Attorney’s Docket Number: 130411-US-PA
Filing Date: 5/3/2023
Inventors: Chang et al.
Examiner: Marcos D. Pizarro
DETAILED ACTION
This Office action responds to the election and amendment filed on 5/13/2026.
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 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 5/13/2026 in reply to the Office action in paper no. 3, mailed on 3/20/2026, 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 1-20.
Election
Applicant’s election without traverse of invention I, reading on a device, and the species reading on the device SM7 in fig. 23, on the AF1 reading on fig. 9B and ¶0031//ll.1-7 for die 106A, on the AF2 reading on fig. 9B and ¶0031/ll.8-12 for die 106B, on the AF3 reading on fig. 9B and ¶0031/ll.15-212 and covering two sidewalls of die 106C, and on the AF4 reading on fig. 9B and ¶0031/ll.22-29 for die 106D, in the reply filed on 5/13/2026, is acknowledged. The applicant indicated that claims 1 and 3-14 read on the elected species and that claims 1 and 8 are generic claims. The examiner agrees. Accordingly, claims 2 and 15-20 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention/species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.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)(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, 3-5, 7 and 9-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yu (US 2022/0352109).
Regarding claim 9, Yu (see, e.g., figs. 13 and 8) shows all aspects of the instant invention including a package structure 13 comprising:
A circuit substrate 300
An interposer structure 400 on the substrate and comprising first and second opposite surfaces
A plurality of conductive pillars 350 (113) in the interposer and protruding out from the second surface
A plurality of semiconductor dies 310,320 on the second surface of the interposer and bonded to the pillars through and adhesive material 366
An isolation structure 360 (114) on the interposer physically separating the adhesives from adjacent dies
An insulating encapsulant 140 on the second surface of the interposer and encapsulating the dies
Regarding claim 10, Yu (see, e.g., fig. 13) shows that the adhesive 366 covers and contacts a portion of the pillars 350 and is in physical contact with the isolation structure 360.
Regarding claim 11, Yu (see, e.g., fig. 13) shows that the isolation structure 360 includes dam structures that separate the dies 310,320 from one another.
Regarding claim 12, Yu (see, e.g., fig. 13) shows that the dams 360 comprise a first dam that surrounds four sides of one 310 of the dies.
Regarding claim 13, Yu (see, e.g., fig. 13) shows that the dams 360 comprise a second dam surrounding the first dam, and that the adhesive 366 contact the second dam.
Regarding claim 1, Yu (see, e.g., fig. 13) shows all aspects of the instant invention including a package structure comprising:
A supporting base 400 having a top surface
A plurality of conductive pillars 350 (113) in the base and protruding out from the top surface
First 310 and second 320 adjacent semiconductor dies disposed on the base and electrically connected to the pillars
A first adhesive material 366A in between the first die and the base and partially covering the pillars
A second adhesive 366B in between the second die and the base and partially covering the pillars
An isolation structure 360 (114) on the base isolating the first die from the second adhesive and the second die from the first adhesive
Regarding claim 3, Yu (see, e.g., fig. 13) shows the isolation structure 360 including dam structures that separate the first die 310 from the second die 320, wherein one of the adhesives 366 physically contact sidewalls of the dams.
Regarding claim 4, Yu (see, e.g., fig. 13) shows that the dams 360 are metal dams surrounding the first 310 and second 320 dies.
Regarding claim 5, Yu (see, e.g., fig. 13 and ¶0044) shows that the metal dams 360 comprise a first dam encircling the first die 310, a second dam encircling the first dam, and a third dam encircling the second dam.
Regarding claim 7, Yu (see, e.g., fig. 13) shows that the first adhesive 366A covers and contacts sidewalls of the first die 310, and the second adhesive 366B covers and contacts sidewalls of the second die 320.
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 6 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yu in view of Kwon (US 2019/0348343).
Regarding claim 8, Yu shows most aspects of the instant invention (see paragraph 11 above), except for the adhesives including NCFs or NCPs. Yu (¶0046) differently shows that the adhesives are formed by a capillary filling process. Kwon (¶0054), on the other hand, teaches that NCFs and NCPs adhesives are equivalents to the capillary-formed adhesives of Yu.
Therefore, it would have been obvious at the time of the invention to one of ordinary skill in the art to use either NCFs/NCPs adhesives or capillary-formed adhesives in Yu’s package because these were recognized in the semiconductor art as equivalents for their use as adhesives, as taught by Kwon, and selecting among any of these known equivalents would be within the level of ordinary skill in the art.
Regarding claim 6, Yu shows most aspects of the instant invention (see paragraphs 11-12 above), except for the dams extending higher than the pillars. However, differences in heights will not support the patentability of subject matter encompassed by the prior art unless there is evidence indicating such thickness and/or concentration are critical. “Where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, it is not inventive to discover the workable ranges by routine experimentation”. In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454,456,105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955). Kwon (see, e.g., fig. 1C, ¶0049), in a similar package to Yu, shows dams 590 extending higher than the pillars 350 and suggests that their heights could be equal to or less than the semiconductor devices they surround.
Since the applicant has not established the criticality (see next paragraph below) of the claimed heights, and similar heights have been used in similar packages in the art, as taught by Kwon, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to use these heights in the package of Yu.
CRITICALITY
The specification contains no disclosure of either the critical nature of the claimed heights or any unexpected results arising therefrom. Where patentability is said to be based upon particular chosen dimensions or upon another variable recited in a claim, the applicant must show that the chosen dimensions are critical. In re Woodruff, 919 F.2d 1575, 1578, 16 USPQ2d 1934, 1936 (Fed. Cir. 1990).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 14 is 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
August 3, 2026
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