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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election, without traverse, of group I, claims 1-12 in ”Response to Election / Restriction Filed - 1/14/2025 ”, is acknowledged along with cancellation of claims 13-23. Applicant’s request to includes new claims 24-34 have been granted.
In view of the above, this office action considers claims 1-12 and 24-34 pending for prosecution, and are examined on their merits.
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.
Claims 7-12 and 24-34are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 7, the instant claim recites limitation “the semiconductor substrate" (claim 7, line 7). There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim for “the semiconductor substrate” in the claim. Appropriate clarification and/or correction are/is required.
Regarding claims 8-12; these are indefinite because of their dependency status from claim 7.
Regarding claim 24, the instant claim recites limitation “a main portion" (claim 24, line 31). There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim for “the main portion” (lines 15, 18 and 32) in the claim. Appropriate clarification and/or correction are/is required. It is noted that “the main portion” was referred subsequently in line 15, 18 and again in line 32 of the claim. claim previously recites “a main portion” (claim 24; Line 12). Dependent claim 27, further recites the main portion in line 2. It is unclear whether the second recited “a main portion” was intended to relate back to “a main portion” (claim 24, line 12) or to set forth an additional ”a main portion “ (claim 24, line 31), specifically, how “the main portion” recited in lines 15,18 and 32 will be evaluated. Clarification and/or correction are/is required.
Regarding claims 25-34; these are indefinite because of their dependency status from claim 24.
Prior Art Rejection For Claims 24-34
It is noted in section I, supra, that there is a great deal of confusion and uncertainty as to the proper interpretation of the limitations of claims 24-34. it would not be proper for the examiner to reject such a claim on the basis of prior art. See MPEP § 2173. 06.II (second option) wherein In re Steele, 305 F.2d 859, 134 USPQ 292 (CCPA 1962), a rejection under 35 U.S.C. 103 should not be based on considerable speculation about the meaning of terms employed in a claim or assumptions that must be made as to the scope of the claims.
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.
Notes: when present, semicolon separated fields within the parenthesis (; ;) represent, for example, as 10; Fig 1; [0019]) = (element 10; Figure No. 1; Paragraph No. [0019]). For brevity, the texts “Element”, “Figure No.” and “Paragraph No.” shall be excluded, though; additional clarification notes may be added within each field. The number of fields may be fewer or more than three indicated above. These conventions are used throughout this document
Claims 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102 (a) (1) as being anticipated by Duqi; Enri et al. (US 20180282152 A1) hereinafter Duqi.
Regarding Claim 1. Duqi teaches a device (10, Fig 1 and/or Figure 12; ([0019,0052]+) comprising: (see the entire document, Figs 1,12, along with subject matter referenced in other figures 2/11, specifically, as cited below):
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Duqi Figure 1 or 12 with truncation and some label variations
a MEMS sensor device (15; Fig 1; []) including a functional structure (24) configured to, in operation, transduce (by transducer 12; [0019]) (a chemical or) physical quantity into a corresponding electrical quantity;
a cap (16 [0020, 0023]) including:
a semiconductive (of silicon; [0023]) substrate (26); and
a conductive region (41a; [0030]) that extends between the semiconductive substrate (26) and the MEMS sensor device (15), the conductive region including;
a first portion (portion 41a not covered by extruded portion that contact 26; hereinafter 41a_1st_portion) that is arranged laterally with respect to the semiconductive substrate (26) and is exposed (at projected portion); and
a second portion (portion projected from 41a; hereinafter 41a_2nd_portion) that is in contact with the semiconductive substrate (26);
a bonding dielectric region (22; [0030]: insulating layer 22 forms a bonding) mechanically couples (see [0020]:15 and a cap 16 that are bonded together, and [0053] for details of bonding) the cap (26/126) to the MEMS sensor device (15/115).
Regarding Claim 2. Duqi as applied to device according to claim 1, further teaches, wherein the semiconductive substrate (26) of the cap (16 in Fig 12) laterally delimits a recess (between two walls of 26 where numeral 22 is depicted; Fig 12) overlying the first portion (41a_1st_portion) of the conductive region (41a); and
the first portion (41a_1st_portion) of the conductive region (41a) faces (from the side) towards the recess and delimits the recess.
Regarding Claim 3. Duqi as applied to device according to claim 1, further teaches, wherein:(Fig 12) the MEMS sensor device (15) includes at least one respective pad (55B,[0042]) arranged laterally with respect to the overlying cap (26), and the at least one respective pad (55B) is electrically coupled to the functional structure (24 through 51) and is exposed.
Regarding Claim 4. Duqi as applied to device according to claim 1, further teaches, wherein: the cap (16) delimits (by surface 126a’; Fig 12) a top cavity (labelled as chamber 20 in [0020]; top cavity is portion of 20 between 126A’ and 60) that overlaps the functional structure (60: (of which an anchoring column 53 and a plurality of suspended electrodes 60 are shown) of the MEMS sensor device (15/115).
Regarding Claim 5. Duqi as applied to device according to claim 4, further teaches, wherein:
the MEMS sensor device (15/115) delimits (by surface 22; Fig 12) a bottom cavity (labelled as chamber 20 in [0020]; bottom cavity is portion of 20 between 22 and 60) ; and
the functional structure (60) is suspended (Fig 5; [0040] : (a plurality of suspended electrodes 60 are shown) between the bottom cavity and the top cavity .
Regarding Claim 6. Duqi as applied to device according to claim 5, further teaches, wherein the functional structure (60) comprises at least one array sensor ([0040]: a plurality (construed as array) of suspended electrodes 60 are shown attached to anchor 53) sensitive to (the radiation or) a movable mass.
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 of this title, 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.
Claims 7-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DAWSON; CHAD S. et al. (US 20170081179 A1) hereinafter Dawson; in view of Duqi;Enri et al. (US 20180282152 A1) hereinafter Duqi.
Regarding Claim 7. Dawson teaches a device ( 70; Figure 2; [0022]+) comprising: (see the entire document, Fig 2, along with subject matter referenced in other figures such as Figs 1, 4, specifically, as cited below):
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Dawson Figure 2 and Figure 4
an electronic device (89 alias 22; Fig 4; [0026] that is part of structure 70 (FIG. 2): comprising MEMS die 22 coupled to an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), generally referred to herein as a semiconductor die 24 as disclosed in Fig 1; [0018]) including:
a MEMS sensor device (22 detailed in Fig 4; [0026]) including a functional structure (90) configured to, in operation, transduce a chemical or physical quantity into a corresponding electrical quantity;
a cap (78 first cited as 32 in fig 1) including:
(See below for “a semiconductive substrate; and a conductive region that extends between the semiconductor (see 112 (b) in section I, supra) substrate and the MEMS sensor device, the conductive region including: a first portion that is arranged laterally with respect to the semiconductor substrate and is exposed; and a second portion that is in contact with the semiconductive substrate”);
a bonding dielectric region (106; Fig 4/6 [0032]: glass frit) mechanically couples the cap (78, labelled as 32 in Fig 1) to the MEMS sensor device {80 labelled as 80 30 in fig 1/2};
a semiconductive die (24; Fig 1/2 [0018]) coupled to the electronic device (22) by an adhesive layer ([0041]; Fig 2; MEMS die 22(89) coupled to die 24(82) using a die attach adhesive) between the electronic device (22) and the semiconductor die (24).
As indicated above, Dawson does not expressly disclose (a cap) include:
a semiconductive substrate; and a conductive region that extends between the semiconductor (see 112 (b) in section I, supra) substrate and the MEMS sensor device, the conductive region including: a first portion that is arranged laterally with respect to the semiconductor substrate and is exposed; and a second portion that is in contact with the semiconductive substrate”
However, in the analogous art, Duqi, as applied to device according to claim 1, teaches a cap (16 [0020, 0023]) including: a semiconductive (of silicon; [0023]) substrate (26); and a conductive region (41a; [0030]) that extends between the semiconductive substrate (26) and the MEMS sensor device (15), the conductive region including; a first portion (portion 41a not covered by extruded portion that contact 26; hereinafter 41a_1st_portion) that is arranged laterally with respect to the semiconductive substrate (26) and is exposed (at projected portion); and a second portion (portion projected from 41a; hereinafter 41a_2nd_portion) that is in contact with the semiconductive substrate (26)”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate teaching of Duqi into Takahashi‘s cap feature, thereafter, the combination of (Dawson and Duqi)’s comprises cap features as claimed, since this inclusion, at least, devices can be adapted to different layouts as desired, and is easy to integrate into different devices, maximizing the sharing of structures between components (Dawson [0076]) .
Regarding Claim 8. The combination of (Dawson and Duqi) as applied to the device according to claim 7, further teaches, (the device) further comprising:
a support (28; Fig 2; [0022]) coupled to a surface of the semiconductive die (24) facing away from the electronic device (22/89)), and the support includes a respective pad (84; [0023]) that is exposed;
a wire bonding (60/66) that couples (via pads 58/62; labelled in fig 1)the first portion of the conductive region (Duqi portion 41a not covered by extruded portion that contact 26; hereinafter 41a_1st_portion) to the respective pad (84) of the support (28).
Regarding Claim 9. The combination of (Dawson and Duqi) as applied to the device according to claim 7, further teaches, wherein the semiconductive die (24) comprises a respective second pad (62 labelled at Fig 1) electrically connected to the electronic circuit (22/89), said electronic system further comprising a second wire bonding (60 at right) which connects the pad (54)of the MEMS sensor device () to said second pad (62) of the semiconductive die (24).
Regarding Claim 10. The combination of (Dawson and Duqi) as applied to the device according to claim 7, further teaches, the semiconductive die (24) includes a respective semiconductor body (68) and a respective first pad (58) , and the respective first pad is coupled to the first portion of the conductive region (Duqi portion 41a not covered by extruded portion that contact 26; hereinafter 41a_1st_portion) by a wire bonding (60).
Regarding Claim 11. The combination of (Dawson and Duqi) as applied to the device according to claim 7, further teaches, wherein the semiconductive die (24 includes an ASIC circuit ([0018]).
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over DAWSON; CHAD S. et al. (US 20170081179 A1) hereinafter Dawson; in view of Duqi; Enri et al. (US 20180282152 A1) hereinafter Duqi; and in further view of Fujii; Tetsuo et al. (US 20080290490 A1) hereinafter Fujii.
Regarding Claim 12. The combination of (Dawson and Duqi) as applied to the device according to claim 7, does not expressly disclose,, wherein a conductive shield layer on a surface of the semiconductive substrate (Duqi 2) facing away from the functional structure (90), and the conductive shield layer at least partially overlaps the functional structures.
However, in the analogous art, Fujii teaches (Fig 23; [0132]) conductive regions Ce13 and Ce14 can function as shields for the leading conductive regions Ce11 and Ce12. A cap conductive region Ce15 between the leading conductive regions Ce11 and Ce12 can be configured as a ground potential (GND) to completely shield the base semiconductor region Bs15 of the base substrate B6.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate teaching of Fujii into combination of (Dawson and Duqi) cap feature, thereafter, the combination of (Dawson, Duqi and Fujii)’s comprises cap features as claimed, since this inclusion, at least, protects underlying functional structure (Fujii [0132]) .
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOAZZAM HOSSAIN whose telephone number is (571)270-7960. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 8:30AM - 6:00 PM.
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/MOAZZAM HOSSAIN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
January 7, 2026