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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 11 - 20 in the reply filed on 12/29/2025 is acknowledged.
Claims 1 - 10 are withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected invention, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 12/29/2025.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities:
Paragraph [0016] states “Additionally, the approach described herein is scalable”. It appears that punctuation is missing from this sentence. A period should be added after the word “scalable” to complete the sentence.
Appropriate correction is required.
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.
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 14, 16 – 18, and 20 are 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.
Claims 14, 16 - 18, and 20 recite the limitation "the chemically-altered mold compound". There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Independent claims 11 and 18 state “a mold compound… in which the mold compound is chemically altered…”. Claims 14, 16 – 17, and 20 then refer to the mold compound as “the chemically-altered mold compound”. Claim 18 also refers to the mold compound as “the chemically-altered mold compound” after first stated “a mold compound”. It is unclear if the chemically-altered mold compound is the same mold compound as introduced in claims 11 and 18 or if it is a different mold compound, or if the mold compound first introduced is transformed and is no longer present and is replaced by the chemically-altered mold compound, as the independent claims never introduce “a chemically-altered mold compound”, only that the mold compound is chemically altered. The claims should be amended to make clear that the same mold compound is being referred to. As multiple interpretations are present, claims 14, 16 – 18, and 20 are rejected as being indefinite.
For the purpose of compact prosecution, examiner is interpreting the use of the term “the chemically-altered mold compound” to mean “the mold compound”, as the independent claims introduce “a mold compound” that is chemically altered. This interpretation appears to be consistent with the specification and clarifies that there is one mold compound being described in the claims and that a limitation of that mold compound is that it is chemically altered.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 11 – 13, and 15 - 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and (a)(2) as being anticipated by US 20070108545 A1 hereinafter Chua.
For claim 11, Chua teaches “An electronic device comprising: a semiconductor die (fig. 1A numeral 104); and a mold compound overlying the semiconductor die (fig. 1A numeral 124), in which the mold compound is chemically altered to attenuate electromagnetic radiation within a range of wavelengths or frequencies (Par. [0015 – 0021]).” Examiner is interpreting “chemically altered” using the broadest reasonable interpretation to mean that the compound is somehow changed by a heating, curing, chemical reaction, chemical solution, or radiation process. Chua teaches that the mold compound 124 in figure 1A undergoes a curing process that changes the material used into a different resulting material requiring a chemical change given the broadest reasonable interpretation of chemically altered. Chua also teaches that the compound used can be chemically altered to produce different transmission characteristics (Par. [0020]).
For claim 12, Chua teaches “The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the semiconductor die comprises circuitry configured to operate responsive to electromagnetic radiation outside of the range of wavelengths or frequencies (fig. 1A numeral 102; Par. [0013]; Par. [0017]).”
For claim 13, Chua teaches “The electronic device of claim 12, wherein the circuitry comprises a photodetector (Par. [0017]).”
For claim 15, Chua teaches “The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the range of wavelengths or frequencies includes visible light (Par. [0004]; Par. [0028]).”
For claim 16, Chua teaches “The electronic device of claim 11, wherein: the semiconductor die has an active side and an opposing side (fig. 1A shows die 104 having an active side with photodetector 102; and opposing side is shown on the substrate/circuit board 106), and the chemically-altered mold compound is on the active side of the semiconductor die (fig. 1A shows mold compound 124 on the active side of the die 104).”
For claim 17, Chua teaches “The electronic device of claim 11, wherein the semiconductor die is a packed integrated circuit or system on chip device (Par. [0013] teaches the semiconductor die 104 in figure 1A being a part of an integrated circuit package with printed circuit board 106) having circuitry along an active side of the semiconductor die (fig. 1A numeral 118 and 110; Par. [0013]), and the chemically-altered mold compound is on the active side of the semiconductor die and configured to shift a passband of the mold compound to different wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation (Par. [0015 – 0021] teaches the mold compound in figure 1A numeral 124 being altered to transmit light with wavelengths outside the IR range while absorbing/attenuating light in the IR wavelength range, therefor the passband of the mold compound has a shifted passband).”
For claim 18, Chua teaches “A packaged electronic device, comprising: a semiconductor die having opposed first and second side surfaces (fig. 1A numeral 104), in which the semiconductor die includes circuitry adjacent the first side surface (fig. 1A numeral 102); and a mold compound on the semiconductor die overlying at least the first side surface of the semiconductor die including the circuitry (fig. 1A numeral 124), in which the mold compound is chemically altered to attenuate propagation of electromagnetic energy within a range of wavelengths or frequences through the chemically-altered mold compound overlying the circuitry (Par. [0015 – 0021]).”
For claim 19, Chua teaches “The packaged electronic device of claim 18, wherein the circuitry comprises a photodetector configured to operate responsive to electromagnetic energy outside of the range of wavelengths or frequences (fig. 1A numeral 102; Par. [0013]; Par. [0017]).”
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
Claim(s) 14 and 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20070108545 A1hereinafter Chua in further view of US 20190206752 A1 hereinafter Bautista.
For claim 14, Chua teaches all of claim 11. Chua also teaches that the mold compound is altered to attenuate radiation outside a range of wavelengths or frequencies (Chua, Par. [0015 – 0021]) and that the mold can cover multiple semiconductor die and circuitry connected to those semiconductor die (fig. 2 numeral 228; fig. 1A shows circuitry 116 and 118 covered by the mold compound 124). Chua is silent regarding the circuitry including a light source providing electromagnetic radiation that propagates through the mold compound.
Bautista teaches an electronic device (Bautista, fig. 4) with a semiconductor die (fig. 4 numeral 102 and 302) covered by a mold compound (fig. 4 numeral 402 and 202). The mold compound is configured to transmit electromagnetic radiation generated by the circuitry in the semiconductor die (Par. [0020 – 0022]). The semiconductor die in Bautista includes both LED and/or photosensors (Par. [0015]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the immediate invention to combine the electromagnetic radiation emitting circuitry in Bautista with the semiconductor die in Chua in order to achieve a device that both detects light and emits light, such as picture cells/pixels with controlling elements (Chua, Par. [0023]) or input devices sensitive to light such as display devices like displays and communications devices like transmitters and receivers (Bautista, Par. [0035 – 0037]). Both Chua and Bautista teach embodiments used in devices that overlap in using both photodetectors and LEDs/OLEDs, such as displays including pixels, touchscreens, LCDS, etc. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the immediate invention would be driven to optimize the radiation spectrum emitted and attenuated by the devices in Chua by using the circuitry in Bautista.
For claim 20, Chua teaches all of claim 18. Chua also teaches that the mold compound is altered to attenuate radiation outside a range of wavelengths or frequencies (Chua, Par. [0015 – 0021]) and that the mold can cover multiple semiconductor die and circuitry connected to those semiconductor die (fig. 2 numeral 228; fig. 1A shows circuitry 116 and 118 covered by the mold compound 124). Chua is silent regarding the circuitry including a light source providing electromagnetic radiation that propagates through the mold compound.
Bautista teaches an electronic device (Bautista, fig. 4) with a semiconductor die (fig. 4 numeral 102 and 302) covered by a mold compound (fig. 4 numeral 402 and 202). The mold compound is configured to transmit electromagnetic radiation generated by the circuitry in the semiconductor die (Par. [0020 – 0022]). The semiconductor die in Bautista includes both LED and/or photosensors (Par. [0015]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the immediate invention to combine the electromagnetic radiation emitting circuitry in Bautista with the semiconductor die in Chua in order to achieve a device that both detects light and emits light, such as picture cells/pixels with controlling elements (Chua, Par. [0023]) or input devices sensitive to light such as display devices like displays and communications devices like transmitters and receivers (Bautista, Par. [0035 – 0037]). Both Chua and Bautista teach embodiments used in devices that overlap in using both photodetectors and LEDs/OLEDs, such as displays including pixels, touchscreens, LCDS, etc. One of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the immediate invention would be driven to optimize the radiation spectrum emitted and attenuated by the devices in Chua by using the circuitry in Bautista.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
US 20210050459 A1 teaches a semiconductor die covered by a mold that attenuated light in a specific wavelength. The semiconductor die includes light detectors to adjust the amount of light emitted by the device.
US 20160035667 A1 teaches semiconductor dies covered by a mold that attenuated light in specific wavelengths. Multiple integrated dies are shown and include integrated circuit dies.
US 10703179 B2 teaches a semiconductor die that emits light through a mold compound designed to block or reduce light of specific wavelengths.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACOB T NELSON whose telephone number is (571)272-1031. The examiner can normally be reached Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 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, Joshua Benitez can be reached at 571-270-1435. 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.
/J.T.N./Examiner, Art Unit 2815
/MONICA D HARRISON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815