Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 27, 2026
Application No. 17/856,969

SUBSTRATES WITH NITRIDED GLASS CORES

Final Rejection §103
Filed
Jul 02, 2022
Examiner
ENAD, CHRISTINE A
Art Unit
2811
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Intel Corporation
OA Round
4 (Final)
84%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
95%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 84% — above average
84%
Career Allowance Rate
1155 granted / 1367 resolved
+16.5% vs TC avg
Moderate +10% lift
Without
With
+10.2%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Fast prosecutor
1y 12m
Avg Prosecution
40 currently pending
Career history
1410
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.7%
-38.3% vs TC avg
§103
64.3%
+24.3% vs TC avg
§102
19.5%
-20.5% vs TC avg
§112
8.2%
-31.8% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1367 resolved cases

Office Action

§103
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 . 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 1-20, 24-25, 27-30 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Kong et al (US Publication No. 2021/0050289) in view of Loxley et al (US Patent No. 6,355,587), Kim et al (US Publication No. 2023/0402337) and Navet et al (US Publication No. 2019/0092683). Regarding claim 1, Kong discloses a substrate, comprising: one or more glass layers Fig 1A-2B; and a plurality of dielectric layers Fig 1A-2B, 212, wherein the dielectric layers include a first dielectric layer above the glass core and a second dielectric layer below the glass core Fig 1A-2B. Kong discloses all the limitations but silent of the glass layer having nitrogen. Whereas Loxley discloses wherein nitrogen is distributed throughout the one or more glass layers Column 5, lines 20-34; Column 12, lines 38-51. Kong and Loxley are analogous art because they are directed to glass substrate and one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success to modify Kong because they are from the same field of endeavor. Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the glass substrate of Kong and incorporate the teachings of Loxley to improve the glass layers properties. Kong and Loxley disclose all the limitations but silent on the glass cored having no intervening adhesive layer. Whereas Kim discloses a glass core comprising one or more glass layers, wherein nitrogen is distributed throughout the one or more glass layers, and wherein the glass core comprises no intervening adhesive layers between the respective glass layers ¶0088-0091, 0100, 0112-0116. Kong and Kim are analogous art because they are directed to glass laminate structure and one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success to modify Kong because they are from the same field of endeavor. Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the glass substrate of Kong and incorporate the teachings of Kim to improve the glass layers properties. Kong, Loxley and Kim disclose all the limitations but silent on the type of dielectric layer. Whereas Navet discloses a dielectric layer made of organic dielectric material ¶0049. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the material composition of the dielectric layer, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416 (1960). Regarding claim 2, Kong and Loxley discloses all the limitations but silent on the glass layers arrangement. Whereas Navet in view of Kong disclose wherein the one or more glass layers comprise: a first glass layer, wherein the first glass layer comprises nitrogen; and a plurality of second glass layers, wherein the plurality of second glass layers comprise nitrogen, wherein at least one of the second glass layers is above the first glass layer and at least one of the second glass layers is below the first glass layer ¶0040-0046. Kong and Navet are analogous art because they are directed to glass substrate and one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success to modify Kong because they are from the same field of endeavor. Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the glass substrate of Kong and incorporate the teachings of Navet to device performance. Regarding claim 3, Loxley in view of Kong discloses wherein the one or more of the glass layers collectively comprises a top glass region, a middle glass region and a bottom glass region, wherein the top glass region, the middle glass region and the bottom glass region comprise nitrogen, ¶0040-0046 Column 5, lines 20-34; Column 12, lines 38-51. Regarding claim 4, Loxley in view of Kong discloses wherein the one or more glass layers comprise a nitride glass layer, wherein the nitride glass layer comprises nitrogen atoms within glass Column 5, lines 20-34; Column 12, lines 38-51. Regarding claim 5, Loxley in view of Kong discloses wherein the nitrogen atoms are distributed throughout the one or more nitride glass layers Column 5, lines 20-34; Column 12, lines 38-51. Regarding claim 6, Kong discloses a plurality of conductive layers, wherein at least one of the conductive layers is above the plurality of dielectric layers and at least one of the conductive layers is below the plurality of dielectric layers Fig 1A-1B. Regarding claim 7, Kong discloses wherein the plurality of conductive layers comprise titanium or copper ¶0033. Regarding claim 8, Kong discloses one or more through-hole vias through the substrate Fig 1A-2B. Regarding claim 9, Kong discloses an integrated circuit package, comprising: an integrated circuit die Fig 6; and a package substrate electrically coupled to the integrated circuit die Fig 6, the package substrate comprising: one or more glass layers Fig 6, 600 ¶0059-0060; a plurality of dielectric layers Fig 1A-2B, 212, wherein at least one of the dielectric layers is above the one or more glass layers and at least one of the dielectric layers is below the one or more glass layers Fig 1A-2B; and one or more conductive traces through the package substrate Fig 1A-2B, Fig 6 ¶0062. Kong discloses all the limitations but silent of the glass layer having nitrogen. Whereas Loxley discloses wherein nitrogen is distributed throughout the one or more glass layers Column 5, lines 20-34; Column 12, lines 38-51. Kong and Loxley are analogous art because they are directed to glass substrate and one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success to modify Kong because they are from the same field of endeavor. Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the glass substrate of Kong and incorporate the teachings of Loxley to improve the glass layers properties. Kong and Loxley disclose all the limitations but silent on the glass cored having no intervening adhesive layer. Whereas Kim discloses a glass core comprising one or more glass layers, wherein nitrogen is distributed throughout the one or more glass layers, and wherein the glass core comprises no intervening adhesive layers between the respective glass layers ¶0088-0091, 0100, 0112-0116. Kong and Kim are analogous art because they are directed to glass laminate structure and one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success to modify Kong because they are from the same field of endeavor. Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the glass substrate of Kong and incorporate the teachings of Kim to improve the glass layers properties. Kong, Loxley and Kim disclose all the limitations but silent on the type of dielectric layer. Whereas Navet discloses a dielectric layer made of organic dielectric material ¶0049. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the material composition of the dielectric layer, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416 (1960). Regarding claim 10, Kong discloses one or more conductive contacts on a surface of the package substrate Fig 6 ¶0089-0092. Regarding claim 11, Kong discloses, wherein the one or more conductive traces comprise one or more through-hole vias through the package substrate Fig 1A-2B, Fig 6. Regarding claim 12, Kong and Loxley discloses all the limitations but silent on the glass layers arrangement. Whereas Navet in view of Kong discloses wherein the one or more glass layers comprise: a first glass layer, wherein the first glass layer comprises nitrogen; and a plurality of second glass layers, wherein the plurality of second glass layers comprise nitrogen, wherein at least one of the second glass layers is above the first glass layer and at least one of the second glass layers is below the first glass layer ¶0040-0046. Kong and Navet are analogous art because they are directed to glass substrate and one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success to modify Kong because they are from the same field of endeavor. Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the glass substrate of Kong and incorporate the teachings of Navet to device performance. Regarding claim 13, Loxley in view of Kong discloses wherein the one or more of the glass layers collectively comprises a top glass region, a middle glass region and a bottom glass region, wherein the top glass region, the middle glass region and the bottom glass region comprise nitrogen, ¶0040-0046 Column 5, lines 20-34; Column 12, lines 38-51. Regarding claim 14, Loxley in view of Kong discloses wherein the one or more glass layers comprise one or more nitride glass layers, wherein the one or more nitride glass layer comprises nitrogen atoms within glass¶0040-0046. Regarding claim 15, Kong discloses a plurality of conductive layers, wherein at least one of the conductive layers is above the plurality of dielectric layers and at least one of the conductive layers is below the plurality of dielectric layers Fig 1A-1B. Regarding claim 16, Kong discloses an electronic device, comprising: a board; and an integrated circuit package coupled to the board Fig 7, wherein the integrated circuit package comprises: an integrated circuit die Fig 6; and a package substrate electrically coupled to the integrated circuit die Fig 6, the package substrate comprising: one or more glass layers Fig 6, 600 ¶0059-0060, a plurality of dielectric layers, wherein at least one of the dielectric layers is above the one or more glass layers and at least one of the dielectric layers is below the one or more glass layers Fig 6 ¶0059-0060; and one or more conductive traces through the package substrate ¶0062. Kong discloses all the limitations but silent of the glass layer having nitrogen. Whereas Loxley discloses wherein nitrogen is distributed throughout the one or more glass layers Column 5, lines 20-34; Column 12, lines 38-51. Kong and Loxley are analogous art because they are directed to glass substrate and one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success to modify Kong because they are from the same field of endeavor. Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the glass substrate of Kong and incorporate the teachings of Loxley to improve the glass layers properties. Kong and Loxley disclose all the limitations but silent on the glass cored having no intervening adhesive layer. Whereas Kim discloses a glass core comprising one or more glass layers, wherein nitrogen is distributed throughout the one or more glass layers, and wherein the glass core comprises no intervening adhesive layers between the respective glass layers ¶0088-0091, 0100, 0112-0116. Kong and Kim are analogous art because they are directed to glass laminate structure and one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success to modify Kong because they are from the same field of endeavor. Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the glass substrate of Kong and incorporate the teachings of Kim to improve the glass layers properties. Kong, Loxley and Kim disclose all the limitations but silent on the type of dielectric layer. Whereas Navet discloses a dielectric layer made of organic dielectric material ¶0049. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the material composition of the dielectric layer, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416 (1960). Regarding claim 17, Loxley in view of Kong discloses wherein the one or more glass layers comprise a nitride glass layer, wherein the nitride glass layer comprises nitrogen atoms within glass Column 5, lines 20-34; Column 12, lines 38-51. Regarding claim 18, Kong discloses the integrated circuit die comprises processing circuitry, communication circuitry, or memory circuitry ¶0063-0068. Regarding claim 19, Kong discloses wherein the electronic device is a cell phone, a wearable device, a computer, a server, a camera, a video playback device, a video game console, a display device, a vehicle control unit, or an appliance¶0063-0068. Regarding claim 20, Kong discloses a method of forming a substrate, comprising: forming a glass core Fig 1A-2B; forming a plurality of dielectric layers above and below the glass core Fig 1A-2B; and forming a plurality of conductive seed layers above and below the plurality of dielectric layers Fig 1A-2B. Kong discloses all the limitations but silent of the glass core having nitrogen. Kong discloses all the limitations but silent of the glass layer having nitrogen. Whereas Loxley discloses wherein nitrogen is distributed throughout the one or more glass layers Column 5, lines 20-34; Column 12, lines 38-51. Kong and Loxley are analogous art because they are directed to glass substrate and one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success to modify Kong because they are from the same field of endeavor. Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the glass substrate of Kong and incorporate the teachings of Loxley to improve the glass layers properties. Kong and Loxley disclose all the limitations but silent on the glass cored having no intervening adhesive layer. Whereas Kim discloses a glass core comprising one or more glass layers, wherein nitrogen is distributed throughout the one or more glass layers, and wherein the glass core comprises no intervening adhesive layers between the respective glass layers ¶0088-0091, 0100, 0112-0116. Kong and Kim are analogous art because they are directed to glass laminate structure and one of ordinary skill in the art would have had a reasonable expectation of success to modify Kong because they are from the same field of endeavor. Therefore it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill of the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the glass substrate of Kong and incorporate the teachings of Kim to improve the glass layers properties. Kong, Loxley and Kim disclose all the limitations but silent on the type of dielectric layer. Whereas Navet discloses a dielectric layer made of organic dielectric material ¶0049. It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the material composition of the dielectric layer, since it has been held to be within the general skill of a worker in the art to select a known material on the basis of its suitability for the intended use as a matter of design choice. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416 (1960). Regarding claim 24, Loxley discloses wherein forming the nitride glass core comprises: joining a glass material with a nitrogen material Column 5, lines 20-34; Column 12, lines 38-51. Regarding claim 25, Kong in view of Loxley discloses further comprising: forming one or more through-hole vias through the nitride glass core Fig 1A-2B. Regarding claim 27, Kim discloses wherein the first and second dielectric layers are on respective surfaces of the glass core, wherein no intervening adhesive layers are disposed between the glass core and each of the first and second dielectric layers¶0088-0091, 0100, 0112-0116. Regarding claim 28, Kong discloses wherein the first and second dielectric layers are in direct contact with respective surfaces of the glass core Fig 1A-2B. Regarding claim 29, Kong and Kim disclose wherein the one or more glass layers consist of a single glass layer Kim-¶0088-0091, 0100, 0112-0116 and Kong Fig 1A-2B. Regarding claim 30, Loxley in view of Kong discloses wherein the nitrogen is present in an amount effective to promote adhesion between the glass core and each of the first and second dielectric layers Column 5, lines 20-34; Column 12, lines 38-51. Response to Arguments Applicant’s arguments with respect to claims 1-20, 24-26 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument. Conclusion Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). 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 CHRISTINE A ENAD whose telephone number is (571)270-7891. The examiner can normally be reached Monday-Friday, 7:30 am -4:30 pm. 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, Lynne Gurley can be reached at 571 272 1670. 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. /CHRISTINE A ENAD/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2811
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Prosecution Timeline

Show 2 earlier events
Jul 22, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Oct 22, 2025
Response Filed
Dec 16, 2025
Final Rejection mailed — §103
Mar 16, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Mar 31, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
May 22, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §103
Aug 24, 2026
Response Filed
Oct 08, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §103 (current)

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Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
84%
Grant Probability
95%
With Interview (+10.2%)
1y 12m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 1367 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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