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 § 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.
Claims 1 and 4 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nakajima et al. (“Nakajima” US 2003/0213979).
Regarding claim 1, Nakajima discloses a semiconductor device (Figure 4) comprising:
a substrate (metal block 15);
a semiconductor chip (1) provided on the substrate (15, see Figure 4);
a nut (12);
a case (casing 14) surrounding the semiconductor chip (1, see Figure 4);
a lead frame (6/13) provided on the semiconductor chip (1) and the nut (12) and screwed to the nut (12, para. [0070] discloses using bolts and the nut to fix the lead frame to external wirings, thus the lead frame is screwed to the nut via the bolt, which is not shown), the lead frame (6/13) having a portion contacting an outer surface of the case (portions 6b/13b, see Figure 4), and the portion of the lead frame (6b/13b) and the nut (12) being in direct physical contact with each other (see Figure 4 which shows direct physical contact between the portion of the lead frame 6b/13b and the nuts 12);
a nut box (portion of the case 14 that accommodates the nut 12, see Figure 4) provided in the case (14) and accommodating the nut (12, see Figure 4), and having an opening (14f) formed in a bottom portion of the nut box which exposes the nut downward (see Figure 4, where the opening 14f in the bottom portion of the nut box, which exposes the bottom surface of the nut);
and solder (not shown, but disclosed in para. [0041], [0042]) provided at least between the semiconductor chip (1) and the substrate (15) or the lead frame (6/13, para. [0041], [0042] discloses the use of solder between the semiconductor chip 1 and the lead frame 6, as well as solder between the wire 9 and each of the lead frame 13 and semiconductor chip 1, and the wire 9 is between the lead frame portion 13 and the semiconductor chip 1, thus this solder material is between the lead frame portion 13 and the semiconductor chip 1, these solder materials are in reference to the first embodiment of Figure 1, however para. [0069] discloses that the second embodiment of Figure 4 is a modification of the first embodiment regarding the disposition of the external electrodes and the shape of the casing, thus all other features would remain the same, and the solder materials would also be between the lead frame 6/13 and the semiconductor chip 1 in Figure 4).
Regarding claim 4, Nakajima discloses wherein the lead frame (6/13) includes a main body section (6) provided directly above the semiconductor chip (1, see Figure 4) and an external connection terminal section (13) bonded to the main body section (6) with solder (since the lead frame portion 13 is soldered to the wire 9, the wire 9 is soldered to the semiconductor chip 1, and the semiconductor chip 1 is soldered to the lead frame portion 6, see para. [0041], [0042], the lead frame portion 13 is thus bonded to the lead frame portion 6 through solder material) and provided directly above the nut (12, see Figure 4).
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 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakajima as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Adachi et al. (“Adachi” US 2022/0122902).
Regarding claim 5, Nakajima does not explicitly disclose a fin.
Adachi discloses in Figure 2, however, a semiconductor device having a fin (fins 32) provided below the substrate (6, see Figure 2).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art to incorporate the teachings od Adachi into the teachings of Nakajima to include the fins below the substrate for the purpose of increasing the surface area of heat dissipation means, thereby improving heat dissipation performance (Adachi, para. [0074]).
Claims 6-7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Nakajima as applied to claim 1 above, and further in view of Kim et al. (“Kim” US 2022/0157959).
Regarding claim 6, Nakajima does not explicitly disclose the specific materials used for the semiconductor chip (1).
Kim discloses in Figure 2A, however, a semiconductor chip where the semiconductor chip (Figure 2A) is made with a wide bandgap semiconductor (para. [0005] discloses silicon carbide as a wide bandgap semiconductor used).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the present invention to incorporate the teachings of Kim into the teachings of Nakajima to include a wide bandgap semiconductor material for the semiconductor chip for the purpose of employing advantageous characteristics of a wide band gap semiconductor such as high electric field breakdown strength and high thermal conductivity (Kim, para. [0005]).
Regarding claim 7, Kim discloses wherein the wide bandgap semiconductor is silicon carbide, a gallium nitride-based material, or diamond (para. [0005], silicon carbide).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments, see Notice of Appeal, filed January 26 2026, have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejection of record has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground(s) of rejection is made above.
Conclusion
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/Genevieve G Bullard-Connor/Examiner, Art Unit 2899 /DALE E PAGE/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2899