Infineon Technologies AGDownload PDFPatent Trials and Appeals BoardSep 2, 20212020004218 (P.T.A.B. Sep. 2, 2021) Copy Citation UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE United States Patent and Trademark Office Address: COMMISSIONER FOR PATENTS P.O. Box 1450 Alexandria, Virginia 22313-1450 www.uspto.gov APPLICATION NO. FILING DATE FIRST NAMED INVENTOR ATTORNEY DOCKET NO. CONFIRMATION NO. 15/817,810 11/20/2017 Markus Zundel 1012-2021 / 2016P51980 US 9336 57579 7590 09/02/2021 MURPHY, BILAK & HOMILLER/INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES 1255 CRESCENT GREEN SUITE 200 CARY, NC 27518 EXAMINER WALL, VINCENT ART UNIT PAPER NUMBER 2822 NOTIFICATION DATE DELIVERY MODE 09/02/2021 ELECTRONIC Please find below and/or attached an Office communication concerning this application or proceeding. The time period for reply, if any, is set in the attached communication. Notice of the Office communication was sent electronically on above-indicated "Notification Date" to the following e-mail address(es): official@mbhiplaw.com PTOL-90A (Rev. 04/07) UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE _________ BEFORE THE PATENT TRIAL AND APPEAL BOARD __________ Ex parte MARKUS ZUNDEL, RAINER PELZER, and MANFRED SCHNEEGANS __________ Appeal 2020-004218 Application 15/817,810 Technology Center 2800 ___________ Before ADRIENE LEPIANE HANLON, JAMES C. HOUSEL, and JULIA HEANEY, Administrative Patent Judges. HANLON, Administrative Patent Judge. DECISION ON REHEARING A. STATEMENT OF THE CASE The Appellant1 requests rehearing of the Decision on Appeal dated June 2, 2021 (“Dec.”). In the Decision, we reversed the rejection of claims 11–18 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) based on the written description requirement and entered a new ground of rejection of claims 11–18 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) based on indefiniteness. 1 We use the word “Appellant” to refer to “applicant” as defined in 37 C.F.R. § 1.42. The Appellant identifies the real party in interest as Infineon Technologies AG. Appeal Brief dated February 21, 2020 (“Appeal Br.”), at 2. Appeal 2020-004218 Application 15/817,810 2 B. DISCUSSION 1. Introduction Independent claim 11 is reproduced below from the Claims Appendix to the Appeal Brief. The claim limitation at issue is italicized. 11. A method of processing a power semiconductor device, the method comprising: providing a semiconductor body configured to conduct a load current; forming a first load terminal electrically connected with the semiconductor body and configured to couple the load current into and/or out of the semiconductor body, wherein the first load terminal comprises a metallization having a frontside and a backside, the backside interfacing with a surface of the semiconductor body and the frontside being configured to interface with a wire structure having at least one wire configured to conduct at least a part of the load current, wherein forming the first load terminal further comprises: laterally structuring the frontside of the metallization by forming at least one local elevation of the metallization so that the metallization has a local increase of depth in a region of the at least one local elevation and a lesser, non-zero depth outside the region of the at least one local elevation, the at least one local elevation having a height in an extension direction defined by the distance between a base and a top of the local elevation and, in a first lateral direction perpendicular to the extension direction, a base width at the base and a top width at the top, wherein the at least one local elevation is formed such that the top width amounts to less than 90% of the base width, wherein there is neither a material barrier within the at least one local elevation itself nor between the at least one local elevation and a remaining section of the metallization outside the region of the at least one local elevation. Appeal Br. 19 (emphasis added). Appeal 2020-004218 Application 15/817,810 3 As explained in the Decision, the Examiner determined that claim 11 is generic to, inter alia, elected Species C1 (Figures 6–9) and non-elected Species C3 (Figures 11–13). Dec. 3. With respect to the rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a), the Examiner found that the original disclosure provides written description support for the limitation at issue with respect to non-elected Species C3 (Figures 11–13) but does not provide written description support for the limitation at issue with respect to elected Species C1 (Figures 6–9). Ans. 7. Figure 11 (non-elected Species C3), reproduced below, illustrates an electroplating process according to the Appellant’s invention. Appellant’s Figure 11 depicts Appellant’s electroplating process. Appeal 2020-004218 Application 15/817,810 4 The process includes the following steps: Step 21: forming a conductive layer 111 on the top surface 101 of a semiconductor body by means of carrying out a first electroplating processing step. Spec. ¶ 80. Step 22: providing a first mask 31 on top of the conductive layer 111, wherein the first mask includes at least one first mask element 311 that spatially confines at least one first opening 312. Spec. ¶ 80. Step 23: carrying out a second electroplating processing step to fill the at least one first opening 312 with a conductive material, thereby forming at least one local elevation 112. Spec. ¶ 80. The Appellant discloses that the first and the second electroplating processing steps are carried out with the same material such that there is no material barrier between the local elevation 112 and the remaining section of the metallization 111. For example, the same bath is used for carrying out the first and the second electroplating processing steps. Spec. ¶ 81 (emphasis added). Figure 6 (elected Species C1), on the other hand, illustrates an etching process according to the Appellant’s invention. Appeal 2020-004218 Application 15/817,810 5 Appellant’s Figure 6 depicts Appellant’s etching process. The process includes the following steps: Step 21: forming a conductive layer 111 on the top surface 101 of a semiconductor body. Spec. ¶ 71. Step 22: providing a first mask 31 on top of the conductive layer 111, wherein the first mask includes at least one first mask element 311. Spec. ¶ 71. Step 24: carrying out a first etch processing step so as to back-thin the conductive layer 111 in sections not covered by the at least one first mask element 311, wherein the created back-thinning 113 spatially confines the at least one local elevation 112. Spec. ¶ 71. 2. Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) As explained in the Decision, it is unclear whether the claim limitation at issue limits the claimed method or the device formed by the claimed method. Dec. 8. We also explained that it is unclear what conditions are necessary to satisfy the claim limitation at issue apart from the local elevation(s) and the remaining metallization section being the same material. Dec. 9. In the Request, the Appellant argues: Appeal 2020-004218 Application 15/817,810 6 Since the at least one local elevation 112 [in Figure 6] is formed by laterally structuring metallization 111 instead of e.g., by adding another metallization on the frontside 1111 of the metallization 111 [as in Figure 11], there is neither a material barrier within the at least one local elevation 112 itself nor between the at least one local elevation 112 and a remaining section of the metallization 111 outside the region of the at least one local elevation 112. Req. Reh’g 4 (original emphasis omitted); see also id. at 5 (contending that neither a material barrier within local elevation 112 itself nor between local elevation 112 and a remaining section of the metallization 111 outside the region of local elevation 112 exists in Figures 7 and 8 because local elevation 112 is formed by laterally structuring metallization 111). The definiteness of the claim language at issue “must be analyzed—not in a vacuum, but always in light of the teachings of the prior art and of the particular application disclosure as it would be interpreted by one possessing the ordinary level of skill in the pertinent art.” In re Moore, 439 F.2d 1232, 1235 (CCPA 1971). The Appellant discloses that the metallization 111 has a spatially homogenous material composition. Accordingly, the material of the at least one local elevation 112 may be identical to the material of the remaining section of the metallization. For example, such spatially homogeneous material composition may be achieved by forming the at least one local elevation 112 by subjecting an initially thick conductive layer to one or more etch processing steps . . . . Spec. ¶ 64 (emphasis added). Considering the Appellant’s arguments in combination with the Appellant’s Specification, we conclude that one of ordinary skill in the art would understand the scope of claim 11. See In re Warmerdam, 33 F.3d 1354, 1361 (Fed. Cir. 1994) Appeal 2020-004218 Application 15/817,810 7 (“The legal standard for definiteness is whether a claim reasonably apprises those of skill in the art of its scope.”). Claim 11 recites the step of “forming at least one local elevation of the metallization.” Appeal Br. 19. The claim limitation at issue, on the other hand, is directed to the subsequently formed local elevation(s) (i.e., “the at least one local elevation itself”) and the section of the metallization that remains after forming the local elevation(s) (i.e., “a remaining section of the metallization outside the region of the at least one local elevation”). Appeal Br. 19. Therefore, it is clear that the limitation at issue limits the device formed by the claimed method. The Appellant’s arguments in combination with the Specification also make it clear that the negative claim limitation at issue (i.e., “there is neither a material barrier”2) merely limits the material of the local elevation(s) and the remaining section of the metallization. That is, the only condition imposed by the claim limitation at issue is that the local elevation(s) and the section of the metallization remaining after forming the local elevation(s) consist of the same material. Based on the foregoing, the rejection of claims 11–18 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(b) is not sustained. 3. Rejection under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) As discussed above, the Examiner found that the original disclosure does not provide written description support for the claim limitation at issue with respect to elected Species C1 (Figures 6–9). See Final Act. 3; Ans. 7. 2 Appeal Br. 19. Appeal 2020-004218 Application 15/817,810 8 Claim 12 depends from claim 11.3 Claim 12 is reproduced below from the Claims Appendix to the Appeal Brief. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein laterally structuring the frontside of the metallization comprises: forming a conductive layer on top of the surface; providing a first mask on top of the conductive layer, the first mask including at least one first mask element; carrying out a first etch processing step to back-thin the conductive layer in sections not covered by the at least one first mask element, wherein the back-thinning of the conductive layer spatially confines the at least one local elevation, and wherein the back- thinning has a first lateral overlap with the at least one first mask element that amounts to at least 1 µm. Appeal Br. 20. According to claim 12, “laterally structuring the frontside of the metallization” comprises forming a conductive layer on top of the surface of the semiconductor body and back-thinning the conductive layer to spatially confine the at least one local elevation. Appeal Br. 20. We interpret the “remaining section of the metallization outside the region of the at least one local elevation” recited in claim 11 to correspond to the portion of the “conductive layer” remaining after the at least one local elevation has been spatially confined. As discussed above, claim 11 requires the local elevation(s) and the remaining section of the metallization outside the region of the local elevation(s) to consist of the same material. The Appellant argues: By processing the same metallization 111 by lateral structuring (Figures 6-9) . . . to form the at least one local elevation 112, no 3 “Claims in dependent form shall be construed to include all the limitations of the claim incorporated by reference into the dependent claim.” 37 C.F.R. § 1.75(c) (2021). Therefore, claim 12 includes all of the limitations of claim 11. Appeal 2020-004218 Application 15/817,810 9 material barrier is present within the at least one local elevation 112 itself nor between the at least one local elevation 112 and a remaining section of the metallization 111 outside the region of the at least one local elevation 112. Req. Reh’g 7. To satisfy the written description requirement, an applicant must “convey with reasonable clarity to those skilled in the art that, as of the filing date sought, he or she was in possession of the invention.” Vas-Cath, Inc. v. Mahurkar, 935 F.2d 1555, 1563–64 (Fed. Cir. 1991). The claimed invention “does not have to be described in ipsis verbis in order to satisfy the description requirement of § 112.” In re Lukach, 442 F.2d 967, 969 (CCPA 1971). However, “the description must clearly allow persons of ordinary skill in the art to recognize that [he or she] invented what is claimed. In re Gosteli, 872 F.2d 1008, 1012 (Fed. Cir. 1989). A disclosure may meet this burden by providing either “express” or “inherent” support for a claimed limitation. Tronzo v. Biomet, Inc., 156 F.3d 1154, 1159 (Fed. Cir. 1998). In order for a disclosure to be inherent, “the missing descriptive matter must necessarily be present in the . . . application’s specification such that one skilled in the art would recognize such a disclosure.” Id. Turning to the Specification, the Appellant discloses that the metallization 111 has a spatially homogenous material composition. Accordingly, the material of the at least one local elevation 112 may be identical to the material of the remaining section of the metallization. For example, such spatially homogeneous material composition may be achieved by forming the at least one local elevation 112 by subjecting an initially thick conductive layer to one or more etch processing steps . . . . Spec. ¶ 64 (emphasis added). That is, as illustrated in Figure 6, the local elevation(s) are formed by etching or back-thinning a conductive layer. Thus, the local elevation(s) and the Appeal 2020-004218 Application 15/817,810 10 conductive layer remaining after spatially confining the local elevation(s) (i.e., the remaining section of the metallization outside the region of the local elevation(s)) necessarily consist of the same material. For that reason, the original disclosure provides written description support for the following limitation recited in claim 11, “there is neither a material barrier within the at least one local elevation itself nor between the at least one local elevation and a remaining section of the metallization outside the region of the at least one local elevation.” Appeal Br. 19. The rejection of claims 12–18 under 35 U.S.C. § 112(a) based on the written description requirement is not sustained. C. DECISION The Appellant’s Request for Rehearing is granted. Therefore, the Decision on Appeal dated June 2, 2021, is modified to incorporate the discussion provided above and the rejections on appeal are reversed. Outcome of Decision on Rehearing: Claims Rejected 35 U.S.C § Reference(s)/Basis Denied Granted 11–18 112(b) Indefiniteness 11–18 11–18 112(a) Written description 11–18 Overall Outcome 11–18 Appeal 2020-004218 Application 15/817,810 11 Final Outcome of Appeal after Rehearing: Claims Rejected 35 U.S.C. § Reference(s)/Basis Affirmed Reversed 11–18 112(b) Indefiniteness 11–18 11–18 112(a) Written description 11–18 Overall Outcome 11–18 GRANTED Copy with citationCopy as parenthetical citation