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
Applicant’s election of Group I, claims 1-16 in the reply filed on October 10, 2025 is acknowledged. Applicant did not indicate if the election was made with or without traverse. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Claims 17-24 withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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 October 10, 2025.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDS) submitted on July 28, 2022 and October 10, 2025 are being considered by the examiner.
Drawings
The drawings were received on July 28, 2022. These drawings are acceptable.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-7 and 10-16 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Thothadri et al. (US Patent Application Publication 2017/0358478, hereinafter referred to as “Thothadri”) in view of Wang et al. (US Patent 10,964,582, hereinafter referred to as “Chen”).
With respect to claim 1, Thothadri discloses:
1. A transfer system (system 600 is interpreted as the transfer system, see figure 11A), comprising:
a transfer layer (surface 632 with adhesive layer 420 thereon, are together interpreted as the transfer layer) formed of a thermally switchable material that undergoes a phase change when heated (see paragraph 0060), a side (see figure 11A, the bottom side of 632/420 is interpreted as the side) of the transfer layer being placed in contact with an outward- facing side (the upper side of the micro-devices 110 are interpreted as the outward-facing side) of a chiplet (the micro-devices 110 are interpreted as the chiplet) during a transfer operation (see paragraph 0061);
and an optical energy source (light source 532 is interpreted as the optical energy source) operable to apply optical energy to the chiplet region through the transfer layer to selectively heat a region of the transfer layer that corresponds to a location of the chiplet, the region holding the chiplet when the optical energy is removed during the transfer operation, the region being subsequently heated during the transfer operation to release the chiplet, wherein the transfer layer is reusable for repeated transfer operations (see figure 11B and see paragraph 0076 and 0085).
Thothadri is silent to the limitation an optical absorber material on at least one of the outward facing side of the chiplet or an inward facing side of the chiplet; and that the optical energy source applies optical energy to the optical absorber material through the transfer layer.
Wang discloses a very similar transfer substrate utilizing selectable surface adhesion transfer elements (see title) that includes chiplets (objects 314 are interpreted as chiplets) held by an adhesion element (306) that is thermally switchable (see column 5, lines 41-56) to selectively hold or release the chiplets, and further includes an optical absorber material (the thermal insulator 309 is interpreted as an optical absorber material, see column 5, lines 41-56), which helps prevent heat transfer to a substrate thereby decreasing the amount of energy needed to affect temperature change at the adhesion element and decreasing response time (see column 5, lines 41-56).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilizing the teachings of Wang and the optical absorber material, which functions as a thermal insulator, in the device of Thothadri in one or both of the outward facing side, or the inward facing side of the chiplet, or in any other location where heat can be insulated from unneeded spread, thereby decreasing the amount of energy needed to affect temperature change at the adhesion element and decreasing response time.
The combination of Thothadri and Wang as previously described further discloses claims:
2. The transfer system of claim 1, wherein the optical absorber material is a thin film applied to the outward facing side or inward facing side of the chiplet (see the rejection of claim 1 above, it was found obvious to place the optical absorber material on either or both of these surfaces – the material is interpreted as a thin film).
3. The transfer system of claim 2, wherein the chiplet is optically transparent at a wavelength of the optical energy (this is an intended use of the claimed structures and is based on the optical energy being applied), and wherein the thin film is applied at the inward facing side of the chiplet (see the rejection of claim 1 above, it was found obvious to place the optical absorber material on either or both of these surfaces).
4. The transfer system of claim 1, wherein a portion of the chiplet is formed of the optical absorber material (see the rejection of claim 1 above, it was found obvious to place the optical absorber material on either or both of the outward or inward surfaces of the chiplet, and they’re interpreted as being part of the chiplet and are therefore the portion of the chiplet formed of this material).
5. The transfer system of claim 1, wherein the optical absorber material comprises semiconductor (see column 5, lines 41-56, the portion of Wang relied upon in claim 1).
6. The transfer system of claim 1, wherein the optical absorber material is a patterned, non-uniform layer (see Wang figure 3, the various elements 309 are shown formed at a regularly patterned array, and are non-uniform because of the gaps therebetween).
7. The transfer system of claim 1, wherein the optical absorber material is integral with electrical contacts of the chiplet (see the drawings of Thothadri and Wang – the optical absorber material is interpreted as being integral with every other elements of the system, including electrical contacts of the chiplet – see paragraph 0051 of Thothadri which discloses the chiplets can be processors, which have electrical contacts).
With respect to claims 10 and 11, the Thothadri and Wang combination discloses the limitations of claim 1 as previously stated. Thothadri is further silent to wherein the thermally switchable material comprises a shaped memory polymer; wherein the shaped memory polymer comprises stearyl acrylate.
However, Wang further discloses that a thermally switchable adhesive material for use in its similar device to Thothadri can be stearyl acrylate which is an ideal material for sharp and reversible phase changes (see column 5, lines 8-14).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to utilize stearyl acrylate as the material of the switchable adhesion layer in Thothadri, as disclosed by Wang, because is an ideal material for sharp and reversible phase changes.
The combination of Thothadri and Wang as previously described in claim 1 further discloses claims:
12. The transfer system of claim 1, wherein the optical energy source is a scanned laser beam (see figure 11B).
13. The transfer system of claim 1, wherein the subsequent heating is performed by optical exposure (see figure 11B).
14. The transfer system of claim 1, wherein the transfer layer contacts a second chiplet that is not proximate the heated region of the transfer layer, the second chiplet not being held by the transfer layer during the transfer operation (this is an intended use of the claimed structures and does not further structurally limit the previously positively claimed structures).
15. The transfer system of claim 14, wherein the second chiplet does not include the optical absorber material, and wherein the optical energy is applied to the second chiplet during the transfer operation (this is an intended use of the claimed structures and does not further structurally limit the previously positively claimed structures).
16. The transfer system of claim 14, wherein the second chiplet includes the optical absorber material on at least one of a second outward facing side of the chiplet or a second inward facing side of the second chiplet, and wherein the optical energy is not applied to the second chiplet during the transfer operation (this is an intended use of the claimed structures and does not further structurally limit the previously positively claimed structures).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 8 and 9 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: the prior art of record, which is the closest prior art to the subject matter of the claims, does not disclose the limitations “an optically transparent conductive layer in thermal contact with the transfer layer; and two or more electrodes coupled to pass an electrical current across the optically transparent conductive layer, the electrical current heating the transparent conductive layer to non-selectively perform the subsequent heating of the transfer layer” (claim 8); further comprising: a conductive mesh in thermal contact with the transfer layer; and two or more electrodes coupled to pass an electrical current across the conductive mesh, the electrical current heating the conductive mesh to non-selectively perform the subsequent heating of the transfer layer” (claim 9). None of the cited reference include non-selectively heating the transfer layer in the manner required by the claims. There is nothing on the record that would suggest such differences would be obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Lastly, one having ordinary skill in the art does not possess any general knowledge or known motivations to find such differences obvious in view of the prior art of record.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JOHN M BEDTELYON whose telephone number is (571)270-1290. The examiner can normally be reached 8:00am - 4:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Uyen-Chau Le can be reached at 571-272-2397. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/John Bedtelyon/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2874