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 .
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(f):
(f) Element in Claim for a Combination. – An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The following is a quotation of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph:
An element in a claim for a combination may be expressed as a means or step for performing a specified function without the recital of structure, material, or acts in support thereof, and such claim shall be construed to cover the corresponding structure, material, or acts described in the specification and equivalents thereof.
The claim limitations identified below have been interpreted under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, because it uses/they use a generic placeholder “means for” coupled with functional language without reciting sufficient structure to achieve the function. Furthermore, the generic placeholder is not preceded by a structural modifier.
Claim 20 claims a device. The claim 20 (and dependent claims 21-23) recite means for means for connecting the first layer to the second layer, wherein the means for connecting the first layer to the second layer has a resistivity that according to the instant application may be implemented in various devices to perform a function. Thus the language “means for" invoke 112(f).
Since the claim limitation(s) invokes 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, claim(s) 20-23 have been interpreted to cover the corresponding structure described in the specification [0128-0131] that achieves the claimed function, and equivalents thereof.
If applicant does not intend to have the claim limitation(s) treated under 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112 , sixth paragraph, applicant may amend the claim(s) so that it/they will clearly not invoke 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph, or present a sufficient showing that the claim recites/recite sufficient structure, material, or acts for performing the claimed function to preclude application of 35 U.S.C. 112(f) or pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, sixth paragraph.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claim(s) 1-23, 26, 27 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Bartley(USPGPUB DOCUMENT: 20190239358, hereinafter Bartley) in view of Taylor (USPGPUB DOCUMENT: 2005/0266651, hereinafter Taylor).
Re claim 1 Bartley discloses in Fig 16/17 a device comprising: a substrate(10) comprising: a first layer(85a/b/c/d/e); a second layer(85a/b/c/d/e); and one or more vias(20) that extend from the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e) to the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e), wherein, for individual vias(20) of the one or more vias(20), a resistor(84) is defined in the corresponding via.
Bartley does not disclose a thin-film resistor
Taylor disclose a thin-film resistor[0001]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to apply the teachings of Taylor to the teachings of Bartley in order to fashioned the resistor for a desired resistance value by manipulating physical properties of the resistor [0001, Taylor].
Re claim 2 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 1, wherein individual vias(20) of the one or more vias(20) have a height/diameter ratio of at least 8.
Re claim 3 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 1, wherein, for individual vias(20) of the one or more vias(20), the thin-film resistor(84) has a thickness between 20 and 100 nanometers.
Re claim 4 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 1, further comprising a trace on the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e), the trace connecting the thin-film resistor(84)s of two of the one or more vias(20).
Re claim 5 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 1, further comprising: a circuit board coupled to the one or more vias(20) on the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e); and an integrated circuit component coupled to the one or more vias(20) on the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e).
Re claim 6 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 5, wherein the integrated circuit component is a processor.
Re claim 7 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 1, wherein, for individual vias(20) of the one or more vias(20), the thin-film resistor(84) comprises titanium and nitrogen.
Re claim 8 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 1, wherein, for individual vias(20) of the one or more vias(20), the thin-film resistor(84) comprises tantalum and nitrogen.
Re claim 9 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 1, wherein, for individual vias(20) of the one or more vias(20), the thin-film resistor(84) comprises ruthenium and oxygen.
Re claim 10 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 1, wherein, for individual vias(20) of the one or more vias(20), the thin-film resistor(84) comprises aluminum and oxygen.
Re claim 11 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 1, wherein the substrate(10) comprises silicon and oxygen.
Re claim 12 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 1, wherein the substrate(10) comprises silicon.
Re claim 13 Bartley discloses in Fig 16/17 a device comprising: a substrate(10) comprising: a first layer(85a/b/c/d/e);a second layer(85a/b/c/d/e); and one or more vias(20) that extend from the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e) to the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e), wherein, for individual vias(20) of the one or more vias(20), a resistive layer(85a/b/c/d/e) is defined in the corresponding via.
Bartley does not disclose a resistive layer(85a/b/c/d/e) having a resistivity between 1 and 1,000 microohm-centimeters
Taylor disclose a resistive layer having a resistivity[0001]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to apply the teachings of Taylor to the teachings of Bartley in order to fashioned the resistor for a desired resistance value by manipulating physical properties of the resistor [0001, Taylor].
Bartley and Taylor do not disclose a resistive layer(85a/b/c/d/e) having a resistivity between 1 and 1,000 microohm-centimeters
Although the combination of Bartley and Taylor do not disclose a resistive layer(85a/b/c/d/e) having a resistivity between 1 and 1,000 microohm-centimeters, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to disclose a resistive layer(85a/b/c/d/e) having a resistivity between 1 and 1,000 microohm-centimeters as the result effective variable meet the claims as varied through routine experimentation in order to optimize the functionality of the device and when the prior art discloses the general conditions of the claimed invention, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only ordinary skill in the art to optimize the properties of the resistor [0001, Taylor]. See MPEP 2144.05.
Further, the specification contains no disclosure of either the critical nature of the claimed invention or any unexpected results arising therefrom. The law is replete with cases in which the difference between the claimed invention and the prior art is some range or other variable within the claims. In such a situation, the applicant must show that the particular range is critical, generally by showing that the claimed range achieves unexpected results relative to the prior art range. In reWoodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990)
Re claim 14 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 13, wherein individual vias(20) of the one or more vias(20) have a height/diameter ratio of at least 8.
Re claim 15 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 13, wherein, for individual vias(20) of the one or more vias(20), the resistive layer(85a/b/c/d/e) has a thickness between 20 and 100 nanometers.
Re claim 16 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 13, further comprising: a circuit board coupled to the one or more vias(20) on the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e); and an integrated circuit component coupled to the one or more vias(20) on the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e).
Re claim 17 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 13, wherein, for individual vias(20) of the one or more vias(20), the resistive layer(85a/b/c/d/e) comprises titanium and nitrogen.
Re claim 18 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 13, wherein, for individual vias(20) of the one or more vias(20), the resistive layer(85a/b/c/d/e) comprises tantalum and nitrogen.
Re claim 19 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 13, wherein the substrate(10) comprises silicon and oxygen.
Re claim 20 Bartley discloses in Fig 16/17 a device comprising: a substrate(10) comprising: a first layer(85a/b/c/d/e);a second layer(85a/b/c/d/e); and means for(20) connecting the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e) to the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e), wherein the means for(20) connecting the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e) to the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e) has a resistivity.
Bartley does not disclose wherein the means for(20) connecting the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e) to the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e) has a resistivity between 1 and 1,000 microohm- centimeters
Taylor disclose wherein the means for(20) connecting the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e) to the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e) has a resistivity [0001]
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to apply the teachings of Taylor to the teachings of Bartley in order to fashioned the resistor for a desired resistance value by manipulating physical properties of the resistor [0001, Taylor].
Bartley and Taylor do not disclose wherein the means for(20) connecting the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e) to the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e) has a resistivity between 1 and 1,000 microohm- centimeters
Although the combination of Bartley and Taylor do not disclose wherein the means for(20) connecting the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e) to the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e) has a resistivity between 1 and 1,000 microohm- centimeters, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the invention to disclose wherein the means for(20) connecting the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e) to the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e) has a resistivity between 1 and 1,000 microohm- centimeters as the result effective variable meet the claims as varied through routine experimentation in order to optimize the functionality of the device and when the prior art discloses the general conditions of the claimed invention, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only ordinary skill in the art to optimize the properties of the resistor [0001, Taylor]. See MPEP 2144.05.
Further, the specification contains no disclosure of either the critical nature of the claimed invention or any unexpected results arising therefrom. The law is replete with cases in which the difference between the claimed invention and the prior art is some range or other variable within the claims. In such a situation, the applicant must show that the particular range is critical, generally by showing that the claimed range achieves unexpected results relative to the prior art range. In reWoodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 16 USPQ2d 1934 (Fed. Cir. 1990)
Re claim 21 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 20, wherein the means for(20) connecting the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e) to the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e) has a height/diameter ratio of at least 8.
Re claim 22 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 20, wherein the means for(20) connecting the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e) to the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e) has a thickness between 20 and 100 nanometers.
Re claim 23 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 20, further comprising a trace on the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e), the trace connecting the means for(20) connecting the first layer(85a/b/c/d/e) to the second layer(85a/b/c/d/e).
Re claim 26 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 1, wherein the substrate(10) comprises a glass interposer, wherein the one or more vias(20) comprise one or more through-glass vias(20).
Re claim 27 Bartley and Taylor disclose the device of claim 1, wherein, for individual vias(20) of the one or more vias(20), the corresponding via further comprises a dielectric plug filler positioned within the corresponding via inward of the thin-film resistor(84).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to 103 rejections of claim(s) 1 -23 & 26, 27 have been considered but are moot because the arguments do not apply to any of the references being used in the current rejection.
Conclusion
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/PATRICIA D VALENZUELA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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