DETAILED ACTION
This Notice is responsive to communication filed on 12/18/2025.
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 .
Response to Amendment
An amendment filed on 12/18/2025 has been acknowledged and entered into the record. The present Office Action is made with all the suggested amendments being fully considered.
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.
Claim 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Narayanasamy et al. (US 20220115245).
Regarding claim 16, Narayanasamy discloses a semiconductor package, comprising:
a carrier Fig. 8: 110; and
a lid structure Fig. 8: 810 including a gas inlet Fig. 8: 830 and a gas outlet Fig. 8: 850 arranged along a first direction, wherein the lid structure Fig. 8: 810 and the carrier Fig. 8: 110 collectively define a first pathway (annotated below) connecting the gas inlet Fig. 8: 830 and the gas outlet Fig. 8: 850, and
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wherein a first sidewall of the first pathway has a first height, and a second sidewall of the first pathway opposite to the first sidewall has a second height, and the first height being different from the second height (annotated below); and
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a first die Fig. 8: 120 disposed in the first pathway, wherein a first lateral space between a vertical projection of the first die Fig. 8: 120 on the carrier Fig. 8: 110 and a vertical projection of the first sidewall on the carrier Fig. 8: 110 is different from a second lateral space between a vertical projection of the first die Fig. 8: 120 on the carrier Fig. 8: 110 and a vertical projection of the second sidewall on the carrier Fig. 8: 110 (annotated below).
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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.
Claims 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Narayanasamy et al. (US 20220115245) as applied to claim 16 above, and further in view of Peng (CN 114105079 A).
Regarding claim 19, although Narayanasamy teaches the substantial features of the semiconductor package, he fails to explicitly disclose the semiconductor package of claim 16, further comprising an adhesive layer disposed at least in one of a first space between the first sidewall and the carrier or a second space between the second sidewall and the carrier. However, Peng teaches a semiconductor package Fig. 2 further comprising an adhesive layer Fig. 2: 600 disposed at least in one of a first space between the first sidewall Fig. 2: 240 and the carrier Fig. 2: 100 or a second space between the second sidewall and the carrier. Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Narayanasamy and Peng for the purpose of forming adjacent cavities to be able to calculate pressure differences (para. 0037).
Regarding claim 20, Narayanasamy teaches the lid structure of claim 19, wherein the second height is greater than the first height (shown in annotated Fig. 8 below).
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Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1, 2, 6, and 7 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
Regarding claim 1, the applied prior art neither anticipates nor renders obvious the claimed semiconductor package comprising a lid structure Fig. 2: 14 disposed over a carrier Fig. 2: 10, wherein the lid structure Fig. 2: 14 further comprises a second protrusion pattern Fig. 2: 144 defining the sealed compartment Fig. 2: 144e, and wherein the first die Fig. 2: 11 is disposed between the first protrusion pattern Fig. 2: 143 and the second protrusion pattern Fig. 2: 144, in combination with the remaining claimed limitations
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Claim 18 is 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.
Remarks
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure.
Regarding claim 1, Peng (CN 114105079A) teaches a semiconductor package, comprising:
a carrier Fig. 2: 100;
a lid structure Fig. 2: 200 disposed over the carrier Fig. 2: 100, the lid structure Fig. 2: 200 including a gas inlet Fig. 2: 220 and a gas outlet Fig. 2: 220 (right side of structure);
a first die Fig. 2: 400 disposed over the carrier Fig. 2: 100; and
a second die Fig. 2: 500 disposed over the carrier Fig. 2: 100,
wherein the lid structure Fig. 2: 200 includes a first protrusion pattern Fig. 2: 240 protruding toward the carrier Fig. 2: 100 and extending between the first die Fig. 2: 400 and the second die Fig. 2: 500;
wherein the lid structure Fig. 2: 200 and the carrier Fig. 2: 100 collectively define a first pathway and a second pathway to respectively accommodate the first die Fig. 2: 400 and the second die Fig. 2: 500.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to NKECHINYERE ESIABA whose telephone number is (571)272-0720. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 10am-5pm EST.
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/Nkechinyere Esiaba/Examiner, Art Unit 2817
/Kretelia Graham/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2817 January 20, 2026