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 .
The terminal disclaimer filed on 07/15/26 disclaiming the terminal portion of any patent granted on this application which would extend beyond the expiration date of 17/452,855 now U.S. Patent 12,136,759 issued on 11/05/24 has been reviewed and is accepted. The terminal disclaimer has been recorded.
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.
Claim(s) 1-12, and 14-24 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Yang et al. (U.S. 2020/0161252) in view of Kapusta (U.S. Patent 10,163,773).
Regarding claim 1 and 14, Yang discloses a semiconductor device and its
making method as shown in figures 3a-3d comprising:
providing an antenna PCB (150) including an antenna (190) formed as part of a
conductive layer of the antenna PCB;
disposing a semiconductor package (210) over the antenna PCB (150), wherein
the semiconductor package includes a shielding layer (180) formed over the
semiconductor package; and
forming a [[polymer]] conductive bump (182) on the antenna PCB directly over
the antenna.
Yang does not specifically disclose the bump is made from polymer and is
electrical insulating.
Kapusta teaches electronic packages (10) comprising a polymer bump (62)
is electrical insulating (column 10, line 15+).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filling date to have a teaching of Kapusta employed in the device of Wang in
order to provide excellent mechanical and thermal bonding structure.
As to claims 7 and 20, Yang discloses a semiconductor device and its
making method, as shown in figures 3a-3d comprising:
providing a PCB (150) including an antenna (190);
disposing a semiconductor package (210) over the PCB; and
forming a [[polymer]] conductive bump (182) on the PCB (150) over the antenna.
Yang does not specifically disclose the bump is made from polymer and is
electrical insulating.
Kapusta teaches electronic packages (10) comprising a polymer bump (62)
is electrical insulating (column 10, line 15+).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the
effective filling date to have a teaching of Kapusta employed in the device of Wang in
order to provide excellent mechanical and thermal bonding structure.
Regarding claims 2, 8, 15, and 21, Yang as modified by Kapusta further including
forming a shielding layer (180) over the antenna PCB (150).
Regarding claims 3, 9, 16, 22, Yang as modified by Kapusta discloses the
semiconductor package (210) includes a double-sided system-in-package (SiP) module.
Regarding claims 4, 10, 17, and 23, Yang as modified by Kapusta teaches the
polymer bump (62) includes a high dielectric constant (column 10, lines 15-23).
Regarding claims 5, 11, and 18, Yang as modified by Kapusta teaches the
polymer bump (62) is molded onto the PCB (20, 58).
Regarding claims 6, 12, 19, and 24, Yang as modified by Kapusta discloses a
conductive bump (216) between the semiconductor package (210) and antenna PCB
(150).
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 07/15/26 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant argues:
The combination of Yang in view of Kapusta does not teach “a polymer or is electrically insulating” because Kapusta's solder layer 62 may be a metal filled polymer bump, see column 10, lines 17-20 of Kapusta. In Kapusta, solder layer 62 is formed to provide I/O connections to a bottom surface of an interconnect assembly, see column 10, lines 11-14 of Kapusta. Due to its function as an electrical interconnect, Kapusta teaches that a polymer bump must be electrically conductive, not electrically insulating as required by claim 1.
After carefully review, examiner respectively disagrees because if adding a very small amount of metal filler, and the particles remain completely isolated from one another inside the polymer (epoxy, silicone) matrix, the composite may largely retain its electrical insulation properties while improving thermal conductivity. Also, some specialized engineering compounds use specific metal oxides (like alumina or silica) or surface-modified metal particles designed to provide high thermal transfer while maintaining electrical insulation.
Therefore, the combination of Yang in view of Kapusta teaches when adding the small amount of metal particles into the polymer bump would provide the electrical insulation characteristic.
Homma (U.S. 2021/0082856) discloses a semiconductor device as shown in figures 1 or 2 comprising a polymer standoff (50) or an adhesion layer (20) be an electrical insulator in between chip (60 or 30) and a wiring substrate (10).
Workman (U.S. 2007/0235217) discloses an electronic package (10) as shown in figures 1-2 comprising polymeric standoffs (30) acts an electrical insulator in between chip (14) and a wiring substrate (12).
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.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to TUAN T DINH whose telephone number is (571)272-1929. The examiner can normally be reached 8am-5pm, M-F.
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/TUAN T DINH/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2847
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