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 without traverse of Group II, which includes Claims 10-18 and 21-31 in the reply filed on 08/27/2026 is acknowledged.
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.
Claims 10, 12-18 and 21-31 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Limaye et al. 20210320048.
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Regarding claim 10, fig. 1A of Limaye discloses a package structure comprising:
a package component 140;
a die 132 having a first side(left side and top side combination form a type of side) and a second side (right side and a bottom side combination forms a type of side) opposite the first side, wherein the first side of the die is attached to the package component;
a lid (104 and all components above 104 forms a lid) attached to the package component, wherein the lid and the package component form a housing around the die and the die is disposed between the lid and the package component; and
a wick structure 168 that thermally couples the die to the lid, wherein the wick structure and the lid enclose a chamber 120 filled with vaporizing fluid (par [0017] – 10 is a vapor chamber),
wherein the wick structure includes:
a primary wick (bottom 168) disposed on the second side of the die and within an opening of a thermally conductive bottom plate (124/104(sides)/122 forms bottom plate) of the lid, and
a support wick (top 168) disposed on the lid, over the primary wick, and spanning the opening of the thermally conductive bottom plate of the lid, wherein the support wick is fluidically coupled to the primary wick (see 198 flowing from bottom 168 to top 168).
Regarding claim 12, fig. 1 of Limaye discloses wherein the second side of the die is separated from the thermally conductive bottom plate of the lid by a spacing.
Regarding 13, Limaye discloses wherein the primary wick is a first type (heat capturing type) and the support wick is a second type (condense) different than the first type.
Regarding claim 14, fig. 1 of Limaye discloses wherein the primary wick covers at least 85% of the second side of the die.
Regarding claim 15, fig. 1 of Limaye discloses wherein: the chamber 120 is enclosed by a thermally conductive top plate of the lid 106, the thermally conductive bottom plate 164 of the lid, and the wick structure 168;
a first thermally conductive metal layer (surface layer of 122) is disposed within the chamber and on the thermally conductive bottom plate of the lid 164; and
a second thermally conductive metal layer (surface layer of 124) is disposed within the chamber and on the thermally conductive top plate of the lid 106.
Regarding claim 16, par [0019] of Limaye discloses wherein the die 132 (which is a integrated circuit die which is) is a system-on-chip (integrated system on a chip).
Regarding claim 17, fig. 1 of Limaye discloses wherein the first side is a frontside, the second side is a backside, and the backside of the die is electrically connected to the package component.
Regarding claim 18, fig. 1 of Limaye discloses further comprising a heat sink 112/108/116 (forms a heat sink) disposed over a thermally conductive top plate 106 of the lid.
Regarding claim 21, fig. 1 of Limaye discloses a package structure comprising:
a die 132-2 encased by a package substrate 140/156/148 and a thermally conductive casing (all element combination above 132 and 140),
wherein the thermally conductive casing is attached to the package substrate;
a first wick structure (bottom 168) disposed on a lower plate (124/104(sides)/122 forms lower plate) of the thermally conductive casing, wherein the first wick structure spans an opening of the lower plate and the opening of the lower plate is configured to receive a second wick structure (top 168) disposed on the die; and
a hollow interior region 116 disposed within the thermally conductive casing between an upper plate 106 of the thermally conductive casing and the lower plate, wherein the hollow interior region is further disposed between the upper plate 106 and the first wick structure (bottom 168).
Regarding claim 22, fig. 1 of Limaye discloses wherein a first lateral dimension of the opening (dimension – say N-1 of that above 132 but less than dimension of 132 horizontally) is less than a second lateral dimension of the die (Say N).
Regarding claim 23, fig. 1 of Limaye discloses further comprising a thermally conductive layer 124 disposed over an inner surface of the upper plate that defines the hollow interior region, an inner surface of the lower plate that defines the hollow interior region, or both.
Regarding claim 24 (see claim 13 above), Limaye discloses wherein a first type of the first wick structure is different than a second type of the second wick structure.
Regarding claim 25, Limaye necessary discloses wherein a first lateral dimension of the first wick structure is different (term of degree) than a second lateral dimension of the second wick structure.
Regarding claim 26, fig. 1A of Limaye discloses wherein the package substrate is cored (see 156 is cored between 140 and 148).
Regarding claim 27, fig. 1A of Limaye discloses a package structure comprising:
a package component;
a lid that includes a thermally conductive plate (all elements above 144) and mounting flanges 144 (left and right) extending from the thermally conductive plate,
wherein the thermally conductive plate is adhered to the package component and the mounting flanges are adhered to the package component;
a chip 132-2 arranged within a housing formed by the thermally conductive plate of the lid, the mounting flanges of the lid, and the package component,
wherein the chip is electrically coupled to the package component and the chip is thermally coupled to the lid by a wick structure 168; and
wherein the wick structure includes:
a first wick (side 168 and bottom 168) formed within an opening 120 of the thermally conductive plate of the lid, wherein the opening 120 overlaps the chip 132-2, a second wick (top 168) formed on the thermally conductive plate of the lid,
wherein the second wick (top 168) is fluidically (see 198) coupled to the first wick and a first type of the first wick (heat capturing type) is different than a second type (condensing) of the second wick, and
in a cross-sectional view, a first length of the first wick (horizontal length of side 168) is less than a second length (horizontal length of top 168) of the second wick and a third length of the chip (horizontal length of 132-2).
Regarding claim 28, fig. 1A of Limaye discloses wherein: the chip is adhered to the mounting flanges of the lid; and the chip is spaced from the thermally conductive plate of the lid.
Regarding claim 29, par [0019] and [0025] of Limaye discloses wherein the thermally conductive plate of the lid and the wick structure are formed of respective copper materials.
Regarding claim 30, fig. 1A of Limaye discloses wherein: the chip is a system-on-chip 132 (which is a integrated circuit die which is) is a system-on-chip (integrated system on a chip); and the package component is an interposer (144 is a type of interposer).
Regarding claim 31, Limaye discloses wherein: the chip 132 (which is a integrated circuit die which is) is a system-on-chip (integrated system on a chip) is a system-on-chip; and the package component is a package substrate.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 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.
Claim 11 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Limaye in view of Mok et al. 20050280128.
Regarding claim 11, Limaye discloses claim 10, but does not disclose wherein the package structure is free of a thermal interface material between the lid and the die.
However, fig. 9 and par [0008 - 0009] of Mok discloses primary thermal path for the chip 12 is from the back surface of the chip, through a layer 21 of a first thermal interface material (TIM), which is typically a compliant grease or paste that is filled with particles of a thermally conductive material (though a thermally conductive compliant adhesive such as an Ag filled silicone can also be used), through a vapor chamber thermal spreader 22, and then through a second TIM layer 23 to an air cooler heat sink 24. [0009] In order to achieve an acceptable operating temperature for the chip, it is necessary to minimize the total thermal resistance (.degree. C./W) from the chip to the ambient. The TIM layers provide mechanical compliance to relieve the thermal expansion mismatch stress between the components that are constructed of different materials, but they also represent a significant portion of the total thermal resistance.
As such it would have been obvious to form a package structure of Limaye wherein the package structure is free of a thermal interface material between the lid and the die such as taught by Mok in order to reduce total thermal resistance.
Conclusion
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/VONGSAVANH SENGDARA/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
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