Attorney’s Docket Number: 123833-US-PA
Filing Date: 2/10/2023
Claimed Priority Date: 11/24/2022 (US 63/427,904)
Inventors: Hung et al.
Examiner: Marcos D. Pizarro
DETAILED ACTION
This Office action responds to the amendment and election filed on 11/26/2025.
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 . In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for a 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.
Amendment Status
The amendment filed on 11/26/2025 in reply to the Office action in paper no. 3, mailed on 10/8/2025, has been entered. The present Office action is made with all the suggested amendments being fully considered. Accordingly, pending in this Office action are claims 1-10 and 18-27.
Invention and Species Election
Applicant’s election without traverse of invention I, reading on a semiconductor device, and species 1, reading on figure 6, in the reply filed on 10/8/2025, is acknowledged. The applicants indicated that claims 1-7, 9, 10 and 21-27 read on the elected invention and species, and that claims 1-5 and 21-24 were generic to species 1-3. The examiner agrees. Accordingly, claims 8 and 18-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention and/or species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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)(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 2 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Refai (US 2023/0420335).
Regarding claim 1, Refai (see, e.g., fig. 6) shows all aspects of the instant invention including a semiconductor device comprising:
A substrate 104
A first device 102A on the substrate
A second device 102C on the substrate and adjacent to the first device
A ring 502 over the substrate and the second device
A lid 504 over the ring and the first device, and
A first adhesive 144 between the lid and the ring
wherein:
The ring 504 comprises a cover 124 and a leg 114 extending out from the cover
The cover has a through opening 126
The lid comprises a body 504 and a protrusion 170 protruding from the body
The protrusion 170 is inserted into the opening 126
The adhesive 144 is between the body of the lid 504 and the cover of the ring 502
The adhesive comprises phase change thermal interface material (PC-TIM) (see, e.g., par. 0033)
Regarding claim 2, Refai (see, e.g., fig. 6) shows that a vertical projection of the opening 126 onto the substrate 104 is overlapped with a vertical projection of the first device 102A onto the substrate.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claims 21 and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Refai in view of Wang (US 2022/0359465).
Regarding claim 21, Refai (see, e.g., fig. 6) shows most aspects of the instant invention including a semiconductor device comprising:
A substrate 104
A first device 102A on the substrate
A second device 102C on the substrate
A ring 502 over the substrate and the second device
A lid 504 over the ring and the first device, and
A first adhesive 144 between the lid and the ring
wherein:
The ring comprises a cover 124, and first and third legs 114
The legs 114 are parallel to one another and perpendicular to the cover 124
The lid 504 comprises a body and a protrusion 170 protruding from the body
The protrusion 170 is between the first and third legs 114 of the ring
The adhesive 144 is between the body of the lid 504 and the cover of the ring 502
The adhesive comprises a PC-TIM (see, e.g., par. 0033)
Refai, however, fails to show the ring comprising a second leg so that the second device is located between the first and second legs, and the protrusion is between the second and third legs. Wang, in a similar device to Refai, teaches that said second leg would help reduce warpage and the possibility of damage to the second device. See, e.g., Wang: par. 0052-0053.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious at the time of filing the invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to include the second leg of Wang in the ring of Refai to reduce warpage and protect the second device.
Regarding claim 22, Wang (see, e.g., fig. 14) shows that the first device 100 is located between the second and third legs 320 of the ring 300.
Claims 1, 9, 3, 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 2015/0162307) in view of Refai and Jewram (US 2024/0400880).
Regarding claim 1, Chen (see, e.g., fig. 5A) shows most aspects of the instant invention including a semiconductor device 500 comprising:
A substrate 18
A first device 10 on the substrate
A second device 12 on the substrate and adjacent to the first device
A ring 62 over the substrate and the second device
A lid 72 over the ring and the first device, and
A first adhesive 68 between the lid and the ring
wherein:
The ring 62 comprises a cover and a leg extending out from the cover
The cover has a through opening
The lid comprises a body and a protrusion 70 protruding from the body
The protrusion 70 is inserted into the opening
The adhesive 68 is between the body of the lid 72 and the cover of the ring 62
The adhesive 68 is a TIM (see, e.g., par. 0019)
Chen, however, fails to specify that the TIM adhesive be a PC. Refai (see, e.g., fig. 8), in a similar device to Chen, teaches a PC as a TIM adhesive 144 between the body of a lid 504 and the cover of a ring 502. Jewram (see, e.g., par. 0024) found that PC materials are high-performance TIMs that exhibit low thermal resistance, reliable thermal performance, and resistance to aging.
It would have been obvious at the time of filing the invention to have the TIM of Chen be the PC-TIM suggested by Refai and Jewram such that the adhesive exhibit low thermal resistance, reliable thermal performance and resistance to aging.
Regarding claim 9, Chen (see, e.g., fig. 5A) shows that the body and the protrusion 70 are spatially separated, and the protrusion is attached to the body through a glue layer 72c.
Regarding claim 3, Chen (see, e.g., fig. 5A) shows the device further comprising:
A second adhesive 60 between the leg of the ring 62 and the substrate 18
A third adhesive 58 between the cover 62 and the second device 12
A fourth adhesive 58 between the protrusion 70 and the first device 10
Regarding claim 5, Refai (see, e.g., par. 0033) shows that the fourth adhesive 174 comprises PC-TIM.
Regarding claim 6, Chen (see, e.g., par. 0019) shows that the fourth adhesive comprises metallic TIM.
Claims 4 and 7 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen/Refai/Jewram in view of Chan (US 2020/0373220).
Regarding claim 4, Chen shows a device comprising first and third adhesives but teaches them to be similar to each other (see, e.g., par. 0024). Chan teaches altering adhesive composition to tailor mechanical and thermal properties and manufacturability, and discloses using adhesives of different compositions at different interfaces to meet differing performance and processing requirements (see, e.g., par. 0022).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill to modify Chen’s adhesives by selecting different adhesives, as taught by Chan, in order to tailor the adhesives to the differing interface requirements present in Chen’s device.
Regarding claim 7, Chen teaches an electronic device 500 comprising a lid 72 and a first device 10, with a fourth adhesive 58 disposed between the lid and the first device. Chen further teaches that the fourth adhesive may be formed of a single thermal interface material, such as a polymer-TIM or a metallic-TIM, and that the adhesive functions to provide thermal coupling between the lid and the first device. See, e.g., Chen: fig. 5A and par. 0019. Refai (see, e.g., par. 0033) teaches using a PC-TIM as the fourth adhesive 174 between the lid 106 and the device 102. Jewram (see, e.g., pars.0022-0023) teaches that PC-TIMs are high-performance TIMs exhibiting low thermal resistance and reliable thermal performance, and further teaches that PC-TIMs include polymer-based TIM materials. However, they not explicitly teach the fourth adhesive comprising first and second material layers.
Chan teaches, in a device similar to that of Chen, an adhesive disposed between a lid 110 and a device 106, wherein the adhesive comprises a first material layer 104A and a second material layer 104B adjacent to the first layer, with the first material layer comprising a polymer-based TIM and the second material layer comprising a metallic TIM (see, e.g., fig. 1 and par. 0024/11-14). Chan further teaches that employing adjacent layers of different materials allows the designer to weigh and utilize different material properties to achieve desired mechanical and thermal performances and/or manufacturability, and specifically teaches that the use of multiple adjacent layers may advantageously mitigate bleed out. See, e.g., Chan: pars. 0022 and 0027.
Because Chen already teaches polymer and metallic TIMs as materials for the fourth adhesive, and Chan teaches arranging such materials as adjacent layers for known advantages, the modification would have been a predictable use of prior art elements according to their established functions, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to modify the fourth adhesive of Chen to comprise a first material layer and a second material layer adjacent to the first layer, as taught by Chan, in order to improve thermal and mechanical performances and mitigation of bleed out. Further, it would have been obvious to select a PC-TIM for the polymer-based first material layer, as taught by Refai and Jewram, since PC-TIMs are known polymer-based TIMs suitable for use in the same application and provide predictable thermal performance benefits.
Claims 21, 26 and 23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Wang/Refai/Jewram.
Regarding claim 21, Chen (see, e.g., fig. 5A) shows most aspects of the instant invention including a semiconductor device comprising:
A substrate 18
A first device 10 on the substrate
A second device 12 on the substrate
A ring 62 over the substrate and the second device
A lid 72 over the ring and the first device, and
A first adhesive 68 between the lid and the ring
wherein:
The ring 62 comprises a cover and first and third legs
The legs are parallel to one another and perpendicular to the cover
The lid 72 comprises a body and a protrusion 70 protruding from the body
The protrusion 70 is between the first and third legs of the ring
The adhesive 68 is between the body of the lid 72 and the cover of the ring 62
The adhesive is a TIM (see, e.g., par. 0019)
Regarding claim 21, see the comments stated above in paragraphs 12, 13, 17 and 18 with respect to claims 21 and 1, which are considered repeated here.
Regarding claims 26 and 23, see the comments stated above in paragraphs 19 and 20 with respect to claims 9 and 3, which are considered repeated here.
Claims 24 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen in view of Wang/Refai/Jewram/Chan.
Regarding claims 24 and 25, see the comments stated above in paragraphs 24-29 with respect to claims 4 and 7, which are considered repeated here.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 10 and 27 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.
Conclusion
Papers related to this application may be submitted directly to Art Unit 2814 by facsimile transmission. Papers should be faxed to Art Unit 2814 via the Art Unit 2814 Fax Center. The faxing of such papers must conform to the notice published in the Official Gazette, 1096 OG 30 (15 November 1989). The Art Unit 2814 Fax Center number is (571) 273-8300. The Art Unit 2814 Fax Center is to be used only for papers related to Art Unit 2814 applications.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Marcos D. Pizarro at (571) 272-1716 and between the hours of 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) Monday through Thursday or by e-mail via Marcos.Pizarro@uspto.gov. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, Wael Fahmy, can be reached on (571) 272-1705.
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/Marcos D. Pizarro/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2814
MDP/mdp
January 23, 2026