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
The following office action is in response to the amendment and remarks filed on 12/22/25.
Applicant’s amendment to claims 7, 21 and 29 is acknowledged.
Applicant’s addition of new claims 38 and 29 is acknowledged.
Claims 1-6, 10-20, 30 and 33 are cancelled.
Claims 7-9, 21-29, 31, 32 and 34-39 are pending and subject to examination at this time.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments with respect to claim 21 have been considered but are moot in view of the new ground(s) of rejection.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-9, 29, 31, 32 and 34-39 are allowed.
Claim 24 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.
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.
Claim(s) 21-23 and 25 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Lin et al., US Publication No. 2016/0343694 A1.
Lin anticipates:
21. A method for forming a semiconductor package structure, comprising (see figs. 1-2):
forming a first connection structure (110, 160) over a carrier substrate (100);
forming a via (130) over the first connection structure;
disposing a passive device (150) component over the first connection structure;
forming a molding compound (220) to surround the via and the passive device component;
forming a second connection structure (240) over the molding compound; and
forming a first conductor (260) over the second connection structure,
wherein the passive device component (150) comprises a semiconductor substrate (e.g. The substrate is not annotated in fig. 1A but it is implicit in passive device 150.) and a third connection structure (e.g. two electrodes on left and right; also annotated below in passive device 150), the third connection structure of the passive device component is disposed between the semiconductor substrate of the passive device component and the second connection structure (240) (e.g. The third connection structure comprising the electrodes on the left and right extend higher than the central portion comprising the semiconductor substrate, so it is disposed between the semiconductor substrate and the second connection structure 240.), and the molding compound (220) covers and is in contact with at least a portion of a top surface of the third connection structure. See Lin at para. [0001] – [0068], figs. 1-4.
PNG
media_image1.png
168
269
media_image1.png
Greyscale
22. The method of Claim 21, wherein the passive device (150) component is electrically coupled to the second connection structure (240) through the third connection structure (e.g. Electrically coupled through the two electrodes on left and right, element 100 and element 130.), figs. 1C and 2.
23. The method of Claim 21, wherein a thickness of the semiconductor substrate (e.g. central portion of 150 comprising the semiconductor substrate) of the passive device component (150) is less than a thickness of the molding compound (220), figs. 1C and 2.
25. The method of Claim 21, wherein the first connection structure (110, 160) is electrically connected to the second connection structure (240) by the via (130), figs. 1C and 2.
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.
Claim(s) 26-28 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Lin, as applied to claim 21 above, in view of Yu et al., US Publication No. 2018/0226349 A1 (of record).
Regarding claims 26-27:
Lin teaches all the limitations of claim 21 above and further teaches debonding at para. [0048].
Lin is silent regarding a release layer.
In an analogous art, Yu teaches debonding uses a release layer. Specifically, Yu teaches:
26. The method of Claim 21, further comprising forming a release layer over the carrier substrate prior to the forming of the first connection structure, wherein the first connection structure is formed over the release layer, para. [0036].
27. The method of Claim 26, further comprising decomposing the release layer to separate the first connection structure from the carrier substrate, para. [0036].
Lin further teaches:
28. The method of Claim 27, further comprising forming a second conductor (270) coupled to the first connection structure (110, 160), fig. 2.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention to modify the teachings of Lin with the teachings of Yu to enable efficient removal of the substrate by decomposing the release layer with laser or UV light. See Yu at para. [0036].
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 nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) 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 mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Michele Fan whose telephone number is 571-270-7401. The examiner can normally be reached on M-F from 7:30 am to 4 pm.
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, Jeff Natalini, can be reached on (571) 272-2266. 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.
/Michele Fan/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2818
9 March 2026