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 .
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 11-12 and 19-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (US PG Pub 2013/0093103, herein after Kim).
Regarding claim 11, figure 1 of Kim discloses a semiconductor package, comprising:
a printed circuit board (PCB)(110, 27);
a stack of memory dies (120/130), each memory die of the stack of memory dies having a first set of dimensions (height); and
a thermally conductive spacer (140) provided between a first memory die of the stack of memory dies and a second memory die of the stack of memory dies, the thermally conductive spacer having a thermal conductivity feature (¶ 31) and having a second set of dimensions (length) that are larger than the first set of dimensions.
Regarding claim 12, figure 1 of Kim discloses the entire claimed invention as noted in the above rejections.
Regarding claims 19-20, figure 1 of Kim discloses the entire claimed invention as noted in the above rejections.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-8 and 21-22 are allowed.
Regarding claim 1, the closest prior art of record, Kim et al. (US PG Pub 2013/0093103) either singularly or in combination, does not disclose or suggest the combination of limitations including “a semiconductor package, comprising:
a printed circuit board (PCB);
a first stack of semiconductor dies;
a second stack of semiconductor dies; and
a thermally conductive spacer provided between the first stack of semiconductor dies and the second stack of semiconductor dies, the thermally conductive spacer comprising:
a thermally conductive material; and
a thermal conductivity feature that moves heat generated by the semiconductor dies adjacent to the thermally conductive spacer away from the adjacent semiconductor dies”.
Claims 13-18 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.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 4/27/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Applicants argue that the spacer and chips of Kim have the same size and the spacer is not longer than the semiconductor dies. However, the claims as written do not specify how the first and second set of dimensions are measured. As previously noted in the Office Action of 1/26/2026, the height of the dies is taken as the first set of dimensions and the length of the spacer is taken as the second set of dimensions. Thus, the second set of dimensions is larger than the first set of dimensions as shown in figure 1 of Kim.
For at least the aforementioned reasons, the rejections is deemed proper and made final.
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 YU-HSI DAVID SUN whose telephone number is (571)270-5773. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 8am-4pm ET.
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, Marlon Fletcher can be reached at 571-272-2063. 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.
/YU-HSI D SUN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817
Prosecution Insights