Detailed Action
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
In the response dated 11/18/2025, Applicants elected Species A, directed at the embodiments of Figs. 1A-1D. Claims 7 and 14 further limit Claims 1 and 9 to include a second layer, which appears in later embodiments, and is therefore withdrawn.
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.
Claims 1-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 20200211920 to Lee et al. (Lee) in view of U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 20140293543 to Kim et al. (Kim) and further in view of U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 20020074649 to Chrysler et al. (Chrysler).
Regarding Claims 1-5, Lee teaches in fig. 13 at least, a microelectronic device, comprising:
a multichip composite device comprising one or more chiplets 230 connected to a surface of a base die 220, and an inorganic dielectric material 240 laterally adjacent the one or more chiplets and over at least a portion of the base die;
a structural member 20 over the multichip composite device; and
a layer AF2 on the structural member, and between the structural member and the multichip composite device, and on the inorganic dielectric material (relevant to Claim 3), the layer having a thickness less than a thickness of the structural member (see Fig. 13), but does not explicitly teach that the layer comprising a material having a thermal conductivity greater than a thermal conductivity of the structural member.
However, in analogous art, Kim teaches a structural member 101 formed of crystalline silicon (relevant to Claim 4). It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of filing to modify the metal structural member of Kim because a silicon based structural member does not corrode or become tarnished in atmosphere due to elements of the environment. In contrast, metal-based heat sinks and radiators tend to foul and/or corrode over time, as taught by Kim [0054].
Furthermore, Chrysler teaches a layer of diamond (relevant to claim 2; diamond is by definition crystalline, relevant to claim 5) between a chiplet 40 and a structural member 80. It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of filing to include the teaching of Chrysler for the excellent thermal conductivity of diamond, as taught by Chrysler throughout.
In the combination of Lee, Kim and Chrysler, the layer has a higher thermal conductivity than the structural member (diamond vs. crystalline silicon).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee, Kim and Chrysler as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 20180158749 to Yu et al. (Yu).
Regarding Claim 6, Lee, Kim and Chrysler teach the microelectronic device of claim 1, but do not explicitly teach that the thickness of the layer is not more than 5 microns, the thickness of the structural member is not less than 50 microns, and at least one of the chiplets is hybrid bonded to the base die.
However, Chrysler teaches that the layer can be formed of a thickness that is suitable for the thermal requirements of the IC package. Also, the thickness of the structural member directly affects its thermal conductivity, and both are result effective variables that may be optimized by the person of ordinary skill (MPEP 2144.05(II)(B)).
Furthermore, in analogous art, Yu teaches hybrid bonding for chip on chip structures. It would have been obvious to the person of ordinary skill in the art before the time of filing to include the teaching of Yu because chip on chip hybrid bonding provides high thermal conduction without an intermediate connection material, as taught by Yu [0165].
Claim 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lee.
Regarding Claim 9, Lee teaches a microelectronic device, comprising:
a multichip composite device 3000 comprising one or more chiplets 230 connected to a surface of a base die 220, and an inorganic dielectric material 240 laterally adjacent the one or more chiplets and over at least a portion of the base die; and
a structural member 10/20/250 on the inorganic dielectric material and over the one or more chiplets, wherein the structural member has a thickness of not less than 25 microns (combined 10/20 has a thickness between 10-10000u, see MPEP 2144.05(I)), and comprises a material or a composite of materials, the material or at least one of the composite materials having a thermal conductivity of not less than 250 W/mK (20 may be copper [0021], 400W/mK).
Regarding Claim 10, Lee teaches the microelectronic device of claim 9, wherein the structural member comprises one of diamond, copper, boron and nitrogen, boron and arsenic, silicon and carbon, or aluminum and nitrogen.
Conclusion
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/EVREN SEVEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812