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 .
Priority
Receipt is acknowledged of papers submitted under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d), which papers have been placed of record in the file.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 07/18/24 was/were received by the Examiner before the issuance/mailing date of the first office action. The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement(s) has/have been considered (except for anything in foreign language non-accompanied by an English translation) by the Examiner.
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.
Claim(s) 1-6, 10-13 and 17-18 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Ohara et al. (JP 2018006507).
a. Re claim 1, Ohara et al. disclose a semiconductor device comprising a heat dissipation unit 40 (see figs. 1-4&31-32 and related text; see at least pg. 3 and remaining of disclosure for more details) that penetrates a semiconductor layer 10 (pg. 4) and an insulating film 14 formed on a first surface side of the semiconductor layer and protrudes from the insulating film to be exposed.
b. Re claim 2, the heat dissipation unit is isolated from the semiconductor layer by an element isolation region 13 (pg. 3).
c. Re claim 3, the heat dissipation unit is connected with a predetermined metal wiring 41 of a wiring layer 22&41 formed on a second surface side opposite to the first surface side of the semiconductor layer.
d. Re claim 4, an element 20a (pg. 3) is formed in the semiconductor layer.
e. Re claim 5, the semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprises a through electrode 30 (pg. 3) that has a same length (vertical thickness) as a length of the heat dissipation unit and penetrates the semiconductor layer and the insulating film.
f. Re claim 6, the through electrode is connected with an electrode 31 (or 72; fig. 32 and related text) that is an external terminal.
g. Re claim 10, a material of the heat dissipation unit is any of a metal material (pg. 3), diamond, and diamond-like carbon.
h. Re claim 11, the semiconductor layer is a silicon layer (pg. 4).
i. Re claim 12, the insulating film is a silicon oxide film (pg. 3).
j. Re claim 13, the semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprises a plurality of the heat dissipation units 40 (see fig. 17 and related text), wherein a three-dimensional shape of the heat dissipation unit is a pillar shape (figs. 1-4&32).
k. Re claim 17, Ohara et al. disclose a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising forming a heat dissipation unit 40 (see figs. 1-4 and related text; see at least pg. 3 and remaining of disclosure for more details) that penetrates a semiconductor layer 10 and an insulating film 14 formed on a first surface side of the semiconductor layer and protrudes from the insulating film to be exposed.
l. Re claim 18, Ohara et al. disclose an electronic apparatus (figs. 32&1-4 and related text; see remaining of disclosure for more details) comprising a semiconductor device including a heat dissipation unit 40 that penetrates a semiconductor layer 10 and an insulating film 14 formed on a first surface side of the semiconductor layer and protrudes from the insulating film to be exposed.
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(s) 14-15 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ohara et al. (JP 2018006507).
a. Re claim 14, Ohara et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 1 as stated above including the semiconductor device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of the heat dissipation units 40 (fig. 17 and related text), except explicitly that a three-dimensional shape of the heat dissipation unit is a rectangular parallelepiped. However, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided, via a non-inventive change in shape (see MPEP 2144.04.IV), a three-dimensional shape of the heat dissipation unit to be a rectangular parallelepiped as desired by design or required by electrical/mechanical performance of the heat dissipation unit.
b. Re claim 15, Ohara et al. disclose all the limitations of claim 1 as stated above except explicitly that a three-dimensional shape of the heat dissipation unit is a structure in which a plate-shaped rectangular parallelepiped elongated in a longitudinal direction and a plate-shaped rectangular parallelepiped elongated in a lateral direction in plan view are combined. However, it would have been obvious to one skilled in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have provided, via a non-inventive change in shape (see MPEP 2144.04.IV), a three-dimensional shape of the heat dissipation unit being a structure in which a plate-shaped rectangular parallelepiped elongated in a longitudinal direction and a plate-shaped rectangular parallelepiped elongated in a lateral direction in plan view are combined.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 7-9 and 16 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.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Lee (US 2011/0304038) and Chadwick et al. (US 2015/0115431) disclose structures and method of forming thereof similar to the claimed invention.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to PENIEL M GUMEDZOE whose telephone number is (571)270-3041. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:00AM - 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, Dale Page can be reached at 5712707877. 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.
/PENIEL M GUMEDZOE/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2899
Prosecution Insights