DETAILED ACTION
Examiner’s Note
In the case of amending the claimed invention, Applicant is respectfully requested to indicate the portion(s) of the specification which dictate(s) the structure relied on for proper interpretation and also to verify and ascertain the metes and bounds of the claimed invention.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Invention II (method of making semiconductor device), reflected in claims 15-34 in the reply filed on 04/24/2026 is acknowledged. Claims 1-14 are cancelled.
Claim Notes
Claim 21, line 2 is being suggested to be modified as below to correct a minor grammatical error:
21. A method comprising:
bonding a first semiconductor die to a first plurality of conductive connectors on a surface of a redistribution structure;
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.
Claim 29 is 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 pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Claim 29 recites “wherein a the optical device is spaced apart from the sidewall of the first molding compound by a gap”. There is antecedent issue in this limitation of the instant claim. For examination purpose, the limitataion will be considered as, “wherein optical device is spaced apart from the sidewall of the first molding compound by a gap”
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 15-28 and 30-34 are allowed.
Claim 29 will be allowed after withdrawal of the above 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection.
Regarding independent claim 15, 21 and 28, the applicant has sufficiently claimed and defined a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device, whereby the prior arts of record and to the examiner's knowledge do not teach or render obvious, at least to the skilled artisan, the instant invention regarding the manufacturing method comprising: forming a second group of connectors on a second side of an interconnect/redistribution structure, forming an encapsulant layer over the second group of connectors, removing a part of the encapsulant layer to expose the second group of connectors, coupling an optical interface engine/device to the second group of connectors. The closest prior art of record, Winzer et al. (US 20240097796 A1, figs. 29-31) teaches a method comprising steps: coupling a semiconductor device (802) to a redistribution structure (986), forming an encapsulant layer (1004) over the redistribution structure (986), removing a part of the encapsulant layer (1004, ¶ [0393]), coupling a fiber optic connector to an active layer, but fails to teach, to expose a group of connectors and coupling an optical interface engine/device to the exposed group of connectors. None of the prior arts of record, either singularly or in combination, can be used to modify the device of Winzer et al. to teach the above missing feature with obvious motivation or without breaking the device of Winzer et al.
Claims 16-20, 22-27 and 29-34 are also allowed as they depend on the allowed independent claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMAD M HOQUE whose telephone number is (571)272-6266 and email address is mohammad.hoque@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached 9AM-7PM EST.
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/MOHAMMAD M HOQUE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817
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