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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 09/17/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
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.
Claim 1 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by US PG Pub 2023/0307316 to Chen et al (hereinafter Chen).
Regarding Claim 1, Chen discloses a semiconductor device comprising:
a semiconductor chip (10, Fig.1);
a cooling channel (SC) configured to allow a coolant to (i) flow in liquid phase and (ii) absorb heat generated by the semiconductor chip during operation [0041]; and
a wick structure (WS, Fig. 2) configured to generate a capillary force for moving the coolant in the liquid phase along a wall surface of the cooling channel [0043],
wherein the wick structure comprises a suspended wick structure that is disposed apart from the wall surface by a capillary distance (Fig. 2).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 14-20 are allowed.
Claims 2-13 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 allowance:
Claim 14 recites a semiconductor device comprising:
a semiconductor chip;
a supply channel disposed on an upper surface of the semiconductor chip that is configured to move a coolant in liquid phase along the upper surface of the semiconductor chip by capillary action;
a cooling channel formed by recessing the upper surface of the semiconductor chip, the cooling channel comprising:
a bottom that is parallel to the upper surface and
a side wall that connects the upper surface of the semiconductor chip and the bottom to each other; and
a first wick structure disposed apart from the side wall of the cooling channel that is configured to supply the coolant in the liquid phase to the bottom of the cooling channel along the side wall of the cooling channel by capillary action.
Chen does not disclose the wick structure as having been formed by recessing the upper surface of the semiconductor chip. US PG Pub 2024/0194565 (“Kollipara”) and US PG Pub 2023/0223318 (“Wu”) are cited as being examples of relevant references in the art for comparison to Applicant’s invention. The references form channels for coolant, including free standing wicks, by recessing a surface of the semiconductor chip or die. However, the references do not form the channels or wicks such that a capillary action occurs to cool the chip. While the process or function of cooling the chip may not be relevant to the structure, by claiming the need for capillary action, Applicant infers a channel size and distance for the wicks to be spaced apart from the sidewalls. The references of record do not disclose or suggest such distances.
A search of other, relevant references does not show Applicant’s invention to be anticipated or obvious. Claims 15-20 depend on Claim 14 and are allowable for at least the reasons above.
For similar reasons, Claims 2-6 would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Claims 7 and 10 require a supply opening or coolant storage portion to accommodate coolant in the liquid phase and supply the liquid to the wick structure. Chen’s wick structure appears to be self contained and relies on capillary action to circulate the liquid. Chen does not disclose a storage or supply channel in a manner as claimed by Applicant. Claims 8-9 and 11-12 depend on Claims 7 and 10, respectively, and are allowable for at least the reasons above.
Claim 13 requires a stack of semiconductor chips having cooling channels and a connection channel penetrating therethrough in the vertical direction wherein a connection wick structure is disposed on at least a portion of a wall surface of the connection channel that is configured to move the coolant in the liquid phase by generating a second capillary force. Such a stacked assembly and shared channel structure between the chips is not an obvious modification of the references of record.
Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled “Comments on Statement of Reasons for Allowance.”
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DAVID C SPALLA whose telephone number is (303)297-4298. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Fri 10am-5pm MST.
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/DAVID C SPALLA/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893