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 .
DETAILED ACTION
Status of Application
This Office Action is a response to Applicant’s communication (or preliminary’s amendment) filed on 10/17/2024. In virtue of this communication, claims 1-14 are currently presented in the instant application.
Priority
Acknowledgement is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d). All of certified copies of the priority documents received on 11/25/2024.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement(s) (IDS) submitted on 10/17/2024 and 10/17/2024 in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is considered by the examiner.
If applicant is aware of any prior art or any other co-pending application not already of record, he/she is reminded of his/her duty under 37 CFR 1.97 to disclose the same.
Drawing Objection(s)
The drawings submitted on 10/17/2024 are objected to under 37 CFR 1.83(a). The drawings must show every feature of the invention specified in the claims. Therefore, the feature “a slot member” of the invention specified in claim 10 must be shown or the feature canceled from the claim. No new matter should be entered.
Corrected drawing sheets in compliance with 37 CFR 1.121(d) are required in reply to the Office action to avoid abandonment of the application. Any amended replacement drawing sheet should include all of the figures appearing on the immediate prior version of the sheet, even if only one figure is being amended. The figure or figure number of an amended drawing should not be labeled as “amended.” If a drawing figure is to be canceled, the appropriate figure must be removed from the replacement sheet, and where necessary, the remaining figures must be renumbered and appropriate changes made to the brief description of the several views of the drawings for consistency.
Additional replacement sheets may be necessary to show the renumbering of the remaining figures. Each drawing sheet submitted after the filing date of an application must be labeled in the top margin as either “Replacement Sheet” or “New Sheet” pursuant to 37 CFR 1.121(d). If the changes are not accepted by the examiner, the applicant will be notified and informed of any required corrective action in the next Office action. The objection to the drawings will not be held in abeyance.
Claim Objection(s)
Claim 6 is objected to because of the following informalities:
Regarding claim 6,
The recitation “a radio frequency signal” in lines 2 and 5 would be “the radio frequency signal”. Appropriate correction is required.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 1-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor, or for pre-AIA the applicant regards as the invention.
Regarding claim 1,
The recitation “a radio frequency signal” in line 8 is considered vague because it’s confused with “a signal of the radio-frequency integrated circuit chip” in lines 4-5. Clarification is required.
Regarding claim 3,
The recitation “an edge of the slot” in line 3 is considered vague because it’s confused with “an edge of the slot” in line 2. Clarification is required.
Regarding claim 4,
The recitation “the center” in lines 2 and 4 is considered indefinite because it does not have an antecedent basis. Clarification is required.
Regarding claim 8,
The recitation “the underside” in line 2 is considered indefinite because it does not have an antecedent basis. Clarification is required.
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.
Claims 1-4, 8-11 and 13, as best understood, are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Cheah et al (US 20190181126), hereinafter Cheah.
Regarding claim 1,
Cheah discloses an antenna module (a wide-band phased-array antenna module 300, Fig 3), comprising:
an antenna substrate (a dielectric layer 220, Fig 3) including an antenna (an antenna element 230, Fig 3);
a package substrate (a redistribution layer (RDL) 124, Fig 1G) to which a radio-frequency integrated circuit chip (an RFIC 114, Fig 1G) is mounted, and in which a signal transmission line (a vertical-line interconnect 226, Fig 3) configured to transmit a signal of the radio-frequency integrated circuit chip is provided; and
an interconnection member (a semiconductor substrate 210, Fig 3) positioned between the antenna substrate and the package substrate to connect the antenna substrate and the package substrate, and provided with a slot (a through hole 212, Fig 2C) through which a radio frequency signal passes.
Cheah does not explicitly teach the vertical-line interconnect 226 is a transmission line.
However, Cheah teaches signal integrity that is generated within the RFIC die 114 is useful as it is propagated through the vertical-line interconnects 226 from the RFIC die 114 (paragraph [0047]).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use an interconnect line being a signal transmission line in Cheah, in order to minimize RF loss and provide useful interconnections between the semiconductor device package and the antenna array package.
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Regarding claim 2,
Cheah as modified discloses the claimed invention, as discussed in claim 1.
Cheah teaches the antenna substrate includes a plurality of the antennas, and the plurality of the antennas are placed spaced a predetermined distance apart from each other to provide an antenna array (a wide-band phased-array antenna of the antenna module 300, Fig 3).
Regarding claim 3,
Cheah as modified discloses the claimed invention, as discussed in claim 1.
Cheah teaches the antenna substrate includes a first shielding part (a plating layer, Fig 3; paragraph [0047]) disposed at an edge of the slot, and the package substrate includes a second shielding part (a through-mold trench 134, Fig 3; paragraph [0047]) disposed at an edge of the slot.
Regarding claim 4,
Cheah as modified discloses the claimed invention, as discussed in claim 3.
Cheah teaches a plurality of the first shielding parts are disposed to surround the slot to provide a first radio frequency signal transmission part in the center (Fig 3), and a plurality of the second shielding parts are disposed to surround the slot to provide a second radio frequency signal transmission part in the center (Fig 3).
Regarding claim 8,
Cheah as modified discloses the claimed invention, as discussed in claim 1.
Cheah teaches the interconnection member includes a trench space (a cover 122, Fig 1G; paragraph [0027]) provided on the underside of the interconnection member facing the package substrate.
Regarding claim 9,
Cheah as modified discloses the claimed invention, as discussed in claim 1.
Cheah teaches an outer surface (a surface S2141, Fig 2G) of the interconnection member is made of a conductor (paragraph [0040]) and an inside (M2101, Fig 3) of the interconnection member is made of different types of materials (silicon material of the substrate 210; paragraph [0039]).
Cheah does not explicitly teach the silicon material having a lower density than the conductor.
However, it’s well known in the art that a silicon material has a density which is lower than a density of a metal material.
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use an outer surface of an interconnection member being made of a conductor and an inside of the interconnection member being made of different types of materials having a lower density than the conductor in Cheah as modified, in order to minimize RF loss and provide useful interconnections between the semiconductor device package and the antenna array package.
Regarding claim 10,
Cheah as modified discloses the claimed invention, as discussed in claim 1.
Cheah teaches the interconnection member includes a slot member (a slot member M2101, Fig 3) provided at the slot, and the slot member is a dielectric (a silicon dielectric; paragraph [0039]).
Regarding claim 11,
Cheah as modified discloses the claimed invention, as discussed in claim 1.
Cheah does not explicitly teach a heat dissipation means attached to a side of at least one selected from a group of the antenna substrate, the package substrate, and the interconnection member.
However, it’s well known in the art that a heat sink is attached to an interconnection member (de Rochemont, US 7405698, a heat sink 260, an interconnect circuit 261, Fig 15)
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to use a heat dissipation means attached to a side of at least one selected from a group of an antenna substrate, a package substrate, and an interconnection member in Cheah as modified, in order to minimize RF loss and provide useful interconnections between the semiconductor device package and the antenna array package.
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Regarding claim 13,
Cheah as modified discloses the claimed invention, as discussed in claim 1.
Cheah teaches the interconnection member includes a ridge-forming protrusion (a protrusion P2401, Fig 2G) provided projecting to the slot.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 5-7, 12 and 14 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.
Regarding claim 5, prior art of record or most closely prior art fails to disclose, “the second shielding part includes: a plurality of ground layers spaced apart from each other; and a plurality of second shielding vias electrically connecting the ground layers, and any one ground layer selected from the plurality of ground layers is placed to face the slot with the signal transmission line therebetween”.
Regarding claim 6, prior art of record or most closely prior art fails to disclose, “the antenna substrate includes a first coupling part positioned between the antenna and the slot to transmit the radio frequency signal, and the package substrate includes a second coupling part of which one side is connected to the signal transmission line and another side is positioned abutting the slot, the second coupling part transmitting the radio frequency signal”.
Dependent claim 7 is considered to be allowable by virtue of its/their dependency/dependencies on claim 6.
Regarding claim 12, prior art of record or most closely prior art fails to disclose, “the interconnection member includes: a first interconnection member coupled to a lower side of the antenna substrate; and a second interconnection member coupled to an upper side of the package substrate, and the first interconnection member and the second interconnection member are provided with alignment parts for aligning positions at which the first interconnection member and the second interconnection member are fastened to each other”.
Regarding claim 14, prior art of record or most closely prior art fails to disclose, “a plurality of the ridge-forming protrusions are provided, and the plurality of the ridge-forming protrusions have different sizes and shapes”.
Conclusion
The Examiner has pointed out particular references contained in the prior art of record within the body of this action for the convenience of the Applicant. Although the specified citations are representative of the teachings in the art and are applied to the specific limitations within the individual claim, other passages and figures may apply.
Applicant, in preparing the response, should consider fully the entire reference aspotentially teaching all or part of the claimed invention, as well as the context of thepassage as taught by the prior art or disclosed by the Examiner.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Hai Tran whose telephone number is (571) 270-7650. The examiner can normally be reached on Monday-Friday 8:00 am-5:00 pm.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Dimary Lopez can be reached on (571) 270-7893. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/HAI V TRAN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2845