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 .
DETAILED ACTION
This action is responsive to the application No. 18/491,207 filed on 10/20/2023.
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election without traverse of Group I (claims 1-14) in the reply filed on 04/01/2026 is acknowledged. Applicant canceled claims 15-20. Applicant added new claims 21-26. Claims 1-14 and 21-26 read on Species 1.
Information Disclosure Statement
Acknowledgment is made of Applicant’s Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) form PTO-1449. These IDS has been considered.
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)(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 and 6 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by U.S. Pub # 2024/0332116 to Ooi.
Regarding independent claim 1, Ooi discloses a device (Fig. 1C), comprising:
a workpiece (Fig. 1C: 110);
a thermal interface material (TIM) (Fig. 1C-1D: 132 and 134) disposed over the workpiece (110); and
a lid (Fig. 1C: 120) disposed over the workpiece (110), wherein the lid (120) has an underside (area under 120 is considered to be an underside) formed with a trench (124), and wherein a vertically extending portion of the TIM (Fig. 1D: 134) extends into the trench (124) and a base portion (portions of 124 that are not extended into trench 124 is considered to be a base portion of the TIM) of the TIM is located outside of the trench (124).
Regarding claim 2, Ooi discloses wherein:
the TIM (132) extends longitudinally from a first edge to a second edge (see Examiner’s Mark-up below);
the lid (132) includes a first protrusion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) extending downward the underside of the lid, wherein the first protrusion is longitudinally adjacent to the first edge (see Examiner’s Mark-up below); and
the lid (132) includes a second protrusion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) extending downward from the underside of the lid, wherein the second protrusion is longitudinally adjacent to the second edge (see Examiner’s Mark-up below).
PNG
media_image1.png
259
817
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Regarding claim 6, Ooi discloses wherein the workpiece (110) is an integrated circuit die (¶0017).
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 3-4, 7-9, 11-12 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pub # 2024/0332116 to Ooi in view of U.S. Pub # 2024/0363473 to Chun et al. (Chun).
Regarding claim 3, Ooi discloses wherein:
the TIM extends laterally from a first end to a second end (see Examiner’s Mark-up below); and
PNG
media_image2.png
270
566
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Ooi fails to explicitly teach the device further comprises a first portion of a dam structure laterally adjacent to the first end of the TIM (120) and a second portion of a dam structure laterally adjacent to the second end of the TIM.
Chun discloses the device further comprises a first portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) of a dam structure (Fig. 1A: 140 and see Examiner’s Mark-up below) laterally adjacent to the first end of the TIM (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) and a second portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) of a dam structure laterally adjacent to the second end of the TIM (see Examiner’s Mark-up below).
PNG
media_image3.png
544
855
media_image3.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided the device of Ooi with a dam structures as taught by Chun in order to provide additional mechanical support to the semiconductor package (¶0043) and also to improve the reliability and performance of semiconductor device by ensuring that the lid (heat spreader) remains flat and in close contact with circuit, which maximizes the thermal conductivity and efficiency of the heat transfer process (¶0043).
Regarding claim 4, Ooi discloses the first protrusion and the second protrusion.
Ooi and Chun disclose all of the limitations of claim 3 from which this claim depends.
Ooi fails to explicitly discloses wherein a first gap is located between the first portion and the second portion of the dam structure adjacent to the first edge of the TIM; a second gap is located between the first portion and the second portion of the dam structure adjacent to the second edge of the TIM; the first protrusion extends downward into the first gap; and the second protrusion extends downward into the second gap.
Chun discloses wherein:
a first gap (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) is located between the first portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) and the second portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) of the dam structure (140; see Examiner’s Mark-up below) adjacent to the first edge of the TIM (see Examiner’s Mark-up below);
a second gap (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) is located between the first portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) and the second portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) of the dam structure (140; see Examiner’s Mark-up below) adjacent to the second edge of the TIM (see Examiner’s Mark-up below);
the first protrusion (as taught by Ooi; see Examiner’s Mark-up above from claim 1) extends downward into the first gap (see Examiner’s Mark-up below); and the second protrusion (as taught by Ooi; see Examiner’s Mark-up above from claim 1) extends downward into the second gap (see Examiner’s Mark-up below).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided the device of Ooi with the first and the second gap and the dam structure as taught by Chun in order to provide additional mechanical support to the semiconductor package (¶0043) and also to improve the reliability and performance of semiconductor device by ensuring that the lid (heat spreader) remains flat and in close contact with circuit, which maximizes the thermal conductivity and efficiency of the heat transfer process (¶0043).
PNG
media_image4.png
535
841
media_image4.png
Greyscale
Regarding independent claim 7, Ooi discloses a device (Fig. 1C), comprising:
a system-on-chip (SOC) (Fig. 1C: 110);
a substrate (102), wherein the SOC (110) is mounted to the substrate (102);
a lid (120) disposed over the SOC (110);
a thermal interface material (TIM) (132 and 134) disposed between the SOC (110) and the lid (120), wherein the TIM (134) extends laterally from a first end to a second end (see Examiner’s Mark-up below).
PNG
media_image2.png
270
566
media_image2.png
Greyscale
Ooi fails to explicitly teach a dam structure laterally adjacent to the first end of the TIM and to the second end of the TIM.
Chun teaches a dam structure (Fig. 1A: 140 and see Examiner’s Mark-up below) laterally adjacent to the first end (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) of the TIM and to the second end of the TIM (see Examiner’s Mark-up below).
PNG
media_image5.png
524
840
media_image5.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided the device of Ooi with a dam structures as taught by Chun in order to provide additional mechanical support to the semiconductor package (¶0043) and also to improve the reliability and performance of semiconductor device by ensuring that the lid (heat spreader) remains flat and in close contact with circuit, which maximizes the thermal conductivity and efficiency of the heat transfer process (¶0043).
Regarding claim 8, Ooi discloses wherein:
the lid (120) has an underside (area under 120 is considered to be an underside);
the substrate (102) has a topside (top of the substrate 102).
Ooi fails to explicitly disclose the dam structure extends vertically from the topside of the substrate to the underside of the lid.
Chun discloses the dam structure (Fig. 1A: 140) extends vertically from the topside of the substrate (105) to the underside of the lid (125).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided the device of Ooi with a dam structures as taught by Chun in order to provide additional mechanical support to the semiconductor package (¶0043) and also to improve the reliability and performance of semiconductor device by ensuring that the lid (heat spreader) remains flat and in close contact with circuit, which maximizes the thermal conductivity and efficiency of the heat transfer process (¶0043).
Regarding claim 9, Ooi fails to explicitly disclose wherein the TIM is metal.
Chun discloses wherein the TIM is metal (¶0010).
it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided the TIM with the material of the TIM as taught by Chun in order to improve the thermal conductivity and interface between two surfaces (¶0010).
Regarding claim 11, Ooi discloses wherein:
the TIM (132) extends longitudinally from a first edge to a second edge (see Examiner’s Mark-up below).
PNG
media_image1.png
259
817
media_image1.png
Greyscale
Ooi fails to explicitly disclose
the dam structure includes a first portion laterally adjacent to the first end of the TIM;
the dam structure includes a second portion laterally adjacent to the second end of the TIM;
a first gap is located between the first portion and the second portion of the dam structure adjacent to the first edge of the TIM;
a second gap is located between the first portion and the second portion of the dam structure adjacent to the second edge of the TIM;
the lid includes a first protrusion extending downward into the first gap from an underside of the lid; and
the lid includes a second protrusion extending downward into the second gap from the underside of the lid.
Chun discloses the dam structure (140) includes a first portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) laterally adjacent to the first end of the TIM (120);
the dam structure (another 140) includes a second portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) laterally adjacent to the second end of the TIM (120);
PNG
media_image3.png
544
855
media_image3.png
Greyscale
a first gap (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) is located between the first portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) and the second portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) of the dam structure (140; see Examiner’s Mark-up below) adjacent to the first edge of the TIM (see Examiner’s Mark-up below);
a second gap (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) is located between the first portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) and the second portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) of the dam structure (140; see Examiner’s Mark-up below) adjacent to the second edge of the TIM (see Examiner’s Mark-up below);
PNG
media_image4.png
535
841
media_image4.png
Greyscale
the lid includes a first protrusion (as taught by Ooi; see Examiner’s Mark-up above from claim 1) extending downward into the first gap (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) from an underside of the lid; and
the lid includes a second protrusion (as taught by Ooi; see Examiner’s Mark-up above from claim 1) extending downward into the second gap (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) from the underside of the lid.
PNG
media_image4.png
535
841
media_image4.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided the device of Ooi with the dam structure and the first and the second gap as taught by Chun in order to provide additional mechanical support to the semiconductor package (¶0043) and also to improve the reliability and performance of semiconductor device by ensuring that the lid (heat spreader) remains flat and in close contact with circuit, which maximizes the thermal conductivity and efficiency of the heat transfer process (¶0043).
Regarding claim 12, Ooi discloses wherein:
the lid (Fig. 1C: 120) has an underside (area under 120 is considered to be an underside);
a trench (124) is formed in the underside of the lid (120) over the SOC (110); and
a vertically extending portion of the TIM (134) extends into the trench (Fig. 1C: 124).
Regarding claim 14, Ooi discloses wherein the TIM (132) directly contacts the SOC (110) and an underside of the lid (120).
Claims 5 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pub # 2024/0332116 to Ooi in view of U.S. Pub # 2024/0363473 to Chun et al. (Chun) and further in view of U.S. Pub # 2023/0011778 to Lee et al. (Lee)
Regarding claims 5 and 10, Ooi and Chun disclose all of the limitations of claim 3 from which this claim depends. Ooi discloses the TIM (Fig. 1C: 132).
Chun discloses wherein the TIM is metal (¶0010).
Ooi and Chun fail to explicitly discloses the dam structure is a polymer.
Lee discloses wherein the dam structure (Fig. 8: 610) is a polymer (¶0054).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided the material of the dam structure of Chun with the polymer as taught by Lee in order to block the flow of the underfill material that flows from the center to the edge of the first semiconductor chip during an underfill formation process (¶0054).
Claims 21-22 and 24 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pub # 2024/0006378 to Chan Arguedas et al. (Chan) in view of U.S. Pub # 2024/0332116 to Ooi.
Regarding independent claim 21, Chan discloses a device (Fig. 1), comprising:
a first system-on-chip (SOC) (Fig. 1: 18) and a second system-on-chip (SOC) (Fig. 1: 20) separated by a gap (see Examiner’s Mark-up below);
a substrate (16), wherein the first SOC (18) and the second SOC (20) are mounted to the substrate (16);
a thermal interface material (TIM) (Fig. 1: 40 and 42) disposed over the first SOC (18) and the second SOC (20); and
a lid (Fig. 1: 36) disposed over the TIM (40 and 42), wherein the lid (36) has an underside (directly below 36 is considered to be an underside) formed, and wherein the trench (124) is positioned directly over the SOC (110).
PNG
media_image6.png
490
676
media_image6.png
Greyscale
Chan fails to explicitly teach a trench, and wherein the trench is positioned directly over the gap between the first SOC and the second SOC.
Ooi teaches a trench (Fig. 1C; 124), and wherein the trench (124) is positioned directly over the SOC (110).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided the lid of Chan with the trench as taught by Ooi so that the location of the trench allows the thermal interface material to spread outwards in a consistent pattern and cover all or a majority of the top surface of the die (¶0022).
Regarding claim 22, Chan fails to explicitly disclose wherein a polymer insert is located in the trench.
Ooi discloses wherein a polymer insert (Fig. 1D: 134) is located in the trench (124).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided the lid of Chan with the trench and the polymer as taught by Ooi in order to improve thermal conduction between the die and the integrated heat spreader, which in turn provides improved removal of heat from the die during operation (¶0002).
Regarding claim 24, Chan discloses wherein the TIM (Fig. 1: 40) extends longitudinally from a first edge to a second edge (see Examiner’s Mark-up below); the lid (36) further includes a first protrusion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) extending downward from the underside of the lid, wherein the first protrusion is longitudinally adjacent to the first edge of the TIM (40); and
the lid (36) further includes a second protrusion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) extending downward from the underside of the lid, wherein the second protrusion is longitudinally adjacent to the second edge of the TIM (42).
PNG
media_image7.png
504
776
media_image7.png
Greyscale
Claims 23 and 25 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pub # 2024/0006378 to Chan Arguedas et al. (Chan) in view of U.S. Pub # 2024/0332116 to Ooi and further in view of U.S. Pub # 2024/0363473 to Chun et al. (Chun).
Regarding claim 23, Chan discloses wherein the TIM (for example 40) extends laterally from a first end to a second end (see Examiner’s Mark-up below).
PNG
media_image8.png
573
781
media_image8.png
Greyscale
Chan as previously modified fail to explicitly disclose wherein the device further comprises a dam structure including a first portion laterally adjacent to the first end of the TIM and a second portion laterally adjacent to the second end of the TIM.
Chun discloses where the device further comprises a dam structure (Fig. 1A: 140 and see Examiner’s Mark-up below) including a first portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) laterally adjacent to the first end of the TIM (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) and a second portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) of a dam structure laterally adjacent to the second end of the TIM (see Examiner’s Mark-up below).
PNG
media_image3.png
544
855
media_image3.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided the device of Chan with a dam structures including a first portion as taught by Chun in order to provide additional mechanical support to the semiconductor package (¶0043) and also to improve the reliability and performance of semiconductor device by ensuring that the lid (heat spreader) remains flat and in close contact with circuit, which maximizes the thermal conductivity and efficiency of the heat transfer process (¶0043).
Regarding claim 25, Chan discloses wherein: the TIM extends laterally from a first end to a second end (see Examiner’s Mark-up below).
PNG
media_image9.png
543
790
media_image9.png
Greyscale
Chan as previously modified fail to explicitly disclose:
the device further comprises a dam structure including a first portion laterally adjacent to the first end of the TIM and a second portion laterally adjacent to the second end of the TIM;
a first gap is defined between the first portion and the second portion of the dam structure adjacent to the first edge of the TIM;
a second gap is defined between the first portion and the second portion of the dam structure adjacent to the second edge of the TIM;
the first protrusion extends downward into the first gap; and
the second protrusion extends downward into the second gap.
Chun discloses:
the device further comprises a dam structure (140) including a first portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) laterally adjacent to the first end of the TIM (120) and a second portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) laterally adjacent to the second end of the TIM (120);
PNG
media_image3.png
544
855
media_image3.png
Greyscale
a first gap (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) is defined between the first portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) and the second portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) of the dam structure (140; see Examiner’s Mark-up below) adjacent to the first edge of the TIM (see Examiner’s Mark-up below);
a second gap (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) is defined between the first portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) and the second portion (see Examiner’s Mark-up below) of the dam structure (140; see Examiner’s Mark-up below) adjacent to the second edge of the TIM (see Examiner’s Mark-up below);
PNG
media_image4.png
535
841
media_image4.png
Greyscale
the first protrusion (as taught by Chan; see the Examiner’s Mark-up above from claim 23) extends downward into the first gap (see Examiner’s Mark-up below); and
the second protrusion (as taught by Chan; see the Examiner’s Mark-up above from claim 23) extends downward into the second gap (see Examiner’s Mark-up below).
PNG
media_image4.png
535
841
media_image4.png
Greyscale
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided the device of Chan with the dam structure and the first and the second gap as taught by Chun in order to provide additional mechanical support to the semiconductor package (¶0043) and also to improve the reliability and performance of semiconductor device by ensuring that the lid (heat spreader) remains flat and in close contact with circuit, which maximizes the thermal conductivity and efficiency of the heat transfer process (¶0043).
Claim 26 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over U.S. Pub # 2024/0006378 to Chan Arguedas et al. (Chan) in view of U.S. Pub # 2024/0332116 to Ooi in view of U.S. Pub # 2024/0363473 to Chun et al. (Chun) and further in view of U.S. Pub # 2023/0011778 to Lee et al. (Lee).
Regarding claim 26, Chan as previously modified disclose all of the limitations of claim 25 from which this claim depends. Chan discloses the TIM (Fig. 1: 40 and 42). Chun as previously modified discloses wherein the TIM is metal (¶0010).
Chan as previously modified fail to explicitly discloses the dam structure is a polymer.
Lee discloses wherein the dam structure (Fig. 8: 610) is a polymer (¶0054).
It would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided the material of the dam structure of Chun with the polymer as taught by Lee in order to block the flow of the underfill material that flows from the center to the edge of the first semiconductor chip during an underfill formation process (¶0054).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 13 is 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 a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 13 recites:
wherein a polymer insert material is located in the trench over the vertically extending portion.
Each of the above recitations, interpreted in combination with all other limitations of the claim and all limitations of any claims they depend from, is not taught or rendered obvious by the prior art of record and are indicated as allowable subject matter.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US Pat # 8,354,747 to Kuo, US Pub # 2008/0142955 to Chen et al., US Pub # 2006/0270106 to Chiu et al., US Pat # 5534725 to Hur.
Chen discloses a flip chip semiconductor chip (Figs. 3A and 3B), a heat dissipation structure 33 is provided, and the heat dissipation structure 33 includes a raised section 331 that protrudes downward from the center of the heat dissipation structure 33 and then shrinks gradually, and an extension section 332 that extends downward from each side of the heat dissipation structure 33, the center raised section 331 has a flat bottom and four sloping surfaces, the surfaces of the raised section 331 has been preapplied with soldering flux 36, and then the heat dissipation structure 33 is pressed down via a bonding material 37 to a substrate 31 that has a flip chip semiconductor chip 32 mounted thereon, the raised section 331 of the heat dissipation structure 33 is pressed to the solder material 35 that is preapplied on the non-active surface of the flip chip semiconductor chip 32, and the fusion process is performed on the solder material 35, such that the solder material 35 disperses in the gap between the raised section 331 of the heat dissipation structure 33 and the flip chip semiconductor chip 32, and the solder material 35 is held by the sloping surfaces of the raised section 331 so as to restrict the flow thereof.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHSEN AHMADI whose telephone number is (571)272-5062. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00am-5:00pm.
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, William F Kraig can be reached at 571-272-8660. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/MOHSEN AHMADI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2896
Prosecution Insights