DETAILED ACTION
The objection to the specification is withdrawn based on the amendments filed 01/20/2026.
The 112(b) rejection is withdrawn based on the amendments filed 01/20/2026.
The 102 rejection is moot in view of the amendments filed 01/20/2026.
Claims 1-20 are pending.
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 .
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 01/20/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive.
Regarding applicant’s argument, starting on page 2 of the Remarks, that Ansari does not teach all of the amended limitations of claim 1, Examiner agrees. Therefore, the 102 rejection is withdrawn.
Regarding applicant’s arguments, starting on page 2, that Ansari does not explicitly teach hashing and encrypting a message digest, one cannot show nonobviousness by attacking references individually where the rejections are based on combinations of references. See In re Keller, 642 F.2d 413, 208 USPQ 871 (CCPA 1981); In re Merck & Co., 800 F.2d 1091, 231 USPQ 375 (Fed. Cir. 1986). Ansari in view of Troia teaches hashing and encrypting a message digest in at least (Troia [0039]). Ansari teaches encryption using die-specific keys in at least (Ansari [0210]) and Ansari teaches providing encrypted messages as readback output through an interposer in at least (Ansari [0204] and [0209]-[0210]). Applicant further argues that Ansari, Troia, and Smith do not teach performing hashing and encryption operations in parallel. Ansari in view of Troia and Smith teach that messages are generated concurrently (Smith [0028]). Therefore, Ansari, Smith and Troia in combination teach all of the amended limitations of claim 1.
Regarding applicant’s arguments, on page 3 of the Remarks, that claims 2, 11, and 13 are allowable because independent claim 1 is allowed, Examiner respectfully disagrees. Ansari, Smith, and Troia teach all the amended limitations of claim 1, therefore, claims 2, 11, and 13 are not allowed by dependence. Thus, the rejection of claims 2, 11 and 13 is maintained.
Regarding applicant’s arguments, on page 4 of the Remarks, that dependent claims 3-6, 8-9, 12, and 15-20 are allowed by dependence, Examiner respectfully disagrees. Ansari, Smith, and Troia teach all the amended limitations of claims 1 and 14, therefore, claims 3-6, 8-9, 12, and 15-20 are not allowed by dependence. Thus, the rejection of claims 3-6, 8-9, 12, and 15-20 is maintained.
Regarding applicant’s arguments, on page 4 of the Remarks, that claims 7 and 10 are allowed by dependence, Examiner respectfully disagrees. Ansari, Smith, and Troia teach all the amended limitations of claims 1, therefore, claims 7 and 10 are not allowed by dependence. Thus, the rejection of claims 7 and 10 is maintained.
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.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-6, 8, 9, 11-20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 20210124711 A1 to Ansari et al. (Ansari) in view of US 20210312954 A1 to Smith (Smith) and US 20200311291 A1 to Troia et al. (Troia).
Regarding claim 1, Ansari teaches an integrated circuit device, comprising: a silicon interposer (Ansari [0090], e.g., SoC 100 is formed of a plurality of dies interconnected by way of an interposer; [0199], e.g., As shown, IC structure 1400 can include a silicon interposer (interposer)); a plurality of semiconductor dice disposed on the interposer and communicatively coupled via the interposer (Ansari [0090], e.g., plurality of dies interconnected by way of an interposer), wherein a first die of the plurality of dice includes: a first memory comprising a configuration memory of programmable logic of the first die (Ansari [0091], e.g., PMC processing unit 602 can include……… one or more ROMs 606, one or more RAM(s) 608; [0099], e.g., PMC shared RAM 618 may be used to store configuration data (e.g., a PDI) and/or other data for SoC 100 during processing and as general-purpose data-processing RAM for PMC 110); a readback circuit coupled to the first memory and configured to receive a readback command communicated through the interposer (Ansari [0121], e.g., CFU 644 is capable of performing configuration and readback of configuration data provided or loaded into configuration registers of PL 104; Fig. 6, e.g., CFU 644 is connected to the ROMs 606 and RAM(s) 608 via interconnect 616); a hash circuit coupled to the readback circuit and configured to generate a message digest from data in the first memory (Ansari [0102], e.g., Hash block 650; Fig. 6, e.g., Hash block 650 is connected to CFU 644 via interconnect 616); and an encryption circuit coupled to the hash circuit and readback circuit and configured to encrypt the message digest into an encrypted message digest using a die-specific key stored on the first die (Ansari [0102], e.g., encryption/decryption block 646 is a symmetric key cryptography engine capable of performing Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) using Galois Counter Mode (GCM); [0210], e.g., In another embodiment, each PMC is equipped to perform encryption and decryption using keys specific to the die in which the PMC is included. For example, the key(s) to be used by a given PMC may be stored in the dedicated e-fuses in the same die as the PMC thereby allowing each PMC to use different key(s)); wherein [the hash circuit and] the encryption circuit of the first die are configured to operate [concurrently] with corresponding [hash circuits and] encryption circuits of two or more additional dice of the plurality of semiconductor dice to generate encrypted message [digest in parallel] (Ansari [0210], e.g., In another embodiment, each PMC is equipped to perform encryption and decryption using keys specific to the die in which the PMC is included. For example, the key(s) to be used by a given PMC may be stored in the dedicated e-fuses in the same die as the PMC thereby allowing each PMC to use different key(s). In one aspect, only encrypted data is exchanged between the PMCs in different dies. As such, each PMC is capable of decrypting received encrypted data from the other PMC and encrypting data prior to sending the data to the other PMC); and wherein the encrypted message [digests] generated by the first die is provided through the interposer as readback data representing the configuration memory (Ansari [0204], e.g., multiple conductive layers to implement interconnects within interposer 1405 allows a greater number of signals to be routed and more complex routing of signals to be achieved within interposer 1405; [0209], e.g., the PMC implemented in die 1410, being the master die, is considered the master PMC. The PMC within die 1415 operates as a slave to the PMC in die 1410…… any data that is operated on and/or used in the PMC of die 1415 is received from the PMC in die 1410…… In one aspect, only the PMC in die 1410 has access to I/Os to obtain data, e.g., firmware and/or PDIs, from sources external to IC structure 1400. As such, any firmware and/or PDIs used by the PMC in die 1415 are first retrieved by the PMC in die 1410 and provided to die 1415 by the PMC in die 1410; [0210], e.g., In one aspect, only encrypted data is exchanged between the PMCs in different dies. As such, each PMC is capable of decrypting received encrypted data from the other PMC and encrypting data prior to sending the data to the other PMC; Note data at a machine code level comprises of ones and zeroes, these ones and zeroes are represented digitally as signals).
Ansari does not explicitly teach, but Smith teaches the circuits of the first die are configured to operate concurrently with corresponding circuits of two or more additional dice of the plurality of semiconductor dice to generate messages in parallel (Smith [0028], e.g., a memory device may include multiple die, one of which may be a master die…… The memory device may provide data (e.g., responsive to a read command) from the multiple die concurrently).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Ansari with the teachings of Smith with reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification for the benefit of increasing data bandwidth (Smith [0028], e.g., By using the multiple die to provide different portions of the output, in some embodiments, the IO width of the memory device may be increased. In some embodiments, the IO width may be increased without increasing a number of connectors between the die or decreasing a number of additional connectors required).
Ansari and Smith do not explicitly teach, but Troia teaches using a hash circuit and an encryption circuit to generate encrypted message digest (Troia [0039], e.g., The first die can also be configured to generate a first digital signature (e.g., signature 206 or 306) according to the first measure and the first private key. The first digital signature can include a first digest encrypted by the first private key, and the first digest can include a derivative, e.g., a hash, of the first measure. The first die can also be configured to communicate, via a first intra-die communication interface (e.g., interface 122), the first measure, the first digital signature, and the first public key to the second die (e.g., die 104)).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the teachings of Ansari and Smith with the teachings of Troia with reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification for the benefit of ensuring that an encrypted message has not been altered/is fresh (Troia [0061], e.g., In general, a digest can include a measure of a die and can be encrypted by the private key of the die. Also, the additional information that changes periodically can include a timestamp, a code, and/or a sequence number, for example. In some embodiments, every time a die of a set of dice sends the measure of itself to the subsequent die, it has to be sent with additional information that changes from time to time (e.g., a timestamp, a code, a sequence number, etc.), so that a threat actor attempting to attack the dice cannot record the content of one communication by the die and then used it to pretend that it is the die).
Regarding claim 2, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 1. Ansari further teaches wherein in addition to the first die, the plurality of dice includes two or more additional dice (Ansari [0090], e.g., plurality of dies interconnected by way of an interposer), and each die of the two or more additional dice includes a respective first memory, a respective readback circuit, a respective hash circuit, and a respective encryption circuit (Ansari [0045], e.g., each die may include a PMC, where the PMC implemented in a die designated as “master” is the master PMC while PMCs implemented in other dies designated as slaves operate as slave PMCs coupled to the master PMC; Fig. 6, e.g., PMC includes ROM(s) 606 and RAM(s) 608 (first memory), CFU 644 (readback circuit), hash block 650 (hash circuit), encryption/decryption block 646 (encryption circuit)).
Regarding claim 3, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 2. Ansari does not explicitly teach, but Smith teaches wherein the respective [hash] circuits on the first die and the two or more additional dice are configured to concurrently generate respective message [digests] (Smith [0028], e.g., a memory device may include multiple die, one of which may be a master die…… The memory device may provide data (e.g., responsive to a read command) from the multiple die concurrently).
The motivation to combine Smith is the same as that of claim 1.
Ansari and Smith do not explicitly teach, but Troia teaches respective hash circuits on the first die and the two or more additional dice are configured to concurrently generate respective message digests (Troia [0039], e.g., The first die can also be configured to generate a first digital signature (e.g., signature 206 or 306) according to the first measure and the first private key. The first digital signature can include a first digest encrypted by the first private key, and the first digest can include a derivative, e.g., a hash, of the first measure. The first die can also be configured to communicate, via a first intra-die communication interface (e.g., interface 122), the first measure, the first digital signature, and the first public key to the second die (e.g., die 104)).
The motivation to combine Troia is the same as that of claim 1.
Regarding claim 4, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 3. Ansari and Smith do not explicitly teach, but Troia teaches wherein the respective encryption circuits on the first die and the two or more additional dice are configured to [concurrently] encrypt the respective message digests (Troia [0039], e.g., The first die can also be configured to generate a first digital signature (e.g., signature 206 or 306) according to the first measure and the first private key. The first digital signature can include a first digest encrypted by the first private key, and the first digest can include a derivative, e.g., a hash, of the first measure).
The motivation to combine Troia is the same as that of claim 1.
Ansari, Smith and Troia do not explicitly teach to concurrently encrypt the respective message digests, however, it would have been obvious to one or ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the invention to have modified the system of Smith to include the encryption of Troia with reasonable expectation of success. The system of Smith allows concurrent generation of messages and the system of Troia protects these messages through hashing and encryption. Therefore, it would be beneficial to add Troia’s hashing and encryption to the existing system of Smith to further increase the protection of messages.
The motivation to combine Smith is the same as that of claim 1.
Regarding claim 5, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 3. Ansari further teaches wherein the respective encryption circuits on the first die and the two or more additional dice are configured to use die-specific keys to encrypt the respective message digests (Ansari [0210], e.g., each PMC is equipped to perform encryption and decryption using keys specific to the die in which the PMC is included).
Regarding claim 6, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 5. Ansari further teaches wherein the die-specific keys are configured in eFuses on the first die and the two or more additional dice (Ansari [0210], e.g., the key(s) to be used by a given PMC may be stored in the dedicated e-fuses in the same die as the PMC thereby allowing each PMC to use different key(s)).
Regarding claim 8, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 1. Ansari further teaches wherein the first die includes: a second memory (Ansari [0099], e.g., PMC shared RAM 618); and wherein the encryption circuit is configured to write the [encrypted] message [digest] in the second memory (Ansari 0099], e.g., PMC shared RAM 618 may be used to store configuration data (e.g., a PDI)).
Ansari and Smith do not explicitly teach, but Troia teaches hashing and encrypting messages (Troia [0039], e.g., The first digital signature can include a first digest encrypted by the first private key, and the first digest can include a derivative, e.g., a hash, of the first measure)
The motivation to combine Troia is the same as that of claim 1.
Regarding claim 9, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 8. Ansari further teaches wherein in addition to the first die, the plurality of dice includes two or more additional dice (Ansari [0045], e.g., In one example implementation, each die may include a PMC, where the PMC implemented in a die designated as “master” is the master PMC while PMCs implemented in other dies designated as slaves operate as slave PMCs coupled to the master PMC), and each die of the two or more additional dice includes a respective first memory (Ansari Fig. 6, e.g., PMC includes ROM(s) 606 and RAM(s) 608), a respective second memory (Ansari Fig. 6, e.g., shared RAM 618), a respective readback circuit (Ansari Fig. 6, e.g., CFU 644), a respective hash circuit (Ansari Fig. 6, e.g., hash block 650), and a respective encryption circuit (Ansari Fig. 6, e.g., encryption/decryption block 646).
Regarding claim 11, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 1. Ansari further teaches wherein each die of the plurality of dice includes programmable logic (Ansari [0158], e.g., PMC 110 operates as the main power manager for SoC 100…… Thus, power domains within SoC 100 include PL 104; Note PL = programmable logic), and the first memory is a configuration memory of the programmable logic (Ansari [0169], e.g., Further, the ROM PMC processor is capable of loading the firmware into RAM of PMC 110. The firmware may be contained within a PDI; Note PDI = configuration data).
Regarding claim 12, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 1. Ansari further teaches [wherein the readback command includes] an initialization vector and the encryption circuit uses the initialization vector in Advanced Encryption Standard-Galois Counter Mode (AES-GCM) encryption (Ansari [0102], e.g., encryption/decryption block 646 is a symmetric key cryptography engine capable of performing Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) using Galois Counter Mode (GCM); Note AES-GCM is a block cipher, which inherently uses initialization vectors).
Ansari does not explicitly teach, but Smith teaches receiving a readback command (Smith [0042], e.g., the read command may be received at a command decoder…… the command decoder is located on the first die).
The motivation to combine Smith is the same as that of claim 1.
Smith does not explicitly teach wherein a readback command includes an initialization vector, but it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the current invention to have modified Smith’s command to include an initialization vector to utilize the existing AES-GCM encryption system of Ansari with reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification for the benefit of increasing the protection of transmitted messages.
Regarding claim 13, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 1. Ansari further teaches wherein the hash circuit implements a Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA) (Ansari [0102], e.g., Hash block 650 is capable of performing Secure Hash Algorithm 3/394).
Regarding claim 14, Ansari teaches a method comprising: [receiving, by] a readback circuit configured on a first die that is disposed on a silicon interposer, [a readback command communicated through the interposer] (Ansari [0121], e.g., CFU 644 is capable of performing configuration and readback of configuration data provided or loaded into configuration registers of PL 104; [0199], e.g., As shown, IC structure 1400 can include a silicon interposer (interposer)), wherein a plurality of semiconductor dice are disposed on the interposer and communicatively coupled via the interposer (Ansari [0090], e.g., plurality of dies interconnected by way of an interposer); [generating by] a hash circuit configured on the first die (Ansari 0102], e.g., Hash block 650), [a message digest from] data in a first memory configured on the first die comprising a configuration memory of programmable logic of the first die (Ansari [0091], e.g., PMC processing unit 602 can include……… one or more ROMs 606, one or more RAM(s) 608; [0099], e.g., PMC shared RAM 618 may be used to store configuration data (e.g., a PDI) and/or other data for SoC 100 during processing and as general-purpose data-processing RAM for PMC 110); encrypting the message [digest] into an encrypted message [digest] by an encryption circuit configured on the first die using a die-specific key store on the first die (Ansari [0102], e.g., encryption/decryption block 646 is a symmetric key cryptography engine capable of performing Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) using Galois Counter Mode (GCM); [0210], e.g., In another embodiment, each PMC is equipped to perform encryption and decryption using keys specific to the die in which the PMC is included… In one aspect, only encrypted data is exchanged between the PMCs in different dies); performing the generating and encrypting on the first die [concurrently] with corresponding generating and encrypting performed on two or more additional dice of the plurality of semiconductor dice (Ansari [0210], e.g., In another embodiment, each PMC is equipped to perform encryption and decryption using keys specific to the die in which the PMC is included…… In one aspect, only encrypted data is exchanged between the PMCs in different dies. As such, each PMC is capable of decrypting received encrypted data from the other PMC and encrypting data prior to sending the data to the other PMC; [0034], e.g., In general, the validation of the plurality of dice is executed through a measure operation and verification of the measure operation result, such as measures 202 and 302); and transmitting the encrypted message [digest] through the interposer as readback data representing the configuration memory (Ansari [0204], e.g., multiple conductive layers to implement interconnects within interposer 1405 allows a greater number of signals to be routed and more complex routing of signals to be achieved within interposer 1405; [0209], e.g., the PMC implemented in die 1410, being the master die, is considered the master PMC. The PMC within die 1415 operates as a slave to the PMC in die 1410…… any data that is operated on and/or used in the PMC of die 1415 is received from the PMC in die 1410…… In one aspect, only the PMC in die 1410 has access to I/Os to obtain data, e.g., firmware and/or PDIs, from sources external to IC structure 1400. As such, any firmware and/or PDIs used by the PMC in die 1415 are first retrieved by the PMC in die 1410 and provided to die 1415 by the PMC in die 1410; [0210], e.g., In one aspect, only encrypted data is exchanged between the PMCs in different dies. As such, each PMC is capable of decrypting received encrypted data from the other PMC and encrypting data prior to sending the data to the other PMC).
Ansari does not explicitly teach, but Smith teaches receiving by a readback circuit, a readback command communicated through the interposer (Smith [0042], e.g., the read command may be received at a command decoder…… the command decoder is located on the first die) and performing the generating of messages concurrently (Smith [0028], e.g., a memory device may include multiple die, one of which may be a master die…… The memory device may provide data (e.g., responsive to a read command) from the multiple die concurrently).
The motivation to combine Smith is the same as that of claim 1.
Ansari and Smith do not explicitly teach, but Troia teaches generating by a hash circuit configured on the first die a message digest (Troia [0039], e.g., The first die can also be configured to generate a first digital signature…… The first digital signature can include a first digest…… the first digest can include a derivative, e.g., a hash, of the first measure) and encrypting the message digest into an encrypted message digest (Troia [0039], e.g., The first die can also be configured to generate a first digital signature (e.g., signature 206 or 306) according to the first measure and the first private key. The first digital signature can include a first digest encrypted by the first private key, and the first digest can include a derivative, e.g., a hash, of the first measure. The first die can also be configured to communicate, via a first intra-die communication interface (e.g., interface 122), the first measure, the first digital signature, and the first public key to the second die (e.g., die 104))
The motivation to combine Troia is the same as that of claim 1.
Regarding claim 15, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 14. Ansari further teaches wherein in addition to the first die, the plurality of dice includes two or more additional dice (Ansari [0045], e.g., In one example implementation, each die may include a PMC, where the PMC implemented in a die designated as “master” is the master PMC while PMCs implemented in other dies designated as slaves operate as slave PMCs coupled to the master PMC), and each die of the two or more additional dice includes a respective first memory (Ansari Fig. 6, e.g., PMC includes ROM(s) 606 and RAM(s) 608), a respective readback circuit (Ansari Fig. 6, e.g., CFU 644), a respective hash circuit (Ansari Fig. 6, e.g., hash block 650), and a respective encryption circuit (Ansari Fig. 6, e.g., encryption/decryption block 646). The rest of the limitation recites the plurality of dies executing the method of claim 14, and is similarly analyzed.
Regarding claim 16, the claim recites a method of the device of claim 3, and is similarly analyzed.
Regarding claim 17, the claim recites a method of the device of claim 4, and is similarly analyzed.
Regarding claim 18, the claim recites a method of the device of claim 5, and is similarly analyzed.
Regarding claim 19, the claim recites a method of the device of claim 6, and is similarly analyzed.
Regarding claim 20, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 15. Ansari does not explicitly teach, but Smith teaches receiving a master readback command through the interposer by a second die of the plurality of dice (Smith [0042], e.g., the read command may be received at a command decoder…… the first die may be a master die…… the command decoder is located on the first die; Note second die of the instant app = first die/master die), wherein the master readback command specifies one or more of the first die and the two or more additional dice (Smith [0043], e.g., the second data may be retrieved from a memory cell array, such as memory cell array 21, of the second die; Note first die of the instant app = second die); signaling, by a master readback circuit configured on the second die, the one or more of the first die and the two or more additional dice that respective readback commands are available in response to the master readback command (Smith [0042-0043], e.g., the first die may be a master die, such as master die 12…… the second die may be a slave die, such as slave die 13…… the command. decoder is located on the first die…… at block 708, “retrieving second data” may be performed…… the retrieving is performed responsive to responsive to the decoded read command); and receiving the respective [encrypted] message [digests] from the one or more of the first die and the two or more additional dice through the interposer by the master readback circuit (Smith [0043], e.g., At block 708, “retrieving second data” may be performed…… the second data may be retrieved from a memory cell array, such as memory cell array 21, of the second die).
The motivation to combine Smith is the same as that of claim 1.
Ansari and Smith do not explicitly teach, but Troia teaches hashing and encrypting messages (Troia [0039], e.g., The first die can also be configured to generate a first digital signature (e.g., signature 206 or 306) according to the first measure and the first private key. The first digital signature can include a first digest encrypted by the first private key, and the first digest can include a derivative, e.g., a hash, of the first measure. The first die can also be configured to communicate, via a first intra-die communication interface (e.g., interface 122), the first measure, the first digital signature, and the first public key to the second die (e.g., die 104)).
The motivation to combine Troia is the same as that of claim 1.
Claim(s) 7, 10 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ansari in view of Smith and Troia, and in further view of US 20200272567 A1 to Gans (Gans).
Regarding claim 7, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 2. Ansari further teaches wherein: the plurality of dice includes a second die in addition to the first die and the two or more additional dice (Ansari [0045], e.g., each die may include a PMC, where the PMC implemented in a die designated as “master” is the master PMC while PMCs implemented in other dies designated as slaves operate as slave PMCs coupled to the master PMC).
Ansari does not explicitly teach, but Smith teaches the second die is configured to receive a master readback command [from off-device] (Smith [0042], e.g., the read command may be received at a command decoder…… the first die may be a master die…… the command decoder is located on the first die; Note second die of the instant app = first die/master die), and the master readback command specifies one or more of the first die and the two or more additional dice (Smith [0043], e.g., the second data may be retrieved from a memory cell array, such as memory cell array 21, of the second die; Note first die of the instant app = second die); and the second die includes a master readback circuit configured to signal the one or more of the first die and the two or more additional dice that respective readback commands are available in response to the master readback command (Smith [0042-0043], e.g., the first die may be a master die, such as master die 12…… the second die may be a slave die, such as slave die 13…… the command. decoder is located on the first die…… at block 708, “retrieving second data” may be performed…… the retrieving is performed responsive to responsive to the decoded read command), and to receive each [encrypted] message [digest] from the one or more of the first die and the two or more additional dice through the interposer (Smith [0043], e.g., At block 708, “retrieving second data” may be performed…… the second data may be retrieved from a memory cell array, such as memory cell array 21, of the second die).
The motivation to combine Smith is the same as that of claim 1.
Ansari and Smith do not explicitly teach, but Troia encrypting message digest for communication (Troia [0039], e.g., The first die can also be configured to generate a first digital signature (e.g., signature 206 or 306) according to the first measure and the first private key. The first digital signature can include a first digest encrypted by the first private key, and the first digest can include a derivative, e.g., a hash, of the first measure. The first die can also be configured to communicate, via a first intra-die communication interface (e.g., interface 122), the first measure, the first digital signature, and the first public key to the second die (e.g., die 104)).
The motivation to combine Troia is the same as that of claim 1.
Ansari, Smith, and Troia do not explicitly teach, but Gans teaches receiving a command from off-device (Gans 0136], e.g., At 805, the memory device may receive, at a first die of a memory device, a read command from a host device).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the combined teachings of Ansari, Smith, and Troia with the teachings of Gans with reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification for the benefit of increasing the amount of data per fetch without having to modify the data bus or clock rate (Gans [0016], e.g., For example, the use of PAM4 signaling to output the data to the host device in conjunction with the prefetch of data from both the master die and the slave die may support a prefetch operation that provides, in response to the read command, an increased amount of data (e.g., doubled relative to the per-die prefetch size) in the same amount of time without needing an increase in data bus width (pin count), an increase in clock rate, or an adjustment in the per-die prefetch size (which may, for example, avoid a redesign of various related aspects of each memory die)).
Regarding claim 10, most of the limitations of this claim have been noted in the rejection of claim 9. Ansari further teaches wherein: the plurality of dice includes a second die in addition to the first die and the two or more additional dice (Ansari [0045], e.g., each die may include a PMC, where the PMC implemented in a die designated as “master” is the master PMC while PMCs implemented in other dies designated as slaves operate as slave PMCs coupled to the master PMC).
Ansari does not explicitly teach, but Smith teaches the second die is configured to receive a master readback command [from off-device] (Smith [0042], e.g., the read command may be received at a command decoder…… the first die may be a master die…… the command decoder is located on the first die; Note second die of the instant app = first die/master die), and the master readback command specifies one or more of the first die and the two or more additional dice (Smith [0043], e.g., the second data may be retrieved from a memory cell array, such as memory cell array 21, of the second die; Note first die of the instant app = second die); and the second die includes a master readback circuit configured to signal the one or more of the first die and the two or more additional dice that respective readback commands are available in response to the master readback command (Smith [0042-0043], e.g., the first die may be a master die, such as master die 12…… the second die may be a slave die, such as slave die 13…… the command. decoder is located on the first die…… at block 708, “retrieving second data” may be performed…… the retrieving is performed responsive to responsive to the decoded read command), and to read each [encrypted] message [digest] from [the second memory of] the one or more of the first die and the two or more additional dice through the interposer (Smith [0043], e.g., At block 708, “retrieving second data” may be performed…… the second data may be retrieved from a memory cell array, such as memory cell array 21, of the second die).
The motivation to combine Smith is the same as that of claim 1.
Ansari and Smith do not explicitly teach, but Troia encrypting message digest for communication (Troia [0039], e.g., The first die can also be configured to generate a first digital signature (e.g., signature 206 or 306) according to the first measure and the first private key. The first digital signature can include a first digest encrypted by the first private key, and the first digest can include a derivative, e.g., a hash, of the first measure. The first die can also be configured to communicate, via a first intra-die communication interface (e.g., interface 122), the first measure, the first digital signature, and the first public key to the second die (e.g., die 104)).
The motivation to combine Troia is the same as that of claim 1.
Ansari, Smith, and Troia do not explicitly teach, but Gans teaches receiving a command from off-device (Gans 0136], e.g., At 805, the memory device may receive, at a first die of a memory device, a read command from a host device).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to have modified the combined teachings of Ansari, Smith, and Troia with the teachings of Gans with reasonable expectation of success. One of ordinary skill in the art would have been motivated to make the modification for the benefit of increasing the amount of data per fetch without having to modify the data bus or clock rate (Gans [0016], e.g., For example, the use of PAM4 signaling to output the data to the host device in conjunction with the prefetch of data from both the master die and the slave die may support a prefetch operation that provides, in response to the read command, an increased amount of data (e.g., doubled relative to the per-die prefetch size) in the same amount of time without needing an increase in data bus width (pin count), an increase in clock rate, or an adjustment in the per-die prefetch size (which may, for example, avoid a redesign of various related aspects of each memory die)).
Smith, Troia, and Gans do not explicitly teach, but Ansari teaches to read each message from the second memory (Ansari 0099], e.g., PMC shared RAM 618 may be used to store configuration data (e.g., a PDI); Note that configuration data is stored in second memory, so when the data is retrieved, it is read from second memory).
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. US 20140043059 A1 to Speers et al. discloses retrieving, computing, and storing a digest of current data, and retrieving stored data and computing a digest of the stored data, then comparing the calculated and stored digest. US 20220229941 A1 to Tang et al. discloses a semiconductor device including a die of a multi-die package including encryption circuitry to receive data and encrypt data to generate encrypted data. The semiconductor device also comprises a connection interface to transmit the encrypted data over a die-to-die interconnect to a second die.
THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/LAWRENCE TRUONG/Examiner, Art Unit 2434
/ALI SHAYANFAR/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 2434
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