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
Claims 12-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 18 May 2026.
Applicant’s election without traverse of the invention of group I in the reply filed on 18 May 2026 is acknowledged.
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, 2, and 5-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Jackson et al. (US 2019/0341885).
With respect to claim 1, Jackson et al. discloses an electronic package (Fig 1), comprising: a segment of a leadframe (items 105-107) having a die attach pad (item 105) and one or more leads (items 143-144); a semiconductor die (item 130) electrically connected to the die attach pad (Fig 1); a bulk acoustic wave device (item 120) attached to, and electrically connected to, the semiconductor die (Fig 1); a mold compound (item 135) surrounding the first semiconductor die and covering portions of the leadframe and a first portion of a top surface of the semiconductor die (Fig 1); a cavity area in the mold compound (Fig 1, wherein the cavity is filled by item 133), wherein the mold compound does not cover the BAW device or a second portion of the top surface of the semiconductor die within the cavity area (Fig 1); and a glob top material (item 133) disposed within the cavity area (Fig 1), the glob top material covering the BAW device and the second portion of the top of the semiconductor die (Fig 1).
With respect to claim 2, Jackson et al. discloses the electronic package of claim 1, wherein the cavity area has a first height above the semiconductor die and the glob top material has a second height above the semiconductor die that is less than the first height (Fig 1).
With respect to claim 5, Jackson et al. discloses the electronic package of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor die is electrically connected to the one or more leads by bond wires (items 143-144) that are encapsulated by the mold compound (Fig 1).
With respect to claim 6, Jackson et al. discloses the electronic package of claim 1, wherein the BAW device has as top surface and a bottom surface, the bottom surface attached to the top surface of the semiconductor die, the top surface having one or more bond pads, the one or more bond pads electrically connected to contact pads on the semiconductor die by bond wires (Fig 1).
With respect to claim 7, Jackson et al. discloses the electronic package of claim 1, wherein the BAW device is flip-chip mounted on the semiconductor die (Paragraph 17).
With respect to claim 8, Jackson et al. discloses the electronic package of claim 7, further comprising: bond pads (item 120a) on an active surface of the BAW device, the active surface of the BAW device facing the top surface of the semiconductor die (Fig 1); contact pads (item 130a) on the top surface of the semiconductor die (Fig 1); and bumps (item 111a) electrically connecting the bond pads to the contact pads (Fig 1).
With respect to claim 9, Jackson et al. discloses the electronic package of claim 1, wherein the glob top is a stress absorbing material that isolates the BAW device from stresses and vibrations in the electronic package (Paragraph 22).
With respect to claim 10, Jackson et al. discloses the electronic package of claim 1, wherein the glob top is a low elastic modulus material that is different from a material used for the mold compound (Fig 1, paragraph 22).
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 3, 4, and 11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Jackson et al. in view of Milo et al. (US 2021/0111086).
With respect to claim 3, Jackson et al. discloses the electronic package of claim 1.
Jackson et al. does not disclose that the glob top material does not fill the cavity area in the mold compound.
Milo et al. teaches an oscillator package for a BAW device (Fig 1) in which the glob top material (item 114) does not fill the cavity area in the mold compound (Fig 1, wherein the glob top material 114 does not fill the cavity in the mold material 121-122, as there is a gap 126 between the glob top material and the mold material 121-122).
Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the arrangement of the glop top material of Milo et al. with the oscillator package of Jackson et al. for the benefit of reducing mechanical stress (Paragraph 28 of Milo et al.).
With respect to claim 4, Jackson et al. discloses the electronic package of claim 1.
Jackson et al. does not disclose that the mold compound does not cover a top surface of the glob top material.
Milo et al. teaches an oscillator package for a BAW device (Fig 1) in which the mold compound does not cover a top surface of the glob top material (Fig 1, wherein the glob top material 114 does not cover the mold material 121-122, as there is a gap 126 between the glob top material and the mold material 121-122).
Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the arrangement of the glop top material of Milo et al. with the oscillator package of Jackson et al. for the benefit of reducing mechanical stress (Paragraph 28 of Milo et al.).
With respect to claim 11, Jackson et al. discloses the electronic package of claim 1.
Jackson et al. does not disclose that the electronic package is a quad-flat no-leads (QFN) package.
Milo et al. teaches an oscillator package for a BAW device in which the electronic package is a quad-flat no-leads (QFN) package (Paragraph 23).
Before the effective filing, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to combine the arrangement as a QFN package taught by Milo et al. with the oscillator package of Jackson et al. as it has been held that the selection of a component based on an art-recognized suitability for an intended purpose is obvious (In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416), and it would therefore have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use the oscillator package of Jackson et al. in any of the commonly known arrangements of such packages, including a QFN arrangement (Paragraph 23 of Milo et al.).
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Derek John Rosenau whose telephone number is (571)272-8932. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Thursday 7 am to 5:30 pm Central Time.
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/DEREK J ROSENAU/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2837
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