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 .
Response to Amendment/Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claims 1 – 5, and 7 – 11 have been considered, but they are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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, 8, and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being unpatentable over Abe et al. (JP 2011-67849A) in view of Suenaga et al. (U.S. Patent Publication No. 2023/0274992).
Regarding claim 1, in Figures 1 – 4, Abe discloses a ceramic substrate, consisting essentially of: a rectangular flat plate-shaped silicon nitride substrate (21) (support substrate 21 can be made of silicon nitride, paragraph [0050]); a first brazing material layer (31, paragraph [0037]) provided on a first main surface (21a, top surface of substrate 21) of the silicon nitride substrate; a second brazing material layer (32, paragraph [0037]) provided on a second main surface (21b, bottom surface of substrate 21) of the silicon nitride substrate; a first metal layer (51, paragraph [0037]) for mounting an electric circuit component (41a, 41b; 41a and 41b are circuit members, paragraph [0029]) and comprising a metal (paragraph [0037]) and being fixed through the first brazing material layer to the silicon nitride substrate on a first main surface-side (Figure 1); and a second metal layer (52, paragraph [0037]) for dissipating heat generated by the electric circuit component and comprising a metal (paragraph [0037]) and being fixed through the second brazing material layer to the silicon nitride substate on a second main surface-side (Figure 1), wherein the first metal layer and the second metal layer are made of a same metal (paragraph [0037] and a difference in thickness between the first metal layer and the second metal layer is 0.02 mm or less (the metal layers 51 and 52 are set to the same thickness, paragraph [0082], thus, the difference in the thicknesses of the metal layers 51 and 52 is zero or about zero, which is less than 0.02 mm), wherein a thickness of the first brazing material layer and a thickness of the second brazing material layer are 11.2 µm or more and 20.4 µm or less at any location (joining layers 31, 32 are 0.02mm = 20 µm thick; paragraph [0082]), wherein a difference between the thickness of the first brazing material layer at a given point and the thickness of the second brazing material layer at a point located behind the given point is 4.0 µm or less (the bonding layers 31 and 32 are set to the same thickness, paragraph [0082], thus, the difference in the thicknesses of bonding layers 31 and 32 is zero or about zero, which is less than 4.0 µm), wherein an amount of warpage of the silicon nitride substrate in every 100 mm in a direction along each side of the silicon nitride substate is 0.03 mm or less. Abe does not specifically disclose wherein an amount of warpage of the silicon nitride substrate in every 100 mm in a direction along each side of the silicon nitride substate is 0.03 mm or less. However, in paragraph [0085], Suenaga discloses controlling the amount of warpage of a silicon nitride substrate to within a range from 0.1 mm to 1 mm.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention for the amount of warpage of the silicon nitride substrate 21 of Abe to be 0.03 mm or less in every 100 mm in a direction along each side of the silicon nitride substate as taught by Suenaga in order to have low warpage and/or to reduce the amount of warpage in the substrate.
Regarding claim 2, Abe discloses wherein a relational expression (Ta-Tb)/Ta≤0.2 is satisfied where Ta is the larger of the thickness of the first brazing material layer and the thickness of the second brazing material layer at a given point and Tb is the smaller of the two (paragraph [0082]).
Regarding claim 3, Abe discloses wherein one of the first metal layer and the second metal layer comprises a circuit plate on which an electrical circuit component is mounted, and the other comprises a heat dissipation plate, and wherein a difference between a thickness of the first metal layer and a thickness of the second metal layer is not more than 0.02 mm (Figures 1 – 4).
Regarding claim 4, Abe discloses wherein the insulating base has a rectangular shape, and wherein an amount of warpage of the insulation base in every 100 mm in a direction along each side of the insulation base is not more than 0.03 mm (paragraph [0050]).
Regarding claim 5, Abe discloses a ceramic divided substrate that is formed by dividing the ceramic substrate according to claim 1 into a plurality of pieces (Figures 1 – 4).
Regarding claim 8, Abe discloses wherein a precision being significant figures for 4.0 µm, wherein the first brazing material layer and the second brazing material layer varying in thickness along a length at different points (Figures 1 – 4).
Regarding claim 10, Abe discloses wherein a thickness of the first brazing material layer varies within a range of 13.8 µm or more along a length of the first brazing material layer, while the thickness of the second brazing material layer varies within a range of 11.2 µm or more along a length of the second brazing material layer (Figures 1 – 4).
Claims 7, 9, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Abe.
Regarding claim 7, Abe discloses the ceramic substrate according to claim 1. Abe does not specifically disclose wherein a difference control between the thickness of the first brazing material layer at the given point and the thickness of the second brazing material layer at the point located behind the given point is controlled within a precision of 4.0 µm or less. However, providing for the difference of the thicknesses of a first layer and a second layer to be controlled within a requisite precision is common place and well known in the art, and is merely a design option for a skilled artisan without the exercise of inventive skill.
Regarding claim 9, Abe discloses the ceramic substrate according to claim 1. Abe does not specifically disclose wherein a difference control between the thickness of the first brazing material layer at a given point and the thickness of the second brazing material layer at the given point is controlled to a maximum difference of 4.0 µm with significant digits. However, providing for the difference of the thicknesses of a first layer and a second layer to be controlled within a requisite precision is common place and well known in the art, and is merely a design option for a skilled artisan without the exercise of inventive skill.
Regarding claim 11, Abe discloses the ceramic substrate according to claim 10. Abe does not specifically disclose wherein a difference control between the thickness of the first brazing material layer at the given point and the thickness of the second brazing material layer at the given point is configured to be controlled to within a maximum difference of 4.0 µm. However, providing for the difference of the thicknesses of a first layer and a second layer to be controlled within a requisite precision is common place and well known in the art, and is merely a design option for a skilled artisan without the exercise of inventive skill.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 6 is allowed.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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TREMESHA W. BURNS
Primary Examiner
Art Unit 2847
/TREMESHA W BURNS/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847