over the cutout portion of the terminal as taught by Kabelitz et providing a reliable mechanical and electrical connection.
In an alternative, Kabelitz et al disclose all the limitations of the claimed invention (see previous Office Action, dated 02/11/2026) except for the bond spans an entirety of the first cutout portion. Guillon et al teach the bond between the terminal (16) and the substrate (12) spans an entirely of the first cutout portion (see Figs. 2-3) for improving reliability and durability connection (see Abstract). Therefore, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the invention Kabelitz et al by limiting the bond between the terminal and the substrate spans an entirely of the first cutout portion as taught by Gullion et al for improving reliability and durability connection.
Regarding claims 2 and 4, Kabelitz et al disclose removing material from the first
portion further comprising forming a rectangular-shaped and U-shaped cutout of the first
portion (see Figs. 5-7).
Regarding claims 5-7, Kabelitz et al disclose removing material from the first
portion further comprising forming a stairstep-shaped cutout that form a lip of the first
portion (see Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 8, Kabelitz et al disclose reducing the first portion until the first
dimension is between 0.2 mm and 0.8 mm (see Col. 8, lines 27-40).
Regarding claims 9-10, Kabelitz et al disclose the substrate comprises two
conducting materials (103) comprise copper, aluminum, or sintered copper paste (see
Col. 7, lines 1-9) covering an insulating material.
Regarding claims 21-22, Kabelitz et al disclose the removing the material from the first portion decreases a thickness of the first portion from the second dimension to the first dimension (see Fig. 6) to facilitate the laser device (118) transforming the interface between the first portion and the substrate when positioned over the first portion and when positioned over the adjacent second portion fails to transform an interface between the adjacent second portion and the substrate (no chances are shown in Fig. 7 after the laser is activated).
Regarding claims 3, and 11-13 Kabelitz et al disclose a direct copper bonding to
the substrate made of insulating having metallic layers (copper bonded material from
the wiring layer) attached thereon (see Col. 6, lines 48-53), and U-shaped cutout on the
terminal except for another configuration of the cutout portion and material for the substrate. It would have been an obvious matter of design choice to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claim invention to choose any desired material such as aluminum that formed on the substrate; to choose any desired cutout shape on the terminal such as a V-shaped cutout of the first portion; and choose any desired material as the insulating material such as aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, or other ceramic, since it has been held that to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a Known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of desired choice (in re Lishin, 125 USPQ 416) and since Applicant has not disclosed the specific cutout on the terminal such as a V-shaped cut out, solves any stated problem or is for any particular purpose and it appears the invention would perform equally well with the cutouts disclosed by Kabelitz et al.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-13 and 21-23 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
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/DN/ /DONGHAI D NGUYEN/June 27, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
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