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 § 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 1-6 and 15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Eun et al. (CN 203085515U).
Regarding claim 1, Eun teaches a semiconductor device comprising:
a lead (Fig. 4, lead 120) including a die pad portion (die pad 110) that includes a first obverse surface (top in Fig. 4) and a first reverse surface (bottom in Fig. 4) facing away from each other in a thickness direction;
a semiconductor element (160a) fixed to the first obverse surface;
a sealing resin (180) covering the die pad portion and the semiconductor element (Fig. 4); and
an insulating substrate (100a) including a first substrate metal layer (103), an insulating layer (102), and a second substrate metal layer (101) that are stacked in an order stated (Fig. 4),
wherein the insulating substrate includes a second obverse surface (top) and a second reverse surface (bottom) respectively facing same sides as the first obverse surface and the first reverse surface in the thickness direction (Fig. 4),
the first reverse surface and the second obverse surface are fixed to each other (Fig. 4),
the sealing resin includes a resin obverse surface (top) and a resin reverse surface (bottom) respectively facing same sides as the first obverse surface and the first reverse surface in the thickness direction (Fig. 4), and
the second reverse surface is exposed from the resin reverse surface (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 2, Eun teaches the semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the second reverse surface and the resin reverse surface are flush with each other (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 3, Eun teaches the semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the second reverse surface is formed by the second substrate metal layer (Fig. 4).
Regarding claim 4, Eun teaches the semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the insulating layer contains ceramic (paragraph [0046]).
Regarding claim 5, Eun teaches the semiconductor device according to claim 4, wherein the first substrate metal layer contains copper (Cu) (paragraph [0046]).
Regarding claim 6, Eun teaches the semiconductor device according to claim 5, wherein the second substrate metal layer contains copper (Cu) (paragraph [0046]).
Regarding claim 15, Eun teaches the semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising a bonding layer (Fig. 4, bonding layer 150) disposed between the first obverse surface and the semiconductor element.
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 16 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eun in view of Sakai (U.S. Publication No. 2023/0132056).
Regarding claim 16, Eun teaches the semiconductor device according to claim 15, wherein the bonding layer contains a sintered silver (Ag) material.
However, Sakai teaches that a bonding layer between a chip and die pad can be sintered silver (claim 14). It would have been obvious to a person of skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date that the bonding layer between the die and pad could have been replaced by the bonding material of Sakai because it would have been a simple substitution of one known bonding material for another with predictable results.
Claim 17 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Eun in view of Nagatomo et al. (JP 2015-70098).
Regarding claim 17, Eun teaches a semiconductor device mount structure comprising:
the semiconductor device according to claim 1;
a heat sink (paragraph [0031], not shown in figures).
Eun does not teach a sheet member interposed between the second reverse surface and the heat sink. However, Nagatomo teaches a sheet member may be interposed between the second reverse surface and heat sink (see Nagatomo Fig. 1 and translation page 4, solder or silver sintering layer between heat sink and exposed surface of substrate). It would have been obvious to a person of skill in the art at the time of the effective filing date that the heat sink and substrate could have had a sheet of solder or silver between them in order to aid in bonding of the heat sink to the device.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-14 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter:
Regarding claims 7-14, the prior art, alone or in combination, fails to teach or suggest the lead includes a substrate and a first-reverse-surface metal layer forming the first reverse surface, the first-reverse-surface metal layer and the first bonding metal layer are joined by solid-state diffusion bonding, and the second bonding metal layer and the second-obverse-surface metal layer are joined by solid-state diffusion bonding.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Evan G Clinton whose telephone number is (571)270-0525. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday at 8:30am to 5:30pm.
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, Zandra Smith can be reached at 571-272-2429. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/EVAN G CLINTON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899
Prosecution Insights