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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-9) in the reply filed on May 04, 2026 is acknowledged.
Drawings
The drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the “cap layer” must be shown or the feature(s) canceled from the claim(s). No new matter should be entered. Furthermore, the drawings are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a) because they fail to show the “cap layer 121” as described in the specification. Any structural detail that is essential for a proper understanding of the disclosed invention should be shown in the drawing. MPEP § 608.02(d).
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency. Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
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 1-9 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by U.S. Patent 12,143,085 to Wang.
Regarding claim 1, Wang discloses a method of forming a packaging structure for bulk acoustic wave resonator devices spaced apart on a wafer (210), the method comprising: depositing an epoxy-based photoresist material (240) on the wafer (210) to form an epoxy-based photoresist layer to cover the bulk acoustic wave resonator devices (see Fig 1B), wherein each of the bulk acoustic wave resonator devices includes a plurality of bulk acoustic wave resonators each comprising: a piezoelectric resonator reflector cavity (500a) located between a piezoelectric layer (140) and
a bulk acoustic wave resonator substrate (210); and release holes that extend through the piezoelectric layer (see Col. 8, lines 14-17) to the piezoelectric resonator reflector cavity (500a); processing the epoxy-based photoresist layer to form removable portions (cavity 500b) of the epoxy-based photoresist layer and to form remaining portions of the epoxy-based photoresist layer that are resistant to removal (ring 240); developing the epoxy-based photoresist layer to remove the removable portions to form wall cavity structures that are each defined by a cavity wall that extends around the bulk acoustic
wave resonator device in the wall cavity structure (see Fig. 16); and depositing the epoxy-based photoresist material to form a cap layer (250) extending over the cavity walls to seal each of the bulk acoustic wave resonator devices within the respective wall cavity structure defined by the cavity walls (see Fig. 17).
Regarding claim 2, Wang discloses patterning the epoxy-based photoresist layer using photolithography to form a patterned epoxy-based photoresist layer that includes the removable portions and the remaining portions (see Fig. 16); and curing the patterned epoxy-based photoresist layer (see Col 4, line 46-47).
Regarding claim 3, Wang discloses patterning epoxy-based photoresist layer (240) so that the remaining portions include pillars that are defined to protrude vertically in each of the wall cavity structures between the cavity wall and the bulk acoustic wave resonator device in the wall cavity structure (see Fig. 16).
Regarding claim 4, Wang discloses a metallization layer (260) coupling together bulk acoustic wave resonators, and patterning epoxy-based photoresist layer so that the remaining portions include the pillars on the metallization layer in each of the wall cavity structures between ones of the bulk acoustic wave resonator devices in the wall cavity structure (see Fig. 19).
Regarding claim 5, Wang discloses depositing the epoxy-based photoresist material (240) on the wafer (210) to cover the bulk acoustic wave resonator devices (1000) and bonding pads (220) that are coupled to respective ones of the bulk acoustic wave resonator devices; patterning the epoxy-based photoresist layer (240) to form a patterned epoxy-based photoresist layer that includes the removable portions on the bulk acoustic wave resonator devices and on the bonding pads; and removing the removable portions to form the cavity structures and to expose surfaces of the bonding pads (220, see Fig. 19).
Regarding claim 6, Wang discloses step of depositing the epoxy-based photoresist material (250) to form the cap layer to seal each of the bulk acoustic wave resonator devices within the respective wall cavity structure and over the surfaces
of the bonding pads (see Fig. 19).
Regarding claim 7, Wang discloses processing the cap layer to form removable portions over surfaces of the exposed bonding pads (220), wherein the removable portions in the cap layer are wider than the surfaces of the exposed bonding pads; and
developing the cap layer to remove the removable portions therein to form openings (420) with stepped profile side walls that expose the surfaces of the bonding pads (220, see Fig. 1B).
Regarding claim 8, Wang discloses depositing a conductive material ( 282)in the openings to form conductive bumps in the openings on the surfaces of the exposed bonding pads (see Fig. 1B).
Regarding claim 9, Wang discloses step of depositing the epoxy-based photoresist (240) on the wafer to form the wall layer and to extend between adjacent bulk acoustic wave resonator devices (1000, see Col. 11, line 58 to Col. 12, line 2).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Prior art cited for their general teaching of manufacturing a bulk acoustic wave resonator device. U.S. Patent 11,870,410 to Luo et al disclose the method of bulk acoustic wave resonator devices with different method of forming the cap layer (300). U.S. Patent 10,797,681 to Hurwitz et al disclose a method of bulk acoustic wave resonator devices without releasing hole.
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/DN/ /DONGHAI D NGUYEN/June 13, 2026 Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3729
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