DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to application No. 18/443,616 filed on February 16, 2024.
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 .
Acknowledgment
The amendment filed on 07/29/2026 responding to the Office action mailed on 04/29/2026, has been entered. The present Office action is made with all the suggested amendments being fully considered. Accordingly, pending in this Office action are claims 1-4, 7-17, 19-20, and newly added claims 21-23.
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 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.
Claims 17, 21, and 22 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Chen (US 2022/0293560).
Regarding Claim 17, Chen (see, e.g., Fig. 3B and Annotated Fig. 3B), teaches a device package 500c (see, e.g., par. 0061), comprising:
a substrate C2 (see, e.g., par. 0030);
a first package component 10b bonded to the substrate C2 and having a first bond pad TM1 and a second bond pad TM2 (see, e.g., pars. 0013, 0019);
a second package component 10a having a third bond pad TM3, the second package component 10a being bonded to the first package component 10b through the first bond pad TM1 and the third bond pad TM3 (see, e.g., pars. 0013, 0019);
a first dielectric material 106 laterally surrounding the first package component 10b (see, e.g., par. 0028);
a first probe pad CP2 over the first dielectric material 106 (see, e.g., par. 0042);
a first conductive line L2 connecting the first probe pad CP2 to the first bond pad TM1, wherein, in a cross-sectional view, the first conductive line L2 laterally extends across an interface INT between the first package component 10b and the first dielectric material 106 (see, e.g., par. 0038); and
a second conductive line L1 extending from the first bond pad TM1 to the second bond pad TM2.
Regarding Claim 21, Chen teaches all aspects of claim 17. Chen (see, e.g., Fig. 3B and Annotated Fig. 3B), teaches:
a second probe pad CP2 over the first dielectric material 106;
a fourth bond pad TM4 on the first package component 10b; and
a third conductive line L2 connecting the second probe pad CP2 to the fourth bond pad TM4.
Regarding Claim 22, Chen teaches all aspects of claim 17. Chen (see, e.g., Figs. 1A, 3B and Annotated Fig. 3B), teaches that the substrate C2 is a carrier, the first package component 10b is one of a plurality of first package components 10b bonded at respective front sides thereof to the carrier C2, and the first dielectric material 106 is disposed over the carrier C2 and between adjacent ones of the plurality of first package components 10b.
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 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 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Chen (US 2022/0293560).
Regarding Claim 20, Chen teaches all aspects of claim 17. Chen is silent with respect to the claim limitation that from a top view, a width of the first conductive line is smaller than a width of the first bond pad.
However, this claim limitation is merely considered a change in the width of the conductive line and/or the first bond pad in Chen’s device. The specific claimed width, absent any criticality, is only considered to be an obvious modification of the width of the conductive line and/or the first bond pad in Chen’s device, as the courts have held that changes in width, without any criticality, are within the level of skill in the art. According to the courts, a particular width, is nothing more than one among numerous widths that a person having ordinary skill in the art will find obvious to provide using routine experimentation. See In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456, 105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Accordingly, since Applicant’s disclosure does not teach why having a width of the conductive line being smaller than a width of the first bond pad, is critical to the invention (see next paragraph below), it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of filing to have the claimed widths in Chen’s device.
CRITICALITY
The specification contains no disclosure of either the critical nature of the claimed widths or any unexpected results arising therefrom. Where patentability is said to be based upon a particular chosen width or upon another variable recited in a claim, the applicant must show that the chosen width is critical. See In re Aller, 220 F.2d 454, 456,
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105 USPQ 233, 235 (CCPA 1955).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 1-4 and 7-16 are allowed.
Claims 19 and 23 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 with respect to the rejection of claim 17, filed on 07/29/2026 have been fully considered but are moot in view of the new grounds of rejection.
Conclusion
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. 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 Nelson Garcés whose telephone number is (571)272-8249. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Wael Fahmy can be reached on (571)272-1705. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/Nelson Garces/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2814
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