DETAILED ACTION
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-13) in the reply filed on February 6, 2026 is acknowledged.
Although not acknowledged by the applicant, claims 21-27 have been added by amendment, and are drawn to the elected product group. Therefore, claims 1-13 and 21-27 are treated on their merits below.
Information Disclosure Statement
The references cited within the IDS documents have been considered.
IDS document dates: December 22, 2022 and February 5, 2026.
Claim Objections
Claim 9 is objected to because of the following informality:
In claim 9, line 2: change “the” to - - an - -
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 6, 12, 21, and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claims 6, 12, and 23 recite a concentration limitation.
Specifically:
claim 6 recites “a concentration of Boron or Phosphorus in the first dielectric material is substantially more than a concentration of Boron or Phosphorus in the second dielectric material”;
claim 12 recites “a concentration of Boron or Phosphorus in the first dielectric material is substantially more than a concentration of Boron or Phosphorus in the second dielectric material”
claim 23 recites “a concentration of Boron or Phosphorus in the second SOG material is substantially more than a concentration of Boron or Phosphorus in the first SOG material”.
The use of the phrase ‘substantially more’ renders these claims indefinite, as the proper metes and bounds of the claim cannot be accurately ascertained. The specification provides a definition, by way of one example, in paragraph 0018:
“ ’Substantially more dopants’ in a second layer may refer to more than 10x the amount of dopants of the first layer. ”
This definition provided by the applicant does not offer any precise value or range for what would or could be, and the use of the term ‘may’ in the disclosure only adds to the ambiguity of the limitation in the claims. See also MPEP 2173.05 (b) III. D.
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Claim 21 recites “wherein the first SOG material the dielectric material comprising Silicon, Oxygen, and at least one of Boron or Phosphorus” in lines 7-8.
This limitation appears to be either incorrect or incomplete, as it is unclear what “the dielectric material” is referring to. Due to the confusing nature of the claim limitation, the claim is rendered undefined.
For purposes of examination, the limitation will be interpreted as: ‘wherein the first SOG material comprises Silicon, Oxygen, and at least one of Boron or Phosphorus’.
Claims 22-27 are also rejected, since they are dependent upon claim 21 and thus inherit the deficiency of claim 21.
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.
Claims 1, 4, 7, 9, 10, and 13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Wu et al. (US 2020/0176346 A1, hereinafter referred to as ‘Wu’).
As to claim 1, Wu teaches an integrated circuit package substrate comprising:
a core layer (102) comprising a plurality of metal vias (TH) electrically coupling a first side of the core layer and a second side of the core layer opposite the first side;
a build-up layer (the layers of the RDL are also build-up layers) on the first side of the core layer, the build-up layer comprising metal vias (116) within a dielectric material (114) and electrically connected to the metal vias of the core layer, the dielectric material comprising Silicon, Oxygen, and at least one of Boron or Phosphorus (see paragraph 0017). See also figures 1A-1G.
As to claim 4, Wu teaches the core layer (CL, 102) further comprises silica (see paragraph 0011).
As to claim 7, Wu teaches wherein the build-up layer is a first build-up layer comprising a first dielectric material (114), and the package substrate further comprises a second build-up layer (also 114) on the first build-up layer, the second build-up layer comprising metal vias within a second dielectric material and electrically connected to the metal vias of the first build-up layer, the second dielectric material comprising Silicon, Oxygen, and at least one of Boron or Phosphorus. See paragraph 0017; see figure 1C; there are multiple layers of 114, each of which has metal vias within and is made of the materials recited, i.e. “phosphosilicate glass (PSG), borosilicate glass (BSG), boron-doped phosphosilicate glass (BPSG)”.
As to claim 9, Wu teaches an integrated circuit device comprising:
an integrated circuit package substrate, comprising:
a core layer (102) comprising a plurality of metal vias (TH) electrically coupling a first side of the core layer and a second side of the core layer opposite the first side;
build-up layers (the layers of the RDL are also build-up layers) on the core layer, the build-up layer comprising metal vias (116) electrically connected to the metal vias of the core layer, at least one build-up layer comprising a dielectric material (114) comprising Silicon, Oxygen, and at least one of Boron or Phosphorus (see paragraph 0017); and
an integrated circuit die (e.g. 134A, 134B, see paragraph 0024) coupled to the integrated circuit package substrate. See also figures 1A-1G.
As to claim 10, Wu teaches wherein the build-up layer (a layer of the RDL, 114) is a first build-up layer and the dielectric material is a first dielectric material, and the build-up layers further comprise a second build-up layer (also 114) comprising a second dielectric material comprising Silicon, Oxygen, and at least one of Boron or Phosphorus. See paragraph 0017; see figure 1C; there are multiple layers of 114, each of which has metal vias within and is made of the materials recited, i.e. “phosphosilicate glass (PSG), borosilicate glass (BSG), boron-doped phosphosilicate glass (BPSG)”.
As to claim 13, Wu teaches the core layer (CL, 102) further comprises silica (see paragraph 0011).
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 21 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wu in view of Farnworth et al. (US 2005/0150683 A1, hereinafter referred to as ‘Farnworth’).
As to claim 21, Wu teaches an integrated circuit package substrate comprising:
a core layer (CL) comprising a plurality of metal vias (TH) in a dielectric material (102, see para. 0011), the metal vias electrically coupling a first side of the core layer and a second side of the core layer opposite the first side;
a build-up layer on the first side of the core layer, the build-up layer comprising metal vias (116) within a second SOG (114, see para. 0017) material and electrically connected to the metal vias of the core layer;
See also figures 1A-1G.
Wu does not teach the core layer comprises a spin-on-glass (SOG) material.
However, Farnworth teach a related device wherein the core substrate (10, 14) comprises a spin-on-glass, which comprises Silicon, Oxygen, and at least one of Boron or Phosphorus. See e.g. figures 1A-1D; paragraphs 0026 and 0028.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the device of Wu with the spin-on-glass core layer of Farnworth, so as to provide a rigid and stable package substrate, that is also cost effective and easy to manufacture, as one of ordinary skill in the art readily appreciates with the usage of the various known glasses.
As to claim 22, the combination of Wu and Farnworth teach the first SOG material (10, 14) and the second SOG material (114) comprise Silicon, Oxygen, and at least one of Boron or Phosphorus.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2, 5, 8, and 11 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 prior art of record does not teach or suggest the disclosed invention regarding:
the build-up layer comprises an adhesion promotion layer between the dielectric material and the metal vias, as recited within claim 2;
the metal vias of the core layer are within a second dielectric material comprising Silicon, Oxygen, and at least one of Boron or Phosphorus, as recited within claim 5;
the package substrate further comprises a second build-up layer on the second side of the core layer, the second build-up layer comprising metal vias within a second dielectric material and electrically connected to the metal vias of the core layer, the second dielectric material comprising Silicon, Oxygen, and at least one of Boron or Phosphorus, as recited within claim 8;
the dielectric material is a first dielectric material and the core layer comprises a second dielectric material comprising Silicon, Oxygen, and at least one of Boron or Phosphorus, as recited within claim 11.
Claim 3 is also objected to, as being dependent upon objected claims.
Cited Prior Art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure: see the attached form PTO-892 for pertinent cited art.
Contact Information
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Scott B. Geyer (telephone: 571-272-1958). The examiner can normally be reached on Monday to Friday, 10AM - 4PM (ET). Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at: http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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/SCOTT B GEYER/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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