Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/180,865

SUB-RATE ASYMMETRIC FFE GENERATION FOR OPTICAL TRANSMITTER

Non-Final OA §102
Filed
Mar 09, 2023
Examiner
PARK, KINAM
Art Unit
2828
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
National Tsing Hua University
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
82%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
89%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 82% — above average
82%
Career Allow Rate
680 granted / 829 resolved
+14.0% vs TC avg
Moderate +7% lift
Without
With
+7.3%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
14 currently pending
Career history
843
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
1.1%
-38.9% vs TC avg
§103
33.8%
-6.2% vs TC avg
§102
40.2%
+0.2% vs TC avg
§112
13.6%
-26.4% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 829 resolved cases

Office Action

§102
DETAILED ACTION 1. 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 § 102 2. 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. 3. Claims 1-10 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Raj et al. (US 20150139257). Regarding claim 1, Raj et al. discloses in figure 6 and specification: 1. An edge detector (see, 630, fig. 6, see also, paragraph [0041]-[0042]) applied to a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (see, 602, fig. 6), the edge detector comprising: an alignment circuit (see, 620, fig. 6, see also, paragraph [0043], here, equalization delay module 620) configured to receive a plurality of sets of differential input data, and align the plurality of sets of differential input data to output a plurality of sets of corresponding differential output data, wherein the plurality of sets of differential output data comprise a set of delayed differential output data (see, paragraph [0043]); a rising-edge detecting circuit (see, paragraph [0043], here, the rising edge detector 430) coupled to the alignment circuit, the rising-edge detecting circuit configured to detect rising edges of the plurality of sets of differential output data to output a plurality of sets of corresponding differential rising data; and a falling-edge detecting circuit (see, paragraph [0043], here, the falling edge detector 440) coupled to the alignment circuit, the falling-edge detecting circuit configured to detect falling edges of the plurality of sets of differential output data to output a plurality of sets of corresponding differential falling data (see, paragraph [0043]). PNG media_image1.png 318 438 media_image1.png Greyscale Regarding claim 2, Raj et al. discloses in figure 6 and specification the edge detector according to claim 1, wherein the alignment circuit receives N sets of differential input data and outputs N+1 sets of differential output data, and the edge detector is a one-Nth-rate edge detector (see, paragraph [0043]-[0044]). Regarding claim 3, Raj et al. discloses in figure 6 and specification the edge detector according to claim 2, wherein the alignment circuit receives four sets of differential input data, the edge detector is a quarter-rate edge detector, and an operating speed of the edge detector is 5 gigabit per second (see, paragraph [0082]). Regarding claim 4, Raj et al. discloses in figure 6 and specification the edge detector according to claim 1, wherein the rising-edge detecting circuit comprises a plurality of first type logic gates and a plurality of second type logic gates, and each of the first type logic gates and the second type logic gates receives differential output data of a same timing (see, paragraph [0082]). Regarding claim 5, Raj et al. discloses in figure 6 and specification the edge detector according to claim 4, wherein each of the first type logic gates and the second type logic gates receives in-phase differential output data of different data sequences (see, paragraph [0082]). Regarding claim 6, Raj et al. discloses in figure 6 and specification the edge detector according to claim 4, wherein a first logic gate among the first type logic gates receives first differential data in the set of delayed differential output data, and a second logic gate among the second type logic gates receives the first differential data in the set of delayed differential output data (see, paragraph [0082]). Regarding claim 7, Raj et al. discloses in figure 6 and specification the edge detector according to claim 6, wherein the falling-edge detecting circuit comprises a plurality of third type logic gates and a plurality of fourth type logic gates, and each of the third type logic gates and the fourth type logic gates receives differential output data of a same timing, wherein the first type logic gates and the third type logic gates are logic gates of the same type, and the second type logic gates and the fourth type logic gates are logic gates of the same type (see, paragraph [0082]). Regarding claim 8, Raj et al. discloses in figure 6 and specification the edge detector according to claim 7, wherein each of the third type logic gates and the fourth type logic gates receives in-phase differential output data of different data sequences (see, paragraph [0082]). Regarding claim 9, Raj et al. discloses in figure 6 and specification the edge detector according to claim 7, wherein a third logic gate among the third type logic gates receives second differential data in the set of delayed differential output data, and a fourth logic gate among the third type logic gates receives the second differential data in the set of delayed differential output data (see, paragraph [0082]). Regarding claim 10, Raj et al. discloses in figure 6 and specification the edge detector according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of sets of differential rising data and the plurality of sets of differential falling data form a full-rate pulse sequence through a multiplexer circuit (see, paragraph [0082]). Conclusion 4. Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Kinam Park whose telephone number is (571) 270-1738. The examiner can normally be reached on from 9:00 AM-5:00 PM. If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's supervisor, MINSUN HARVEY, can be reached on (571) 272-1835. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300. Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent Application Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for published applications may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). /KINAM PARK/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2828
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Prosecution Timeline

Mar 09, 2023
Application Filed
Feb 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102 (current)

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Study what changed to get past this examiner. Based on 5 most recent grants.

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Prosecution Projections

1-2
Expected OA Rounds
82%
Grant Probability
89%
With Interview (+7.3%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 829 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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