Prosecution Insights
Last updated: July 17, 2026
Application No. 18/688,802

COMPOSITION FOR FORMING FILM FOR SEMICONDUCTOR, LAMINATE, AND SUBSTRATE LAMINATE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Mar 04, 2024
Priority
Sep 06, 2021 — JP 2021-144612 +1 more
Examiner
SANDVIK, BENJAMIN P
Art Unit
2812
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Mitsui Chemicals Inc.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
77%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
4m
Est. Remaining
83%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 77% — above average
77%
Career Allowance Rate
888 granted / 1159 resolved
+8.6% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+6.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 8m
Avg Prosecution
26 currently pending
Career history
1181
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.4%
-39.6% vs TC avg
§103
86.9%
+46.9% vs TC avg
§102
6.4%
-33.6% vs TC avg
§112
1.9%
-38.1% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1159 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §103
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 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 1-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Kayaba et al (U.S. Pub #2018/0334588). With respect to claim 1, Kayaba teaches a composition for forming a film for a semiconductor, comprising: an aliphatic diamine (A) that includes at least one of a primary amino group or a secondary amino group (Paragraphs 60, 63, etc.), and a main chain including a carbon atom (Paragraph 11, 66, 110, ethylenediamine), wherein, in the aliphatic diamine (A), a total number of primary amino groups and secondary amino groups is 2 or greater (Paragraph 127), a number of carbon atoms of the main chain is from 2 to 180 (Paragraph 62), and the aliphatic diamine (A) has a weight average molecular weight of from 60 to 2000 (Paragraph 11); and a cross-linking agent (D) that includes three or more -C(=O)OX groups in a molecule thereof (X representing a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms) (Paragraph 12), wherein from one to six of the three or more -C(=O)OX groups are -C(=O)OH groups (Paragraph 12), and the cross-linking agent (D) has a weight average molecular weight of from 200 to 2000 (Paragraph 12). With respect to claim 2, Kayaba teaches a silane compound (B) that includes at least one of a primary amino group or a secondary amino group, and one or more silicon atoms (Paragraph 65), wherein, in the silane compound (B), the one or more silicon atoms and one or more non-polar groups, if any, bonded to the one or more silicon atoms satisfy a relationship, (non-polar groups)/Si < 1.8, as a molar ratio (Paragraph 73). With respect to claim 3, Kayaba teaches a weight average molecular weight of the silane compound (B) is from 130 to 10000 (Paragraph 244). With respect to claim 4, Kayaba teaches a siloxane compound (C) (Paragraph 65, 1,3-bis(3-aminopropyl)tetramethyldisiloxane) )that is linear and includes at least one of a primary amino group or a secondary amino group, silicon atoms, and non-polar groups bonded to the silicon atoms, wherein, in the siloxane compound (C), a total number of primary amino groups and secondary amino groups is 2 or greater, and the silicon atoms and the non-polar groups bonded to the silicon atoms satisfy a relationship, (non-polar groups)/Si > 1.8, as a molar ratio. With respect to claim 5, Kayaba teaches a weight average molecular weight of the siloxane compound (C) is from 200 to 2000 (Paragraph 244). With respect to claim 6, Kayaba teaches that the aliphatic diamine (A) does not include a cyclic structure (Paragraphs 11, 60, 63, etc.). With respect to claim 7, Kayaba teaches that amino group-containing components / cross-linking agent (D), which is a ratio of a content of the cross-linking agent (D) to a total content of components having an amino group contained in the composition for forming a film for a semiconductor, is greater than or equal to 0.1 and less than or equal to 10 as a molar ratio (Paragraph 98). With respect to claim 8, Kayaba teaches that COOX / amino groups, which is a ratio of a number of -C(=O)OX groups in molecules of the cross-linking agent (D) to a total number of amino groups of molecules of components having an amino group contained in the composition for forming a film for a semiconductor, is greater than or equal to 0.1 and less than or equal to 5.0 (Paragraph 98). With respect to claim 9, Kayaba teaches that at least one X in the three or more -C(=O)OX groups in the cross-linking agent (D) is an alkyl group having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms (Paragraph 12). With respect to claim 10, Kayaba teaches that both ends of the main chain of the aliphatic diamine (A) are each independently a primary amino group or a secondary amino group (Paragraph 65 and 110, ethylenediamine). With respect to claim 11, Kayaba teaches a laminated body, comprising a joining layer formed from the composition for forming a film for a semiconductor according to claim 1 or claim 2, and a substrate, which are layered one on the other (Paragraph 375). 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. Claims 12-15 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kayaba, in view of Kawase et al (U.S. Pub 2014/0027885). With respect to claim 12, Kayaba does not teach a substrate laminated body, comprising a first substrate, a joining layer formed from the composition for forming a film for a semiconductor according to claim 1, and a second substrate, which are layered in this order. Kawase teaches a first substrate (Fig. 1, 10), a joining layer (Fig. 1, 40), and a second substrate (Fig. 1, 20), which are layered in this order. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the composition of claim 1 of Kayaba as a joining layer between a first substrate and a second substrate as taught by Kawase in order to construct a three dimensional integrated circuit (Paragraph 32-33). With respect to claim 13, Kayaba does not teach a substrate laminated body, comprising: a first stacked-layer region including a first substrate, a joining layer formed from the composition for forming a film for a semiconductor according to claim 1, and a second substrate, which are layered in this order; and a second stacked-layer region including a first substrate, an electrode, and a second substrate, which are layered in this order, wherein at least one of the first stacked-layer region and at least one of the second stacked-layer region are arranged in a plane direction that is orthogonal to a layer-stacking direction. Kawase teaches a first stacked-layer region (Fig. 1, left side of stack 1) including a first substrate(Fig. 1, 10), a joining layer (Fig. 1, 40), and a second substrate (Fig. 1, 20), which are layered in this order; and a second stacked-layer region (Fig. 1, i.e. right side of stack 1) including a first substrate, an electrode, and a second substrate, which are layered in this order, wherein at least one of the first stacked-layer region and at least one of the second stacked-layer region are arranged in a plane direction that is orthogonal to a layer-stacking direction. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide the composition of claim 1 of Kayaba as a joining layer first and second stacked-layer regions as taught by Kawase in order to construct a three dimensional integrated circuit (Paragraph 32-33). With respect to claim 14, Kayaba does not teach two or more sets each consisting of the first stacked-layer region are stacked in the layer-stacking direction, and two or more sets each consisting of the second stacked-layer region are stacked in the layer-stacking direction. Kawase teaches two or more sets each consisting of the first stacked-layer region are stacked in the layer-stacking direction, and two or more sets each consisting of the second stacked-layer region are stacked in the layer-stacking direction (Paragraph 33, the number of substrates can be more than three). It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to provide two or more sets of stacked layers as taught by Kawase in order to achieve the predictable result of constructing a three dimensional integrated circuit (Paragraph 32-33). With respect to claim 15, Kayaba does not teach that at least one of the first substrate or the second substrate is a semiconductor substrate that includes at least one element selected from the group consisting of Si, Ga, Ge, and As. Kawase teaches that at least one of the first substrate or the second substrate is a semiconductor substrate that includes at least one element selected from the group consisting of Si (Paragraph 41), Ga, Ge, and As. It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to form the first or second substrate to include silicon as taught by Kawase in order to achieve the predictable result of implementing an integrated circuit (Paragraph 41). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to BENJAMIN P SANDVIK whose telephone number is (571)272-8446. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 10-6. 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, Davienne Monbleau can be reached at (571)-272-1945. 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. /BENJAMIN P SANDVIK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 04, 2024
Application Filed
Jul 07, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102, §103 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
77%
Grant Probability
83%
With Interview (+6.2%)
2y 8m (~4m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1159 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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