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
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-207743, filed on 12/22/2021.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDSs) submitted on 6/11/2024, 12/10/2025, and 5/13/2026 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statements are being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 2-5 and 10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 2, it is not clear which location “a deeper side thereof” (line 3) refers to or what “deeper” implies, which makes the claim indefinite. For the purpose of examination, “a deeper side thereof” is considered to be “under the continuous groove”.
Claims 3-5 are also rejected because these claims depend on claim 2.
Regarding claim 10, it is not clear which location “a deeper side thereof” (line 3) refers to or what “deeper” implies, which makes the claim indefinite. For the purpose of examination, “a deeper side thereof” is considered to be “under the continuous groove”.
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.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
Claims 1-5, 7-8, and 11-13 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kiichiro (JP 2013175667 A) in view of Nobuaki (JP 2016195244 A).
Regarding claim 1, Kiichiro teaches a scribed ceramic circuit substrate (multi-piece ceramic circuit substrate 10, Figs. 1A-B, [0015]) comprising: a ceramic circuit substrate (individual pieces 13, Figs. 1A-B, [0014]) including a ceramic substrate (ceramic substrate 11, Figs. 1-3, [0014]) and a metal circuit (wired circuit copper plate 14, Figs. 1A-B, [0015]) bonded thereto; and a scribe line (break line 12, Fig. 1, [0014]) defining the ceramic substrate (ceramic substrate 11, Fig. 1, [0014]: “a large number of individual pieces 13 … partitioned by break lines 12 in a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.”), wherein the scribe line (break line 12, Figs. 2A-B) includes a continuous groove (the top portion of the break line 12 is formed by overlapping laser spots (laser mark 16, [0020]-[0021]), see Fig. 2B and Illustrative Fig. 1, which is an annotated version of Fig. 2A) on a front surface side (Figs. 1A-B: the break lines are on the front (top) surface) thereof, and the continuous groove (continuous groove, Illustrative Fig. 1) is composed of a plurality of holes (laser mark 16, Illustrative Fig. 1) connected to each other (see fig. 2B), the plurality of holes formed by laser irradiation ([0020]: “For the formation of the laser mark 16, for example, a laser processing machine that oscillates a YAG laser, a carbon dioxide gas laser, or the like can be used”),
wherein a depth of the continuous groove is more than 40 µm, and 0.15 times or more and 0.5 times or less a thickness of the ceramic substrate (see the embodiment in Example 5 of Table 1 where the ratio of the depth (d) of the laser mark 16 to the thickness (t) of the ceramic substrate 11 is d/t = 0.6 (see Fig. 2A for the depth d and thickness t), and the ratio of the height (h) at the intersection with the outer peripheral edge of the adjacent laser mark 16 to the depth (d) of the laser mark 16 is h/d=0.6 (h = 0.6*d = 0.6*0.6*t=0.36*t. Therefore, the depth of the continuous groove is d-h = 0.24 times thickness t. Given that the substrate thickness is 0.32mm ([0026]), Example 5 satisfies the limitations that a depth of the continuous groove is more than 40 µm (0.24 * 320 µm = 76.8 µm, and 0.15 times or more and 0.5 times or less a thickness of the ceramic substrate (0.24 times the thickness of the substrate).
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Kiichiro, however, does not disclose that the laser irradiation is a fiber laser irradiation.
Nobuaki, on the other hand, teaches a method ([0025]) for forming break lines (break lines 13, Figs. 1-3) on a ceramic substrate (silicon nitride-based ceramics sintered substrate 1, Fig. 1, [0025]) by fiber laser irradiation ([0026]).
Nabuaki further discloses that the fiber laser can be focused to a smaller beam spot than the CO2 laser and the YAG laser, and has a large focal depth, a high conversion rate, and a high power. Therefore, a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to use a fiber laser irradiation to form the holes in the scribed ceramic circuit substrate of Kiichiro, as taught by Nabuiki, to be able to improve the spatial resolution and the focal depth, and obtain higher laser power.
Regarding claim 2, Kiichiro in view of Nabuiki teaches the scribed ceramic circuit substrate according to claim 1, wherein
Kiichuri further teaches that the scribe line includes a group of non-continuous holes (see non-continuous holes as labeled in Illustrative Fig. 1) on a deeper side (below the continuous grove, Illustrative Fig. 1) thereof, and the group of non-continuous holes (non-continuous holes, Illustrative Fig. 1) is composed of a plurality of holes (array of holes making the non-continuous holes, Illustrative Fig. 1) not connected to each other (each hole is separated by a portion of the ceramic substate 11, Illustrative Fig. 1), the plurality of holes (array of holes making the non-continuous holes, Illustrative Fig. 1) formed by the fiber laser irradiation ([0020]-[0021]: while Kiichuri does not teach that the laser irradiation is a fiber laser irradiation, Kiichuri modified by Nabuiki in claim 1 modifies the laser irradiation to a fiber laser irradiation).
Regarding claim 3, Kiichiro in view of Nabuiki teaches the scribed ceramic circuit substrate according to claim 2, wherein
Kiichiro further teaches that a depth of the group of non-continuous holes (corresponds to height (h) in Illustrative Fig. 1) is more than 0 and 0.45 times or less the thickness of the ceramic substrate (corresponds to thickness t in Illustrative Fig. 1: see Example 5 of Table 1 (see also claim 1 rejection for Example 5) where h = 0.36 times the thickness).
Regarding claim 4, Kiichiro in view of Nabuiki teaches the scribed ceramic circuit substrate according to claim 2, wherein a distance (center-to-center distance) between adjacent holes of the group of non-continuous holes (non-continuous holes, Illustrative Fig. 1) is 10 µm or more and 100 µm or less (center-to-center distance is equal to the width of a non-continuous at the top surface of the non-continuous hole, and for the Example 5 of Table 2, the width is 2*320 µm x 0.36 x tan (5) = 20.2 µm (see Fig. 2A for the angle (10 degrees, Table 2), and claim 1 for the height h)).
Regarding claim 5, Kiichiro in view of Nabuiki teaches the scribed ceramic circuit substrate according to claim 2, wherein
Kiichiro further teaches that a width of each hole of the group of non-continuous holes (non-continuous holes, Illustrative Fig. 1) is 5 µm or more and 50 µm or less (for the Example 5 of Table 2, the width is 2*320 µm x 0.36 x tan (5) = 20.2 µm (see Fig. 2A for the angle (10 degrees, Table 2), and claim 1 for the height h)).
Regarding claim 7, Kiichiro in view of Nabuiki teaches the scribed ceramic circuit substrate according to claim 1, wherein
Kiichiro further teaches that the ceramic substrate (ceramic substrate 11, Figs. 1-3) is a silicon nitride substrate or an aluminum nitride substrate ([0017]: aluminum nitride substrate can be used as a substrate).
Regarding claim 8, Kiichiro in view of Nabuiki teaches the scribed ceramic circuit substrate according to claim 1, wherein
Kiichuri further teaches that the scribe line (break line 12, Figs. 1A-B) is formed on a side (top surface in Figs. 1A-B) on which the metal circuit (wired circuit copper plate 14, Figs. 1A-B: wired circuit copper plate 14 is on the top surface) is formed.
Regarding claim 11, Kiichiro in view of Nabuiki teaches a method for producing a scribed ceramic circuit substrate (multi-piece ceramic circuit substrate 10, Figs. 1A-B, [0015]), comprising: forming ([0020]-[0021]: break line 12 is formed by laser irradiation) continuous groove (the top portion of the break line 12 is formed by overlapping laser spots (laser mark 16, [0020]-[0021]), see Fig. 2B and Illustrative Fig. 1) by a fiber laser (break line 12 is formed by a fiber laser in the scribed ceramic circuit substrate of Kiichiro modified by Nabuiki, see claim 1 rejection above and Illustrative Fig. 1) on the front surface side (top surface in Figs. 1-2) of the scribed ceramic circuit substrate (multi-piece ceramic circuit substrate 10, Figs. 1A-B) according to claim 1 (see claim rejection above); and then forming a group of non-continuous holes (see non-continuous holes as labeled in Illustrative Fig. 1: non-continuous holes formed as a result of the process of forming the continuous grooves) by a fiber laser (see claim 1 rejection for Kiichiro modified by Nabuiki) on a deeper side (below the continuous groves, see Illustrative Fig. 1), wherein the group of non-continuous holes (non-continuous holes, Illustrative Fig. 1) is composed of a plurality of holes (adjacent non-continuous holes, Illustrative Fig. 1) not connected to each other (each hole is separated by a portion of the ceramic substate 11, Illustrative Fig. 1).
Regarding claim 12, Kiichiro in view of Nabuiki teaches a method for producing a ceramic circuit substrate, wherein
Kiichiro and Nabuiki further teaches that the method dividing the scribed ceramic circuit substrate (multi-piece ceramic circuit substrate 10, Figs. 1A-B) along the scribe line (break line 12, Figs. 1A-B) to produce a ceramic circuit substrate (individual pieces 13, Fig. 1A, [0020]: “in the multi-piece ceramic circuit board 10, the break line 12 for dividing the multi-piece ceramic circuit board 10 into the individual pieces 13 is provided”).
Kiichiro and Nabuiki, however, do not explicitly disclose that the method comprises applying stress to the scribed ceramic circuit substrate.
However, a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would understand that dividing the scribed ceramic circuit substrates along scribe lines require applying stress by force or pressure, as also evidenced by Masashi (JP 2013/125855 A, [0032]). Therefore, Kiichiro and Nabuiki meets all the limitations of claim 12.
Regarding claim 13, Kiichiro in view of Nabuiki teaches a method for producing a semiconductor device, comprising the method for producing the ceramic circuit substrate according to claim 12 (see claim 12 rejection above), wherein
Kiichiro further teaches that the method also comprises mounting a semiconductor element (semiconductor device, not shown in any of the figures), [0019]: “The multi-piece ceramic circuit substrate 10 and the other multi-piece ceramic circuit substrate 10a are each mounted with a semiconductor device such as a power transistor, and then divided along the break line 12 and the 12a to form a power module of an individual body 13.” and [0015]: “The wiring circuit cop per plate 14 is provided to mount a semiconductor element”, therefore the semiconductor devices are mounted on individual pieces 13 (ceramic substrates) before dividing the scribed ceramic circuit substrate) on the ceramic circuit substrate (individual pieces 13, Fig. 1A-B: semiconductor device is not shown) to produce a semiconductor device ([0019]: “power module”).
Claim 6 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kiichiro (JP 2013175667 A) in view of Nobuaki (JP 2016195244 A) as applied to claims 1-5, 7-8, and 11-13 above, and further in view of Tenei (JP 2000200956 A).
Regarding claim 6, while Kiichiro in view of Nobuaki teaches the scribed ceramic circuit substrate according to claim 1,
neither Kiichiro in view of Nobuaki teaches that a difference between brightness of a laser irradiation scar of the continuous groove and brightness of a surface of the ceramic substrate is 4 or less.
Tenei, on the other hand, discloses that the surface of ceramic substrate can be shiny and fine scribe lines might be difficult to be distinguished ([0005]). Considering that irradiation scar generated by the laser irradiation is also small, and a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be using approaches, such as applying gas and suction methods to remove the material during laser processing, as described by Matsuzaki (JP2006036602A, [0011]), to keep the scribe lines clean from any dust or ablated material by using laser irradiation, having a difference between brightness of a laser irradiation scar of the continuous groove and brightness of a surface of the ceramic substrate to be 4 or less is an expected property of the scribed ceramic circuit substrate of claim 1, as evidenced by Tenei, and therefore does carry an inventive weight (see MPEP 2112).
Claims 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masashi (JP 2013125855 A).
Regarding claim 9, Masashi teaches a ceramic circuit substrate (ceramic substrate 100, Figs. 1a-c, [0024]) comprising four scribe lines (two first groove portions 11 and two second grove portions 21, Figs. 1a, [0026]: first grooves 11 and second grooves 21 are identical in shape), wherein at least one (first groove 11, Figs. 1a-c, [0039]) of the four scribe lines (two first groove portions 11 and two second grove portions 21, Fig. 1a) includes a continuous groove (the top portion of first groove above first bottom surface 13a and second bottom surface 13b, Fig. 1b, [0027]) on a front surface side (top surface, Fig. 1a) thereof, and the continuous groove (the top portion of first groove above first bottom surface 13a and second bottom surface 13b, Fig. 1b) is composed of a plurality of holes connected to each other (([0003]: formed by perforation processing by firing the laser at regular intervals to form continuous holes), the plurality of holes formed by laser irradiation ([0011]: “method for forming a groove portion by irradiating a surface of a ceramic substrate with a laser”), and
wherein a depth (length (depth) d2, Fig. 1b, [0028]) of the continuous groove (the top portion of first groove above first bottom surface 13a and second bottom surface 13b, Fig. 1b) is more than 40 µm (50µm to 100µm, [0028]), and 0.15 times or more and 0.5 times or less a thickness (thickness T, [0028]: 500µm, making d2 to be 0.1 times to 0.2 times of thickness T) of a ceramic substrate (ceramic substrate 100, Figs. 1b).
Therefore, the range of ratios between the depth of the continuous groove and the thickness of the ceramic substrate provided by the prior significantly overlaps with the range of ratios provided in the claimed invention, and a prima facie case of obviousness exists (see MPEP 2144.05(I)), as the range of ratio can be optimized by routine experimentation to achieve a desired breakability of the substrate (see MPEP 2144.05(II)). Therefore, the range of values provided does not hold an inventive subject matter over the prior art.
Claim 10 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Masashi (JP 2013/125855 A) as applied to claim 9 above, and further in view of Nobuaki (JP 2016195244 A).
Regarding claim 10, Masashi teaches the ceramic circuit substrate according to claim 9, wherein the scribe line (first groove 11, Figs. 1a-c, [0039]) includes a group of non-continuous holes (first bottom surfaces 13a and second bottom surfaces 13b form an array holes, see Figs. 1b-c ) on a deeper side (at the bottom of the first grove 11, Fig. 1b) thereof, and the group of non-continuous holes (first bottom surfaces 13a and second bottom surfaces 13b form an array holes) is composed of a plurality of holes (each hole formed by a first bottom surface 13a between two adjacent bottom surfaces 13b, Fig. 1b) not connected to each other (between each hole there is a portion of base material 1, Fig. 1b, [0031]), the plurality of holes formed by the laser irradiation (each hole is formed during formation of the continuous groove, [0011]).
Masashi, however, does not disclose that the laser irradiation is a fiber laser irradiation.
Nobuaki, on the other hand, teaches a method ([0025]) for forming break lines (break lines 13, Figs. 1-3) on a ceramic substrate (silicon nitride-based ceramics sintered substrate 1, Fig. 1, [0025]) by fiber laser irradiation ([0026]).
Nabuaki further discloses that the fiber laser can be focused to a smaller beam spot than the CO2 laser and the YAG laser, and has a large focal depth, a high conversion rate, and a high power. Therefore, a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to use a fiber laser irradiation to form the holes in the scribed ceramic circuit substrate of Masashi, as taught by Nabuiki, to be able to improve the spatial resolution and the focal depth, and obtain higher laser power.
Claim 14 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kiichiro (JP 2013175667 A) in view of Nobuaki (JP 2016195244 A) as applied to claims 1-5, 7-8, and 11-13 above, and further in view of Duran (US 2020/0194364 A1).
Regarding claim 14, while Kiichiro in view of Nabuaki teaches the method for producing the semiconductor device according to claim 13,
neither Kiichiro nor Nabuaki teaches that the method further comprises integrating the ceramic circuit substrate and the semiconductor element by resin molding.
Duran, on the other hand, teaches a semiconductor module with a lead-frame (Fig. 1a, [0086]) as a power module (semiconductor module 100, Fig. 1a, [0081]), which comprises integrating the ceramic circuit substrate (first substrate 101a, Fig. 1a, [0086], which analogous to the ceramic circuit substrate of Kiichiro in view of Nabuaki, as it carries a power device (semiconductor device 110)) and the semiconductor element (semiconductor device 110, Fig. 1a, [0083]: “the semiconductor devices are power semiconductor devices such as, for example, IGBTs, MOSFETs or diodes”, which is analogous to the semiconductor element of Kiichiro in view of Nabuaki) by resin molding (encapsulation 130, Fig. 1a, [0088]).
Duran further discloses that such that such a semiconductor module provides an improved heat dissipation and/or an increased power density by combining multiple power devices together [0007] and also facilitates convenient integration with other devices with the leadframe. Therefore, a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to include steps in the method of Kiichiro in view of Nabuaki for integrating the ceramic circuit substrate and the semiconductor element by a resin molding as a semiconductor module with a leadframe, as taught by Duran, to improve heat dissipation and facilitate convenient connectivity.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Teshima (US 20140106129 A1) teaches a scribed ceramic circuit substrate wherein continuous grooves and non-continuous holes are formed by laser irradiation which is relevant to all claims.
Kohl (US 2024/0139884 A1) teaches a scribed ceramic circuit substrate wherein continuous grooves and non-continuous holes are formed by laser irradiation which is relevant to all claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ILKER OZDEN whose telephone number is (703)756-5775. The examiner can normally be reached Monday - Friday 8:30am-5:30pm.
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/ILKER NMN OZDEN/Examiner, Art Unit 2812
/William B Partridge/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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