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 .
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.
Response to Amendment
Applicant's amendment to the claims, filed on July 22th, 2026, is acknowledged. Entry of amendment is accepted and made of record.
Response to Arguments/Remarks
Applicant's response filed on July 22th, 2026 is acknowledged and isanswered as follows.
Applicant's remarks, see pg. 5, with respect to the rejections of claims 12-16 under 35 U.S.C 112 (b), have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the rejections have been withdrawn.
Applicant's arguments, see pgs. 5-6, with respect to the rejections of claims under 35 U.S.C 103(a) have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
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.
Claims 1-2, 9 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Azuma (Pub. No.: US 2001/0009301 A1), hereinafter as Azuma.
Regarding claim 1, Azuma discloses a semiconductor device (intermediate device in Fig. 7A-7B) comprising: a semiconductor element (semiconductor element 107, bonding wires 111 and metal plate 101) that includes an element body containing a semiconductor (semiconductor element 107) and a first electrode (metal plate 101) disposed on the element body (metal plate 101 disposed on semiconductor element 107 in upside down view of Fig. 7B) (see [0157-0158]); a sealing resin (resin portion 113) that covers the semiconductor element (see Fig. 7B and [0159]); and a covering portion (mounting material 109) interposed between the first electrode and the sealing resin, the covering portion containing a material (silver paste) having a higher thermal conductivity than the sealing resin (see Fig. 7B and [0157]), wherein the first electrode includes a groove portion (a network of connected concave trenches 131) held in contact with the covering portion, and the groove portion includes a lattice-shaped portion (repeating square shapes/lattice-like arrangement) (see Fig. 7A and [0156-0157]).
Regarding claim 2, Azuma discloses the semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode includes a first layer (metal plate 101 is the first layer), and the groove portion is a portion recessed in the first layer (see Fig. 5A-5B).
Regarding claim 9, Azuma discloses the semiconductor device according to claim 1, the semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the covering portion contains a metal (mounting material 109 includes silver paste) (see [0157]).
Regarding claim 10, Azuma discloses the semiconductor device according to claim 9, the semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the covering portion contains Ag (mounting material 109 includes silver paste) (see [0157]).
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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
a. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
b. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
c. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
d. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Azuma (Pub. No.: US 2001/0009301 A1), hereinafter as Azuma, as applied to claim 10 and further in view of HINO (Pub. No.: US 2019/0122998 A1).
Regarding claim 11, Azuma discloses the semiconductor device according to claim 10, but fails to disclose wherein the covering portion contains sintered Ag or sintered Cu.
HINO discloses a semiconductor device comprising a covering portion (bonding material 8) contain sintered Ag or sintered Cu (see Fig. 1 and [0059]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to modify the covering portion of Azuma to be made from sintered Ag or sintered Cu as same as the material of the semiconductor device of HINO because the disclose of HINO showing that sintered Ag or sintered Cu can be effectively used for forming a reliable and low resistance electrical connection.
Claim 12 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Azuma (Pub. No.: US 2001/0009301 A1), hereinafter as Azuma, as applied to claim 9 and further in view of Kim et al. (Pub. No.: US 2012/0153327 A1), hereinafter as Kim.
Regarding claim 12, Azuma discloses the semiconductor device according to claim 9, but fails to disclose wherein the first electrode contains Al.
Kim discloses a semiconductor device comprising the first electrode (connection portions 220/230 of lead frame 200) contains Al (Aluminum) (see Figs. 1-2 and [0043]).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to incorporate the aluminum material of the firs electrode of Kim into the semiconductor device of Azuma because the modified structure would provide a reliable and efficient way for making electrical connection with low contact resistance and low manufacturing cost.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 4 and 13-17 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.
The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The cited art, whether taken singularly or in combination, especially when all limitations are considered within the claimed specific combination, fails to disclose or suggest the claimed invention having:
Wherein the groove portion includes an outer peripheral portion arranged along an outer circumference of the first electrode, and the lattice-shaped portion is disposed inward of the outer peripheral portion as recited in claim 4.
Further comprising a first wire bonded to the first wire, wherein the first electrode wire includes a first portion extending from an inner part of the first electrode toward an outer part of the first electrode as viewed in a thickness direction of the semiconductor element, and the covering portion is in contact with the first portion of the first wire as recited in claim 13, Claims 14-17 depend on claim 13, and therefore also include said claimed limitation.
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 CUONG B NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)270-1509 (Email: CuongB.Nguyen@uspto.gov). The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM-5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Steven H. Loke can be reached on (571) 272-1657. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/CUONG B NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818
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