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 .
Allowable Subject Matter
Claim 16, 18 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 § 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.
Claim(s) 1-7 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang (CN 116364699 B) in view of Um et al. (US 20230207595 A1) hereafter referred to as Um and further in view of Saito (JP 2015017940 A)
In regard to claim 1 Wang teaches a [see Fig. 1 “In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, it is often necessary to bond two or more wafers to each other by a bonding process”] semiconductor structure comprising:
a first semiconductor substrate [see “the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 are bonded to each other” “a first substrate 100 for detecting light non-transmission is provided, and the first substrate 100 may be a low-resistance substrate, such as a highly doped polysilicon substrate” “the second substrate 200 may also be a detection light non-transmissive substrate, which may also be a low-resistance substrate, such as a doped polysilicon substrate”] and a second semiconductor substrate attached to each other,
wherein the first semiconductor substrate contains [“the second alignment pattern 420 is formed in the alignment region of the second substrate 200” ] a alignment pattern and the second semiconductor substrate contains [“a first through hole 100A is formed in the alignment region of the first substrate 100” “In an alternative solution, the detection channel further comprises a detection light transmission layer, which is specifically formed in the opening range of at least one through hole, and the alignment pattern formed on the substrate with the detection light transmission layer is arranged on the detection light transmission layer. For example, in the present embodiment, a first through hole 100A is formed in the first substrate 100, at this time, a first detection light transmission layer 300 is also formed on the first substrate 100, and the first detection light transmission layer 300 is formed in the opening range of the first through hole 100A”, it is noted that under broadest reasonable interpretation the “through silicon via” is just the hole] a through silicon via (TSV),
wherein the alignment pattern and the through silicon via are [“In this embodiment, for example, a first through hole 100A is formed in the alignment region of the first substrate 100. At this time, when performing the offset detection, the alignment mark can be identified by allowing the detection light to penetrate through the first through hole 100A in the detection channel” “When the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 are bonded to each other, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 are combined to form an alignment mark” “In practical applications, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can be identified by a microscope or the like through the detection channel. In an example, the mark can also be identified by using the detection light, specifically, the detection light can penetrate through at least one substrate through the detection channel, so as to irradiate to the first alignment pattern 410 on the first substrate 100 and the second alignment pattern 420 on the second substrate 200, so as to identify the alignment mark. Wherein, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can reflect light under the irradiation of the detection light, and the image display of the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can be obtained by obtaining the reflected light” , see Wang has many examples of irradiating the detection light and detecting reflection] aligned with each other,
but does not state that the first and second semiconductor substrates are “chip”, that the alignment pattern is a quantum dot pattern.
However see above the first and second semiconductor substrates are “highly doped polysilicon substrate” see “In this embodiment, taking the preparation of the MEMS device as an example, the MEMS device may be an inertial sensor or the like, that is, an offset detection structure may be formed during the preparation of the MEMS device, wherein the first substrate 100 may be, for example, a cover plate for forming the MEMS device” see knowledge of epitaxy “performing an epitaxial process”, see that Wang says his method is useful for all devices, “In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, it is often necessary to bond two or more wafers to each other by a bonding process”.
See Um Figs. 5-8 show bonded chips, see paragraph 0124 “For example, the photoelectric conversion circuit layer 10 and the pixel circuit layer 20 may be individually formed, and then the pixel circuit layer 20 may be flipped upside down to bond to the photoelectric conversion circuit layer 10. For example, the first and second bonding pads BP1 and BP2 may include at least one of, for example, tungsten (W), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), tungsten nitride (WN), tantalum nitride (TaN), or titanium nitride (TiN)” “The first bonding pads BP1 of the photoelectric conversion circuit layer 10 and the second bonding pads BP2 of the pixel circuit layer 20 may be connected directly to each other by a hybrid bonding method ...”.
Thus, it 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 to modify Wang to include that the first and second semiconductor substrates are “chip”.
The motivation is to obtain increased complexity of the device to perform more work by bonding substrates together.
Wang and Um as combined does not state that the alignment pattern is a quantum dot pattern.
See Wang teaches “reflect light under the irradiation of the detection light” , see Wang has many examples of irradiating the detection light and detecting reflection.
See Saito teaches chips and alignment marks, see “substrate body 60 made of, for example, a silicon wafer” “In the above inspection, in order to accurately recognize the positional relationship between the individual detection results, prior to the fluorescence measurement, for example, the biochip on which the alignment mark is formed is irradiated with light to detect the light via the biochip” “since the alignment mark 61 of the present embodiment is composed of, for example, luminescent fine particles (eg, luminescent quantum dots (eg, fluorescent quantum dots)), the alignment mark 61 of light is used as a reference luminescent mark that does not depend on a bioassay”.
Thus, it 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 to modify Wang to include that the alignment pattern is a quantum dot pattern.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is that a quantum dot pattern such as fluorescent quantum dots are known to give good results as alignment mark.
In regard to claim 2 Wang, Um and Saito as combined does not specifically state further comprising a first hybrid contact structure located in the first chip and a second hybrid contact structure located in the second chip, wherein the first hybrid contact structure and the second hybrid contact structure are in contact and aligned with each other.
However see Wang “As shown in FIG. 1, a first bonding ring 110 is also formed on the bonding surface of the first substrate 100, a second bonding ring 210 is also formed on the bonding surface of the second substrate 200, and the first bonding ring 110 and the second bonding ring 210 are bonded to each other when the bonding process is performed”, see Um “The first bonding pads BP1 of the photoelectric conversion circuit layer 10 and the second bonding pads BP2 of the pixel circuit layer 20 may be connected directly to each other by a hybrid bonding method ...”.
Thus, it 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 to modify Wang to include further comprising a first hybrid contact structure located in the first chip and a second hybrid contact structure located in the second chip, wherein the first hybrid contact structure and the second hybrid contact structure are in contact and aligned with each other.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is that hybrid bonding is known to give excellent structural strength and electrical connectivity for forming devices such as for example image sensor.
In regard to claim 3 Wang, Um and Saito as combined teaches wherein the quantum dot pattern comprises a plurality [see Saito “since the alignment mark 61 of the present embodiment is composed of, for example, luminescent fine particles (eg, luminescent quantum dots (eg, fluorescent quantum dots))” i.e. plurality] of quantum dots but does not specifically teach arranged in an array.
However see Saito Fig. 3 see that in the “alignment mark 61” can be seen dots which are periodically arranged.
Thus, it 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 to modify Wang to include arranged in an array.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is that array is a simple predictable layout to manufacture and detect in alignment mark.
In regard to claim 4 Wang, Um and Saito as combined does not specifically teach wherein a width and a thickness of each quantum dot are less than 100 nm.
See Saito “The fluorescent quantum dots can change the wavelength of fluorescence generated by excitation light by changing the size such as the particle diameter” “The wavelength of the fluorescence generated from the alignment mark 61 is set to a wavelength different from the wavelength of the fluorescence generated from the biomolecule support region S as an example, but may be set to be the same wavelength”.
It 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 to use “wherein a width and a thickness of each quantum dot are less than 100 nm ”, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233
In regard to claim 5 Wang, Um and Saito as combined teaches wherein the quantum dot pattern has a self-luminous [see Saito “since the alignment mark 61 of the present embodiment is composed of, for example, luminescent fine particles (eg, luminescent quantum dots (eg, fluorescent quantum dots))” ] function after being irradiated by a light source.
In regard to claim 6 Wang, Um and Saito as combined does not specifically teach wherein the material of the quantum dot pattern comprises silicon, germanium, indium gallium arsenide and gallium arsenide.
However the Examiner notes that bandgap is a known factor in the quantum effect determining wavelength.
It 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 to use " wherein the material of the quantum dot pattern comprises silicon, germanium, indium gallium arsenide and gallium arsenide ", since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
In regard to claim 7 Wang, Um and Saito as combined teaches [see Wang “In this embodiment, for example, a first through hole 100A is formed in the alignment region of the first substrate 100. At this time, when performing the offset detection, the alignment mark can be identified by allowing the detection light to penetrate through the first through hole 100A in the detection channel” “When the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 are bonded to each other, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 are combined to form an alignment mark” “In practical applications, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can be identified by a microscope or the like through the detection channel. In an example, the mark can also be identified by using the detection light, specifically, the detection light can penetrate through at least one substrate through the detection channel, so as to irradiate to the first alignment pattern 410 on the first substrate 100 and the second alignment pattern 420 on the second substrate 200, so as to identify the alignment mark. Wherein, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can reflect light under the irradiation of the detection light, and the image display of the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can be obtained by obtaining the reflected light” , see Wang has many examples of irradiating the detection light and detecting reflection] wherein the through silicon via exposes the quantum dot pattern.
Claim(s) 8-15, 17, 19 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Wang (CN 116364699 B) in view of Um et al. (US 20230207595 A1) hereafter referred to as Um and further in view of Saito (JP 2015017940 A)
In regard to claim 8 Wang teaches a [see Fig. 1 “In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, it is often necessary to bond two or more wafers to each other by a bonding process”] an alignment method of a semiconductor structure, comprising:
providing a first semiconductor substrate [“the second substrate 200 may also be a detection light non-transmissive substrate, which may also be a low-resistance substrate, such as a doped polysilicon substrate”], wherein a surface on the first semiconductor substrate [“the second alignment pattern 420 is formed in the alignment region of the second substrate 200” ] comprises a alignment pattern;
providing a second semiconductor substrate [“a first substrate 100 for detecting light non-transmission is provided, and the first substrate 100 may be a low-resistance substrate, such as a highly doped polysilicon substrate”], which includes [“a first through hole 100A is formed in the alignment region of the first substrate 100” “In an alternative solution, the detection channel further comprises a detection light transmission layer, which is specifically formed in the opening range of at least one through hole, and the alignment pattern formed on the substrate with the detection light transmission layer is arranged on the detection light transmission layer. For example, in the present embodiment, a first through hole 100A is formed in the first substrate 100, at this time, a first detection light transmission layer 300 is also formed on the first substrate 100, and the first detection light transmission layer 300 is formed in the opening range of the first through hole 100A”, it is noted that under broadest reasonable interpretation the “through silicon via” is just the hole] a through silicon via penetrating the second semiconductor substrate; and
aligning and attaching the first semiconductor substrate and the second semiconductor substrate [“In this embodiment, for example, a first through hole 100A is formed in the alignment region of the first substrate 100. At this time, when performing the offset detection, the alignment mark can be identified by allowing the detection light to penetrate through the first through hole 100A in the detection channel” “When the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 are bonded to each other, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 are combined to form an alignment mark” “In practical applications, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can be identified by a microscope or the like through the detection channel. In an example, the mark can also be identified by using the detection light, specifically, the detection light can penetrate through at least one substrate through the detection channel, so as to irradiate to the first alignment pattern 410 on the first substrate 100 and the second alignment pattern 420 on the second substrate 200, so as to identify the alignment mark. Wherein, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can reflect light under the irradiation of the detection light, and the image display of the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can be obtained by obtaining the reflected light” , see Wang has many examples of irradiating the detection light and detecting reflection], wherein the alignment pattern and the through silicon via are aligned with each other
but does not state that the first and second semiconductor substrates are “chip”, that the alignment pattern is a quantum dot pattern.
However see above the first and second semiconductor substrates are “highly doped polysilicon substrate” see “In this embodiment, taking the preparation of the MEMS device as an example, the MEMS device may be an inertial sensor or the like, that is, an offset detection structure may be formed during the preparation of the MEMS device, wherein the first substrate 100 may be, for example, a cover plate for forming the MEMS device” see knowledge of epitaxy “performing an epitaxial process”, see that Wang says his method is useful for all devices, “In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, it is often necessary to bond two or more wafers to each other by a bonding process”.
See Um Figs. 5-8 show bonded chips, see paragraph 0124 “For example, the photoelectric conversion circuit layer 10 and the pixel circuit layer 20 may be individually formed, and then the pixel circuit layer 20 may be flipped upside down to bond to the photoelectric conversion circuit layer 10. For example, the first and second bonding pads BP1 and BP2 may include at least one of, for example, tungsten (W), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), tungsten nitride (WN), tantalum nitride (TaN), or titanium nitride (TiN)” “The first bonding pads BP1 of the photoelectric conversion circuit layer 10 and the second bonding pads BP2 of the pixel circuit layer 20 may be connected directly to each other by a hybrid bonding method ...”.
Thus, it 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 to modify Wang to include that the first and second semiconductor substrates are “chip”.
The motivation is to obtain increased complexity of the device to perform more work by bonding substrates together.
Wang and Um as combined does not state that the alignment pattern is a quantum dot pattern.
See Wang teaches “reflect light under the irradiation of the detection light” , see Wang has many examples of irradiating the detection light and detecting reflection.
See Saito teaches chips and alignment marks, see “substrate body 60 made of, for example, a silicon wafer” “In the above inspection, in order to accurately recognize the positional relationship between the individual detection results, prior to the fluorescence measurement, for example, the biochip on which the alignment mark is formed is irradiated with light to detect the light via the biochip” “since the alignment mark 61 of the present embodiment is composed of, for example, luminescent fine particles (eg, luminescent quantum dots (eg, fluorescent quantum dots)), the alignment mark 61 of light is used as a reference luminescent mark that does not depend on a bioassay”.
Thus, it 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 to modify Wang to include that the alignment pattern is a quantum dot pattern.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is that a quantum dot pattern such as fluorescent quantum dots are known to give good results as alignment mark.
In regard to claim 9 Wang, Um and Saito as combined does not specifically state further comprising forming a first hybrid contact structure in the first chip and forming a second hybrid contact structure in the second chip, wherein the first hybrid contact structure and the second hybrid contact structure are in contact with each other and aligned.
However see Wang “As shown in FIG. 1, a first bonding ring 110 is also formed on the bonding surface of the first substrate 100, a second bonding ring 210 is also formed on the bonding surface of the second substrate 200, and the first bonding ring 110 and the second bonding ring 210 are bonded to each other when the bonding process is performed”, see Um “The first bonding pads BP1 of the photoelectric conversion circuit layer 10 and the second bonding pads BP2 of the pixel circuit layer 20 may be connected directly to each other by a hybrid bonding method ...”.
Thus, it 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 to modify Wang to include further comprising forming a first hybrid contact structure in the first chip and forming a second hybrid contact structure in the second chip, wherein the first hybrid contact structure and the second hybrid contact structure are in contact with each other and aligned.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is that hybrid bonding is known to give excellent structural strength and electrical connectivity for forming devices such as for example image sensor.
In regard to claim 10 Wang, Um and Saito as combined does not specifically teach wherein after the first hybrid contact structure and the second hybrid contact structure are in contact with each other and aligned, a gap is included between the first hybrid contact structure and the second hybrid contact structure.
However this depends on the type of the device, see for example Wang teaches “taking the preparation of the MEMS device as an example, the MEMS device may be an inertial sensor or the like, that is, an offset detection structure may be formed during the preparation of the MEMS device, wherein the first substrate 100 may be, for example, a cover plate for forming the MEMS device. For example, a micromechanical structure (e.g., a comb structure) may be formed on the second substrate 200. Based on this, a structure such as a cavity may also be formed on the first substrate 100”, see Fig. 1 see the spacing of the wafers.
See Um Figs. 5-8 show bonded chips, see paragraph 0124 “For example, the photoelectric conversion circuit layer 10 and the pixel circuit layer 20 may be individually formed, and then the pixel circuit layer 20 may be flipped upside down to bond to the photoelectric conversion circuit layer 10”.
Thus, it 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 to modify Wang to include wherein after the first hybrid contact structure and the second hybrid contact structure are in contact with each other and aligned, a gap is included between the first hybrid contact structure and the second hybrid contact structure.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is to include devices that need movement and to maximize complexity by including control and data circuits in the device of Wang by utilizing both substrates for devices and circuitry.
In regard to claim 11 Wang, Um and Saito as combined does not specifically teach further comprising performing an annealing step to expand the first hybrid contact structure and the second hybrid contact structure, and to narrow or disappear the gap.
However see that fusing is a part of the bonding, see Um Figs. 5-8 “The hybrid bonding method may mean a bonding method in which two components including the same kind of a material are fused into one at their interface. For example, when the first and second bonding pads BP1 and BP2 are formed of copper (Cu), the first and second bonding pads BP1 and BP2 may be physically and electrically connected to each other by a copper (Cu)-copper (Cu) bonding method. In addition, a surface of the first interlayer insulating layer 120 of the photoelectric conversion circuit layer 10 and a surface of the second interlayer insulating layer 220 of the pixel circuit layer 20 may be bonded to each other by a dielectric material-dielectric material bonding method”, see that inherently fusing uses heat and narrows or disappears the gap.
Thus, it 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 to modify Wang to include further comprising performing an annealing step to expand the first hybrid contact structure and the second hybrid contact structure, and to narrow or disappear the gap.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is to obtain the best fused bonds between the two substrates for maximum strength and best electrical connectivity.
In regard to claim 12 Wang, Um and Saito as combined teaches wherein the quantum dot pattern comprises a plurality [see Saito “since the alignment mark 61 of the present embodiment is composed of, for example, luminescent fine particles (eg, luminescent quantum dots (eg, fluorescent quantum dots))” i.e. plurality] of quantum dots but does not specifically teach arranged in an array.
However see Saito Fig. 3 see that in the “alignment mark 61” can be seen dots which are periodically arranged.
Thus, it 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 to modify Wang to include arranged in an array.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is that array is a simple predictable layout to manufacture and detect in alignment mark.
In regard to claim 13 Wang, Um and Saito as combined does not specifically teach wherein a width and a thickness of each quantum dot are less than 100 nm.
See Saito “The fluorescent quantum dots can change the wavelength of fluorescence generated by excitation light by changing the size such as the particle diameter” “The wavelength of the fluorescence generated from the alignment mark 61 is set to a wavelength different from the wavelength of the fluorescence generated from the biomolecule support region S as an example, but may be set to be the same wavelength”.
It 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 to use “wherein a width and a thickness of each quantum dot are less than 100 nm”, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or working ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233
In regard to claim 14 Wang, Um and Saito as combined further comprising: irradiating the quantum dot pattern with a light source [see combination Saito quantum dots, see Wang “In practical applications, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can be identified by a microscope or the like through the detection channel. In an example, the mark can also be identified by using the detection light, specifically, the detection light can penetrate through at least one substrate through the detection channel, so as to irradiate to the first alignment pattern 410 on the first substrate 100 and the second alignment pattern 420 on the second substrate 200, so as to identify the alignment mark. Wherein, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can reflect light under the irradiation of the detection light, and the image display of the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can be obtained by obtaining the reflected light”, see Wang has many examples of irradiating the detection light and detecting reflection] to make the quantum dot pattern emit light; aligning the through silicon via with the quantum dot pattern [see Wang “In this embodiment, for example, a first through hole 100A is formed in the alignment region of the first substrate 100. At this time, when performing the offset detection, the alignment mark can be identified by allowing the detection light to penetrate through the first through hole 100A in the detection channel” “When the first substrate 100 and the second substrate 200 are bonded to each other, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 are combined to form an alignment mark” “In practical applications, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can be identified by a microscope or the like through the detection channel. In an example, the mark can also be identified by using the detection light, specifically, the detection light can penetrate through at least one substrate through the detection channel, so as to irradiate to the first alignment pattern 410 on the first substrate 100 and the second alignment pattern 420 on the second substrate 200, so as to identify the alignment mark. Wherein, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can reflect light under the irradiation of the detection light, and the image display of the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can be obtained by obtaining the reflected light”], and make the light emitted by the quantum dot pattern pass through [see above, detection by microscope or the like] the through silicon via.
In regard to claim 15 Wang, Um and Saito as combined does not specifically state further comprising providing a spectrometer to measure the intensity of the light passing through the through silicon via, so that the first chip and the second chip are aligned with each other.
However see Wang “In practical applications, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can be identified by a microscope or the like through the detection channel. In an example, the mark can also be identified by using the detection light, specifically, the detection light can penetrate through at least one substrate through the detection channel, so as to irradiate to the first alignment pattern 410 on the first substrate 100 and the second alignment pattern 420 on the second substrate 200, so as to identify the alignment mark. Wherein, the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can reflect light under the irradiation of the detection light, and the image display of the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can be obtained by obtaining the reflected light”, see Wang has many examples of irradiating the detection light and detecting reflection, see that “a spectrometer to measure the intensity” is similar to “the first alignment pattern 410 and the second alignment pattern 420 can be identified by a microscope or the like”. Clearly Wang is doing some alignment in order to bond as shown in Fig. 2.
See Saito “since the alignment mark 61 of the present embodiment is composed of, for example, luminescent fine particles (eg, luminescent quantum dots (eg, fluorescent quantum dots)), the alignment mark 61 of light is used as a reference luminescent mark that does not depend on a bioassay. It can be used to confirm the intensity (eg, the intensity of excitation light). In addition, the alignment mark 61 in the present embodiment can be used for adjustment of a detection region and angle adjustment at the time of imaging, and a reference for address positioning of the biomolecule support region S after imaging and a detected measurement result (light reception). As a result, the image can be used for angle correction”, see correction based on measurement result.
The Examiner notes that spectrometer and microscope have names because they are known standard measuring instruments known to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
Thus, it 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 to modify Wang to include further comprising providing a spectrometer to measure the intensity of the light passing through the through silicon via, so that the first chip and the second chip are aligned with each other.
Thus it would be obvious to combine the references to arrive at the claimed invention.
The motivation is so that Wang can see the light from the alignment mark to obtain good alignment to perform the bonding.
In regard to claim 17 Wang, Um and Saito as combined does not specifically teach wherein the material of the quantum dot pattern comprises silicon, germanium, indium gallium arsenide and gallium arsenide.
However the Examiner notes that bandgap is a known factor in the quantum effect determining wavelength.
It 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 to use " wherein the material of the quantum dot pattern comprises silicon, germanium, indium gallium arsenide and gallium arsenide ", since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of obvious design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
In regard to claim 19 Wang, Um and Saito as combined teaches further comprising filling a waveguide material [see “In an alternative embodiment, the detection light transmission layer comprises a first transmission layer 310 and a second transmission layer 320, that is, the first detection light transmission layer 300 correspondingly comprises a first transmission layer 310 and a second transmission layer 320, The first transmissive layer 310 covers the surface of the second transmissive layer 320 inside the through hole and is exposed to the corresponding through hole. The material of the first transmissive layer 310 is different from that of the first substrate 100, for example, the material of the first transmissive layer 310 includes silicon oxide and/or silicon nitride, and the material of the first substrate 100 includes doped polysilicon. The material of the second transmissive layer 320 may not be limited, as long as the detection light transmission can be achieved, for example, the second transmissive layer 320 may be made of undoped polysilicon”] in the through silicon via.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Voleti et al. (US 20240170317 A1) teaches alignment during bonding see paragraph 0006 “In some embodiments, a system for correcting packaging alignment errors may comprise an apparatus for detecting metrology data that may include at least one source using a laser configured to illuminate a focal point through silicon where a wavelength of the source is configured to generate a diffraction-limited focus for subsurface imaging, at least one optical lens configured to form at least one illumination beam when illuminated by the at least one source, at least one scanner configured to move the at least one illumination beam back and forth in a scanning pattern, at least one splitter configured to allow the at least one illumination beam to be directed at a metrology sampling location while allowing at least one reflection beam caused by the at least one illumination beam to pass through the at least one splitter to at least one detector, at least one set of optics configured to focus the at least one illumination beam at one or more focal planes in a Z direction to obtain subsurface images, and a substrate platform configured to hold a substrate and to move the substrate in an X direction and a Y direction based on a metrology data acquisition pattern where the apparatus is configured to obtain metrology data for a semiconductor packaging process, a first controller in communication with the at least one scanner and the at least one set of optics and configured to automatically adjust the scanning pattern and a focus based on an amount of metrology data for a particular location on the substrate, the at least one detector configured to receive the at least one reflection beam and generate subsurface images, an alignment correlator in communication with the at least one detector and configured to determine alignment errors from the subsurface images from the at least one detector, and a second controller in communication with a hybrid bonder and configured to adjust alignment of chips on the substrate based on the alignment errors from the alignment correlator” see Fig. 1 “During hybrid bonding, the first chip 102 is ejected and picked from the component substrate and flipped 108 upside down such that the top surface 104 of the first chip 102 with a first alignment mark 120 (or fiducial) becomes a bottom surface or chip bonding surface that is bonded to an upper surface 106 or substrate bonding surface of the substrate 118. The upper surface 106 of the substrate 118 typically has a second alignment mark 122 that is used to align with the first alignment mark 120 of the first chip 102 during bonding 110”.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to SITARAMARAO S YECHURI whose telephone number is (571)272-8764. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 8:00-4:30 PM.
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/SITARAMARAO S YECHURI/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893