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 certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
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) 1-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Masuko et al (US 2010/0178501 A1).
Regarding claim 1, Masuko et al discloses a thermosetting adhesive film (Figure 7, reference 1) for semiconductors, configured to bond a semiconductor chip (Figure 7, reference 9a) to an adherend (Figure 7, reference 10) while embedding a wire (Figure 7, reference 11) connected to another semiconductor chip (Figure 7), reference 9b) wherein the adhesive film (Figure 7, reference 1) has a maximum value of tanð of 1.0 or less and a minimum melt viscosity of 10000 Pa- s or less in a range of 90°C to 180°C, and the maximum value of tanð and the minimum melt viscosity are values determined by measurement on a dynamic viscoelasticity of the adhesive film in a temperature range including a range of 90°C to 180°C under conditions of a temperature increasing rate of 5°C/min and a frequency of 1 Hz (paragraphs 0082-0083).
Regarding claim 2, Masuko et al discloses wherein the adhesive film (Figure 7, reference 1) comprises a thermosetting resin comprising an epoxy resin, a curing agent, and an imidazole compound (paragraphs 0060-0061).
Regarding claim 3, Masuko et al discloses wherein a content of the imidazole compound is 0.30 to 5.0 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of a content of the epoxy resin (paragraphs 0060-0061 and 0067).
Regarding claim 4, Masuko et al discloses wherein the adhesive film (Figure 7, reference 1) comprises an inorganic filler (paragraph 0063), and a content of the inorganic filler is 35% to 50% by mass based on a mass of the adhesive film (paragraphs 0064-0065).
Regarding claim 5, Masuko et al discloses wherein the adhesive film (Figure 7, reference 1) comprises an elastomer (paragraph 0074), and a content of the elastomer is 15% to 30% by mass based on a mass of the adhesive film (paragraph 0074).
Regarding claim 6, Masuko et al discloses wherein the elastomer comprises an acrylic resin (paragraph 0074).
Regarding claim 7, Masuko et al discloses wherein the adhesive film (Figure 7, reference 1) has a thickness of 25 to 80 µm (paragraph 0079).
Regarding claim 8, Masuko et al discloses wherein the minimum melt viscosity of the adhesive film (Figure 7, reference 1) is 2,500 Pa-s or more in a range of 90°C to 180°C (paragraphs 0111-0112 and Table 3).
Regarding claim 9, Masuko et al discloses wherein the minimum melt viscosity of the adhesive film (Figure 7, reference 1) is 2,500 Pa-s or more in a range of 90°C to 180°C (paragraphs 0111-0112 and Table 3), the adhesive film contains an inorganic filler and an elastomer (paragraph 0074), a content of the inorganic filler is 35% to 50% by mass based on a mass of the adhesive film, and a content of the elastomer is 15% to 30% by mass based on a mass of the adhesive film (paragraphs 0074-0076).
Regarding claim 10, Masuko et al discloses wherein the elastomer includes an acrylic resin (paragraph 0074).
Regarding claim 11, Masuko et al discloses a dicing die-bonding film comprising: a dicing film (Figure 4, reference 6); and the adhesive film (Figure 4, reference 1) for semiconductors according to Claim 1 (paragraphs 0082-0083), the adhesive film (Figure 4, reference 1) being provided on the dicing film (Figure 4, reference 6; paragraph 0084).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 12-15 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.
The following is a statement of reasons for the indication of allowable subject matter: The prior art does not disclose nor fairly suggest a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, the method comprising: disposing a second semiconductor chip and an adhesive film over a structure comprising a substrate and a first semiconductor chip mounted on the substrate such that the adhesive film is sandwiched between the structure and the second semiconductor chip; and thermally curing the adhesive film to bond the second semiconductor chip to the structure, wherein the adhesive film is the adhesive film for semiconductors according to thermally curing the adhesive film to bond the second semiconductor chip to the structure, wherein the adhesive film is the adhesive film for semiconductors according to the first semiconductor chip is connected to a wire, and the adhesive film embeds a part of the wire or the wire as a whole (claim 12) incorporated into the independent claim and in the context of its recited apparatus, along with its depending claims.
Conclusion
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to MONICA D HARRISON whose telephone number is (571)272-1959. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 7-4:30pm.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Joshua Benitez can be reached at 571-270-1435. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/MONICA D HARRISON/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2815
mdh
September 25, 2026
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