Attorney’s Docket Number: 5649.5891 (A)
Filing Date: 5/4/2023
Claimed Priority Date: 7/7/2022 (KR 10-2022-0083470)
Inventors: Kim
Examiner: Marcos D. Pizarro
DETAILED ACTION
This Office action responds to the election filed on 4/16/2026.
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 (or as subject to pre-AIA ) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis 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.
Species Restriction
Applicant’s election species without traverse of the package 1000 reading on figure 2, the P-region P reading on figure 3, and the Q-region Q reading on figure 4, in the reply filed on 4/16/2026, is acknowledged. The applicant indicated that claims 1-4, 6-8, 10-15 and 17-20 read on the elected species. The examiner agrees.
Accordingly, claims 5, 9 and 16 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected species, there being no allowable generic or linking claim.
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 1, 2, 5-8, 10, 11, 14, 15 and 17 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin (US 2018/0366439)in view of Song (US 2022/0367402).
Regarding claim 1, Lin (see, e.g., figs. 8 and 10) shows most aspects of the instant invention including a semiconductor package comprising:
a redistribution substrate (RDL) 117/118 comprising a first side and an opposite second side
a semiconductor chip 100 on the first side of the RDL
a capacitor 200 on the second side of the RDL
a plurality of solder balls (SBs) B2 on the second side of the RD and adjacent the capacitor, and
a metal pattern (MP) DP in the RDL and positioned between the capacitor and the SBs
wherein:
the MP DP comprises first and second portions
the first portion extends in a first direction
the second portion is connected to the first portion, and
the second portion extends in a second direction different from the first direction
Regarding claim 11, Lin (see, e.g., figs. 8 and 10) shows most aspects of the instant invention including a semiconductor package comprising:
a RDL 117/118 comprising a first side and an opposite second side
a semiconductor chip 100 on the first side of the RDL
a rectangular capacitor 200 on the second side of the RDL
an UF UF between the capacitor and the RDL
a plurality of SBs B2 not in contact with the UF and adjacent the capacitor on the second side of the RDL
a MP DP within the RDL and adjacent a side surface of the capacitor
Regarding claims 1 and 11, Lin fails to specify that the capacitor 200 be a Si-capacitor. Song (see, e.g., ¶0033/ll.10-13), in a similar package to Lin, uses a Si-capacitor to obtain high capacitance and to improve the signal (SI) and power integrity (PI) properties of the package.
It would have been obvious at the time of the invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art (PHOSITA) to use the Si-capacitor of Song in the package of Lin to obtain the known advantage of high capacitance and improved SI/PI.
Regarding claim 11, Lin fails to show that the MP has a U shape. Lin uses the MP DP for controlling UF UF flow and teaches that they may be formed in numerous geometries, including dots, strips, bars, mesh structures, grids, straight, curved, wavy, serpentine, polygonal, combinations thereof, and expressly states that “the shapes and configurations of the dummy patterns are not limited to the disclosure” (¶¶0027,0028). Therefore, Lin recognizes that the particular geometry of the MP is a variable that may be selected according to design preference.
It would have been obvious to a PHOSITA at the time of filing the invention to configure the MP in a U-shape because Lin expressly teaches that the MP geometry is not limited to the illustrated embodiments and that numerous alternative shapes may be employed. Selecting one known geometric configuration from among the disclosed alternatives would have amounted to nothing more than routine optimization of a recognized design variable in the absence of evidence that the claimed U-shape yields a different function or unexpected result. See In re Dailey, 357 F.2d 669 (CCPA 1966): “A mere change in the form or shape of a device, without a change in its function, does not patentably distinguish the claimed invention from the prior art.”
Regarding claim 2, Lin (see, e.g., fig. 8) shows that the MP has at least one of a U shape and a rectangular shape in a plan view.
Regarding claim 6, Lin (see, e.g., fig. 10) shows the package further comprising a plurality of connection members B1 between the capacitor 200 and the RDL 117/118, and an UF UF surrounding the connection members, wherein the UF contacts a portion of the MP DP.
Regarding claim 7, Lin (see, e.g., fig. 10) shows the MP DP comprises a single layer.
Regarding claims 8 and 17, Lin (see, e.g., ¶0019/l.6) shows the MP comprises Cu.
Regarding claim 10, Lin (see, e.g., fig. 8) shows that the capacitor 200 has a rectangular shape in a plan view, and that the MP DP is adjacent a side surface of the capacitor.
Regarding claim 14, Lin (see, e.g., fig. 10) shows that at least part of the UF UF is on at least part of the MP DP.
Regarding claim 15, Lin (see, e.g., fig. 10) shows that the UF UF does not completely cover the MP DP.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 18-20 are allowed.
Claims 3, 4, 12 and 13 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
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
July 18, 2026
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