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 .
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.
Claim(s) 1-4 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Murakami (U.S. Publication No. 2020/0381302 A1)
With respect to claim 1, Murakami discloses a manufacturing method of a semiconductor device, comprising: forming a plurality of element structures in a form of matrix on a first surface of a semiconductor wafer [1] (see Figure 1 and 10A); forming a crack [VC] extending in a thickness direction of the semiconductor wafer along a boundary between the element structures adjacent to each other by pressing a pressing member [102] against a second surface of the semiconductor wafer along the boundary (See Figure 3), the second surface being opposite to the first surface in the thickness direction; and dividing the semiconductor wafer along the boundary by pressing a dividing member [202] against the semiconductor wafer on a first surface side along the boundary (see Figure 6; ¶[0067-0068]).
With respect to claim 2, Murakami discloses wherein the semiconductor wafer is made of silicon carbide (see ¶[0028]).
With respect to claim 3, Murakami discloses forming a metal layer [3] on the second surface of the semiconductor wafer (see ¶[0043]).
With respect to claim 4, Murakami discloses wherein the forming of the metal layer is performed before the forming of the crack (See Figure 2), and in the forming of the crack, the pressing member is pressed against the second surface of the semiconductor wafer across the metal layer (see Figures 2-3).
Conclusion
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/JONATHAN HAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818
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