Prosecution Insights
Last updated: October 04, 2026
Application No. 17/951,119

HIGH ELECTRON MOBILITY TRANSISTOR AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE SAME

Final Rejection §102
Filed
Sep 23, 2022
Priority
Aug 24, 2022 — TW 111131884
Examiner
CHEN, JACK S J
Art Unit
2893
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
United Microelectronics Corp.
OA Round
4 (Final)
77%
Grant Probability
Favorable
5-6
OA Rounds
0m
Est. Remaining
82%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 77% — above average
77%
Career Allowance Rate
442 granted / 576 resolved
+8.7% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+5.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 11m
Avg Prosecution
34 currently pending
Career history
623
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.5%
-39.5% vs TC avg
§103
31.9%
-8.1% vs TC avg
§102
32.3%
-7.7% vs TC avg
§112
27.3%
-12.7% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 576 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
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 . Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114 A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 4/9/2026 has been entered. Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102 The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action: A person shall be entitled to a patent unless – (a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. (a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention. Claims 9-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Huang, US Pub. No. 2021/0083083 A1. Re claim 9, Huang discloses a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT), comprising: a buffer layer 15/14/13/12 on a substrate 11 (i.e., fig. 6A-1/2 or fig. 10A-1/2); a barrier layer 16 on the buffer layer (i.e., fig. 6A-1/2 or fig. 10A-1/2); a p-type semiconductor layer 26 (i.e, the bottom 1/3 portion of the 26, see fig. 6A-1/2 or fig. 10A-1/2) on the barrier layer; and a gate electrode 26 (i.e, the upper 1/3 portion of the 26, see fig. 6A-1/2 or fig. 10A-1/2) on the p-type semiconductor layer, wherein the gate electrode comprises an inclined sidewall (i.e, fig. 6A-1/2 or fig. 10A-1/2) and a width of a bottom surface of the gate electrode and a width of a top surface of the p-type semiconductor layer are different (i.e, fig. 6A-1/2 or fig. 10A-1/2), also see figs. 4A-4D, see figs. 1-42And pages 1-17 for more details. Re claim 10. : The HTEMT of claim 9, wherein the gate electrode comprises a trapezoid (i.e., fig. 6A-1/2 or fig. 10A-1/2). Re claim 11. : The HTEMT of claim 9, wherein a bottom surface of the gate electrode is less than a top surface of the gate electrode (i.e., fig. 6A-1/2 or fig. 10A-1/2). Re claim 12.: The HTEMT of claim 9, wherein the buffer layer 15 comprises gallium nitride (GaN) (i.e., paragraph 121 etc.). Re claim 13. : The HTEMT of claim 9, wherein the barrier layer 16 comprise AlxGa1.xN (i.e., paragraph 121 etc.). Re claim 14. The HTEMT of claim 9, wherein the p-type semiconductor layer comprises p-type gallium nitride (pGaN) (i.e., paragraph 120 etc.). Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to JACK CHEN whose telephone number is (571)272-1689. The examiner can normally be reached Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm. 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, Yara J. Green can be reached at (571)270-3035. 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. /JACK S CHEN/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2893
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Show 1 earlier event
Jun 27, 2025
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Aug 07, 2025
Response Filed
Jan 16, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102
Apr 09, 2026
Request for Continued Examination
Apr 17, 2026
Response after Non-Final Action
Apr 24, 2026
Non-Final Rejection mailed — §102
Jun 23, 2026
Response Filed
Oct 01, 2026
Final Rejection mailed — §102 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

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Patent 12727211
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Patent 12721159
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Patent 12720790
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3y 1m to grant Granted Aug 25, 2026
Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

5-6
Expected OA Rounds
77%
Grant Probability
82%
With Interview (+5.6%)
2y 11m (~0m remaining)
Median Time to Grant
High
PTA Risk
Based on 576 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allowance rate.

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