Appeal No. 1997-0166
Application No. 08/409,933
electrode pad between the semiconductor substrate and the bump electrode. Merrin is directed to a
process for providing an interconnection between the terminal areas of active microminiaturized chip
devices such as transistors and/or diodes to connecting areas of a conductive pattern on a supporting
dielectric substrate while providing standoff between the pattern and chip device (col. 1, lines 28-48
and col. 7, lines 19-25). We find aluminum land (18) of Merrin to be disposed on a semiconductor
substrate and to be located between a semiconductor substrate and mound (24) because Merrin
discloses that the microminiaturized devices may be diodes and transistors which are active devices or
“chips” and further states (col. 4, line 73 through col. 5, line 1) that “[d]uring the fabrication of chip 15
(Step 17) an aluminum land 18 (FIGURE 3) is deposited on each semiconductor region to provide the
desired ohmic contact” [emphasis added]. As chip (15) includes a semiconductor region where the
aluminum land (18) is deposited, we find that aluminum land (18) is located on a semiconductor
substrate, as claimed. Accordingly, we therefore also find that Merrin teaches placement of the
aluminum land (18) between the semiconductor substrate of chip (15) and mound (24). We conclude
that it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to have provided the bump electrode
(4) of Yabe with an electrode pad between the silicon chip (1) and the bump electrode (4) in view of1
the teachings of Merrin.
1We note that page 6 of appellants’ specification states the appellants’ electrodes “are formed, in actual
practice, over the substrate 1 with an insulating film provided therebetween,” and that Yabe shows similar layers
(1) and (3).
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