Prosecution Insights
Last updated: April 19, 2026
Application No. 18/299,795

SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGE

Non-Final OA §102§103
Filed
Apr 13, 2023
Examiner
PHAM, LONG
Art Unit
2897
Tech Center
2800 — Semiconductors & Electrical Systems
Assignee
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
OA Round
1 (Non-Final)
91%
Grant Probability
Favorable
1-2
OA Rounds
2y 6m
To Grant
97%
With Interview

Examiner Intelligence

Grants 91% — above average
91%
Career Allow Rate
1493 granted / 1633 resolved
+23.4% vs TC avg
Moderate +6% lift
Without
With
+5.6%
Interview Lift
resolved cases with interview
Typical timeline
2y 6m
Avg Prosecution
38 currently pending
Career history
1671
Total Applications
across all art units

Statute-Specific Performance

§101
0.1%
-39.9% vs TC avg
§103
39.9%
-0.1% vs TC avg
§102
41.8%
+1.8% vs TC avg
§112
11.1%
-28.9% vs TC avg
Black line = Tech Center average estimate • Based on career data from 1633 resolved cases

Office Action

§102 §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 . Election/Restrictions Applicant’s election without traverse of claims 1-10 and 29 in the reply filed on 1/16/26 is acknowledged. 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. Claim(s) 1-5 and 6-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Karnezos (US pat 7394148). With respect to claim 1, Karnezos teaches a semiconductor package, comprising (see figs. 1-28, particularly fig. 2 and associated text): a first redistribution wiring layer 112; a first semiconductor device 114,144 on an upper surface (top) of the first redistribution wiring layer; a first sealing member 217 on the first semiconductor device; a second redistribution wiring layer 12 on the first sealing member, such that a peripheral region of a lower surface of the second redistribution wiring layer is free of the first sealing member; at least one second semiconductor device 214,244 on an upper surface of the second redistribution wiring layer; and a plurality of bonding wirings 218 electrically connecting first redistribution connection pads (bottom exposed metal of 112) on a lower surface of the first redistribution wiring layer and second redistribution connection pads (bottom exposed metal of 12) on the peripheral region of the lower surface of the second redistribution wiring layer. With respect to claim 2, Karnezos teaches the first redistribution connection pads are in a peripheral region of the first redistribution wiring layer. See fig. 2 and associated text. With respect to claim 3, Karnezos teaches a second sealing member 207 on an outer region of the lower surface of the second redistribution wiring layer and on the plurality of bonding wires. See fig. 2 and associated text. With respect to claim 4, Karnezos teaches a third sealing member on the upper surface of the second redistribution wiring layer and on the at least one second semiconductor device. See fig. 2 and associated text. With respect to claim 5, Karnezos teaches the first semiconductor device is connected to the first redistribution wiring layer via conductive bumps (connector at end of wire) that are formed on first chip pads provided on an active surface of the first semiconductor device. See fig. 2 and associated text. With respect to claim 6, Karnezos teaches external connection redistribution pads 318 on first redistribution pads on the lower surface of the first redistribution wiring layer. See fig. 2 and associated text. With respect to claim 7, Karnezos teaches the external connection redistribution pads are on a central region of the first redistribution wiring layer. See fig. 2 and associated text. With respect to claim 8, Karnezos teaches an adhesive member 113,103 between the first sealing member and the second redistribution wiring layer. See fig. 2 and associated text. 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. Claim(s) 9 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Karnezos (US pat 7394148). With respect to claim 9, Karnezos teaches the wiring is made of metal but fail to the wiring is made of copper. However, the use of copper wiring is extremely well-known in semiconductor art. Claim(s) 20 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Karnezos (US pat 7394148). With respect to claim 20, Karnezos teaches a semiconductor package, comprising (see figs. 1-28, particularly fig. 2 and associated text): a first sub-package having a first upper surface (top) and a first lower surface (bottom) opposite to each other, the first sub-package having a first redistribution wiring layer 112 having a plurality of first redistribution connection pads (exposed bottom connectors of 112) exposed from the first lower surface, a first semiconductor device 114,144 on the first redistribution wiring layer and a first sealing member 217on the first semiconductor device; a second sub-package having a second upper surface (top) and a second lower surface (bottom) opposite to each other, the second sub-package having a second redistribution wiring layer 12 having a plurality of second redistribution connection pads (bottom exposed metal of 12) and external connection redistribution pads exposed from the second lower surface, a second semiconductor device 214, 244 mounted on the second redistribution wiring layer, and a second sealing member 227 on the second semiconductor device; an adhesive member 113, 103 between the first upper surface of the first sub-package and the second lower surface of the second sub-package to bond the first and second sub-packages; a plurality of first bonding wirings 218 electrically connecting the first and second redistribution connection pads to each other; and external connection bumps 318 on the external connection redistribution pads, respectively. Allowable Subject Matter Claim 10 is objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims. Examiner’s Cited References The cited references generally show the similar or related structure having stacked bottom structure and top structure and the bottom structure having a first bottom interconnect and a first top die and the top structure having a second bottom interconnect and a second top die, where the exposed lower surfaces of the first bottom interconnect and second bottom interconnect are interconnected as presently claimed by applicant. Conclusion Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to LONG PHAM whose telephone number is (571)272-1714. The examiner can normally be reached Mon-Friday. 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, Jacob Choi can be reached at 469-295-9060. 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. LONG . PHAM Examiner Art Unit 2823 /LONG PHAM/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2897
Read full office action

Prosecution Timeline

Apr 13, 2023
Application Filed
Mar 21, 2026
Non-Final Rejection — §102, §103 (current)

Precedent Cases

Applications granted by this same examiner with similar technology

Patent 12604733
PACKAGE STRUCTURES WITH COLLAPSE CONTROL FEATURES
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12604754
PACKAGE STRUCTURES WITH NON-UNIFORM INTERCONNECT FEATURES
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12604766
SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGE STRUCTURE
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12604739
Semiconductor Device and Method of Forming a 3-D Stacked Semiconductor Package Structure
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 14, 2026
Patent 12599033
QUASI-MONOLITHIC INTEGRATED PACKAGING ARCHITECTURE WITH MID-DIE SERIALIZER/DESERIALIZER
2y 5m to grant Granted Apr 07, 2026
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
91%
Grant Probability
97%
With Interview (+5.6%)
2y 6m
Median Time to Grant
Low
PTA Risk
Based on 1633 resolved cases by this examiner. Grant probability derived from career allow rate.

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