DETAILED ACTION
The following office action is being sent in response to the applicant’s amendments mailed on 06/23/2026.
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.
Claim(s) 1, 2 and 4-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Yeh et al. US 10,475,762 B1.
Regarding claims 1, 2 and 4-8, Yeh discloses:
A semiconductor device (Fig. 2), comprising:
a supporting structure (18 including 10);
a die stack (28/128), disposed over the supporting structure and comprising:
a first semiconductor die (28) comprising a substrate (19); and
a second semiconductor die (128),
wherein the first semiconductor die is between the second semiconductor die and the supporting structure, and a material of the supporting structure (18 including 10; col 2 lines 51-61) is different from a material of the substrate of the first semiconductor die (19; col 4 lines 11-16); and
a redistribution circuit structure (50), disposed over the die stack and electrically coupled (through TSVs 27 and 127) to the first semiconductor die and the second semiconductor die,
wherein an interface between the supporting structure and the die stack is free of a metal region (col 4 lines 2-17; 26 includes 24 dielectric layer while col 3 lines 20-40; 15 includes 13 dielectric layer ... 24 and 13 at least contact each other thereby meeting the claim requirement).
(claim 2) 18 including 10; col 2 lines 51-61.
(claims 4 and 5) Fig. 2; at least the bottom portion is electrically isolated and thermally coupled.
(claims 6 and 7) based on the materials of the supporting substrate (col 2 lines 51-61) and the substrate of the first semiconductor die (col 4 lines 11-16).
(claim 8) as noted in col 9 lines 1-17; die 28 and 128 can be configured face to face in Fig. 2, thereby having a metal-to-metal bonding region and dielectric-to-dielectric bonding region.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 9-13, 19 and 20 are allowed.
The following is an examiner’s statement of reasons for allowance:
The prior art fails to teach or clearly suggest the limitation of claims 9 and 19 stating “the substrate of the at least one first die is directly bonded to the supporting carrier”. In light of these limitations, the prior art fails to anticipate or make obvious the claimed invention.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 ERROL V FERNANDES whose telephone number is (571)270-7433. The examiner can normally be reached on 9-5:30.
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, Britt Hanley can be reached on (571) 270-30423042. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/ERROL V FERNANDES/Primary Examiner, AU 2893
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