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 .
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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention. A claim in which one ingredient is defined so broadly that it reads upon a second does not meet the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph. See Ex parte Ferm and Boynton, 162 USPQ 504 (BdPatApp & Int 1969.) In the instant case, the metal paste of instant claim 1 is recited as “comprising: metal particles; a dispersion medium; a reducing agent; and a reduction aid, wherein…the metal paste for bonding contains, as the reducing agent, 1.6 parts by mass or more and 10 parts by mass or less of a polyol-based compound with respect to 100 parts by mass of a total mass of the copper particles” (emphasis added), however, known dispersion mediums in the art include “polyol-based compounds” or polyols/polyhydric alcohols (as evidenced by Paragraph 0075 of the specification as filed), such as for example diethylene glycol (as evidenced by Ishii, US2019/0019594A1, Paragraphs 0034 and 0067), which is specifically recited in the instant specification as a suitable polyol-based compound for the reducing agent (see Paragraph 0053 of the specification as filed) while also being a “polyhydric alcohol” dispersion medium in the art, such that a single polyol-based compound or polyhydric alcohol may read upon both the dispersion medium and the reducing agent, and more particularly, renders the claimed limiting parts by mass range for the reducing agent unclear given that any amount beyond the 10 parts by mass upper limit of the claimed range may be attributed to the “dispersion medium”. For example, if a metal paste comprises 15 parts by mass of diethylene glycol (i.e. a polyol-based compound and polyhydric alcohol) with respect to 100 parts by mass of a total mass of the copper particles, could the first 10 parts by mass read upon the claimed “reducing agent” limitations as recited on lines 10-12, while the remaining 5 parts by mass be considered part of the dispersion medium? Or would the fact that the diethylene glycol was present in an amount beyond the claimed 10 parts by mass upper limit prohibit any portion thereof from reading upon the claimed reducing agent although it could still be used as the dispersion medium? Or would the 15 parts by mass of diethylene glycol even be allowed as the dispersion medium given that the amount is beyond the upper limit for a polyol-based compound? Hence, one having ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the claimed invention and could not interpret the metes and bounds of the claim so as to understand how to avoid infringement.
The dependent claims do not remedy the above and hence are indefinite for the same reasons. Further, claim 3 includes limitations in square brackets and parentheses such that it is unclear whether these bracketed/parenthetic expressions are meant to be part of the claimed invention, particularly given that square brackets are typically reserved for deletions, or are merely examples, “e.g.”, for the R groups of the formulae. Hence, one having ordinary skill in the art would not be reasonably apprised of the scope of the claimed invention and could not interpret the metes and bounds of the claim so as to understand how to avoid infringement.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
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 (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) 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.
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.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Kikuchi (US2024/0157483A1). Kikuchi discloses a paste composition and a semiconductor device, an electrical component, and an electronic component joined by the paste composition, as shown in Figs. 1-2 (Abstract, Paragraph 0001), wherein the paste composition comprises first copper particles covered by at least one type of compound selected from an amine compound (a) and a carboxylic acid amine salt (b) (Abstract), having a median diameter (D50) of not less than 50 nm and not more than 500 nm (Paragraph 0041), calculated as a median of area equivalent circle diameters (Paragraphs 0041 and 0112), and present in a content of not less than 10 mass % and not greater than 90 mass % with respect to the total amount of the paste composition (Paragraph 0044). Kikuchi discloses that the paste composition further contains: a) second copper particles having a larger particle diameter than the first copper particles, particularly a D50 of not less than 1 µm and not more than 8 µm, or not less than 2 µm and not more than 6 µm (Paragraphs 0054-0055), which can be measured using a laser diffraction scattering type particle size distribution measuring apparatus (Paragraph 0056), in a content of not less than 10 mass % and not greater than 90 mass % with respect to the total amount of the paste composition (Paragraph 0059); b) a phosphoric acid ester from the viewpoint of storage stability and to provide enhanced sinterability, such as alkyl phosphates, in a content of not less than 0.01 mass % and not greater than 2.0 mass % with respect to the total amount of the paste composition (Paragraph 0064); c) an organic solvent, particularly an alcohol such as aliphatic polyhydric alcohols including glycols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, glycerin, and polyethylene glycol, used alone or in combination of two or more thereof (Paragraph 0065); wherein when the paste composition contains an organic solvent, the content thereof may be not less than 10 parts by mass and not more than 50 parts by mass based on 100 parts by mass of the first copper particles (Paragraph 0066).
Kikuchi specifically discloses working examples comprising 40 parts by mass of first copper particles and 60 parts of second copper particles as the instantly claimed “metal particles” that “contain copper particles”; 15 parts of diethylene glycol as the instantly claimed “reducing agent” and “dispersion medium” (i.e. an amount greater than the claimed 1.6-10 parts by mass for the “reducing” agent attributed to the “dispersion medium”); and 1 parts of phosphoric acid ester as the instantly claimed “reduction aid” that “includes a coordinating compound having electron back-donation properties, the coordinating compound is at least one selected from the group consisting of an organic phosphorus compound and an organic sulfur compound” as in instant claim 1, and particularly “has a lone pair of electrons and a vacant π-electron orbital” as in instant claim 2 (given the phosphoric acid ester group), and more particularly, an organic phosphorus compound represented by the general phosphoric acid ester structure of Formula (2) as in instant claim 3, and in amount falling within the claimed range of instant claim 4. Hence, Kikuchi anticipates instant claims 1-4.
With respect to instant claim 5, as noted above, Kikuchi discloses that the first copper particles have a median diameter (D50) of not less than 50 nm and not more than 500 nm (Paragraph 0041), substantially overlapping the claimed “sub-microparticles having a volume average particle size of 0.15 µm or more and 0.8 µm or less (i.e. 150 nm to 800 nm), particularly given that the instantly claimed invention does not require the claimed particle size to be determined by any particular method, with a working example at 115 nm, and are present in a content of not less than 10 mass % and not greater than 90 mass % with respect to the total amount of the paste composition; while the second copper particles have a larger particle diameter than the first copper particles, particularly a median diameter (D50) of not less than 1 µm and not more than 8 µm, or not less than 2 µm and not more than 6 µm (Paragraphs 0054-0055), reading upon the claimed “copper microparticles having a volume average particle size of 2 µm or more and 50 µm or less”, and are present in a content of not less than 10 mass % and not greater than 90 mass % with respect to the total amount of the paste composition (Paragraph 0059); and given that Kikuchi specifically discloses working examples wherein the sum of the first copper particles (40 parts by mass) and the second copper particles (60 parts by mass) constitute 100% of the metal particles of the paste composition with the first copper particles present in an amount of 40% by mass with respect to the sum of the first (sub-microparticles) and second (microparticles) copper particles falling within the claimed range of 30% by mass or more and 90% by mass or less as recited in instant claim 5, the Examiner takes the position that Kikuchi discloses the claimed invention with sufficient specificity to anticipate instant claim 5.
With respect to instant claim 6, Kikuchi discloses that the shape of the second copper particles is not particularly limited, with examples thereof including a spherical shape, a plate shape, a flake shape, a scale shape, a dendritic shape, a rod shape, and a wire shape (Paragraph 0057), wherein the Examiner notes that each of a plate shape, a flake shape, and a scale shape meets the claimed “flake-shaped” limitation (particularly in light of Paragraph 0032 of the instant specification as filed), and given the absence of any clear showing of criticality with respect to the claimed shape, the Examiner takes the position that Kikuchi discloses the claimed invention with sufficient specificity to anticipate instant claim 6.
With respect to instant claims 7-10, as noted above, Kikuchi discloses a semiconductor device, an electrical component, and an electronic component joined by the paste composition, and further discloses working examples where the example paste compositions were utilized to bond a first member to a second member, at least one of which is a semiconductor element, by positioning the paste between the two members and curing, “sintering”, under conditions of 200C and 60 minutes in a nitrogen/3% hydrogen) atmosphere, “an oxygen-free atmosphere”, with no added pressure conditions specified (Examples, particularly Paragraph 0122). Hence, Kikuchi anticipates instant claims 7-10.
Claims 1-2 and 7-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Nagata (US2021/0162551A1, corresponds to EP3730638A1 cited on IDS dated 12/23/2024). Nagata discloses a copper fine particle paste utilized for forming a bonding element of a semiconductor device (Abstract, Paragraphs 0040 and 0068), wherein the paste comprises copper fine particles having a primary particle diameter of 1 to 300 nm, preferably 10 to 100 nm (Paragraph 0028), that are surface-coated with an organic substance functioning as a dispersion stabilizer with known stabilizers including aliphatic thiols, aliphatic thioethers, and a polymer having a thioether structure (e.g. “an organic sulfur compound” as in instant claim 1; Paragraph 0032), however, Nagata teaches that in order to more suitably obtain a copper fine sintered body of the invention, the copper fine particles are composited with an organic compound containing polyethylene oxide, and more particularly, a thioether-type R-S-R’ compound containing polyethylene oxide as represented by any of general formulae (1) to (3) that has an appropriate affinity adsorption effect on a surface of a copper particle (Paragraphs 0034-0044), with examples utilizing methyl 3-(3-(methoxy (polyethoxy) ethoxy)-2-hydroxypropylsulfanyl) propionate reading upon the instantly claimed “reduction aid” that “includes a coordinating compound having electron back-donation properties” and “is at least one selected from the group consisting of an organic phosphorus compound and an organic sulfur compound” as in instant claim 1 as well as “wherein the coordinating compound has a lone pair of electrons and a vacant π-electron orbital given the sulfanyl group (Examples). Nagata discloses that from the viewpoint of dispersibility of the copper fine particle and wettability with a semiconductor device component which is an adherend, a powder of the surface-coated copper fine particles is mixed with a solvent to produce the paste, wherein in addition to water, an organic solvent can also be used, with suitable solvents including bifunctional and trifunctional alcohols (“polyol-based compound”) such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, and polyethylene glycol having a molecular weight of 200 to 400 (Paragraph 0070) as being more preferred solvents (Paragraph 0076), with working examples specifically utilizing ethylene glycol (Paragraphs 0068-0076, Examples). Nagata discloses that the concentration of copper fine particles is preferably about 50 to 95%, and the amount of solvent is 5% to 50% with respect to a metal, more preferably 5% to 15% (Paragraphs 0068, and 0077); with the copper fine particle paste (D-1) of Synthesis Example 1 formed from 4.5 g of copper nanoparticle composite dry powder comprising 52 nm (particle diameter) copper fine particles coated with an organic sulfur compound and having a copper metal content of 96.5%, mixed with 0.49 g of ethylene glycol to provide paste (D-1) with a nonvolatile content of 90%, such that Nagata clearly discloses a metal paste for bonding as recited in instant claim 1 wherein the ethylene glycol reads upon both the instantly claimed dispersion medium and the instantly claimed reducing agent of a polyol-based compound wherein the amount above 10 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the copper particles is attributed to the instantly claimed “dispersion medium”, while the organic sulfur compound (namely the methyl 3-(3-(methoxy (polyethoxy) ethoxy)-2-hydroxypropylsulfanyl) propionate having a structure as shown in Paragraph 0101) reads upon the instantly claimed reduction aid as recited in instant claims 1-2 as discussed in detail above. Hence, Nagata anticipates instant claims 1-2.
With respect to instant claims 7-10, it is again noted that Nagata clearly discloses that the copper fine particle paste is utilized for forming a bonding element of a semiconductor device, and further Nagata specifically discloses forming test pieces by laminating a first member with a second member, namely a silicon chip reading upon the claimed semiconductor element of instant claim 9, utilizing paste D-1 which anticipates the paste of instant claim 1 as discussed in detail above, to form a laminated body, and then subjecting the laminated body to a sintering step under a nitrogen atmosphere with no added pressure as in instant claims 7-9, to produce a bonded boy comprising the first member, the second member, and a sintered body of the past therebetween and bonding the first and second members as in instant claim 10. Hence, Nagata anticipates instant claims 7-10 (Entire document, particularly Paragraphs 0013-0016, 0026, 0068, 0125, and Examples, particularly Test Example 1 of Paragraphs 0111-0112).
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.
Alternatively, claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kikuchi. The teachings of Kikuchi are discussed in detail above and although the Examiner is of the position that the reference is anticipatory with respect to instant claims 1-10 for the reasons discussed in detail above, and particularly in light of the lack of clarity of the claimed invention as discussed above with respect to the rejection under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) rejection, the Examiner alternatively takes the position that if the claimed invention is required to have a separate compound as the dispersion medium that is different from the polyol-based compound as the reducing agent, then the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 1-9 alternatively would have been obvious over the teachings of Kikuchi given that Kikuchi clearly teaches that the aliphatic polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, 1,4-butanediol, glycerin, and polyethylene glycol (i.e. polyol-based compounds that also function as dispersion media), may be used alone or in combination of two or more thereof (Paragraph 0065), wherein a combination of two or more thereof would read upon the claimed dispersion medium being a separate polyol-based compound from the polyol-based compound as the reducing agent, and given that Kikuchi teaches that the content thereof may be not less than 10 parts by mass and not more than 50 parts by mass based on 100 parts by mass of the first copper particles, the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 1-9 alternatively would have been obvious over the teachings of Kikuchi given that it is prima facie obviousness to choose from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Additionally, with respect to instant claims 5-6, the Examiner further notes that the claimed “volume average particle” size ranges of instant claim 5 alternatively would have been obvious over the teachings of Kikuchi if measured according to a same method as in the instant invention given the above D50 ranges taught by Kikuchi, and the claimed “flake-shaped” of instant claim 6 alternatively would have been obvious over the teachings of Kikuchi given that Kikuchi clearly teaches flake-shaped particles as noted above. Hence, the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 5-6 alternatively would have been obvious over the teachings of Kikuchi given that it is prima facie obviousness to choose from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Further, with respect to instant claim 10, the Examiner is of the position that the claimed invention as recited in instant claim 10 utilizing “the metal paste for bonding according to claim 1” for the sintered body of claim 10 is a product-by-process claim that as broadly recited does not provide any additional material or structural limitations to the instantly claimed “bonded body” as a final product to differentiate the claimed invention from the invention taught by Kikuchi such that the Examiner is of the position that the Kikuchi reference would still be anticipatory with respect to instant claim 10 even when the dispersion medium is different from the polyol-based compound as the claimed reducing agent. However, if the Applicant is of the position that utilizing two different polyol-based compounds, or a separate dispersion medium from the claimed polyol-based reducing agent, does provide additional material or structural limitations, then the Examiner alternatively takes the position that the claimed invention would have been obvious over the teachings of Kikuchi given that as discussed in detail above, Kikuchi clearly teaches that the aliphatic polyhydric alcohols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, and polyethylene glycol may be used alone or in combination of two or more thereof. Hence, instant claim 10 would have been obvious over the teachings of Kikuchi given that it is prima facie obviousness to choose from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success.
Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ishii (US2019/0019594A1). Ishii teaches a metal-fine particle containing composition usable for joining metals of electronic parts, such as in producing a semiconductor device (Paragraphs 0001, 0079, and 0344), wherein the “particle composition includes metal fine particles [P1] composed of a metal element [M] having a bulk melting point of greater than 420° C. with a primary particle diameter of primary particles of the metal fine particles [P1] being 1 nm to 500 nm, a part of or an entire surface of the metal fine particles [P1] being coated with a coating material [C]; a low melting point metal powder [P2] composed of a metal or alloy having a bulk melting point of 420° C. or less; and an activating agent [A] that decomposes and removes the coating material [C] from the surface of the metal fine particles [P1] after the low melting point metal powder [P2] is melted” (Abstract). Ishii teaches that the metal-fine particles (P1) composed of metal element (M) having a bulk melting point of greater than 420°C may be one, two, or more types selected from copper, silver, gold, and nickel, with working examples specifically utilizing copper particles (Paragraph 0022, reading upon the claimed metal particles that contain copper particles as in instant claim 1 and reading upon and/or rendering obvious the copper sub-microparticles of instant claim 5 given the above primary particle diameter range taught by Ishii); and that the coating material [C] thereon may be an inorganic compound (C1), an organic compound (C2), and inclusions produced from the inorganic compound (C1) and the organic compound (C2), wherein the organic compound has a noncovalent electron pair of a functional group adsorbed on the surface of the fine particles composed of metal element (M) to produce a molecular layer and is “one, two, or more types selected from any of polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyacrylamide, an organic phosphorus compound, an organic sulfur compound, polyvinyl alcohol, 2-pyrrolidone, and alkyl-2-pyrrolidone,” and is present in a content of organic compound (C2)/metal fine particles (P1) of 0.1 to 30 mass% (Paragraphs 0029 and 0059-0060; Claim 25). Ishii specifically teaches that examples of the organic phosphorus compound for (C2) include “triphenylphosphine, tris(4-methylphenyl) phosphine, 4-(diphenylphosphino) styrene, trioctyl phosphite, tris(2-ethylhexyl) phosphite, triisodecyl phosphite, trioleyl phosphite, triphenyl phosphite, tri-p-tolyl phosphite, tris(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphite, tristearyl phosphite, and tris(nonylphenyl) phosphite” (Paragraph 0059, reading upon the instantly claimed “reduction aid includes a coordinating compound having electron back-donation properties, the coordinating compound is at least one selected from the group consisting of an organic phosphorus compound and an organic sulfur compound” as in instant claim 1, and particularly the instantly claimed coordinating compound as in instant claims 2-3); with one working examples utilizing 4-(diphenylphosphino)styrene with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and another working example utilizing bis(4-methacrylolthiophenyl) sulfide with (PVP) (Examples, Table 3).
Ishii teaches that the activating agent is preferably an organic compound having one or more carboxyl group or ester group in its molecule, and more preferably, an organic compound having one or more ether linkages, with examples including polyglycerin and polyoxyethylene polyglyceryl ethers (Paragraph 0064), with working examples utilizing polyglycerol (Examples, Table 2, reading upon the claimed “reducing agent” that is a “polyol-based compound”); wherein the activating agent is present in a content in the metal fine particle-containing composition in a content ratio of preferably 0.005 to 5, more preferably 0.1 to 1, by a molar ratio with the coating material (C) (Paragraph 0075). Ishii teaches that the low melting point metal powder (P2) may be a tin or tin alloy such as an alloy with copper, particularly an alloy with the metal element (M) of the metal fine particles (P1) (Paragraphs 0024 and 0062), and that the composition may further comprise a high melting point metal powder (P3) composed of a metal element (M) with a primary particle diameter of primary particles of the high melting point metal powder (P3) being greater than 500 nm and less than or equal to 50 µm (Paragraphs 0037 and 0045, reading upon and/or rendering obvious the claimed “copper microparticles” of instant claim 5); wherein the content of metal fine particle (P1) contained in the composition is preferably 0.5 to 50 mass%, and a content of the amount of metal (P1+P2) in the composition is preferably 5 mass % to 95 mass %, more preferably 30 mass% to 90 mass% (Paragraph 0075, thereby reading upon and/or suggesting mass contents as recited in instant claim 5 with respect to the content of copper particles given that a prima facie case of obviousness exists wherein the claimed ranges overlap with ranges disclosed by the prior art).
Ishii teaches that the composition further comprises an organic solvent (S) (reading upon the claimed dispersion medium) in which the activating agent (A) is soluble, wherein the solvent may preferably include alcohols (S1) having at least one hydroxyl group, and glycol monoalkyl ethers (S2) having an ether bond at least a terminal of which is an alkyl group (Paragraphs 0034 and 0066); with non-limiting examples of S1 including various polyols such as ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, and glycerin (Paragraph 0067; also reading upon the claimed reducing agent as well as the claimed dispersion medium). Ishii teaches that “[c]onsidering the reducing property of the surface of the fine particles made of the metal element (M) and the production of the alloy with the low melting point alloy (P2) under the heating condition when the metal fine particle-containing composition is used to join the objects to be joined, the organic solvent (S) may preferably contain 1 mass % to 20 mass %, more preferably 2 mass % to 10 mass % of the reducible alcohols [S1])” (Paragraph 0067), with working examples utilizing glycerin and ethylene glycol as S1, alone or in combination with diethylene glycol mono ethyl ether as S2 (Examples, Tables 1-3). Hence, Ishii clearly teaches a metal paste for bonding as in instant claims 1-5, comprising all of the components as instantly claimed including separate components reading upon the claimed “dispersion medium” and “reducing agent” and in amounts reading upon and/or rendering obvious the claimed mass ranges, particularly in light of the examples, and given that it is prima facie obviousness to choose from a finite number of identified, predictable solutions, with a reasonable expectation of success and/or prima facie obviousness to simply substitute one known element for another to obtain predictable results, the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 1-5 would have been obvious over the teachings of Ishii.
With respect to instant claim 6, although Ishii does not specifically teach that the larger metal powder (P3) which may be copper, reading upon the claimed “copper microparticles”, is provided in the form of flake-shaped particles as instantly claimed, given that a flake shape is an obvious shape for metal particles in the art, the Examiner takes the position that absent any clear showing of criticality and/or unexpected results with respect to the claimed “flake-shaped” microparticles, the claimed invention as recited in instant claim 6 would have been obvious over the teachings of Ishii.
With respect to instant claims 7-10, as noted above, Ishii clearly teaches that the metal-fine particle containing composition may be usable for joining metals of electronic parts, such as in producing a semiconductor device, and given that Ishii specifically teaches that the composition may be positioned between two members to be joined, such as a metal plate and a copper substrate as in the example plate materials produced in Example 17, and then subjected to a sintering step to form a joined body comprising a sintered body formed from the composition to join the metal plate with the copper substrate, wherein the sintering process is conducted in a controlled atmosphere and heated and fired in a nitrogen gas atmosphere (oxygen-free) or air atmosphere as recited in Paragraph 0341, with no added pressure conditions, the claimed invention as recited in instant claims 7-10 would have been obvious over the teachings of Ishii.
Citation of pertinent prior art
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Ishii (EP3495089A1) discloses a metal-particle containing composition capable of joining metals of electronic components wherein the composition utilizes an organic phosphorus compound or an organic sulfur compound as an activating agent instead of a polyol-based compound, such as diethylene glycol, given that the polyol-based compound will generate water with a large amount of latent heat of vaporization during a process of removing oxygen atoms from the metal particles, although the composition may also comprise a known solvent.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MONIQUE R JACKSON whose telephone number is (571)272-1508. The examiner can normally be reached Mondays-Thursdays from 10:00AM-5:00PM.
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/MONIQUE R JACKSON/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 1787
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