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 .
Election/Restrictions
Claims 14-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 22 April 2025.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Regarding Claim(s) 13, the claim recites the limitation of “about 2:1 and 1:2” in regards to a removal rate selectivity. The term "about" is a relative term which renders these claims indefinite. The term "about" is not defined by the claim, the specification does not provide a standard for ascertaining the requisite degree, and one of ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the invention. The term about is defined as “reasonably close to”. The term “about” modifies a target, implicitly requiring boundaries at some maximum value above said target and at some minimum value below said target beyond which one is no longer within the “about” range. As the Applicant has not provided a definition for these boundaries in the originally filed claims or the originally filed specification, it is unclear whether one must be within some small percentage of deviation of the target (such as 0.01%, 0.1%, 1%, 10%, etc.) or within a certain number of units of the target and specifically which of these possible values defines the boundaries. Therefore the term is subjective and therefore unclear, and so the claims are rejected as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant, regards as the invention.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Uzoh (U.S. 2019/0355683).
Regarding Claim 1, Uzoh, Figures 9a and 13b, discloses a method for forming a conductive plane around a via pillar that protrudes from a surface of a substrate, comprising:
forming a support layer stack comprising a metal plane layer that surrounds at least a base portion of the via pillar and a first dielectric layer disposed on the metal plane layer that covers an upwardly facing surface of the via pillar (pillar 110, metal plane 303, dielectric 501); and
removing, by use of a polishing process, a portion of the first dielectric layer and a portion of the via pillar to expose a surface of a metal via surrounded by a remaining portion of the first dielectric layer (metal via 112, surface of metal via 107, dielectric layer 501, [0068] and [0075]).
Regarding Claim 2, Uzoh, Figures 9a and 13b, further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein one or more second dielectric layers are disposed between the metal plane layer and non-active surface of the substrate and between the metal plane layer and the base portion of the via pillar (second dielectric 109 and/or 301 and/or 302 [0068]).
Regarding Claim 3, Uzoh, Figures 9a and 13b, further discloses the method of claim 2, wherein the substrate comprises a semiconductor portion, the metal via extends through the semiconductor portion, and a dielectric liner is disposed between the metal via and the semiconductor portion and between the metal via and the one or more second dielectric layers (metal via 112, dielectric liner 109, semiconductor portion 106, [0058] and [0068]).
Regarding Claim 4, Uzoh, Figures 9a and 13b, further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the metal plane support layer comprises copper, tungsten nickel, or a combination thereof ([0068]).
Regarding Claim 5, Uzoh, Figures 9a and 13b, further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein forming the metal plane layer comprises depositing a metal support layer and recessing a surface of the metal support layer below the upwardly facing surface of the via pillar (metal plane 303, pilar 110).
Regarding Claim 6, Uzoh, Figures 9a and 13b, further discloses the method of claim 5, wherein recessing the surface of the metal support layer comprises removing a portion of the metal support layer by use of a polishing process, an etch process, or a combination thereof ([0075]).
Regarding Claim 7, Uzoh, Figures 9a and 13b, further discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the metal plane layer forms a ground or power plane of a power distribution network to two or more interconnected devices ([0040]).
Claim(s) 8-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Uzoh (U.S. U.S. 2019/0355683).
Regarding Claim 8, Uzoh, Figures 3, 9a, and 13b, discloses a method of forming uniform through-substrate vias in a microelectronic device, comprising:
depositing a support layer to surround a plurality of via pillars protruding from a surface of a substrate, wherein the support layer is deposited to a thickness that is greater than a height of the plurality of via pillars (support layer 301 and/or 302 and/or 303 and/or 501, pillars 110, [0075]); and
exposing an upwardly facing surface of each of the through-substrate vias by removing the support layer and the plurality of via pillars (pillars 110, support layer 301 and/or 302 and/or 303 and/or 501, dielectric 501, [0068] and [0075]).
Regarding Claim 9, Uzoh, Figures 3, 9a, and 13b, further discloses the method of claim 8, wherein the support layer is formed of a metal (metal layer 303, [0068]).
Regarding Claim 10, Uzoh, Figures 3, 9a, and 13b, further discloses the method of claim 9, wherein the metal is copper, tungsten, nickel, or a combination thereof (metal layer 303, [0068])
Regarding Claim 11, Uzoh, Figures 3, 9a, and 13b, further discloses the method of claim 10, wherein the exposed surface comprises the metal (metal layer 303, [0075]).
Regarding Claim 12, Uzoh, Figures 3, 9a, and 13b, further discloses the method of claim 9, wherein the support layer is removed using a polishing process ([0075]).
Regarding Claim 13, Uzoh, Figures 3, 9a, and 13b, further discloses the method of claim 12, wherein the polishing process has a removal rate selectivity of between about 2:1 and 1:2 for respective materials forming the support layer and the via pillars (support layer 301 and/or 302 and/or 303 and/or 501, pillars 110, [0075], [0078], and [0083]).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the Examiner should be directed to Abbigale Boyle whose telephone number is 571-270-7919. The Examiner can normally be reached from 11 A.M to 7 P.M., Monday through Friday.
If attempts to reach the Examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the Examiner’s supervisor, Zandra Smith, can be reached at 571-272-2429. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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Abbigale Boyle
Examiner, Art Unit 2899
/ABBIGALE A BOYLE/Examiner, Art Unit 2899
/DALE E PAGE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2899