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 .
Election/Restrictions
Applicant’s election of Invention I, Species IA, Sub-Species AB (Fig. 8, Claims 1-8, 10) in the reply filed on 05/05/2026 is acknowledged. Because applicant did not distinctly and specifically point out the supposed errors in the restriction requirement, the election has been treated as an election without traverse (MPEP § 818.01(a)).
Further, Claim 10 is withdrawn from further consideration pursuant to 37 CFR 1.142(b) as being drawn to a nonelected Species B (Fig. 7, see limitation “an angle between the side wall and the recessed surface is an obtuse angle”, there being no allowable generic or linking claim. Election was made without traverse in the reply filed on 05/05/2026.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 6 recites the limitation "the area of the one surface." In line 2. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
For the purposes of examination, the Examiner will treat "the area of the one surface." as --an area of the one surface. --
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.
Claim(s) 1-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(A1) as being anticipated by Kim et al. (KR 2021/0068579 A; Published 06/09/2021)
Hereinafter, for the purposes of clarity, all figure and paragraph references will be taken from US equivalent publication US 2022/0051972 A1)
Regarding Claim 1, Kim (Fig. 1-10) discloses a semiconductor packaging substrate comprising:
a substrate (packaging substrate 20) comprising a one surface, other surface facing the one surface (opposing surfaces of 20), a recessed surface (recessed surface of cavity 28) that the one surface recessed, and a side wall (sidewall of cavity 28) connecting the one surface and the recessed surface (See Fig. 3); and
plurality of first vias (232 with 24) that penetrating the recessed surface and the other surface (Fig. 3, 8), wherein
the plurality of first vias (232 with 24) comprise a thermal conductive material. (“a metal such as copper which has excellent heat conductivity,”) [0136, 0193, 0225-00227 0232, 0234]
Regarding Claim 2, Kim discloses the semiconductor packaging substrate of claim 1, wherein
the substrate (20) comprises a glass substrate (21) [0076].
Regarding Claim 3, Kim discloses the semiconductor packaging substrate of claim 1, wherein
the substrate (20) comprises an insulator substrate (21) [0076].
Regarding Claim 4, Kim discloses the semiconductor packaging substrate of claim 1, wherein
the one surface and the other surface have surface roughness Ra of 10 Å or less, respectively. (“glass substrate 21 can have a considerably flat surface property with a surface roughness (Ra) of 10 angstroms or less) [0148]
Regarding Claim 5, Kim discloses the semiconductor packaging substrate of claim 1, wherein
the substrate further comprises plurality of second vias (231 with 24) that penetrating the one surface and the other surface. (Fig. 3, 8)
Regarding Claim 6, Kim discloses the semiconductor packaging substrate of claim 1, wherein
an area of the recessed surface (an area of recessed surface of cavity 28) is 10% or larger than the area of the one surface (an area of surface of 20 with cavity 28). (See Fig. 2-10, at least see areas 222 and 221)
The Examiner notes that since the Applicant did not explicitly established metes and bounds of “an area” the Examiner selected areas of the recessed surface and the one surface that would meet claim limitation.
Regarding Claim 7, Kim (Fig. 2-10) discloses a semiconductor packages comprising:
a substrate (20) comprising a one surface, other surface facing the one surface (opposing surfaces of 20),
a recessed surface that the one surface recessed (recessed surface of cavity 28), and a side wall connecting the one surface and the recessed surface (sidewall of cavity 28);
plurality of first vias (232 with 24) that penetrating the recessed surface and the other surface; and
an element unit (40) disposed on the recessed surface (Fig. 2-10), wherein
the plurality of first vias comprise a thermal conductive material. (“a metal such as copper which has excellent heat conductivity,”) [0136, 0193, 0225-00227, 0232, 0234]
Regarding Claim 8, Kim discloses semiconductor packages of claim 7, wherein
the element unit comprises an active element. (“The cavity element 40 may comprise a transistor.”) [0173]
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to DMITRIY YEMELYANOV whose telephone number is (571)270-7920. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9a.m.-6p.m.
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, Matthew Landau can be reached at (571) 272-1731. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/DMITRIY YEMELYANOV/Examiner, Art Unit 2891
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