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 .
This OA is in response to the amendment filled on 4/14/2026 that has been entered, wherein claims 1-3, 6-14, 21-23 and 25-29 are pending, claims 4-5, 15-20 and 24 are canceled.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 3/31/2026 and 4/6/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of 35 U.S.C. 112(a):
(a) IN GENERAL.—The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor or joint inventor of carrying out the invention.
The following is a quotation of the first paragraph of pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112:
The specification shall contain a written description of the invention, and of the manner and process of making and using it, in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same, and shall set forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention.
Claims 27 and 28 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(a) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), first paragraph, as failing to comply with the written description requirement. The claim(s) contains subject matter which was not described in the specification in such a way as to reasonably convey to one skilled in the relevant art that the inventor or a joint inventor, or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the inventor(s), at the time the application was filed, had possession of the claimed invention.
Claim 27 recites the limitation of “heating the first semiconductor package and the first packaging substrate to a bonding temperature of 200 °C to 300 °C while the first plasma jet is directed to the first solder material portions” in line 1. The as filed specification discloses an the temperature of the process chamber is “may be in range from 10 degrees Celsius to 450 degrees Celsius, and may be in a range from 10 degrees Celsius to 200 degrees Celsius, such as from 10 degrees Celsius to 100 degrees Celsius” (¶0049). The specification and related drawings do not provide support for this limitation. The specification and related drawings do not disclose a bonding temperature, nor does the specification and related drawings provide numerical values for a bonding temperature. Further, it would not be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to heat the first semiconductor package and the first packaging substrate to a bonding temperature of 200 °C to 300 °C while the first plasma jet is directed to the first solder material portions.
Claim 28 recites the limitation of “the low-oxygen ambient is maintained by flowing a purge gas through the process chamber to maintain an oxygen concentration of less than 100 ppm ” in line 4. The specification and related drawings do not provide support for this limitation. The specification and related drawings do not disclose a purge gas nor does it disclose an oxygen concentration of less than 100 ppm. It would not be obvious be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art maintain the low-oxygen ambient by flowing a purge gas through the process chamber to maintain an oxygen concentration of less than 100 ppm.
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.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-3, 6-11 and 29 rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 1 recites the limitation " the plasma treatment system " in line 14. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For the purpose of examination, " the plasma treatment system " will be interpreted as “a plasma treatment system ".
Claims 2-3, 6-11 and 29 depend on claim 1 and inherit it deficiencies.
Claim 2 recites the limitation "a plasma treatment system " in line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. Is the plasma treatment system of claim 2 the same or different than the “plasma treatment system” of claim 1? For the purpose of examination, " the plasma treatment system " will be interpreted as “a plasma treatment system ".
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-3, 6-11 and 29 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejections under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding independent claim 1, the prior art of record neither anticipates nor renders obvious the claimed subject matter of the instant application as a whole either taken alone or in combination, in particular, prior art of record does not teach “the plasma treatment system moves with the first semiconductor package along a vertical direction during the first plasma treatment step”.
Claims 12-14, 21-23 and 25- 26 are allowed.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 12 now includes the indicated allowable subject matter of canceled claim 15. Please see the office action of 1/15/2026 for reasons for allowance.
Regarding independent claim 21, the prior art of record neither anticipates nor renders obvious the claimed subject matter of the instant application as a whole either taken alone or in combination, in particular, prior art of record does not teach “while moving the first semiconductor package vertically toward the first packaging substrate and changing a tilt angle of the plasma nozzle to maintain an angle of incidence of the first plasma jet relative to the first solder material portions as the first semiconductor package moves vertically”
Claims 22-23 and 25 depend on claim 21 and are allowed.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LAURA DYKES whose telephone number is (571)270-3161. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30 am-5 pm.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, N. Drew Richards can be reached at 571-272-1736. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from 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 additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/LAURA M DYKES/Examiner, Art Unit 2892
Prosecution Insights