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 .
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 01/26/2026 has been considered and entered.
The rejections under 35 USC 112 set forth in the office action received 10/28/2025 are withdrawn in view of the applicant’s amendments.
Response to Arguments
The applicant’s arguments filed 01/26/2026 have been fully considered but are moot in view of view of modified grounds for rejection.
With regards to claim 1, a new interpretation of the claims is disclosed by Karhade with amended limitations relating to the “…second semiconductor device…” being taught by Wu [US 20220179159 A1] (See the 35 USC 103 sections of this office action).
With regards to claims 10 and 16, new claim interpretations relating to the “…first…” and “…second adhesive…” layers of claim 10, and the “…portion of the encapsulant being interposed between the optical package…” of claim 16 respectively are disclosed by Karhade (See the 35 USC 102 and 35 USC 103 sections of 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/Fig4/Interposer substrate 124);
a first semiconductor device over and electrically connected to a first side of the interposer substrate (Fig4/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, the optical package comprising:
an optical interposer comprising optical devices (Fig4/Optical interposer 138; Paragraph 55/Lines 8-14);
a second semiconductor device over the optical interposer (Fig4/Second semiconductor device 130); and
a substrate over the second semiconductor device (Fig1a/Substrate 140); 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 (Paragraph 55/Lines 8-19).
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 (Fig4).
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/Second adhesive layer 133), 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 (Fig4).
With regards to claim 15, Karhade discloses the semiconductor package of claim 10, wherein the redirection structure comprises a reflector (Fig4; 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 1-6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karhade (US 20230089877 A1) in view of Wu (US 20220179159 A1).
With regards to claim 1, Karhade discloses a method, comprising:
forming an optical package (Karhade/Fig5a-f), forming the optical package comprising:
forming optical devices over a substrate (Fig5b/Substrate 502);
forming a first interconnect structure over the optical devices (Fig5b/Interconnect structures 151); and
attaching a first semiconductor device to the optical devices (Fig5d/First semiconductor device 114);
an interposer substrate (Fig1a/Interposer substrate 124);
attaching the optical package to the interposer substrate (Fig1a); and
after attaching the second semiconductor device to the interposer substrate, attaching an optical port (Optical port defined by elements 140, 137 and 138), the optical port comprising:
an optical fiber (Paragraph 55/Lines 8-14).
Karhade does not disclose an optical port 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 optical port was attached adjacent to the optical package and comprised an optical redirection structure as suggested by Karhade (embodiment associated with fig26a) since doing so would allow for greater versatility with respect to where and how light could be directed when exiting the optical package. Karhade is silent regarding the attachment of a second semiconductor device to the interposer substrate. However, the practice of attaching a second semiconductor device to an interposer substrate before attaching an optical package to the interposer substrate exists in the art as exemplified by Wu.
Karhade and Wu are considered to be analogous in the field of semiconductor packages. Karhade discloses an interposer substrate and a step wherein an optical package inclusive of a first semiconductor device is attached to the interposer substrate. Wu teaches the attachment of a second semiconductor device to an interposer substrate before an optical package inclusive of a first semiconductor device is attached to the same interposer substrate.
(Fig11a/Second semiconductor device 210). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to attach a second semiconductor device to the interposer substrate of Karhade before attaching the optical package to the interposer substrate of Karhade as suggested by Wu since doing so would facilitate the integration of additional functions within the semiconductor package of Karhade, and would allow said functions to be present within the semiconductor package whilst the optical package initially interfaces with the interposer substrate.
With regards to claim 2, Karhade and Wu together disclose 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 and Wu together disclose 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 and Wu together disclose 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 and Wu together disclose 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:
forming a conductive pillar (Karhade/Fig5c/Conductive pillar 151);
forming an encapsulant (Fig5c/Encapsulant 133 and 127) over the conductive pillar (Paragraph 91/Lines 20-33); and
after forming the encapsulant, cutting the encapsulant to form a platform and to expose the conductive pillar (Paragraph 91/Lines 20-33).
Karhade and Wu do not explicitly disclose the above method steps as occurring above or being applied to the interposer substrate and second semiconductor device. However, Wu teaches the inclusion of a second semiconductor device over an interposer substrate as previously discussed and Karhade discloses the above steps as occurring over a substrate and semiconductor device. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form a conductive pillar over the interposer substrate of Karhade and Wu, and to form encapsulant over the second semiconductor device of Karhade and Wu and said conductive pillar since doing so would facilitate insulation and physical protection of the second semiconductor device and conductive pillar, while also facilitating connection to additional components above the second semiconductor device.
Claims 16-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karhade (US 20230089877 A1).
With regards to claim 16, Karhade discloses a semiconductor package, comprising:
an optical package (Karhade/Fig1a/Optical package 104-1) 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 202); and
an encapsulant encapsulating lateral edges of the second semiconductor device (Fig1a/Encapsulant 127 and 133), lateral edges of the optical package being free of the encapsulant (Fig1a/Left and right edges of element 154), 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, 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, 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, The semiconductor package of claim 18, wherein the prism is mounted on the encapsulant (Fig25b).
With regards to claim 20, 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…”).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-9 are objected to as being dependent upon rejected base claims, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
With regards to claim 7, the prior art of record fails to disclose or reasonably suggest the method of claim 6, wherein attaching the optical package to the interposer substrate comprises attaching the optical package to the platform in addition to the accompanying features of the independent claim and any intervening claims. The closest prior art was relied upon in the rejection set forth in the above rejections.
With regards to claim 8, the prior art of record fails to disclose or reasonably suggest the method of claim 6, wherein attaching the optical port adjacent to the optical package comprises attaching the optical port to the platform in addition to the accompanying features of the independent claim and any intervening claims. The closest prior art was relied upon in the rejection set forth in the above rejections.
Claim 9 inherits the allowability of claim 8 on which it depends.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 extension fee 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 date of this final action.
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.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
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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