DETAILED ACTION
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 5/15/2024 was filed. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-8 in the reply filed on 6/4/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
(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) 1&2, 7 s/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) and 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Minervini (US 20070215962 A1)
Regarding claim 1&2, Minervini discloses (Fig. 10A), ¶ [0058]) A system ( [0001]), comprising:
an integrated circuit (IC) (1008); and a printed circuit board (PCB) (1004), wherein solder balls (1073, 1075) connect the IC to the PCB, wherein a magnetic material (1072) is disposed in a first space between the IC and the PCB and a second space between the solder balls such that the magnetic material surrounds the solder balls; the magnetic material is a ferrous material.
Regarding claim 7, Minervini discloses (Fig. 10A, ¶ [0058]) the magnetic layer (ferrite) is filled in the gap (1072) between IC (1008) and PCB (1004). The filled gap of made of high magnetic permeability materials is then forming an impedance (e.g. inductor chokes that provide high impedance at high frequency, increasing inductance and reducing RF noise, crosstalk, and RFI.
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, 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) 8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Minervini (US 20070215962 A1)
Minervini ‘Fig. 12A discloses the system of claim 1 but is silent regarding wherein the magnetic material is not disposed in a region of the system containing solder balls used for power connections between the IC and the PCB.
Regarding claim 8, Minervini discloses (Fig. 10A and ¶ [0058]) a high magnetic permeability material (e.g., ferrite) is for forming an impedance (e.g., inductor chokes that provide high impedance at high frequency), increasing inductance and reducing RF noise, crosstalk, and RFI. Artisans in the art would have appreciated an inductance choke is designed to block high frequency AC while allowing DC or low-frequency AC to pass with minimal resistance. Its inductance is the fundamental property that resists changes in current by generating a voltage opposing the current change, a phenomenon known as inductive reactance. As such, one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention would have avoided placing the magnetic layer in the area where pillars are used to carry power to avoid the negative effect of inductance reactance.
Claim(s) 3 and 4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Minervini (US 20070215962 A1) in view of Kim (US 20200402934 A1)
Regarding claim 3, Minervini discloses the system of claim 1, but is silent to the magnetic material is a thin film deposited onto a surface of the IC or the PCB.
Kim discloses a chip package (Fig. 1, ¶ [0098]) wherein the magnetic material is a thin film (126) deposited onto a surface of an IC or PCB (102, 108, 110), described as thin-film magnetic material – such description is understood to be based on sizing requirements (¶¶ [0097-0104]). Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate sizing considerations as generally taught by Kim to the magnetic material of Minervini, to ensure proper coverage.
Regarding claim 4, it is noted that product-by-process limitation (thin film) is not limited to the manipulations of the recited steps (laminated … using an adhesive) but to the structure implied by the steps. Based on Applicant’s specification ¶ [0033], the adhesive is described as an attachment technique. Thus, the structural limitation for claim 4 is examined as the thin film of claim 3 and is not further limiting in structure.
Claim(s) 5 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Minervini (US 20070215962 A1) in view of Kim (US 20200402934 A1) and Hiatt (US 20070045779 A1)
Regarding claim 5, Minervini in view of Kim discloses the system of claim 3 but is silent regarding a barrier layer disposed between the thin film and the surface of the IC or the PCB that prevents the magnetic material in the thin film from contaminating the IC or the PCB when the solder balls undergo a reflow process.
Ahn discloses (¶ [0053]) dam 62 may serve as a barrier to prevent undesirable cross-contamination between dissimilar materials placed on either side thereof.
Artisans in the art would have appreciated a direct deposit of a magnetic layer on an IC or a substrate would cause magnetic contamination to the IC or the substrate. Thus, placing a barrier as generally taught by Hiatt would prevent magnetic contamination from a magnetic layer to an IC or substrate and vice versa.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adopt depositing a barrier layer between two dissimilar materials as generally taught by Hiatt for the barrier layer between the printed circuit board or IC and the ferrite bead of Minervini to avoid magnetic contamination to the circuit board.
Claim(s) 6 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Minervini (US 20070215962 A1) in view of Kim (US 20200402934 A1) and Kirino (20030157373 A1) and Chu (US 20180090460 A1)
Regarding claim 6, Minervini in view of Kim and Kirino discloses the system of claim 5 but is silent regarding the barrier layer is a polyimide layer.
Chu discloses (¶ [0033]) a polyimide barrier layer is entirely coated a substrate wafer except where the copper pillar bumps are formed. The polyimide barrier protects the substrate wafer during the copper pillar bump process to improve the reliability of the integrated circuit thus formed.
Thus, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to adopt the polyimide barrier layer of Chu for the modified system of Minervini where the barrier layer protecting the substrate from the radiated heat during soldering process.
Conclusion
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/DTH/Examiner, Art Unit 2898
/Leonard Chang/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2898
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