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 1-12, in the reply filed on 12/2/25 is acknowledged.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the 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.
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 1-12 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Sakuma et al. (US 2022/0262754).
Regarding claim 1, Sakuma discloses a method of joining a semiconductor chip to a semiconductor substrate, the method comprising:
forming a pad on a substrate (15, figs. 4A-C and paragraphs 0071-0073);
disposing a first conductive particle on a surface of the pad (34, figs. 4B-C and paragraphs 0071-0073);
disposing a second conductive particle (34, figs. 3A-C and paragraphs 0067-0070) on a surface of a bump (13, figs. 3A-C and paragraphs 0067-0070) included in an electronic chip package (10, figs. 3A-C and paragraphs 0067-0070), the surface of the bump facing the surface of the pad (figs. 1-2 and paragraph 0070); and
electrically connecting the pad to the bump by bringing the first conductive particle into contact with the second conductive particle (figs. 1-2 and paragraphs 0003-0004, 0057 and Abstract.
Sakuma does not explicitly disclose wherein the pad is in a peripheral area of a display substrate. Sakuma’s method is directed to joining a semiconductor chip to a semiconductor substrate (Abstract), as such, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to utilize said method since the chip on a display substrate is a subset of the more general chip on a semiconductor substrate taught by Sakuma.
Regarding claim 2, Sakuma further discloses wherein the electrically connecting the pad to the bump comprises welding the first conductive particle to the second conductive particle (paragraphs 0042, 0057).
Regarding claim 3, Sakuma further discloses wherein the first conductive particle comprises a same material as a material of the second conductive particle (paragraphs 0042, 0057).
Regarding claim 4, Sakuma further discloses wherein the first conductive particle and the second conductive particle each comprise tin (paragraphs 0042, 0057).
Regarding claim 5, Sakuma further discloses wherein, when the first conductive particle has a spherical shape, a diameter of the first conductive particle is about 7 nanometers to about 24 nanometers (paragraph 0058), and the electrically connecting the pad to the bump comprises welding the first conductive particle to the second conductive particle at a temperature greater than or equal to about 120 degrees Celsius and less than about 210 degrees Celsius (paragraphs 0042-0043).
Regarding claim 6, Sakuma further discloses wherein the diameter of the first conductive particle is about 7 nanometers to about 11 nanometers (paragraph 0058), and the electrically connecting the pad to the bump comprises welding the first conductive particle to the second conductive particle at a temperature greater than or equal to about 120 degrees Celsius and less than about 170 degrees Celsius (paragraphs 0042-0043).
Regarding claim 7, Sakuma further discloses wherein, when the second conductive particle has a spherical shape, a diameter of the second conductive particle is about 7 nanometers to about 24 nanometers (paragraph 0058), and the electrically connecting the pad to the bump comprises welding the first conductive particle to the second conductive particle at a temperature greater than or equal to about 120 degrees Celsius and less than about 210 degrees Celsius (paragraphs 0042-0043).
Regarding claim 8, Sakuma further discloses wherein the diameter of the second conductive particle is about 7 nanometers to about 11 nanometers (paragraph 0058), and the electrically connecting the pad to the bump comprises welding the first conductive particle to the second conductive particle at a temperature greater than or equal to about 120 degrees Celsius and less than about 170 degrees Celsius (paragraphs 0042-0043).
Regarding claims 9-12, Sakuma discloses the diameters 7 to 24nm (paragraph 0058) and temperatures of 120 to 210 degrees Celsius (paragraphs 0042-0043). Sakuma does not explicitly disclose wherein the first and second conductive particles have oval shapes (i.e. a long diameter and a short diameter). However, given Sakuma’s disclosure of the diameter range and the propensity of fabricating nanoparticles at that scale that deviate from perfect spheres, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to use ovals in place of perfect spheres given Sakuma discloses the claimed diameters.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US Patent Application Publication 2002/0105078 discloses a bump to pad joining method which includes conductive particles.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DOUGLAS M MENZ whose telephone number is (571)272-1877. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm.
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/DOUGLAS M MENZ/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897 12/12/25