Attorney’s Docket Number: 6810-1764
Filing Date: 5/19/2023
Claimed Priority Dates: 11/16/2021 (PCT/JP2021/042077)
11/26/2020 (JP 2020-195656)
Inventors: Lin et al.
Examiner: Marcos D. Pizarro
DETAILED ACTION
This Office action responds to the election filed on 5/8/2026.
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 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 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.
Election
Applicant's election with traverse of Group I, reading on a device, and of the species reading on the semiconductor device 500 reading on figure 2B, the land portion 1044 and terminal 1046 reading on figures 4B and 5B, the terminal 182 reading on figure 6B, the wiring pattern (WP) in the front RDL 120 reading on figure 13, and the power supply pattern and wiring path regions reading on figure 19, in the reply filed on 5/8/2026, is acknowledged. The applicants indicated that claims 1-6 read on the elected invention group and species. Claim 3, however, reads on a non-elected species of the invention.
Accordingly, claims 3 and 7-10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b), as being drawn to a nonelected invention group and species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
The traversal is on the grounds that examination of all of the identified inventions would not result in a serious search and/or examination burden. This is not found persuasive because under the unity of invention standard applicable to a national stage application, the relevant inquiry is whether the claimed inventions share a special technical feature linking them to a single general inventive concept. The absence of a serious search and/or examination burden does not establish unity of invention. As previously explained, the identified invention groups/species do not share a special technical feature. Accordingly, the election requirement is still deemed proper and is, therefore, made final.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Claims 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite.
The claims are indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor, or a joint inventor, regards as the invention.
Claim 5 recites the limitation “a lower layer of the under-bump metal layer” in line 8. It is not clear whether this is the same or a different layer from the previously recited lower layer.
Claim 6 recites the limitation “a lower layer of the under-bump metal layer”. It is not clear whether this is the same or a different layer from the previously recited lower layer.
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, 5 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kurosawa (US 2005/0006765).
Regarding claim 5, Kurosawa (see, e.g., figs. 2 and 4) shows all aspects of the instant invention including a semiconductor device comprising:
A conductive pad 14 recessed in a passivation layer 16
A seed layer (SL) 30 having a land portion 26 formed on the pad
An under-bump metal layer (UBM) 20 including upper and lower layers formed on the SL (see, e.g., ¶120)
An external terminal 32 formed on the UBM, and
A dielectric layer 18 covering a peripheral surface of the UBM
wherein the diameter B of the lower layer of the UBM 20 is larger than the diameter A of the land portion of the SL 30.
Regarding claim 6, Kurosawa (see, e.g., fig. 2, ¶0120 ) shows that the lower layer of the UBM 20 is formed in a substantially tapered shape expanded upward.
Regarding claim 1, Kurosawa (see, e.g., figs. 3 and 4) shows a semiconductor device comprising:
A first dielectric layer 18
A SL 30 having a first land portion 26 formed on the first dielectric layer
A second land portion 28 formed on the SL and having a diameter B larger than the diameter A of the first land portion
An external terminal 32 formed on the second land portion, and
A second dielectric layer 34 covering the SL and first and second land portions
Regarding claim 2, Kurosawa (see, e.g., fig. 4) shows the device further comprising a wiring pattern formed by the second land portion 28 and a linear portion 22, wherein the second land portion is substantially circular.
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.
Claim 4 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kurosawa.
Regarding claim 4, Kurosawa shows most aspects of the instant invention including that the second land portion 28 is used to reduce stress (see, e.g., ¶0127). Kurosawa also recognizes that the shape of the second land portion may be modified to prevent breakage (see, e.g., ¶0131), but fails to specify that the shape be tapered expanded upward. However, modifying the sidewall to be tapered would have been an obvious design modification as the skilled artisan would have expected the tapered profile to provide the same general stress-relief function. Even the instant specification (see ¶0106) characterizes the tapered configuration as a modification of the basic structure, rather than a different device.
Accordingly, it would have been obvious at the time of filing the invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify the side surfaces of the second land portion of Kurosawa to have a tapered shape. Such a modification would have been a predictable variation of a known land portion geometry and would have been within the ordinary skill of the artisan. See In re Dailey, 149 USPQ 47 (CCPA1976).
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.
Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application may be obtained from the Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For more information contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (in USA or Canada) or 571-272-1000.
/Marcos D. Pizarro/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2814
MDP/mdp
July 28, 2026
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