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 .
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 06/30/2026 has been entered.
Joint Inventors
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Response to Amendments
Applicant’s amendment filed 06/30/2026 has been considered and entered.
Response to Arguments
The applicant’s arguments filed 06/30/2026 have been fully considered but are not persuasive.
With regards to claims 1, 10, and 16, upon further consideration of the disclosure of Karhade (US 20230089877 A1) in view of the amended limitations of the claims, it has been determined that a new interpretation of each claim is disclosed by Karhade. Examiner notes that altered interpretations of certain broad terms have significantly altered the interpretation of each claim as a whole. For example, the term “…semiconductor device…” could be interpreted to mean an electrical interconnect or an entire EIC. In a similar vein, further consideration of amended claim 1 suggests that the flat upper portion of the structure shown in fig 5c of Karhade can be interpreted as a “…platform…”. Other small changes in term interpretation (from previous actions) can be seen in the altered 102 and 103 rejections presented in this office action.
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
(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.
Claims 10-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Karhade (US 20230089877 A1).
With regards to claim 10, Karhade discloses a semiconductor package, comprising:
an interposer substrate (Karhade/Fig1a/Interposer substrate 124);
a first semiconductor device over and electrically connected to a first side of the interposer substrate (Fig1a/First semiconductor device 150);
an encapsulant around the first semiconductor device (Fig4/Encapsulant 127 and 133);
an optical package over and electrically connected to the first side of the interposer substrate (Fig1a/Optical package 104), the optical package comprising:
an optical interposer comprising optical devices (Fig4/Optical interposer 140; Paragraph 55/Lines 8-14);
a second semiconductor device over the optical interposer (Fig1a/Second semiconductor device 130); and
a substrate over the second semiconductor device (Fig1a/Substrate 154); and
an optical port over the interposer substrate, the optical port comprising:
a glass medium being adhered to the optical interposer (Fig1a/Glass medium 137; Paragraph 54/Lines 45-60) using a first adhesive layer (Paragraph 56/Lines 1-5), the glass medium being adhered to at least one of the substrate or the interposer substrate using a second adhesive layer (Paragraph 56/Lines 1-5), the first adhesive layer and the second adhesive layer being different from the encapsulant (Paragraph 71/Lines 1-4; Paragraph 72/Lines 17-21);
a redirection structure embedded in the glass medium (Paragraph 54/Lines 45-52 [“…a glass block with a reflector…”]); and
an optical fiber attached to the glass medium (Optical fiber 138; Paragraph 55/Lines 8-19), wherein the glass medium is optically interposed between the optical fiber and the optical interposer (Fig1a).
With regards to claim 11, Karhade discloses the semiconductor package of claim 10, wherein the optical package and the optical port are embedded in the encapsulant (Fig1a).
With regards to claim 12, Karhade discloses the semiconductor package of claim 10, wherein the optical port is adhered to the interposer substrate by the second adhesive layer (Paragraph 113/Lines 24-27).
With regards to claim 13, Karhade discloses the semiconductor package of claim 10, wherein the optical port is adhered to the substrate of the optical package by the second adhesive layer (Fig1a), and wherein the optical port is adhered to the optical interposer by the first adhesive layer comprising an optical glue (Paragraph 56/Lines 1-5).
With regards to claim 14, Karhade discloses the semiconductor package of claim 13, wherein the optical port is displaced from the interposer substrate (Fig1a).
With regards to claim 15, Karhade discloses the semiconductor package of claim 10, wherein the redirection structure comprises a reflector (Fig1a; Paragraph 54/Lines 45-52).
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-9 and 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karhade (US 20230089877 A1).
With regards to claim 1, Karhade discloses a method, comprising:
forming an optical package (Karhade/Fig5a-f), forming the optical package (Figs1a&5e/Optical package 104-2) comprising:
forming optical devices over a substrate (Fig5d/Optical devices 102 and substrate 502);
forming a first interconnect structure over the optical devices (Fig5d/Interconnect structures 130); and
attaching a first semiconductor device to the optical devices (Fig5d/First semiconductor device 114);
attaching a second semiconductor device to an interposer substrate (Figs1a&5e/Second semiconductor device 202 and interposer substrate 153);
forming an encapsulant over the interposer substrate and around the second semiconductor device (Figs1a&Fig5c/Encapsulant [Instance of element 133 within layer 104-1]);
performing a removal process on the encapsulant to form a platform comprising a portion of the encapsulant (Fig5c/Platform [top of structure depicted]; Paragraph 91/Lines 15-24/“…polishing…”):
attaching the optical package to the platform (Fig5d); and
attaching an optical port (Optical port 137) adjacent to the optical package, the optical port comprising:
an optical fiber Paragraph 54/Lines 45-52/“…fiber array block…”); and
an optical redirection structure (Paragraph 54/Lines 45-52).
Karhade does not explicitly disclose the redirection structure being configured to redirect an optical signal between a first pathway and a second pathway, the first pathway being parallel with a major surface of the interposer substrate, the second pathway being non-parallel with the major surface of the interposer substrate in the embodiment associated with figure 1a as relied upon above. However, in the embodiment associated with figure 26a, Karhade does disclose a method comprising
attaching an optical port (Fig26a/Optical port defined by elements 138, 142, 179, and 180) adjacent to an optical package, the optical port comprising
an optical redirection structure (Fig26a/Optical redirection structure 180) configured to redirect an optical signal between a first pathway (Fig26a/Horizontal portion of dotted line) and a second pathway (Fig26a/Vertical portion of dotted line), the first pathway being parallel with a major surface of the interposer substrate, the second pathway being non-parallel with the major surface of the interposer substrate.
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method disclosed by Karhade (Embodiment associated with fig1a) such that the redirection structure was configured to redirect an optical signal between a first pathway and a second pathway, the first pathway being parallel with a major surface of the interposer substrate, the second pathway being non-parallel with the major surface of the interposer substrate as suggested by Karhade (embodiment associated with fig26a) since doing so would allow for an additional avenue by which the light could be output perpendicularly with respect to the major surface of the interposer substrate.
With regards to claim 2, Karhade discloses the method of claim 1, but does not disclose the optical redirection structure as comprising a prism in the embodiments associated with figure 1a or figure 26a. However, in the embodiment associated with figure 25b, Karhade does disclose an optical redirection structure comprising a prism (Fig25b/Prism 188-1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method disclosed by Karhade such that the optical redirection structure comprised a prism as suggested by Karhade since doing so would allow the light to be redirected via total internal reflection and would improve the efficiency and light distribution characteristics of the finished device.
With regards to claim 3, Karhade discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the optical port further comprises a glass medium between the optical fiber and the optical redirection structure (Fig1a/Glass medium 174; Paragraph 143/Lines 26-31).
With regards to claim 4, Karhade discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the optical devices comprise an edge coupler (Fig26a/Edge coupler 142), the edge coupler being configured to receive or transmit the optical signal along the first pathway (Fig26a).
With regards to claim 5, Karhade together discloses the method of claim 1, wherein the optical fiber comprises a fiber array unit, the fiber array unit being configured to receive or transmit the optical signal along the second pathway (Fig26a/Fiber array unit 138; Paragraph 55/Lines 8-19).
With regards to claim 6, Karhade discloses the method of claim 1, further comprising:
before forming the encapsulant, forming a conductive pillar over the interposer substrate (Karhade/Figs5b-c/Conductive pillar 151);
wherein performing the removal process comprises exposing the conductive pillar from within the encapsulant (Fig5c).
With regards to claim 7, Karhade discloses the method of claim 6, wherein attaching the optical package to the platform comprises electrically coupling the optical package to the interposer substrate through the conductive pillar (Figs1a&5c-f; Paragraph 68/Lines 4-6; Paragraph 69/Lines 1-5).
With regards to claim 8, Karhade discloses the method of claim 6, wherein attaching the optical port adjacent to the optical package comprises attaching the optical port to the platform (Figs5c-d).
With regards to claim 9, Karhade discloses the method of claim 8, further comprising attaching and electrically connecting the interposer substrate to a package substrate (Figs1a&5c-f; Paragraph 68/Lines 4-6; Paragraph 69/Lines 1-5), wherein attaching the optical port adjacent to the optical package comprises attaching the optical port to the package substrate (Fig5d).
With regards to claim 16, Karhade discloses a semiconductor package, comprising:
an optical package (Karhade/Fig1a/Optical package [Elements 154, 156, and all constituent elements of layers 104 except for elements 133]) over and electrically connected to an interposer substrate (Fig1a/Interposer substrate 124), the optical package comprising:
an optical interposer (Fig1a/Optical interposer 102);
a first semiconductor device over and electrically connected to the optical interposer (Fig1a/First semiconductor device 114); and
a support substrate over the first semiconductor device (Fig1a/Support substrate 154);
a second semiconductor device over and electrically connected to the interposer substrate (Fig1a/Second semiconductor device 150); and
an encapsulant encapsulating lateral edges of the second semiconductor device (Fig1a/Encapsulant 127 and 133), at least a majority of a lateral edge of the optical package being free of encapsulant (Fig1a/Lateral edge defined by left edges of elements 118, 154, and 156), a portion of the encapsulant being interposed between the optical package and the interposer substrate (Fig1a/Encapsulant portion 127).
Karhade does not disclose the optical interposer as comprising an edge coupler, the semiconductor package as comprising an optical port adjacent to the optical package, the optical port as being configured to direct an optical signal to and from the edge coupler, or the optical port as comprising an optical redirection structure in the embodiment associated with figure 1a. However, in the embodiment associated with figure 26a, Karhade does disclose an optical interposer comprising an edge coupler (Fig26a/Edge coupler 142) and a semiconductor package comprising an optical port adjacent to the optical package (Fig26a/Optical port defined by elements 180, 179, and 138), the optical port configured to direct an optical signal to and from the edge coupler and the optical port comprising an optical redirection structure (Fig26a/Optical redirection structure 180). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the semiconductor package of Karhade such that the optical interposer comprised an edge coupler and the semiconductor package comprised an optical port adjacent to the optical package as suggested by Karhade, since doing so would allow for greater versatility with respect to where and how light could be directed when exiting the optical package.
With regards to claim 17, Karhade discloses the semiconductor package of claim 16, wherein the optical port further comprises a fiber array unit disposed above the optical redirection structure (Fig26a/Fiber array unit 138; Paragraph 55/Lines 8-10 and 14-17).
With regards to claim 18, Karhade discloses the semiconductor package of claim 16, but does not disclose the optical redirection structure as comprising a prism in the embodiments associated with figure 1a or figure 26a. However, in the embodiment associated with figure 25b, Karhade does disclose an optical redirection structure comprising a prism (Fig25b/Prism 188-1). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the method disclosed by Karhade such that the optical redirection structure comprised a prism as suggested by Karhade since doing so would allow the light to be redirected via total internal reflection and would improve the efficiency and light distribution characteristics of the finished device.
With regards to claim 19, Karhade discloses the semiconductor package of claim 18, wherein the prism is mounted on the encapsulant (Fig25b).
With regards to claim 20, Karhade discloses the semiconductor package of claim 16, wherein the optical redirection structure comprises a reflector (Fig26a/Reflector 180), and wherein the reflector is embedded in a transparent medium (Fig26a; Paragraph 71/Lines 4-12/”…glass reinforced epoxy matrix materials…”).
Conclusion
This prior art, made of record, but not relied upon, is considered pertinent to applicant’s disclosure since the following references have similar structure and/or use similar structure and/or similar optical elements to what is disclosed and/or claimed in the instant application:
Elsherbini (US 20240061194 A1) [Fig1a]
Ecton (US 20240176070 A1) [Fig1a]
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Marc E Manheim whose telephone number is (703)756-1873. The examiner can normally be reached 6:30am - 5pm E.T., Monday - Tuesday and Thursday - Friday.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Thomas A Hollweg can be reached at (571) 270-1739. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MARC E MANHEIM/Examiner, Art Unit 2874
/THOMAS A HOLLWEG/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2874
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