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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Status of Claims
Applicant's amendment of claims 1, 7, 11, 16, 19 in “Claims - 08/03/2026” have been acknowledged.
This office action considers claims 1-20 pending for prosecution and are examined on their merits.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments “Remarks - 08/03/2026 - Applicant Arguments/Remarks Made in an Amendment”, have been fully considered, but they are not persuasive.
Applicant’s amendments of claims 1, 7, 16, 19 have changed scope of the invention significantly, and necessitated the shift in new grounds of rejection detailed above. The shift in grounds of rejection renders applicant’s arguments moot.
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.
Notes: when present, semicolon separated fields within the parenthesis (; ;) represent, for example, as (30A; Fig 2B; [0128]) = (element 30A; Figure No. 2B; Paragraph No. [0128]). For brevity, the texts “Element”, “Figure No.” and “Paragraph No.” shall be excluded, though; additional clarification notes may be added within each field. The number of fields may be fewer or more than three indicated above. These conventions are used throughout this document.
Claims 1, 3-19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noda et al. (US 20100307809 A1 – hereinafter Noda) in view of Hakii (US 20110133192 A1 - hereinafter Hakii).
Regarding Claim 1, Noda teaches a carrier (see the entire document; Fig. 1E; specifically, ([0050] - [0080]), and as cited below), comprising:
a stack (Fig. 1E) having at least one electrically conductive layer structure (see below) and at least one electrically insulating layer structure (see below), wherein the stack comprises:
a support layer structure (12 – Fig. 1E – [0050]) comprising at least one through-hole (through-hole is where conductor 143 is formed – hereinafter TH);
a metal paste filling material (143 – [0050] - 143 is copper) in the through-hole (TH); and
a metal pad (142 – [0080]) provided on and extending from an exterior main surface of the support layer structure (top surface of 143);
wherein the metal paste filling material (143) in the through-hole (TH) and the metal pad (142) comprise at least partially the same material (143 is copper – [0050] and 142 is also copper [0080]),
wherein the metal pad is a plating pad ([0085] – “Through-hole conductor 143 is made up of electroless plated-metal film”).
But Noda as applied above does not expressly disclose the metal paste material in the through-hole comprising metal particles.
However, Noda in [0085] teaches that conductor 143 is made up of electroless plated-metal films. Furthermore, in a related art, Hakii teaches in [0063] “The plating treatment conducted via an electroless plating process is a method by which a plating agent is brought into contact with a conductive pattern containing metal particles acted as plating catalysts”.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to conclude that Noda in view of Hakii teaches that the metal filling material (143) comprises metal particles.
Regarding claim 3, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the component carrier according to claim 1, wherein the support layer structure (Noda 12) is configured as a support plate (Noda - Fig. 1E shows 12 as a support plate).
Regarding claim 4, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the component carrier according to claim 1, wherein the support layer structure comprises or consists of one of the following: glass, ceramic, a semiconductor (Noda - glass – [0053]).
Regarding claim 5, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the component carrier according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the support layer structure (Noda - 12) is at least 500 µm (01 mm to 0.8 mm – [0054]).
Regarding claim 6, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the component carrier according to claim 1, wherein the metal paste filling material (Noda - 143) is in direct physical contact with sidewalls of the support layer structure delimiting the through-hole (Fig. 1E shows 143 is in physical contact with the sidewalls of 12).
Regarding claim 7, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the component carrier according to claim 1, wherein the metal particles comprise copper nano particles, copper micro particles, or a mixture of copper nano particles and copper micro particles (143 is copper – [0050]).
Regarding claim 8, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the component carrier according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the following features applies: wherein the through-hole (Noda - 143) has slanted sidewalls along its entire extension (Fig. 1E shows 143 is slanted); wherein the through-hole has an hourglass shape; wherein the through-hole has a continuously tapering shape.
Regarding claim 9, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the component carrier according to claim 1, further comprising: a further metal pad (Noda - 142) on an opposing main surface of the support layer structure (main surface being the bottom surface) and on an opposing end of the metal paste filling material (top end of 143).
Regarding claim 10, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the component carrier according to claim 9, wherein the further metal pad (Noda - 142) is a plating pad (copper-plated – [0080]) or wherein the component carrier further comprises a further plating pad on top of the further metal pad.
Regarding claim 11, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the component carrier according to claim 1, wherein the metal paste filling material (Noda - 143) comprises metal at least one of the following features: the metal paste filling material comprises nano metal particles (since 143 is an electroless plated film – [0085]); at least some of the metal particles are bound to each other; the metal paste filling material comprises or consists of sintered particles; at least some metal particles have a different material than the material of the metal pad; the metal paste filling material is a porous material.
Regarding claim 12, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the component carrier according to claim 1, configured as an inlay for a further component carrier layer stack (Noda - since the top and the bottom surfaces are flat).
Regarding claim 13, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the component carrier according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the metal paste filling material (Noda - 143) extends into the metal pad (Fig. 1E shows 143 and 142 are abutting); and/or wherein a portion of the material of the metal pad extends into the metal paste filling material.
Regarding claim 14, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the component carrier according to claim 13, wherein the portion of the metal paste filling material (Noda - 143) extending into the metal pad (Fig. 1E shows 143 extends into 142) or the portion of the metal pad extending into the metal paste filling material comprises a round shape along the stack thickness direction; and/or wherein the portion of the metal paste filling material extending into the metal pad or the portion of the metal pad extending into the metal paste filling material at least partially fills a void caused by an external roughness of the corresponding metal pad or metal paste filling material.
Regarding claim 15, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the component carrier according to claim 1, wherein the metal pad (Noda - 142) is made of the same material as the metal paste filling material (143 is copper – [0050] and 142 is also copper [0080]).
Regarding Claim 16, Noda teaches a method of manufacturing a component carrier (see the entire document; Fig. 1E; specifically, ([0050] - [0080]), and as cited below), comprising:
providing a stack (Fig. 1E) with at least one electrically conductive layer structure (see below), at least one electrically insulating layer structure (see below), and a support layer structure (see below);
forming a through-hole (through-hole is where conductor 143 is formed – hereinafter TH) in the support layer structure (12 – Fig. 1E – [0050]);
filling the through-hole (TH) with a metal paste filling material, comprising metal particles and a bonding material (143 – [0050] - 143 is copper); and
forming a metal pad (142 – [0080]) on and extending from an exterior main surface of the support layer structure (extends from the bottom surface of 12);
wherein the metal paste filling material (143) in the through hole (TH) and the metal pad (142) comprise at least partially the same material (143 is copper – [0050] and 142 is also copper [0080]),
the metal paste filling material is a porous material ([0085] – “Through-hole conductor 143 is made up of electroless plated-metal film”).
Furthermore, Noda in [0085] teaches that conductor 143 is made up of electroless plated-metal films. Furthermore, in a related art, Hakii teaches in [0063] “The plating treatment conducted via an electroless plating process is a method by which a plating agent is brought into contact with a conductive pattern containing metal particles acted as plating catalysts”.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to conclude that Noda in view of Hakii teaches that the metal filling material (143) comprises metal particles.
Regarding Claim 17, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the method according to claim 16, further comprising: sintering the metal paste filling material after filling the metal paste filling material in the through-hole (Noda - since 143 is copper-plated – [0085]).
Regarding Claim 18, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the method according to claim 17, further comprising: sintering or plating the metal pad (Noda - since 142 is copper-plated – [0080]).
Regarding Claim 19, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches the method according to claim 16, wherein the metal particles comprise copper nano particles, copper micro particles, or a mixture of copper nano particles and copper micro particles (Noda – [0050]).
Claim 2 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noda in view of Hakii and in further view of Basker et al. (US 20080164573 A1 - hereinafter Basker).
Regarding claim 2, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches claim 1 from which claim 2 depends. But Noda does not disclose wherein a ratio between a thickness of the support layer structure and a minimum width of the through-hole is at least 5.
However, it is well known in the art to have an aspect ratio (ration of thickness of support layer to width of the via) very high like 5 or more as is also taught by Basker (Basker – [0036] teaches an aspect ratio 3 to 30).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to integrate the forming wherein a ratio between a thickness of the support layer structure and a minimum width of the through-hole is at least 5 as taught by Basker into the combination of Noda in view of Hakii.
An ordinary artisan would have been motivated to integrate Basler structure into the combination of Noda in view of Hakii structure in the manner set forth above for, at least, for the obvious benefit of supporting “thermo-mechanical and process stresses” – Basker – [0036].
Claim 20 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Noda in view of Hakii and in further view of Chen et al. (US 20050067094 A1 - hereinafter Chen).
Regarding claim 20, the combination of Noda in view of Hakii teaches claim 16 from which claim 20 depends. But the combination does not expressly disclose wherein filling the through-hole with the metal paste filling material is performed by a roll coating machine.
However, it is well known in the art form a conductive material with a roll coating machine as is also taught by Chen (Chen – [0010]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to integrate the forming wherein filling the through-hole with the metal paste filling material is performed by a roll coating machine as taught by Chen into the combination of Noda in view of Hakii.
An ordinary artisan would have been motivated to integrate Chen structure into the combination of Noda in view of Hakii structure in the manner set forth above for, at least, for the obvious benefit of precise coating thickness control and uniform coverage and consistency.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any extension fee pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MOHAMMAD A. RAHMAN whose telephone number is (571) 270-0168 and email is mohammad.rahman5@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be reached on Mon-Fri 8:00-5:00 PM.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Julio J. Maldonado can be reached on (571) 272-1864. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MOHAMMAD A RAHMAN/
Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2898
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