DETAILED ACTION
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 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.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-4, 6-8, and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Ma (U.S. PGPub 2024/0339430).
Regarding claim 1, Ma teaches a die bonding apparatus (Fig. 1A or Fig. 3A), comprising:
a first bonding head to pick up a die, a first bonding stage to hold a substrate, and a plasma irradiator that irradiates with plasma a surface of the die picked up by the first bonding head and a surface of the substrate held by the first bonding stage (Fig. 1A, 101, 200, 122, 300, 130, [0029]-[0040] or Fig. 3A, 119, 200, 300, 130, [0051]-[0055]).
Regarding claim 2, Ma teaches wherein the plasma irradiator includes gas supply holes to emit plasma to the upper side and gas supply holes to emit plasma to the lower side (131/132, [0033]).
Regarding claim 3, Ma teaches a control unit configured to perform plasma irradiation to the upper side and plasma irradiation to the lower side at the same time by the plasma irradiator ([0032], [0048], [0067]; control unit is inherent and/or implicit to the disclosed bonding system).
Regarding claim 4, Ma teaches a control unit configured to perform plasma irradiation to the upper side and plasma irradiation to the lower side at different timings by the plasma irradiator ([0067] ; control unit is inherent and/or implicit to the disclosed bonding system).
Regarding claim 6, Ma teaches wherein the plasma irradiator includes a first plasma irradiator having gas supply holes to emit plasma to the upper side, and a second plasma irradiator having gas supply holes to emit plasma to the lower side (131/132, [0032]-[0033] or 131A/132A, [0052]-[0054]).
Regarding claim 7, Ma teaches a control unit configured to perform plasma irradiation to the upper side by the first plasma irradiator and plasma irradiation to the lower side by the second plasma irradiator at the same time ([0032], [0048], [0067] ; control unit is inherent and/or implicit to the disclosed bonding system).
Regarding claim 8, Ma teaches further a control unit configured to perform plasma irradiation to the upper side by the first plasma irradiator and plasma irradiation to the lower side by the second plasma irradiator at different timings ([0067]; control unit is inherent and/or implicit to the disclosed bonding system).
Regarding claims 10-11, Ma teaches a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device (Figs. 1A-2 or Fig. 3A-4), comprising the steps of:
picking up a workpiece, holding a substrate, irradiating with plasma a surface of the picked-up workpiece and a surface of the held substrate, and bonding the workpiece irradiated with plasma to the substrate irradiated with plasma (Fig. 1A, 101, 200, 122, 300, 130, [0029]-[0040], Fig. 2, 203-205, [0046]-[0050] or Fig. 3A, 119, 200, 300, 130, [0051]-[0055], Fig. 4, 403-406, [0061]-[0068]).
Claims 1-5 and 10-11 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) as being anticipated by Huang (U.S. PGPub 2024/0404988).
Regarding claim 1, Huang teaches a die bonding apparatus (Fig. 2), comprising:
a first bonding head to pick up a die, a first bonding stage to hold a substrate, and a plasma irradiator that irradiates with plasma a surface of the die picked up by the first bonding head and a surface of the substrate held by the first bonding stage (40, 90, 60, [0043]-[0045], [0054]-[0060]).
Regarding claim 2, Huang teaches wherein the plasma irradiator includes gas supply holes to emit plasma to the upper side and gas supply holes to emit plasma to the lower side (Fig. 3A, [0029], [0043]-[0053]).
Regarding claim 3, Huang teaches a control unit configured to perform plasma irradiation to the upper side and plasma irradiation to the lower side at the same time by the plasma irradiator (Fig. 3A, [0032]; Fig. 4, [0059]-[0060]).
Regarding claim 4, Huang teaches a control unit configured to perform plasma irradiation to the upper side and plasma irradiation to the lower side at different timings by the plasma irradiator ([0032], Fig. 4, [0059]-[0060]).
Regarding claim 5, Huang teaches wherein the plasma irradiator includes gas supply holes to emit plasma in one direction, and the die bonding apparatus further includes a control unit configured to direct the gas supply holes to the upper side and emit plasma, and subsequently direct the gas supply holes to the lower side and emit plasma ([0032], Figs. 3B-4, [0054]-[0060]).
Regarding claims 10-11, Huang teaches a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of: picking up a workpiece, holding a substrate, irradiating with plasma a surface of the picked-up workpiece and a surface of the held substrate, and bonding the workpiece irradiated with plasma to the substrate irradiated with plasma (Fig. 3A-Fig. 4, [0043]-[0053], [0054]-[0060]).
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 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 of this title, 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 set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied 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.
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 9 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma (U.S. PGPub 2024/0339430).
Regarding claim 9, Ma teaches a second bonding head to pressurize the die placed on the substrate (Fig. 3A, 101, [0062], Fig. 4, 404-406) but does not explicitly teach a second bonding stage having a heating unit to heat the substrate.
Ma teaches wherein the system has one bonding head used during plasma irradiation and heating (Fig. 1A, 101) or alternatively a first bonding head used during plasma irradiation and a second bonding head used during heating ([0051], [0054]), and wherein the bonding head may alternatively be a stage ([0044]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to modify the teachings of Ma such that the apparatus comprises a second bonding stage having a heating unit to heat the substrate because the prior art teaches every element, a person of ordinary skill could have combined them as claimed and in combination each element performs the same function as it does separately, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the invention. See MPEP 2143(I)A.
Claim 5 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Ma (U.S. PGPub 2024/0339430) in view of Yamauchi (U.S. PGPub 2004/0169020).
Regarding claim 5, Ma teaches wherein the plasma irradiator includes gas supply holes to emit plasma in one direction (Fig. 1A, [0033]) and the die bonding apparatus further includes a control unit configured to direct the gas supply holes to the upper side and emit plasma (Fig. 1A, [0033]; control unit is inherent and/or implicit to the disclosed bonding system) but does not explicitly teach wherein the control unit is configured to subsequently direct the gas supply holes to the lower side and emit plasma.
Yamauchi teaches wherein a plasma irradiator may comprise two sets of nozzles directed to upper and lower elements or one which is rotated to face upper and lower elements (Figs. 7-8, [0150]).
Therefore it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art before the time of the effective filing date to combine the teachings of Yamauchi with Ma such that the control unit is configured to subsequently direct the gas supply holes to the lower side and emit plasma because the prior art teaches an element which differs from the claim by substitution with a different element, the claimed element is known in the art, a person of ordinary skill could have substituted one known element for another, and the combination would have yielded predictable results to one of ordinary skill in the art before the time of the invention. See MPEP 2143.I.B.
Conclusion
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/ALIA SABUR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2812
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