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.
Foreign Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file, as electronically retrieved 02/28/2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 02/28/2024 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The disclosure is objected to because of the following informalities: Reference character “102” has been used to designate both a chip (para [0029]) and a wafer (para [0029]).
Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
1. 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 15 recites the limitation "the nano-twinned layer" in line 3. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim 15 recites the limitation "the sintered layer" in line 4. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Note: all dependent claims necessarily inherit the indefiniteness of the claims from which they depend.
Prior Art
2. The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure:
a. Chuang (PG Pub 2024/0170434) teaches a back side metallization thin film structure and method for forming the same.
b. Chuang (PG Pub 2023/0090030) teaches a nano-twinned structure on a metallic thin film surface.
c. Chen et al. (PG Pub 2022/0259754) teaches a twinned copper layer, substrate having the same and method for preparing the same.
Allowable Subject Matter
3. Claims 1-14 are allowable.
Claims 15-21 would be allowable if rewritten or amended to overcome the rejection(s) under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), 2nd paragraph, set forth in this Office action. The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Claim 1 contains allowable subject matter, because the prior art of record, either singularly or in combination, fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the other elements in claim 1, a carrier substrate; a sintered layer on the carrier substrate; a nano-twinned layer on the sintered layer, wherein a surface of the nano-twinned layer has [111] crystal orientation with a density greater than 80%, wherein the nano-twinned layer comprises parallel-arranged twin boundaries, the parallel-arranged twin boundaries comprise more than 40% [111] crystal orientation, and a spacing between the parallel-arranged twin boundaries is 10 to 100 nm; an adhesive layer on the nano-twinned layer; and a chip on the adhesive layer. Claims 2-14 would be allowable, because they depend on allowable claim 1.
Claim 15 contains allowable subject matter, because the prior art of record, either singularly or in combination, fails to disclose or suggest, in combination with the other elements in claim 15, providing a chip; forming an adhesive layer on the nano-twinned layer; forming a nano-twinned layer on the sintered layer, wherein a surface of the nano-twinned layer has [111] crystal orientation with a density greater than 80%, wherein the nano-twinned layer comprises parallel-arranged twin boundaries, the parallel-arranged twin boundaries comprise more than 40% [111] crystal orientation, and a spacing between the parallel-arranged twin boundaries is 10 to 100 nm; and performing a bonding process to bond the nano-twinned layer to a carrier substrate through a sintered layer. Claims 16-21 would be allowable, because they depend on allowable claim 15
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 Christina A Sylvia whose telephone number is (571)272-7474. The examiner can normally be reached on 8am-4pm (M-F).
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, Marlon Fletcher can be reached on 571-272-2063. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative or access to the automated information system, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/CHRISTINA A SYLVIA/Examiner, Art Unit 2817 /MARLON T FLETCHER/Supervisory Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2817