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.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statements (IDSs) submitted on 11/13/2024 is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
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 is 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.
Claims 1, 8-10 and 13-16 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kim (KR 20210000655) in view of Lee (KR 20100052815).
Pertaining to claim 1, Kim discloses A circuit board (see fig. 1) comprising: a first insulating layer (111a, see fig. 1); a first circuit layer (112, see fig. 1) disposed on the first insulating layer (111a); a first buffer layer (200, see fig. 2) disposed on the first circuit layer (112); and a second insulating layer (111b) disposed on the first insulating layer (111a) and the first buffer layer (200), wherein the first circuit layer includes a metal layer (see paragraph [0042]) disposed on the first insulating layer (111a), and
But, Kim does not specifically disclose a surface layer corresponding to a nitride layer of the metal layer disposed of on the metal layer and including nitrogen (N).
However, Lee discloses a surface layer corresponding to a nitride layer of the metal layer disposed on the metal layer and including nitrogen (N), (The organic compound coating layer 40 preferably has a functional group containing oxygen (Oxygen) or nitrogen (nitrogen) (Functional group), see paragraph s [0044]-[0045]).
Therefore, At the time of the invention, it would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person of ordinary skill in the art to provide a surface layer corresponding to a nitride layer of the metal layer disposed on the metal layer and including nitrogen (N) in the device of Kim based on the teachings of Lee in order to provides critical manufacturing, structural, and electrical advantages: The nitride layer acts as a protective barrier against corrosive agents, such as oxygen and moisture, improving corrosion resistance.
Pertaining to claim 8, Kim discloses, wherein the first circuit layer (112) includes a first surface in contact with the first buffer layer (200), and wherein a roughness (Ra) of the first surface of the first circuit layer satisfies a range of 0.1 um to 0.9 um (see paragraph [0135]).
Pertaining to claim 9, Kim discloses wherein the first circuit layer (112) includes a second surface in contact with the first insulating layer (111a), and wherein a roughness (Ra) of the second surface of the first circuit layer is different from the roughness (Ra) of the first surface (see paragraph [0103]).
Pertaining to claim 10, Kim discloses, wherein a roughness (Ra) of the first buffer layer corresponds to the roughness (Ra) of the first surface of the first circuit layer (see paragraph [0147]).
Pertaining to claim 13, Kim discloses, wherein the first buffer layer has a thickness of 10 nm to 50 nm (see paragraph [078]).
Pertaining to claim 14, Kim discloses, comprising: a through electrode passing through at least one of the first insulating layer (111a) and the second insulating layer (111b), and wherein a roughness (Ra) of a side surface of the through electrode is different from the roughness (Ra) of the first surface of the first circuit layer (see paragraph [0147]).
Pertaining to claim 15, Kim discloses, wherein the first buffer layer does not contact a lower surface of the through electrode (see paragraph [0028]).
Pertaining to claim 16, Kim discloses, wherein a lower surface of the through electrode is in direct contact with an upper surface of the metal layer (see paragraph [0058]).
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 2-12 and 17-20 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: regarding claim 7, the specific limitations of " wherein the surface-first buffer layer includes: a first functional group bonded to the surface layer; and a second functional group bonded to the second insulating layer," in combination with the remaining elements, are not taught or adequately suggested by the prior art of record.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. Lee (US-20230047621-A1).
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ANDARGIE M AYCHILLHUM whose telephone number is (571)270-1607. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9-5.
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, Timothy Dole can be reached at (571) 272-2229. 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.
/ANDARGIE M AYCHILLHUM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847
Prosecution Insights